Frog Song Preschool

A Community for Mindful Learning

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Summer Camps at Frog Song!

May 11, 2018 by Claire Lundy

Frog Song Montessori Preschool has a strong emphasis on children’s sensorial exploration of nature. Children are naturally drawn to nature, and as concrete, sensorial learners, children 3-5 years of age learn through their own interactions with their environment. Our 14- acre property allows children the explorative experiences necessary for self-discovery. Each of our five one-week summer camps focuses on a different aspect of the earth that is unique to our property, allowing children the opportunity to learn firsthand in their own interactions and explorations of nature.

Location: 8500 NE Siskiyou St. Portland, OR 97220

Time: 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM Monday through Friday

Week One: July 9th- July 13th

All About Insects: This week we focus on insects. In the classroom, we will use books, songs, stories and language cards to learn all about different kinds of insects, including which insects live on our property and what life looks like for them. Classroom activities will include using collage to create insects, learning their names through games with picture cards, and sorting activities such as sorting insects that live in the dirt from ones that do not. Outside explorations will include digging in different areas of the property to discover insects and making insect homes based on the kind of insects we find. Each day we will focus on a different insect, taking the things we learn inside the classroom to the outside environment in our search and appreciation of these little creatures.

Week Two: July 16th- July 20th

All About Water: This week children will learn all about what water is, the importance it holds to the earth, the different forms water takes, how water changes depending on the temperature, and what kinds of things live in water. Classroom activities will include exploration of different land and water forms, what animals and insects live in them, and water explorations such as pouring, sponge squeezing and sorting objects based on whether they sink or float. Outside activities will include watering the vegetable garden, plants on our playground, and plants on the property, along with nature walks and discussions of which plants need more water and why. If our ponds are not dried up, we will explore their contents and discover what’s inside. We will learn about the water cycle and use our pond as a concrete, sensorial example of what happens to water in hot weather!

Week Three: July 23rd- 27th

All About Dirt & Rocks:
We will learn what dirt is composed of, what lives in dirt, and how dirt can be different depending on where it is located, as well as where rocks come from and what they are made of. Classroom activities will include using collage to create things that live in the dirt, sensorial explorations of dirt’s relationship to water and uses of dirt such as planting seeds and making dirt babies. We will also have sensorial activities based around rocks, such as rock scrubbing and rock exploration, an activity where children get to feel different kinds of rocks and discover their differences. Outside explorations will include digging to discover differences in the soil, discovery digging to see what lives in the soil, planting seeds, digging to find rocks, and collecting and sorting different types of rocks.

Week Four: July 30th – Aug 3rd

All About Plants: We will learn all about what plants are, their relationship to the earth, their needs, their functions, parts of a plant and the names of plants that exist on our property using picture cards. Classroom activities will include planting seeds, taking care of the plants in our classroom, leaf rubbing, creating a plant using cut- out parts, and making a ‘parts of a plant’ book. Outside activities will include planting sprouted seeds in the garden, going on nature walks to identify plants, and collecting leaves of plants to compare and do leaf rubbings. We will also focus on trees as a type of plant, learning the names of different trees on the property as well as the different parts of a tree.

Week Five: August 6th-10th

All About Birds: We will learn all about different kinds of birds, how their activity changes from season to season, where they sleep, what they eat, etc. Classroom activities will include language cards for learning the names of birds that live on our property, and creating a bird using collage. Outside activities will include nature walks to search for and identify birds on our property, observation and exploration of different habitats, and construction of our own bird nests using materials we gather from our property.

Math Math Math!

April 13, 2018 by Claire Lundy

Numbers and quantities are buzzing around our classroom left and right! The children’s love of working with large quantities has really boomed this year! The Montessori Method has a very unique and accessible way of helping children understand numbers. We start with concrete, sensorial representations of each place quantity (units, tens, hundreds and thousands) in the form of golden beads…

Once children can gather the appropriate quantity to a given card, or gather the card for a given quantity we begin playing the change game. In this game we gather a random quantity from the shelf- units, tens, hundreds and thousands. We then begin to count them in order to see how much we got, starting with units, of course. We learn that ten units is actually the same as 1 ten, so when you get that amount you have to go to the “store” to exchange those ten units for 1 ten. When you then don’t have enough units to go to the store you get the card that represents that amount. Once you have repeated this for tens, hundreds and thousands you put the cards together to see what amount you have!

Once children understand this exchange process we begin to introduce the operations. Children set up small number cards of their own and in each game the children play a concrete, sensorial game for that operation! So, in Addition each child (or pair of children) gets a quantity placed on their tray. They each gather that small quantity, then we put the two small quantities together (in a dramatic way of dumping them on the rug) to make a large quantity, and count it to see what we got!

As children play these games and can go through the processes on their own for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division we begin to introduce games that help them to understand them on an abstract level. For example, in the stamp game we do these same games but now they use small tiles that represent each of the quantities and begin to understand how to add, subtract, multiply and divide on paper!

These activities happen on a daily basis at Frog Song- so much that they are rarely on the shelf!

Inclusivity at Frog Song!

April 6, 2018 by Claire Lundy

At Frog Song we have 3 agreements;

We are safe
We are kind
We help each other

In learning how to become a kind, helpful and safe member of our community we put a lot of focus on pointing out when we are following these agreements, and are always in active discussion about these agreements when there is any conflict. If someone does something that isn’t safe or kind or helpful our first job is to identify the problem, and then think about how we could solve the problem in a way that is safe, kind and helpful. This has helped us to foster a strong sense of belonging and inclusivity at Frog Song! The children are a very close, supportive group and have begun to work together independently to help each other whenever the opportunity arises!

Some of the ways children support each other are…

Holding each others hands without pulling or pushing!

Helping a friend sweep their table!

Serving tea to thirsty friends!

Helping a friend up a steep hill!

Reading a story to friends!

Folding classroom laundry together!

Helping a friend move a table for lunch time!

Washing a friends muddy boots!

And helping a friend put their work away!

Spring is Here!

March 23, 2018 by Claire Lundy

It’s that time of year again! Frog Song is a special place for the children to experience spring because it provides ample opportunities to discover little signs of the change in season! Some of the signs of spring children have discovered on our nature walks are…

…new blossoms on trees!

New moss growing on trees!

Worms!

And of course, sunshine!

And sometimes we get to do fun things… like feed the chickens!

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For more information:
info@frogsongpreschool.org
503-475-9257

Here's a beautiful video of the Frog Song class taking a nature walk around the Dharma Rain property.

Interested in enrolling? Email us to be placed on our prospective list for fall 2026 and beyond. We are currently full for fall 2025.

info@frogsongpreschool.org · (503) 475-9257

Address: 8500 NE Siskiyou St · Portland OR 97220

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