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How We Montessori in Upper Elementary

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

The Upper Elementary classroom at FWM offers students in 4th and 5th grades a customized learning environment.

What do we mean by that?

The UE program is designed to have a smaller class size with a 1:15 teacher-student ratio. This allows for countless opportunities for individualized attention to each student’s unique learning needs and encourages self-paced learning.

In Montessori, the Upper Elementary Classroom is an extension of the students’ own world. The emotional aspects of being an elementary aged student play a fundamental role in the child’s development and in their day to day time in school. We help our students understand how to work, how to fit in, and how to be part of a community in a positive and productive way. At this level, we do not avoid addressing difficulties or issues; instead, we work through them. Our community meetings are an example of this. Led by the fifth year students and supervised by the classroom teacher, the whole class works together to solve problems and discuss issues as they arise in the classroom. Everyone has a voice in making the UE environment a better place to learn and grow together. 

The Montessori Upper Elementary program encourages students to have a strong sense of connection to all of humanity. Our students develop an appreciation of the contributions of their ancestors and of the diverse cultures and countries around the world. They are working to become well prepared to be contributing global citizens. Our goal is for each student to reach their fullest potential in all areas, so they can move forward with confidence in who they are and in their individual abilities.

News & Upcoming Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Thank you to all families who participated and supported our fall gift wrap fundraising from Meadow Farms! 

No School Thursday, October 29th – Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences Please refer to the email from your child’s teacher with the sign-up link.

No School Friday, October 30th – Faculty Professional Development – Montessori Schools of CT Annual Conference

Halloween Parade Drive-Thru next Friday, October 30th – 3:00-4:00 pm. Families are invited to stop by anytime between 3:00-4:00 for a drive-thru trick or treat. Dress in Halloween costumes or festive attire, deck out your car, and drive through our one-way driveway, stopping at various treat stations. Wave hello to teachers and staff! RSVP here! A BIG thank you to our event sponsors: CT Braces and Ingersoll Automotive.

FWM Cookbook Recipe Submission Contribute your family’s favorite recipe(s) to our school cookbook. Due to the current pandemic, we are unable to host our annual Global Culinary Night. As a result, an idea to create a FWM cookbook was shared by a current FWM parent, Raquel Kokkoros (Allie’s mom). Some of you may remember Raquel’s delicious street corn dish that she shared at last year’s Global Culinary Night. Great idea we thought! Let’s invite current parents, grandparents, alumni, faculty, and staff to contribute a recipe to our cookbook. We have heard from alumni families that they are still using the FWM cookbook that was last published in 2004! Click here to log in and submit recipes. Group Name: fwmontessori & Password: kitchen87. The deadline to submit recipes is November 30th.

Primary Obstacle Course

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

The Primary students enjoyed an obstacle course comprised of gymnastics mats, hoops, noodles, an agility ladder, and a balance beam.  The obstacle course helped students practice their gross motor skills. They were jumping in and out of hoops, zig-zagging through noodles, performing a forward roll on an inclined mat, walking on a balance beam, crawling under a bridge, and tip-toeing through the agility ladder.  We started the classes with a moving train run around the soccer field followed by a 10 minute pumpkin tag warm-up using pool noodles. We cooled down with fitness exercises, yoga, and stretches at the end of each class. Throughout our gymnastics unit, the children are enhancing their social skills, developing strength and coordination, and gaining self-esteem and confidence.

During each class, the children practice learning skills. We practice observing, waiting our turn, and following directions.  Improving all of these skill areas is helpful for those children still learning how their bodies move. Our lessons help them become more comfortable and happy with themselves as they continue to grow.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: 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, 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.  This year we can’t clean and roast the pumpkin seeds so we are relying on our memories of what pumpkin tastes like. In Math, we were faced with the very difficult question of how do 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.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Lizette

Microscopic Watercolor Paintings!

Posted on by Jen Reid

Middle School students created vibrant works of art inspired by life under the microscope! This project encouraged students to realize the many ways in which Science and Art can connect: both artists and scientists closely examine their subjects in an attempt to understand and describe the complex world around us. Artistically, our focus was composition arrangement, pattern making, and color theory.

Each middle school artist began by looking at microscopic plant images and other cellular references for shape and pattern inspiration for their artwork. While planning their composition, we reviewed and discussed Art vocabulary and concepts pertaining to this project, such as organic vs. geometric shapes, balance, contrast, repetition, and space. After sketching out their imagined microscopic world in pencil, they then traced their design with sharpie. Students then chose an analogous color scheme (groups of 3-4 colors that are next to each other on the color wheel) and filled in their composition using various watercolor techniques. Each finished painting is a striking sight of complex organic forms and vibrant color!

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: The Three Period Lesson

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Maria Montessori described the developmental brain of the young child as the “absorbent mind” because of their ability to retain great deals of information during the early years.  She designed the three period lesson to utilize their brain development and interests to help move children from the introduction of a concept to retention.  When we introduce new concepts or materials to the children in our classroom, we often do so using a three-period lesson.

Period One is the introduction stage. In this stage we are isolating new vocabulary to the children. For example, if we are introducing the color tablets, we say, “This is blue.”  Repeating that statement and allowing the child to manipulate the blue color tablet are crucial during this stage.

Period Two is all about association and recognition. It is often a separate lesson. We do not ask the children to remember the vocabulary or recall the concept. We are simply reinforcing the concept taught in Period One. We use words such as, “Show me the blue tablet,” or, “Can you place the blue tablet on your lap?”

