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Mrs. Hood: Spring is here!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

I remember a couple of years ago, sitting by a small window and observing the gigantic icicles that covered my view. Then, suddenly I noticed how slowly water started to drip from the icicles on a sunny morning! I remember so clearly how this sense of joy filled my life! This was the end of my first winter in America, and since then, I have loved the hope that spring brings when Earth seems to wake up and become alive again! Longer, warmer, and sunnier days, windows opened, greener views, flowers growing, trees budding, birds singing, puddle jumping, and that crisp in the air are just some of the things that spring offers us and that we all appreciate!

Besides being my favorite season, spring offers incredible opportunities and benefits to your child’s development. Cognitively and conceptually, your child grows tremendously during this season when exposed to different sensorial experiences. They learn about different textures, colors, shapes, and sizes by exploring nature. In addition, they can begin to develop concepts about nature and the seasons, such as understanding that flowers grow from seeds or that the weather gets warmer at this time of the year.

Their physical development improves, too, as they can get outside more often and engage in physical activities for extended periods without the constriction of winter coats, mittens, hats, and boots! In addition, it boosts social and emotional development as it allows your toddlers to connect with nature and learn about empathy and compassion towards plants and animals. All those opportunities to connect with different children at a neighborhood’s playground are also a gift to them!!

To celebrate the return to school and the beginning of spring, the children worked on an art project creating a spring crown. Together we got to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring by talking and learning about all the changes we will observe in the coming weeks and, naturally, sharing some treats together and dancing our hearts out. We also spent longer outdoor time, and the children got to explore the differences in nature that are already evident! The children also enjoyed catching the rainbow game using a prism and catching some fun bubbles!

We can’t wait for all the fun we will have as we dive into our spring studies in this last trimester of our school year! Please remember to send your child with rain boots and coats as we will explore outdoors even if it’s softly raining, especially on warmer days. Puddling jumping is one of our favorite activities this season!

On another note, we explored raspberries for food tasting and enjoyed celebrating two 3-year-old birthdays!

Enjoy the weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Marissa

Middle School Immersion Week #1

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

It has been a wonderful return to school following spring break. It has been great to see all of the students and to be working on the amazing play they wrote: Toys’ Adventure. 

We started the week with a full cast read-through of the script. From there, the days begin with warm-up games, and then students work either on the stage blocking with Ms. Sutherland, building the set with Ms. Reid and Mr. Brown, or gathering and organizing props with Mrs. Lamb. The set is looking great, and the entire play is blocked. The teachers are impressed with how well the students work together and learn their lines. There is a lot of positive energy!

Next week, the Middle School looks forward to finishing rehearsals and performing LIVE for the middle school families and Fraser Woods community on Tuesday evening, April 4, at 7 pm, and another show for the younger students during the school day on Wednesday. We will wrap up by taking down the set and having our cast party on Wednesday afternoon.

Upper El Collaboration

Posted on by Karen Sankey

We have had a wonderful and busy week back from break, preparing for our upcoming Research Night on April 13th from 5:00 to 6:00. We will meet in the Upper Elementary Classroom, and the children will present their Ancient Civilizations research to you and their classmates.

This week, in addition to our regular lessons and tending our raised garden beds (photo creds to Mia!), we began an intense focus on our small-group research project. Upper El students have been engaged in reading and note-taking about their ancient civilization. They are divided into four groups, each learning about a different civilization. They are learning about ancient Greece, Egypt, Vikings, and Aztec cultures. Within each of those civilizations, they focus on the region’s geography, the people’s cultural activities, everyday life, and the political and economic systems. They have a research guide to help them in this process and are looking for answers to specific questions in each of those four categories.

This is collaborative work at its best. Each group of three to four students meets daily and plans their course of action for our research time. Some groups have chosen to research each category together, one at a time. Other groups have assigned a category to each student, everyone exploring their area. As they go through this reading and note-taking process, students learn how to record their sources.

After note-taking, the groups will each collaboratively write one paper, each person contributing to it. They will also each prepare a slide presentation and create a three-dimensional model for their presentation.

We look forward to seeing you on Research Night when this meaningful work will come together.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Karen and Angie

Lower El Research Night Information

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

You are invited to Lower Elementary Research Night in the classroom on Thursday, April 13th, 5:00-6:00 pm. 

The children have been working diligently on completing their research papers, posters, and presentation boards. The third-year students and returning seconds have done an outstanding job mentoring the younger children during this process. This will be a ‘fair’ event where students will stand at their stations, and parents will browse the classroom, stopping to learn about each project. In addition, the third-grade students will give an oral presentation to the group.

We hope everyone can make it! If you know that you will not be in attendance, please let me know.

Mrs. Wilson: Growth

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

It is so wonderful to be back from break refreshed and back to our routines. There seems to be a time of growth during these past two weeks. Some children transitioned into underwear; some developed more vocabulary and language skills. You can also see how happy they were to be back with their peers and teachers. They sure missed being with each other.

