An exciting part of our week was creating the class “Who Am I” material together. “Who Am I” is a collection of Montessori biology materials used to learn about the different kingdoms of life; specifically, animals, plants, fungi, protists, and prokaryotes. As a fun beginning of the year activity, we made this material with a focus on the children in the classroom. This process started with the children answering questions about themselves. Next, it was typed up, and turned into a material the students can use during work cycle. Not only is the “Who Am I” material a fabulous and popular classification work, it also provides work in comprehension and fluency while helping the children get to know each other!
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Mrs. Wilson: Peace Day Celebration and Food Tasting
On Tuesday, September 21st we took part in celebrating International Day of Peace. Since this is an abstract concept for this age, we kept the activity very simple. The children took turns holding a “peace” candle while we listened to the Light a Candle For Peace song. The children asked for the song again and again.
Our apple exploration continues. The children have enjoyed the apple tree song that we sing during circle time. It goes:
Way up high (point to the sky)
In a tree (make a fist, hold arms together to make a tree)
(#) Little apples smiled at me (point to cheeks with a great big smile)
So I shook that tree as hard as I could
Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake (arms, fist in tree position shake back and forth)
Down came an apple, mmmmm it was good (rub tummy)
The children also participated in our weekly Food Tasting activity. This week they tasted a Macintosh apple. We labeled all the parts of the apple such as stem, skin, flesh, core, and seeds. The children started off by smelling and feeling the apple. They passed the apple to their friend sitting next to them. Then I demonstrated cutting the apples in half, one vertically and one horizontally so they could see the star. I modeled tasting the Macintosh apple and exaggerated how delicious it was, using words to describe how it tasted. Each child who was interested had a turn to taste.
This week we also celebrated a friend’s birthday! Thank you Riley for the birthday book. Your friends seem to enjoy The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen.
Enjoy this week’s photos,
Mrs. Wilson
Upper El, Week Three
It was a great third week (and first full week) in Upper El! On Tuesday we celebrated the International Day of Peace, celebrated by Montessori schools all over the world, by singing and signing “Light a Candle For Peace” with the help of our Music teacher, Francine Wheeler.
We celebrated three summer birthdays this week! Thank you to our friends for bringing in treats for us to share! I have shared the birthday google slides with each student so they (and you) can access them from home and read the birthday poems we write for each friend during their celebration as we progress through the year.
We finished our first chapter book read aloud, Because of Mr. Terupt, and started our second one, When You Reach Me. We love starting work cycle with a read aloud. It gives any children who are hungry after their morning recess a chance to have a snack and settle before beginning their work. Students are really settling into their regular work cycles each day. I have observed them collaborating on research projects, focusing intently on their independent work, and helping classmates whenever a friendly hand is needed.
On Wednesday we had our first Literature Circle of the year. Students were randomly divided into two groups, each group being assigned a book. We are starting with Wonder, by R.J. Palacio and Holes, by Louis Sachar. As a class, they decided they wanted to finish these books in seven weeks and we figured the number of assigned pages accordingly. At the end of the seven weeks, the two groups will switch books for our next session of Lit Circle.
This week we had our first geometry lessons and assignments. Fourth year students learned about congruence, similarity, and equivalence, and fifth years had a review of finding the area of rectangles, squares, and triangles. Everyone was given the choice between two possible follow up assignments and they have a week to complete them before their next lesson and assignment. This is the format we will follow all year. This gives students some flexibility and choice and helps them to develop time management skills as they balance each of their assignments from different subject areas with independent and cooperative work they choose to do.
Hoping you have a lovely, peaceful weekend!
Mrs. Hood’s Class: Apple Yumminess!
One of the main highlights of our week was our first lesson on food tasting. As children grow beyond the infant stage, they begin the journey to independence as toddlers. Many parents notice this change in their children when it comes to mealtime, as they begin to hear a resounding, “No!” when it comes to eating the foods they once loved and trying new ones. In order to help families, we have integrated food tasting into our toddler program as a way to ease children into the idea of trying new foods by teaching them all about the food and encouraging them to participate as a group.
This week we introduced some delicious red apples!
Children were really excited to see the food tasting tray covered, especially the second year students who are familiar with this routine. They knew there was a surprise and they immediately gathered quietly around the tray encouraging the first year students to gather as well. There were smiles and expressions of awe at the moment I removed the towel that was covering the apple. This fruit was presented as a whole first, then cut in front of them, presented as half, and then served individually. In our conversation, we included such adjectives as cold, big, smooth, red, and tasty to keep adding to our vocabulary. Children observed while I slowly picked up a piece of apple and placed it inside my mouth, tasting it slowly and dramatically, with the purpose of encouraging curiosity and expectation when it was their turn to taste. They immediately started to ask for their turn to taste it! They really liked it! This lesson is a favorite every year and we can’t wait to explore weekly all the different food items in our list.
