Blog

Upper El: Celebrating and Helping

Posted on by Karen Sankey

We had a lively week of celebrations, lessons, and sandwich making.

Our week started with an enjoyable day of Halloween celebrations. We began the day with a costume parade around the field to the amusement of the Toddler and Primary children. After our parade, we joined Kindergarten, Lower El, and Middle School for FWM Monthly, a meeting run by our eighth graders each month. After our meeting, we returned to our room for our class party. Thank you to all who contributed yummy treats for our celebration! In the afternoon we had a great time scooping and carving our pumpkins.

The middle of our week was packed with lessons and classwork. In Biology, we continued with our Vital Functions of Plants lessons. This week we learned about the needs of the plant. In History, students collaborated on research of Homo habilis. Next week they will present their research to the class and begin a class timeline of the evolution of humans. They will then work on research of Homo erectus. In Geometry, the fourth graders learned about key parts of polygons and the fifth graders learned to prove equivalence of a trapezoid to two different rectangles. Individualized math lessons were in abundance this week, as well as collaborative work on vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Perhaps the highlight of the week was the end. On Friday we spent the morning enthusiastically making sandwiches for the St. Vincent DePaul Mission in Waterbury. This mission “support[s] and empower[s] people experiencing poverty, [housing insecurity], hunger, and mental health challenges so they may recover with dignity and develop sustainable solutions for a brighter future.” (svdpmission.org) This is a monthly activity in Upper El and is work that the children love. Maria Montessori’s vision was of a peaceful world, created through children. With this in mind, we intentionally plan lessons and spend time teaching our students to care for the Earth and its inhabitants. Our monthly community service work helps students become caring, empathetic people who think beyond themselves and feel the joy of giving.

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” -Maya Angelou

Wishing you a beautiful, restful weekend,

Karen and Angie

Mrs. Doyle: Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides so many opportunities for the children to observe and to introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, pumpkin scrubbing and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like.  In Math, we were faced with the very difficult question of how you measure the circumference of a pumpkin. We counted the lines/ridges on pumpkins and learned why some pumpkins have more and some have less. We are experimenting to see if a pumpkin will sink or float.

On Thursday, October 20th, we were so excited to have the Botsford Fire Department return to FWM, to teach us all about fire safety.  The children asked very thoughtful and intelligent questions and had a great time learning about what to do in a fire, the equipment fire fighters use and even got to spend some time on a fire truck.  Last Tuesday, we had a small in-class Harvest Celebration where each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a popcorn spider hand, eat a delicious snack and turn our class pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.  Last but not least, meet Jack, our veggie skeleton prepared by the kindergarten students.  It is always so wonderful to hear the children say they don’t like this vegetable or that one and then devour all of it! All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us, to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children. We are very grateful and truly blessed.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Maria

Halloween Fun in Lower El!

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

Halloween was a fun filled day! We started our morning by joining Upper Elementary and Middle School friends on a parade around the field while the younger students watched and waved. We then celebrated by painting pumpkins in the classroom and coloring and tracing Halloween sketches! Later in the afternoon, we had a class party and enjoyed delicious treats! (Thank you to the parents who brought snacks in.) Mrs. Dufour helped out with a snack/craft activity, making Oreo spiders! The children were overjoyed with the festivities all day long.

Last week we started the study of life. Animals are more familiar to children than plants, and vertebrates are the most familiar animals. Throughout the year, first and second grade children will study five classes of vertebrate animals and third grade children will study five classes of plants in evolutionary order. We will learn about fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as well as seaweed, moss, ferns, pine trees, and flowering plants.

First year students learned about the external parts of fish. We started with a little in-school field trip to the Middle School science room  last week to observe Mr. Brown’s fish. Mr. Brown facilitated a discussion about the external parts of the fish. This week the children were introduced to classroom materials of fish.

Second year students also took a trip to the science room to learn about the body functions of fish last week. Mr. Brown reviewed the external parts of fish and then the children talked about what goes on internally. This week the children were introduced to classroom materials of fish.

Third year students learned about the external parts and body functions of seaweed. They were introduced to the classroom material and were thrilled to be studying botany this year! Thankfully, a classmate went to the beach and brought some samples in for us to observe closely under a microscope in Mr. Brown’s lab!

Mrs. Semmah: Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides so many opportunities for the children to observe and to introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like. In Math, we were faced with the very difficult question of how you measure the circumference of a pumpkin. We counted the lines/ridges on pumpkins and learned why some pumpkins have more and some have less. We are experimenting to see if a pumpkin will sink or float.

On Thursday, October 20th,  we were so excited to have the Botsford Fire Department return to FWM, to teach us all about fire safety The children asked very thoughtful and intelligent questions and had a great time learning all what to do in a fire, the equipment fire fighters use and even got to spend some time on a fire truck.  Last Tuesday, we had a small in-class Harvest Celebration where each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a popcorn spider hand, eat a delicious snack and turn our class pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.  All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us, to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children. We are very grateful and truly blessed.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Kaoutar & Michelle

Art: Kindergarten Planet Paintings!