This week the children worked with Jenny to help create the class gift. On Monday, the children each help plant seeds. Throughout the week, the children help care for the seeds using a spray bottle to moisten the soil. Then they each painted a pot that would hold the herb plants. These will be part of the class gift. We can not wait for the finished project.

Food Tasting: The children tasted a pineapple. Although this may not be a new food for most, they still enjoy the experience of exploring and eating it.

Cynthia and Sara

Mrs. Lopes: I Sense Something Amazing in Our Class!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes


What the hand does, the mind remembers. —Maria Montessori

Every Montessori classroom has a Sensorial area, and it is filled with materials that help the child study their environment through their five senses. Maria Montessori believed that sensorial experiences begin at birth for every child, and by refining these skills, they begin to understand their surroundings. The sensorial materials allow the child to acquire concise information and classify things around them. They use their senses not only to create their own experiences and knowledge but also to help them figure out different impressions each sense receives. The child is, therefore, a natural “sensorial explorer.”

Each material in this area has a built-in control of error so that after an initial lesson, little teacher direction is needed. This control of error helps a child determine what needs to happen to complete the lesson successfully. The children can distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what they already know. Each sensorial material isolates one specific quality, such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, or smell. These materials emphasize this particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Many of the sensorial materials are also the basis of future mathematical concepts the children will learn.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Amanda & Hema

Mrs. Doyle: I Sense Something Amazing In Our Class!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

What the hand does, the mind remembers. —Maria Montessori

Every Montessori classroom has a Sensorial area, and it is filled with materials that help the child study their environment through their five senses. Maria Montessori believed that sensorial experiences begin at birth for every child, and by refining these skills, they begin to understand their surroundings. The sensorial materials allow the child to acquire concise information and classify things around them. They use their senses not only to create their own experiences and knowledge but also to help them figure out different impressions each sense receives. The child is, therefore, a natural “sensorial explorer.”

Each material in this area has a built-in control of error so that after an initial lesson, little teacher direction is needed. This control of error helps a child determine what needs to happen to complete the lesson successfully. The children can distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what they already know. Each sensorial material isolates one specific quality, such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, or smell. These materials emphasize this particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Many of the sensorial materials are also the basis of future mathematical concepts the children will learn.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Maria

Middle School Pi Day & Middle School Play!

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Pi Day!

On Friday, March 10th, the middle school students celebrated Pi Day (officially on Tuesday, March 14th). Grade 6, 7, and 8 students participated in 8 rotating stations in the common area to learn about the significance of Pi. We enjoyed a variety of engaging stations that included calculating the circumference of everyday objects, descrambling the digits to Pi, and constructing 3D cylinders with given dimensions. After our exciting activities, students listened to a read-aloud story of “Sir Cumfrance and the First Round Table,” written by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Wayne Geehan, and sampled a variety of real pie treats before heading off to our spring break vacation!

There is no official homework for math over the spring break holiday. However, it is highly recommended that students review past concepts and practice their basic math skills as often as possible.

Pi Day Jokes: 

1. Why should you never start talking to pi at a party?…………………. Because it just goes on forever.
 
2. What do you get when a bunch of sheep stands around in a circle?……………… Shepherd’s pi.
 
3. Why shouldn’t you eat too much pi?…………………….. You’ll end up with a big circumference.

Middle School Play

SAVE THE DATE

**The Middle School Play will be held in the Gym on Wednesday, April 5th, at 7 pm.**

The 2023 Middle School play, called Toys’ Adventure, is just about finished! We have spent the last two weeks developing the plot and writing the script after the Playwriting Elective developed the overall main idea of the play during the winter months.

The main idea was developed over the winter and was a long list that was then narrowed down.  In the end, the idea of a group of kids getting stuck in a movie was perfect for the production. It is loosely centered around the original Toy Story movie, which is a first for the MS production.

Character development is the next pivotal piece in developing the play. Who will bring this story to life? Each student had a chance to develop a character, whether it was to be played by them or someone else. This involved imagining a personality and appearance, how they will affect the plot, and writing examples of what this character might say. The magic comes in when each student presents their character. The rest of the class can contribute ideas, which then solidify their role. This year, we had integral characters from the movie Toy Story to be added. Developing the characters has been a favorite portion of the process for me.

Finally, it’s time to write!  We used Humanities classes over the last two weeks, and we used two full mornings to write. Now, Mrs. Lamb is going through each scene to ensure that plot goals are carried through, digressions are removed as much as possible, characters stay true to who they are supposed to be, and the play comes together the way it was originally intended. Students should have final scripts posted to review and memorize by Wednesday, 3/15!

We hope everyone enjoys their break and look forward to immersion weeks when we return! More to come!