Evan & Natali Griffin: Montessori Learning Center

I spend all morning, Monday through Friday at Montessouri Learning Center where I am a teacher's aide and Vienna attends the pre-school toddler class.

We have been there since the beginning of June this year and I thought it was time to tell you all about, as it is a pretty good chunk of our lives.

I had my camera today so I thought I would document a little about what we do there. I don't get to be in the same classroom as Vienna but I think she's fine without me. I'm the one who misses her so much. I get to see her at recess though and I peek in her classroom ever so often:).

Sometimes she sees me peeking!

I LOVE these kids! I love seeing them complete works and looking for a smile and a thumbs up. They are so happy when they make accomplishments and I love that I get to be part of it. I don't really know all the long term effects of these works yet but I'm learning and I am loving what I am seeing.

Whitnee is doing a peg work and as you can see she's doing great. She started when I started so I just have a special place in my heart for her. Plus she reminds me a little of my baby.

Head Teacher, Melissa, is showing Ayle a new work! Ink stamps!

Ayla is doing the ink stamps work. She absolutely LOVES doing water works.

I think she finds it soothing. She is such a cute girl.

Luke just finished his hand-washing work and he's so very neatly putting his apron away! He is SUCH a great student. I just love how respectful he is to Melissa and I as well as how he respects his classmates. He's just really smart, obedient, teachable and LOVES to be praised. He gives his classmates thumbs-ups, like his teachers give him. Plus he's my nephew, so he's special to me.

Our baby Amethyst! She is our youngest student and is packed most of the time. She's a really good baby, we really can't complain. She's smily, giggly, wiggly and adorable!
Melissa and I pack her 50/50 most of the time.

Nico is such a smarty! He learns so fast and he is always eager to learn new works.
Here he is doing the sweeping work. As you can see the students must sweep the beans into the green box and then into the dustpan.

Alvin doing the zipper work. This one is pretty challenging but he works at it over and over. He is so dedicated and is such a sweet little boy.

If the students spill the rice from the bucket, they are usually quick to remember to pick it up.
They always do this work on the dark rug so that the rice pieces are easy to see.

Luke LOVES this book! It has google eyes so they kids are drawn to it.

Emi is such a bright kid. He is a perfectionist! He is very meticulous about his works and likes to do them very neatly. He is such a sweet boy and we will miss him. Today was his last day.

Here are some water works. The students use droppers and small pitchers to practice transferring water neatly and in measurable amounts. The colored water is a favorite.

Painting! I just changed the color and it looks like fire! They kids seem to like it too!

Ayle, Drayson and Alvin doing puzzles! Felt mats always accompany the puzzles so that the students can work quietly. They always place the mat on the right which helps them to prep for reading left to right. Small things go a long way. Drayson forgot this time it looks like. It's okay though!
We try not to bother the students while they work!

The students LOVE feeding the classroom fish! Here they are.

Ironing work station.

Luke is so good about remember to raise his hand and look for the teacher's "thumbs up"

Joseph is one of our younger students and he does really well in the "sassy seat".
If the students have too many wiggles or are being disruptive, we give them some time in the "sassy seat" where they can focus on the work in front of them and less on what's going on around them.
Joseph was so super good at this work! Miss Melissa showed it to him and he repeated the work perfectly! He does really well with boundries!

PJ! I love this boy! He is a wiggly one but is just bursting with love! He absolutely loves the water works. Once again, I think it's soothing and relaxing for him. Especially the dish washing work. He knows all the steps and has such great follow-through.

Here are seven students: Nico, Luke, PJ, Drayson, Joseph, Ayle and Emi all working quietly and so diligently! This is pretty typical for our class.

Walking out for recess! All the kids stay on the line and holding their rings so that we can keep track of each and every one. We sing songs out to recess, talk about the weather, sounds we hear and things we see. The kids love being outside.