Posted on by Jen Reid

In the Art Studio, Kindergarten artists created planet paintings. During the month of October, Primary students studied the Solar System in their classrooms, therefore, many students knew which planet they wanted to recreate right away, while others invented a planet of their own! We began by looking at planet images and discussing the colors and textures observed. Next, each artist traced a large circle template with pencil and then filled it in with the colors of their planet using liquid watercolors. We also discussed how planets have different surfaces such as rocky, sandy, cloudy, or icy and added salt on top to give the planet texture! Black tempera paint was added around the planet as the last step to show that our planets are floating in the dark space of our Solar System.

Mrs. Lopes: Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides so many opportunities for the children to observe and to introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like.  In Math, we were faced with the very difficult question of how you measure the circumference of a pumpkin. We counted the lines/ridges on pumpkins and learned why some pumpkins have more and some have less. We are experimenting to see if a pumpkin will sink or float.

On Thursday, October 20th, we were so excited to have the Botsford Fire Department return to FWM, to teach us all about fire safety. The children asked very thoughtful and intelligent questions and had a great time learning all what to do in a fire, the equipment fire fighters use and even got to spend some time on a fire truck.  Last Tuesday, we had a small in-class Harvest Celebration where each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a popcorn spider hand, eat a delicious snack and turn our class pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.  All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us, to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children. We are very grateful and truly blessed.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Amanda & Hema

Primary and LE: “Los colores”; UE: “ABCs”; MS: “Me gusta…”, “Partes de la casa” and “Dia de los Muertos”.

Posted on by Liset Ray

This month at FWM students kept working on their Spanish greetings and the calendar. In addition, they are improving their Spanish vocabulary. Students from Primary, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle School listened carefully to the Spanish books and songs and participated in interactive games that were displayed during class.

Primary students became engaged in learning the six basic colors in Spanish such as: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, anaranjado y morado through Spanish Montessori lessons that were left on the language shelves of each class for the students to practice for the entire week.

Lower Elementary students also learned twelve basic colors in Spanish such as: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, morado, anaranjado, blanco, negro, gris, café, rosado y crema. They learned these colors through Spanish Montessori Lessons that were presented in class and left in their classroom to be practiced during the week.

Upper Elementary Students put in hard work learning the Spanish ABCs and recognizing and separating the words into syllables which helped them to be able to read short stories in Spanish.

Middle Schoolers learned to talk about their regular daily activities, tell where they are from and what do they like or don’t like to do. They also learned how to describe rooms of the house and household items, indicate the order of things, and how to describe themselves and others. Finally, they learned how to identify people and things.

In addition, Upper Elementary and Middle School students learned about the Culture and History behind the celebration of “Dia de los Muertos” and how widespread this celebration is in Spanish speaking countries.

Mrs. Hood: Caring for the Environment and Visiting the Fraser Farm!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

And like that, October is gone and we continue having fun here at the Toddler level!

Last week we celebrated the fall harvest with our annual wagon ride and visit to our very own “Fraser Farm” located in our Zen garden which was transformed into a beautiful pumpkin patch for our toddlers to explore.

First the children were invited to ride in wagons all around the school, knowing that they needed to keep their eyes open for the pumpkins. Once we arrived at our Fraser Farm, children were ecstatic to run around and pick their own pumpkin. There were giggles and so much excitement! Children explored different sizes of pumpkins and worked hard to carry them around. We all had a great time! When the time came, every toddler got into their wagon, carrying their chosen pumpkin, and we went for another ride around the school arriving, at our classroom ready to celebrate by sharing some yummy doughnuts and apple cider.

A big shout out to our wonderful Middle School students who happily offered to pull the wagons for us. Also a big THANK YOU to our wonderful class parents and to all of you who helped with wagons, donations and volunteering. We are thankful to be part of a community that cares!

As a highlight this week, we introduced our students to one of the most beloved activities in our Montessori environments, flower arrangement. Dr. Maria Montessori introduced Practical Life exercises to provide children with opportunities to perform simple tasks that they have already observed at home. Practical Life exercises enable children to care for themselves, take care of the environment, and develop respect for others. Care of environment activities encourage the child to interact with the environment, exhibiting respect and love. These activities help the child form a connection with their environment and find a personal responsibility towards it.

This is a beautiful activity that offers so much to your child’s development. Through this exercise, children develop a sense of beauty, the mental task of sequencing, they learn to exercise the judgment of size and capacity in matching flowers to vases and in pouring water, also, manual dexterity as they need to fetch water and use different tools. This activity also indirectly prepares your child for botany studies in our Primary program and offers a great opportunity to work on independence and concentration. Your children LOVE it! We can’t thank you enough for your weekly flower donations!

On another note, we explored Dragon fruit for food tasting. What a gorgeous and interesting fruit! Even though it is quite flavorless, most of the children really enjoyed it and kept asking for more. So feel free to add it to your grocery list and enjoy its benefits, as it strengthens the immune system.

To end our week we enjoyed the visit of Mrs.T, a 34 year old turtle who is the pet of one of our students. Children observed and some were brave enough to caress and hold her. We love it when animals visit our environment!

Enjoy the pics and have a great weekend!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Bethann