Period Three is the recall stage and the first time we ask the child to remember the concept independently. We ask them, “What is this?” when showing them the blue color tablet. We are careful not to begin Period Three until we know they are ready for success.

Every time a child masters a new concept it paves the way to move towards another one.

We are looking forward to meeting with you virtually next Thursday, October 29 to share all the growing and learning your children have accomplished over these last few months!  If you have any specific questions you would like answered during our meeting please email me before our conference so I can make sure to make the most of our time together.  Thank you in advance!

Best,

Amanda and Sharlene

Writers Workshop

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

We are diving right into our Writer’s Workshop lessons and the children are loving it! Our first unit focuses on writing true stories about our own lives; “small moment” stories. The children participate in a mini lesson and then spend some quiet time writing and practicing the new skills they are learning. This week the children have learned about how to stretch out their memories by magnifying a small moment and adding details. To help solidify this objective, we have been dissecting the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. We did this by finding a powerful part in the story, deciding what made the part powerful, and finding details and examples in the passage that proved it. After our mini lessons, Ms. Mary and I move around the room and conference with individual students, giving help and instruction where needed.

We periodically get together as a whole group and share our writing with each other; this is a favorite part of Writers Workshop for many. This year, our author’s circle looks a bit different in order to facilitate the social distancing guidelines, but that is okay! Some children shared from their work spots, and others wanted to come up to the front of the classroom to read. How incredibly wonderful is it that the children feel safe and respected, and as a result, want to share their writing with their peers!

Middle School: A Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Another beautiful fall week has closed, and we were lucky to enjoy the outdoors again. Fresh air has been good for our bodies and minds, and as we transition through the seasons, we will continue to enjoy it as much as possible.

Science

6th year Earth Science students are continuing their work on Plate Tectonics. Students are learning about the role that tectonic plates play in the creation of the rock cycle. Over the next couple of days the class will discuss the similarities and differences between metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks.

7th year Physical Science students have been doing daily activities representative of the different states of matter. Students are able to relate how temperature increases both the potential and kinetic energy of matter resulting in the transition between solid, liquid, and gas.
8th year Life Science students have begun their unit on Cellular Respiration. Students are understanding how our bodies are able to process glucose from the food we eat into usable energy (ATP) through cellular respiration. Currently, students are working on creating a visual representation of cellular respiration which includes glycolysis, Kreb’s cycle, and the electron transport chain.
Math
In Pre-Transition math class, students are learning how to use fractions to add mixed numbers in real world situations. This class can successfully find the perimeter of a polygon shape, add positive and negative integers without a calculator, and place integers/rational numbers on a number line.
In Transition class, students are learning how to order and compare decimals and fractions, graph inequalities on a number line, and add fractions without common denominators. This class can successfully convert amongst decimals, fractions, and percents; know and apply the substitution principle; and, they can round any number up or down to the indicated place value.
In Algebra class, students are learning about solving and checking linear equations from the form ax+b=c. This class is working through how to create a linear equation or inequality from a given word problem, as well as applying the addition and multiplication properties of equality and inequality.
In Geometry class, students have started writing 2-column proof statements.  This class has been practicing how to use algebra to represent an angle, give justifications for conclusions involving angles and segments, and determine the slope of a line if parallel or perpendicular.
As per the students’ request, Ms. Sutherland will be hosting an after school Math help session starting the week of November 2nd. Please stay tuned for next week’s blog as more information will be released about dates and times.
Math Joke: Why didn’t the quarter roll down the hill with the nickel?……………Because it had more sense.
Humanities
This week, all students completed a unit of vocabulary and, due to class-driven interest, discussed the current election with regards to the candidates’ stances on different topics. Topics ranged from the fundamental differences of the parties, to the definition of taxation, as well as changing immigration policy. Students are curious about all they hear at home as well as the media and ask for some basic definitions on terms they hear and the process of a presidential election. Information given to students is unbiased, respectful of both candidates, and uses information that is clear and concise. Students are allowed to express their personal opinions and engage in conversation with each other in a way that honors individual perspective without putting down any person or group of people.
The 6th grade Humanities class continued to work on descriptive writing using the poetry of Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson to identify forms of figurative language and imagery. Then, students watched a 40-second slow motion video of a shark leaping out of the water to catch a seal and were charged with the task of writing a descriptive narration implementing their skills of word choice, figurative language, and imagery that will give anyone a complete experience, through words, of the video without actually watching it. Finally, students continued their reading of Out of My Mind.
7th grade Humanities classes finished geography of the SubSaharan African continent and worked on their class novel, A Gift From Childhood by Baba Wague Diakite. They discussed proverbs as they apply to the memoir as well as the effects of colonization on a culture.
8th year students wrapped up Jamestown settlement and the Virginia Colony by focusing on the land. They learned about what it meant for different people: the Indigenous people, indentured servants, African slaves, and plantation owners. They drew and discussed their ideas of what the land looked like pre-Colonization and then compared it to the reality of what it looked like before European settlement (developed systems of roads connecting Nations, structures, farmland, etc.) which is the opposite of the “vast wilderness” that is widely portrayed (48-49, Dunbar-Ortiz). We then learned about the House of Burgesses and how land ownership decided voting rights. This eventually led to Bacon’s Rebellion, an uprising of the lower classes against the elite land owners. The outcome was the abolishment of both indentured servants and the headright system. It also led to slavery as the predominant labor force. Religion, the Puritans, and the settlement of Massachusetts Bay Colony are on-deck for next week.