Blog

Mrs. Lopes: Discovering Europe

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Last week, the classroom turned its attention to the continent of Europe. The children located Europe on the continent map and explored the animals that call it home. We also enjoyed several books set in Europe, which helped bring the continent to life and sparked curiosity about the people, places, and cultures found there. This study connects beautifully to the children’s growing understanding of our wider world and their place within it.

Extending Learning at Home

Pull up a map or globe together and find Europe with your child. Ask them to name an animal or book they remember from our classroom study. If you have any family connections to Europe — or enjoy foods from European countries — this is a wonderful moment to make those personal connections.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Week

  • Friday, April 24
    ⋅ Parent/Teacher Conferences. Time slots are available throughout the week — please sign up if you have not yet done so.

Ms. Handibode: Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

As Maria Montessori once said, “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.” Last week, that philosophy was very much alive in our classroom and on our campus.

With temperatures rising and days growing longer, the children have been spending more time exploring our natural playground. Daily outdoor learning supports healthy, active routines while giving children direct, hands-on experiences with the natural world. Our campus offers something truly special — textures, sounds, sights, and living things that no indoor environment can replicate. These early, regular encounters with nature help children develop a genuine appreciation for the beauty around them, nurturing their aesthetic awareness and deepening their connection to the world they live in.

Inside the classroom, excitement has been building around the eggs we have been observing each day. The children are eagerly awaiting their arrival, checking in with curiosity and care. Our kindergarteners have also begun their animal research projects, bringing real focus and enthusiasm to this meaningful work.

We were also delighted to welcome Morgan’s dad as our guest reader this week. He shared 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli — Morgan’s favorite — and it was a hit with everyone in the classroom. We love when families bring a piece of home into our community.

Extending Learning at Home

Head outside together and slow down. Notice what your child points to — a bug, a puddle, a cloud. Ask open-ended questions: “What do you hear?” or “What does this feel like?” Even a short walk around the block can become a rich nature experience when we take the time to look closely.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Week

  • Monday, April 20
    ⋅ Sharing Box and Flowers, Layla S.
  • Tuesday, April 21
    ⋅ Playground Volunteer, Sam R.
  • Wednesday, April 22
    ⋅ Guest Reader, Dhanishry N.
  • Monday, April 20 through Friday, April 24
    ⋅ Parent Teacher Conferences

This Week in Upper El

Posted on by Karen Sankey

“There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.” -Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder 

As I look over the images from last week, I am struck by the children’s joy. They are playful, innocent, and full of enthusiasm about learning and their friendships. They generously give their time to help others and are passionate about justice both in the world and in our classroom. During their lessons and independent work, they are focused learners. Over the past seven months, they have honed these skills and qualities, and as we enter the final weeks of the school year, they will reap the benefits of their hard work as they wrap up lessons across the curriculum. Go Upper El!

We began the week with a writing lesson on paragraph outlines for narrative writing. The students worked on this writing assignment alongside their daily writing prompts, which they created themselves. Each child has written a prompt for their classmates to respond to. We will work through the prompts one at a time each day until we have completed all 19. The children are enjoying seeing their prompts displayed on the board and are excited to discover how their friends respond.

In our geometry lessons this week, both groups focused on finding area. Fourths learned the formula for finding the area of a rectangle. I introduced this concept using Montessori area materials, allowing the children to discover the formula and then apply it to their own drawn rectangles. Fifth graders listened to the story of Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi – Radius and the Number Pi by Cindy Neuschwander.

In grammar, the fourth graders learned about reciprocal and reflexive/intensive compound pronouns, while the fifth graders studied nouns of direct address.

Our biology lesson this week centered on the vital functions of support and movement. We examined the differences between exoskeletons and endoskeletons and learned about the animals that fall into each category. We also explored the muscular structures of animals with both types of skeletons and how those muscles aid in movement. In the coming week, students will examine in greater detail the vital functions of support and movement for each animal on the evolutionary strip.

We wrapped up our week with a focus on serving others. On Thursday, we made over 200 sandwiches for St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen in Waterbury. Thank you to everyone who contributed sandwich ingredients, and a special thank you to Moira and Jeannine for your help in making the sandwiches, as well as to Teresa for delivering them to the soup kitchen! On Friday, Upper El students enjoyed buddy reading with their kindergarten book buddies.

 

Upcoming Dates:

  • Friday, April 24
    • No school – Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • Friday, May 1
    • Grandparents & Special Friends Day
    • Spring Concert
  • Saturday, May 2
    • Springfest

Mrs. Wilson: The Growth of Imaginative Play

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

At this time of year, we begin to notice a shift in the children’s play. As they grow, their interactions become more connected and intentional. While some younger children are still engaging in parallel play, our older toddlers are beginning to move into cooperative play—working together, sharing ideas, and building relationships through their experiences.

We are seeing the emergence of both symbolic and pretend play in the classroom. Children are using objects to represent something else, such as a block becoming a phone, or acting out familiar, real-life experiences like cooking or caring for others. At this stage, their play is often rooted in reality, reflecting their growing understanding of the world around them.

The outdoor mud kitchen has become a space for collaboration and creativity, with children preparing “meals” and engaging in shared storytelling. In another moment, two children sat together “watching a movie,” focusing on the same space and building a shared idea through conversation—an example of deep connection and concentration.

