Blog

Mrs. Wilson: From Pond to The Sea

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This year, we noticed the children showed less interest in pond life and insects compared to previous years. Perhaps the cooler weather or the absence of tadpoles played a role. In response, we decided to bring the sea to life in our classroom instead!

The children have been busy exploring coral, sea stars, sea sponges, and a variety of shells. They’ve also been learning about a wide range of sea animals—from different types of whales and dolphins to fascinating sharks. One child even taught the others how to “listen to the sea” by holding a shell to their ear, which was a magical moment of sharing and discovery.

Meanwhile, we are still observing the life cycle of a butterfly. The caterpillars are currently in the chrysalis stage. We expect them to emerge as beautiful butterflies in about a week, and the children are eagerly watching and waiting.

Food Tasting:
This week’s tasting activity featured garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas. The children examined both dry and hydrated chickpeas before tasting them. They then participated in a food prep activity where they spread hummus on pita bread. We discussed how hummus is made by mashing chickpeas and adding other ingredients—an engaging and delicious hands-on experience!

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature,”- Maria Montessori 

Every day, your children spend time learning, working together, and exploring our natural playground. Daily outdoor learning helps to develop healthy, active lifestyles and routines for the children, while providing them with hands-on experiences in our natural world. Our beautiful natural playground provides unique experiences to stimulate the children’s creativity and contribute to their appreciation of nature.

Helping children develop an appreciation for the outdoors is one of the significant benefits of regular outdoor play. The outside world is full of beautiful sounds, sights, textures, and life. Exposing children early on to the beauty of the world around them can be the perfect way to boost the aesthetic development of a child, allowing them to be more aware of all the beauty around them.

Here’s to rising temperatures, longer days, and the opportunity to spend extra time exploring the outdoors!

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Christine & Hailey

Mrs. Lopes: A Look at Our Week

Posted on by Amanda Lopes


“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature,”- Maria Montessori 

Every day, your children spend time learning, working together, and exploring our natural playground. Daily outdoor learning helps to develop healthy, active lifestyles and routines for the children, while providing them with hands-on experiences in our natural world. Our beautiful natural playground provides unique experiences to stimulate the children’s creativity and contribute to their appreciation of nature.

Helping children develop an appreciation for the outdoors is one of the significant benefits of regular outdoor play. The outside world is full of beautiful sounds, sights, textures, and life. Exposing children early on to the beauty of the world around them can be the perfect way to boost the aesthetic development of a child, allowing them to be more aware of all the beauty around them.

Here’s to rising temperatures, longer days, and the opportunity to spend extra time exploring the outdoors!

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Amanda & Hema

Ms. Handibode: Outdoor Fun

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature,”- Maria Montessori 

Every day, your children spend time learning, working together, and exploring our natural playground. Daily outdoor learning helps to develop healthy, active lifestyles and routines for the children, while providing them with hands-on experiences in our natural world. Our beautiful natural playground provides unique experiences to stimulate the children’s creativity and contribute to their appreciation of nature.

Helping children develop an appreciation for the outdoors is one of the significant benefits of regular outdoor play. The outside world is full of beautiful sounds, sights, textures, and life. Exposing children early on to the beauty of the world around them can be the perfect way to boost the aesthetic development of a child, allowing them to be more aware of all the beauty around them.

Here’s to rising temperatures, longer days, and the opportunity to spend extra time exploring the outdoors!

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Maria

Performing Arts!

Posted on by mkirk

Students continue to do amazing things in performing arts! These last few weeks have been full of rehearsals, performances, and most importantly, joy!

Primary students continue to do amazing work in class. They really enjoy working on their acting skills with a game called emotional statues! They are doing excellent work on their new songs for our spring concert which is next week! I am so proud of all the growth in musicianship and confidence in these young musicians!

LE had a spectacular Mini Musical performance during our Special Friends/Grandparents Day! The students also had a chance to show their final dress rehearsal to the school community! I could not be more proud of the hard work each of these students put into their show! LE has also been working on their music for our upcoming spring concert. They are so excited to share all they have learned!

UE and MS had an amazing few weeks as well! They put their hearts and souls into the final rehearsals and show, Finding Nemo Jr.  Each and every student beamed on the stage. The confidence and sense of pride these students now have from putting on this full-scale show is something they will never forget! These students are also working very hard to show you even more new music at our spring concert! Bravo to all!

Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

On Monday, the Kindergarten children spent time at Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury. We took a short hike through the woods to the Botany Pond. The children then had the opportunity to catch and identify amphibians, reptiles, and insects. We found tadpoles, beetles, newts, giant water bugs, leeches and salamanders. We observed turtles resting on a rock and fish swimming but this year we searched in vain for those elusive frogs. When we were done, we released any living thing we had collected back to the pond. We also climbed aboard a tractor for a leisurely ride. We were able to catch a peek of a beaver lodge and observe a hawk flying back and forth to its nest.  It was informative and impressive to speak with a Flanders volunteer, who explained how and why the beavers dam up a culvert each night. Walking back, several children shared what a great day it was! Flanders is open to the public, and we encourage you to take advantage of this amazingly beautiful nature center.

In the classroom, we have caterpillars which we have been observing all week. Today, one has formed a chrysalis! Our young scientists are eager to see what will happen next.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week, Christine & Hailey

Ms. Mollie: A Hopping Good Week!

Posted on by msmith

We definitely hopped into a good time this week! Our daily adventures around the Fraser Woods campus always give us a deep appreciation for nature and for its incredible creatures! We had the joy of seeing a Copes Tree Frog…..also known as “peepers” up close! The children were very curious about the frog’s sticky toes and why it was not green!! We read many books explaining camouflage in animals! Next week, the children are in for a wonderful surprise!!! We will have tadpoles in our classroom, which will help us to understand and see the life cycle of a frog up close!

The week has been amazing, full of great work, lots of learning, fun food tasting and baking, and most importantly, the celebration of a birthday in the classroom!

With Full Hearts,

Ms.Mollie, Ms.Lizette and Ms.Anabelle

Mrs. Wilson: Metamorphosis

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This week, we received our live caterpillars! The children have been observing them each day as they eat and grow bigger and bigger. We’re learning about the life cycle of a butterfly and introducing vocabulary such as egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and metamorphosis. It’s especially fun to hear the children confidently say “metamorphosis”! We’ve also been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle—my favorite book from childhood—which adds a special touch to our exploration and helps bring the life cycle to life in a fun, familiar way.

On Tuesday, a special guest came in to read. Thank you to Taya’s mom for reading to the children. They sure did love seeing all the ocean animals!

This week’s food tasting was corn on the cob—a new item for our tasting experience! The children explored the different textures of the corn, from the husk and silk to the kernels themselves. It was fun to show them how to shuck the corn, and we even counted together as we removed each layer of husk—there were thirteen pieces on this particular cob! After our exploration, each child had the chance to taste their own piece of corn on the cob. Most of them enjoyed it!

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara