Blog

Lower Elementary’s Week

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

A short but eventful week in Lower Elementary. The first and second graders started the study of reptiles, specifically a turtle. The first graders are examining the external parts meanwhile the second years are taking a look on the inside learning about the body functions.

The third graders received the lesson of interjections this week. They are very excited to have finished learning about all nine parts of speech within the three year cycle. Soon, they will begin the study of sentence analysis!

Upper El: The Instinct to Collaborate

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Maria Montessori noticed that, starting at age six, there is a shift in children’s focus from focusing on themselves to a desire to be surrounded by people. Group activity becomes very important to students, so much so that Montessori referred to the urge to work with peers as an instinct. Montessori elementary classrooms and curriculum are intentionally designed to foster this collaborative work. Elementary children have a great need to work with others on regular, organized, meaningful activities which have an end goal. In addition to providing space for students to exchange ideas and knowledge, this collaboration also provides regular opportunities for peer tutoring. Children help one another throughout the day and each child has a chance to use their own areas of expertise to help their classmates and this leads to greater understanding of concepts. It also has the added benefit of allowing them ample time to work on their social skills throughout the day. Our Upper El classroom is bursting with authentic peer collaboration in all subject areas.

We made the most of our short week with collaborative work on vocabulary, comprehension, zoology, math, and grammar. After participating in small or large group lessons, students collaborated on their follow-up work in each subject area. Even when students are working on perfecting individual skills, they don’t hesitate to step in and help a friend when needed, in fact they enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to help others.

Mrs. Doyle: Amazing Africa

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Each time we study a new continent, we first find it on the globe of the world, then we locate the continent on the world map, and lastly, we study the individual continent, using the specific continent maps. Currently, the children are learning about the continent of Africa. We learn about the geography, culture, weather, animals, and people of Africa.

We are learning lots of fun and fascinating facts about the continent of Africa.

  • Africa is the second largest continent, with 54 countries.
  • The longest river in the world, the Nile, is located in Africa.
  • Over one thousand languages are spoken by the people in Africa.
  • The Sahara, the world’s largest desert is located here.
  • The highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. It is so tall that glaciers can be found at its summit even though the mountain is near the equator.
  • Africa is the most centrally located continent in the world. Both the prime meridian and the equator cut across it.
  • The world’s tallest animal, the giraffe, and the largest land animal, the African elephant are found in Africa.

This past Wednesday,  we celebrated the 100th day of school. From the very first day of school, the kindergarten children have been learning to count by 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 100. They spent the afternoon going to different stations that all revolved around the number 100. They drew pictures of what they would like when they were 100, what they would buy with $100, what they wished they had a hundred of, made a 100 headband and then played a game called Race to 100.  They even did 100 exercises and learned how hard it was to sit quietly for 100 seconds. The highlight was bringing home a delicious 100th day of school snack provided by Meg Zeruk.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Lopes: 100 Days and Counting…

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

On Wednesday of this week we celebrated our 100th day of school!  It is unbelievable to think 100 days in our school year have already passed, but we are so grateful to have spent them watching your children grow and learn.  To celebrate the occasion, our Kindergarten children engaged in several 100 themed activities.  These activities included making a 100 day headband, drawing a portrait of themselves 100 years old, and what they would buy with $100.

We also enjoyed our delayed Valentine’s celebration on Wednesday!  The kids thoroughly enjoyed passing out the valentines they made for each other, as well as sharing in a special Valentine snack of fruit and cookies.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered to contribute food and supplies to make our celebration such a success.  It is very much appreciated!

Just a reminder, next Wednesday, March 2nd, is Read Across America Day/Pajama Day.  On Wednesday, the children are welcome to wear their pajamas to school and bring their favorite book and stuffed animal with them.  

Wishing you a peaceful week,

Amanda and Heather

Mrs. Wilson: Celebrating The Ones We Love!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

Thank you all for your time during our parent-teacher conferences. I really enjoy spending our short time together talking with you about your child’s life at school. I hope you enjoyed the long weekend with your children.

Last week we had lots to celebrate. We celebrated another friend’s birthday and Valentine’s Day. The children seem to be very excited to pass out their Valentines to their friends and enjoy some delicious treats as well. One of our special snacks that the children ate was an “apple donut”. This snack was prepared for the children as a food prep activity. They practiced spreading sunbutter on the apple slice, then spooning rainbow sprinkles on top. It seemed to me that everyone that wanted one really did enjoy it.

Thank you to all for your support in helping to make the celebration special. Also for our very own special valentines!

Mrs. Semmah: Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of LOVE. A day when we may honor other beautiful values that make human life wonderful. Like selflessness, friendship, and affection.

In our classroom, we did many crafts including hearts painting on canvas using pompon, dye coffee filters valentine heart craft, and children’s thoughts about the meaning of love. We also read some books that emphasize the notion of love.

On Tuesday we enjoyed a belated classroom Valentine’s celebration! We had a special Valentine’s snack of fruit and heart cookies. The children enjoyed giving out the special valentines they made for each other.

Many thanks and appreciation to everyone for the food the supplies contributions and for making this celebration a success.

Read Across America Day/Pajama Day is this coming Wednesday, March 2nd. The children are encouraged to wear their favorite pajamas to school and bring in their favorite book and stuffed animal.

Peace and love for all.

Kaoutar and Sara

Middle School: Better Together

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

 

Like every other month of the year, February is a time for celebrating each other. February might be the last cold month before signs of spring and warmth start to emerge. Sometimes we are weary in February and ready for a seasonal change, but there is no better time to be together. Valentine’s Day is in the middle of February and is a reminder to some of the love that exists for each other and ourselves. February is also Black History Month, a time that we highlight and celebrate brilliant and creative Black minds that have helped form and contribute to our nation.

At FWM, we spent February sharing and spreading the love. First of all, the 8th grade leadership team launched their Give A Little Love fundraiser for three causes they felt were important to support. They researched and created material for the community with regards to the following causes: Give the Gift of Hunger Relief; Equip A Medic, Save A Life; and, Provide A Safe Place for Exploited Children. Through their virtual fundraiser with Alternative Gifts International and dismissal collection on 2/16, they raised a total of $2,330, which surpassed their $1,500 goal! The generous FWM community has shown that, together, we can truly spread love.

Other ways we have worked together to support and celebrate each other this month:

  • Weekly whole group advisories
  • Valentine’s Day celebration
  • MS Basketball Game
  • Friday Morning Gathering (led by 8th grade)
  • Collaboration in the classroom
  • Teachers participated in a Run for Refugees to support the work of IRIS
  • Black History Month features

We look forward to an exciting spring, together, in Middle School!

Mrs. Hood: Spreading Love and Kindness!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

“Of all things, love is the most potent.” – Maria Montessori

Humans have an innate desire to connect, to experience dynamic relationships with one another. At around 18 months, there are notable changes in cognitive skills that help real friendships blossom. The toddler becomes more consciously aware of themself and others. Watching toddlers making friends for the first time is truly a delight! In our environment, children show excitement every morning when they see their friends and even though some of them cannot pronounce their friends’ names yet, they point to their friends with a big smile on their faces, pat them on the back (or on their heads) and offer hugs. During circle time, children look to sit closer to their friends and they love walking while holding hands together.

Grace and courtesy is one of the most important areas in our Montessori curriculum. Grace being the outer expression of our inner selves as observed in body language and movements: facial expressions such as smiles, eye contact, tone of voice, inflection of the voice, body movements and the actual words used to express ourselves. Courtesy is the manners given for human interaction. Neither grace nor courtesy are instinctive. They are acquired. The desire to acquire social skills is a fundamental need in a child in order for them to become fully integrated into their culture and fully adapted to society. In our Toddler level the constant, daily lessons in this area are used through intentional modeling rather than specific lessons presented, as children will encounter in our Primary levels. It’s truly amazing to observe how your children have grown in this area, despite their young age. It’s SO wonderful!

On another note, based on Valentine’s day, children had a blast preparing for our Friendship Celebration! They really enjoyed experimenting with shaving cream and food coloring to create beautiful marbled hearts to decorate their Valentine’s day bags, they practiced their food preparation skills by spreading sunbutter on a delicious apple ring and decorated it freely with sprinkles to create “donuts” and they seemed so joyful sharing their lovely valentines with each of their friends! During circle time that day, we talked about how hugs make our brain happy and it was just so amazing to see how each child chose a friend to offer a hug. We read and reflected on one of the most beloved books from your children lately called: Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer and we finished our morning with an epic dance party with heart balloons!

Love was and IS still in the air and we couldn’t be more thankful!

Enjoy the pics,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria