Meet Our Staff

            At Escuela del Valle we are fortunate to have a wonderful staff of teachers and assistant teachers, all of whom are dedicated to the Montessori philosophy and the well-being of each child.  We would like you to get to know more about these amazing professionals who are working with your children, so we are starting a new feature on our Facebook page called Meet Our Staff. 

            Each week we will highlight one of the staff members from either Escuela Montessori or Coronado Montessori and learn more about their background, interests, and families.  To kick off this feature, we will focus on the teacher who has been with us the longest, through thick and thin, Ms. Elizabeth DeLaRosa.

Elizabeth DeLaRosa - Elementary Class

            Liz has been an invaluable part of the school for the past 25 years.  She has worked in almost every classroom at one time or another which has given her a wealth of knowledge and experience.  She has been the first grade teacher for past several years and initially helped carry on with the elementary program after Marti Filley retired from teaching.  Liz is absolutely the kind of person you want to have on your side in any situation, because her commitment and support are without question.  Everyone loves Liz, and with good reason!  Her effervescent personality and warmth are irresistible.

Liz is an El Paso native and comes from a very close family.  She loves spending time with her parents, sisters and brother.  Liz is married and she and her husband are the proud parents of a wonderful son who is a student at New Mexico State University.  Liz says he is “the apple of her eye!”

            When asked how she became interested in working at our school, Liz explained that when she first observed a Montessori classroom and saw the differences in how the children were taught, she wished that she had learned that way herself.  She appreciates the freedom that the children have to move around and feels that this helps them focus. 

            We also asked Liz what she likes most about her job and she responded that she loves the look in children’s faces when they understand a concept and are able to finish their work on their own.  She feels that it helps keep her young at heart!

            Thank you, Liz, for everything you do for our children!

Continent Studies

                         

 Maps can be considered doorways to the cultures of the world.  When students learn  to read land and water features on maps and globes, they learn to interpret human activities occurring on the earth.  They can assess a country's major industry, climate, natural obstacles, and political borders, for example.  They can journey to different lands, learning about the indigenous life there and its culture.

Montessori students gain an appreciation of the beauty of our world and the interdependence of all living things that inhabit the earth, through the study of physical and cultural geography.

Ms. Mayte's Primary class at Del Valle is studying the continents, and made their own maps-- tracing and then punching them out in a careful process.  They look great!

 

               A Continent Down Under

 "' Ello Mates!" The Primary/Elementary students at Coronado Montessori had a special guest come to visit.  Mr. Cody Kidwell came to share his adventures in Australia with us.   He brought boomerangs, Australian coins, and other artifacts-- including a real kangaroo leather outback hat!  Mr. Kidwell told the children about landmarks he visited, the animal and plant life in the different biomes of Australia, and the native Australians, the Aborigines.  The children have been learning about the animals of Australia and asked Mr. Cody if he had seen each one that they could name!  When he explained how big a kangaroo was, the children kept asking for comparisons--"Bigger than the shelf?", "Bigger than the table?", "Taller than the door?"  One child summed it up, "A Kangaroo is taller than Diego's Dad?!"  "Wow . . "  they all exclaimed.  Mr. Cody talked about the animals that were venomous, which was a very interesting topic to the children, while a few assured the others that these animals were only in Australia-- "Not here, guys, not here . . . . . ".  Those adorable puggles (see below),  the name for baby platypuses (no, the plural of a platypus is not platypi!), have long spurs on the inside of each hind leg (males only), which contain a venom gland-- with venom strong enough to kill animals and cause excruciating pain to humans!

The cutest question raised, and I say cutest because of what followed, is when a student asked about what language the Australians speak.  After Mr. Cody explained the historical connection to England, and the Queen's English, he said that Australians speak English with an accent.  Living in El Paso, our wonderful, bilingual city, the children were intrigued.  "What kind of accent?", they wanted to know.  Mr. Cody commenced to speak with an Australian accent  (which was pretty accurate)  for the next ten minutes!  The children were charmed, of course, and it was a great ending to a wonderful presentation.  

Up to Our Elbows in Apples and... Happy Johnny Appleseed Day!

As you may have noticed, the classes at Escuela Montessori and Coronado Montessori are concentrating on apples this month!  The students have been learning about the different parts of the apple, the lifecycle of the apple, and varieties of apples, just to name a few learning experiences!