In a Montessori toddler environment, we value this type of play as meaningful work. It supports language development, social connection, and independence. Through these experiences, children practice turn-taking, listening, and expressing their ideas. They are also developing concentration, creativity, and a sense of belonging within their community.

These moments reflect the important work of the child—making sense of their world through purposeful, joyful exploration.

Food Tasting: This week, we tasted a familiar fruit, a ripe red strawberry.

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Ms Marissa: Weekly Update

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

We’ve been studying the life cycle of chickens in our 3–6 classroom, and it’s been such a special experience. We have real eggs in an incubator right in the room, and the children have been checking on them every day, watching, waiting, and asking the sweetest, most thoughtful questions about what’s happening inside.

It’s been a perfect fit with our bird study this April, making everything feel more real and exciting as we learn together. The children are especially drawn to the idea that these eggs will soon become baby chicks, and you can feel the anticipation building each day. It’s giving them such a meaningful, hands-on connection to what we’re learning about birds.

Mrs. Lopes: New Life Is Hatching in Our Classroom

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Last week, something truly special arrived in our classroom: eleven chicken eggs! On Tuesday morning, the children gathered around as we carefully placed each egg and began our study of the chicken life cycle together.

In the Montessori tradition, the natural world is one of our richest teachers. Watching life develop from egg to chick over 21 days invites the children into a patient, daily practice of observation—a cornerstone of scientific thinking. We now have a classroom countdown on the wall, and each day we explore what is happening inside the eggs at that stage of development. The children have been engaged, curious, and remarkably attentive.

This experience connects beautifully to Fraser Woods’ mission of cultivating compassion. Caring for living things—even eggs that cannot yet be seen or held—asks children to practice responsibility, gentleness, and patience. These are quiet but powerful lessons.

Extending Learning at Home

Talk with your child about what they observed last week and what they are watching for each day. Ask questions like: What do you think is happening inside the egg today? How many days do we have left? You can also explore simple books or videos about chicken development together to deepen their understanding of the life cycle.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Week

  • Monday, April 20 through Friday, April 24
    ⋅ Parent Teacher Conferences
  • Friday, April 24
    ⋅ No School – Parent Teacher Conferences

Planting, Playing and Growing with Ms. Mollie’s Class!

Posted on by Mollie Smith

Planting, Playing, and Growing

Spring has brought such a beautiful sense of rejuvenation to our classroom. The children have been fully immersed in the rhythms of the season, planting, exploring, and discovering the wonders of growth all around them. We’ve been getting our hands in the soil, learning about roots, shoots, and flowers, and watching with curiosity and care as new life begins to emerge.

Outdoor time has been especially joyful this week. The sunshine has invited us into longer stretches of play, where imagination takes the lead—turning simple moments into rich stories and shared adventures. There is something so special about watching children connect with nature and each other in these unstructured, meaningful ways.

One particularly exciting moment in our classroom was witnessing our Guppy Fish give live birth! The children were captivated, observing closely and asking thoughtful questions. Experiences like this spark such a natural sense of wonder and help deepen their understanding of the living world around them.
As we continue through the season, we look forward to nurturing this sense of curiosity, growth, and connection both in our classroom and in each child.

With Full Hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

Ms. Handibode: Sowing Seeds of Compassion

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Maria Montessori believed that children are the key to peace and empathy among humanity—and last week, our classroom offered a beautiful illustration of that belief in action.

Flower arranging is a work in our Practical Life area, and it is far more than it appears. While it builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, its deeper purpose is to give children a sense of ownership over their environment and a tender way to contribute to the community around them. When a child arranges flowers and places them on a table for others to enjoy, they are stepping—even briefly—outside of their own needs and into the world of care for others. This is empathy in its earliest, most genuine form.

Last week, we also welcomed nine chicken eggs into our classroom incubator. Each day, the children learned about the development taking place inside the eggs, and the countdown to hatching created a wonderful sense of shared anticipation and responsibility. The eggs are expected to hatch in 21 days.

We also had the joy of welcoming Wilder’s dad as our guest reader last week. He shared The Berenstain Bears: The Bike Lesson and Paw Patrol: Mighty Pup Power, which sparked a lively conversation about learning to ride a bike—many children had wonderful stories of their own to tell.

Extending Learning at Home

Compassion practiced at home reinforces what we nurture in the classroom every day. Look for small moments to invite your child to contribute to the family—setting the table, arranging a few flowers from the yard, or helping a sibling. These simple acts are exactly the kind of work that builds the empathetic spirit Maria Montessori envisioned.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Week

  • Monday, April 13
    ⋅ Sharing Box and Flowers; Birthday Celebration, Zaki K.
  • Tuesday, April 14
    ⋅ Playground Volunteer, Sasha J.
  • Wednesday, April 15
    ⋅ Guest Reader, Sam R.

Next Week

  • Monday, April 20
    ⋅ Sharing Box and Flowers, Layla S.
  • Tuesday, April 21
    ⋅ Playground Volunteer, Sam R.
  • Wednesday, April 22
    ⋅ Guest Reader, Dhanishry N.
  • Friday, April 24
    ⋅ No School — Parent/Teacher Conferences. Please sign up for a time if you have not already done so.