I heard through the grapevine, or should I say this news fell off the apple tree-- that the Elementary Class at Sunset has already started cooking delicious dishes with the abundant apples from their apple tree.  They made yummy cinnamon apple sauce, to take home in pretty canning jars. They also made pear muffins from their pear tree, but hey, this is about apples! 

At Coronado we have been tasting and analyzing our favorite varieties.  The popular vote seems to be leaning towards Granny Smith and Red Delicious.  We have also been observing Thing 1 and Thing 2 (our Primary/Elementary class painted desert box turtles) eating apple slices.  They seem to like any variety that is offered!  They also like cheese--who knew?  But we all know that an apple slice with cheese is quite delicious! 

The Primary/Elementary students at Coronado made Apple Crisp in the crockpot today!  It turned out delicious, and we are sharing the recipe with you.

 Apple Crisp in the Crockpot

8-10 medium baking apples (I like to use at least half granny smith for their tartness)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup butter, softened (not melted)

Butter Crockpot on the bottom and up to the middle of the sides.

Peel, core and thinly slice apples, putting them into a bowl. Add lemon juice and stir, then pour apples into Crockpot.

In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well.

Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in softened butter until combined and crumbly.

Spread on top of apples.

Cover top of Crockpot with paper towels at least two-thick (this will absorb much of the moisture and allow your crumb mixture to get just the right amount of crunchy) then top with lid.

Cook on high for 3 hours.

Serve with real vanilla ice cream or real whipped cream.

 

We cannot study apples without talking about Johnny Appleseed and his contribution to the young  American  frontier. 

A  fond American legend, Johnny Appleseed was a real pioneer apple farmer and folk hero in the 1800s.  His real name was John Chapman, and his dream was to plant so many apple trees that no one would ever go hungry.  He really was a careful, organized businessman, buying and selling tracts of land, and developing thousands of productive apple trees.  He was friend to all, including wildlife, knew many Indian languages, and spent most of his life traveling and planting apple seeds.  And . . .  for "parents only" -- some Johnny Appleseed trivia--apple trees grown from seed (vs. grafting) are usually sour, and good for cider and alcoholic purposes-- which may have explained why Johnny Appleseed was always welcomed at homesteads across the Midwest!    

Pictures of Peace in the Primary/Elementary Classroom at Coronado

September 21st was the International Day of Peace.  In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace, which resolution 36/67 stated in part, " . .  to concentrate the efforts to promote the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways."  The first International Day of Peace was celebrated in September 1982.

People all over the world celebrated in different ways.  People simply lit candles at noon, meditated, or did a good deed for someone they did not know.  Others attended public forums, concerts, and large events.

In our class the children talked about what peace means.  Great definitions were shared.  "Being nice."  "Not hurting people."  "Being a good friend."  "Loving people."  "Not being all crazy." 

We gathered in the afternoon and talked about peacemakers.  We talked about Maria Montessori, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dalai Lama, and Jane Goodall.  We talked about how these people helped others to know more about what peace means.  The children wanted to know if these important people were still alive.  I told them some of these people are still alive, others have passed on.  One student said, "Oh, Ms. Beverley, so that's why they say, Rest in Peace, right?"  "Um, well, yes," I replied, "and even though they are resting in peace, we can actively follow their example, words, and actions."  I am thrilled with these deep thinkers!

Maria Montessori said of peace, "Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child."

Ms. Mayte's class at Sunset recited beautiful peace poetry: 

Peace is the world smiling
Peace is a gentle dove
Peace is sharing
Peace is caring
Peace is filling our world with love                               

On a side note, Ms. Jackie often brings our class "objects" that she finds for our discovery desk.  The children examine these objects under the magnifying glass--leaves, rocks, shells, snail shells--objects of nature.  Ms. Jackie brought us a beautiful specimen of a bumblebee-- gossamer wings, velvety stripes of bright yellow and black.  The bumblebee had, of course, passed away, and the children examined all parts, including finding the stinger.  One child was insistent that the bumblebee was not dead (although corrected by the others), but only asleep.  "Ms. Beverley, it's resting."  Hearing the opening for my internal punch line,  I mumbled under my breath, "Um, well, yes . . . . .  resting in peace!"