As an extension of this activity, children also had a fun Sensorial experience dissecting an apple using an apple peeler and collaborating in the creation of a delicious apple sauce! With senses full of curiosity, children touched, observed, smelled, peeled, and cored an apple. The children found it very fun and interesting to use the handle of the peeler but their eyes really sparkled and the smiles bloomed when they started watching the skin of the apple peeling and falling on the table. New vocabulary such as skin, flesh, stem, and seeds were introduced. We then added some lemon juice, cinnamon, and a bit of vanilla to our crock pot and the smell in the classroom was just so amazing!
Some of the children had the opportunity to taste the fruit of the work of their hands and we can’t wait for next week to share it together again with the whole class!
We thank you so much for your support in providing food items for our class to explore. It’s a pleasure to team up with you and offer great and real experiences that your children won’t forget.
If you haven’t had the chance yet this year, I encourage you to visit an apple farm with your toddlers one of these weekends. They might surprise you and give you an apple lesson. 😉
Enjoy,
Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria
Mrs. Semmah – Peace Begins with Respect for Others
“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”
Maria Montessori, Education and Peace
Maria Montessori strongly believed in the children’s potential and capacity to attain peace on earth and for all. A Montessori classroom is a peaceful environment where children learn about the values of respect, compassion, and kindness through everyday interactions with each other and the adults in the environment.
Children are shown respect, so they learn respect. Children are shown compassion, so they learn compassion. Children are shown kindness, so they learn kindness. In the Montessori curriculum, we show an appreciation for diversity and respect for all cultures. It is possible to avoid or fear whatever we do not understand, and in the Montessori classroom, we seek to understand.
Following our yearly tradition at Fraser Woods, we celebrated the International Day of Peace on Tuesday, September 21st. We talked about the meaning of peace and ways we can promote peace in our environment. And quoting the children, peace is “being calm,” “being nice to others,” “playing together,” “sharing my toys with my sister,” and “giving a flower to Mommy.”
May children everywhere enjoy the peace and be our hope and promise for a better tomorrow.
Peace!
Mrs. Semmah and Mrs.Sara.
Middle School: Week in Review
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s been a busy week in Middle School, and we ended the week together with the 8th grade’s Fraser Woods Weekly News. It has been nice to go back to the live format, even if it is just for the middle school. Students mentioned the highlights of the week were model cells in Science class, learning about Geometry in Math, working on the egg drop in MakerSpace, celebrating a student’s birthday, gym class, and Community Advisory.
Looking forward to next week!
Math
In Transition class, students had their first quiz and were all very successful. This class has been learning how to convert powers into decimal numbers, multiply by powers of tens, and perform order of operations questions.
In Algebra class, students were able to conclude their learning from chapter 1, and next week we will begin chapter 2 in the UCSMP textbook. Students have a strong understanding of evaluating expressions using absolute values, how to use variables to describe patterns, and how to find the range/mean absolute deviation in a data set.
In Geometry class, students also concluded their learning in chapter 1 and finished the week with a unit assessment. This group of students understands how to recognize the use of undefined terms, find the point of intersection of two lines, and demonstrate distance between points.
Please remember to check Google Classroom and myFWM.com each day for daily posted homework and upcoming assessment dates.
Make Joke of the Week:
Did you hear the one about two thieves who stole the calendar? …..They each got six months
Humanities
In 6th grade, students completed their first unit of vocabulary. We discussed the importance of understanding the parts of speech as they relate to words and how to find similarities between words using roots. We also went over the phonetic alphabet and how to use it to pronounce words. Also, the 6th grade is working on a characterization assignment relating to their favorite character from Becoming Naomi Leon, their summer read.
In 7th grade, students began their unit on China. They first completed maps of the country, including its provinces. Next, they worked on learning terms that will be important to understand with regards to our Chinese history studies, as well as our studies of other regions of the world (ex: dynasty, republic, imperialism, etc.). Finally, they began research into one of the Chinese dynasties that ruled from about 1600 B.C.E. to 1911 C.E. Additionally, students completed their first unit of vocabulary.
8th grade Humanities students completed their notes about plot and conflict, and they applied the information to their summer read, The Outsiders. They also learned about irony- a popular literary device they often encounter. Students read O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” and are working on “A Letter to God” by Gregorio Lopes y Fuentes, analyzing the plot and the irony in the stories. Finally, students completed their first unit of vocabulary.
Science
6th year Earth Science students have continued working on their unit, Earth’s History. This week students worked on representing the preservation potential of fossils. Students were able to create their own resin fossils using personally selected items to place inside their mold before layering it with resin. Once the molds had hardened, students discussed what factors were a part in the formation of these amber replicas.
7th year Physical Science students, still in their unit Combining and Separating, conducted a laboratory experiment by creating and separating mixtures. To begin this experiment, each student was asked to create their own mixture based on corn starch, sugar, beans, pebbles, and water. Students exchanged their mixtures with one another, determining what methods of separation would effectively create original components of the mixture. Students determined certain mixtures were best separated using filter paper, boiling point, strainer, or tweezers. Upon completion of the experiment, students will be required to write a formal lab report.
8th year Life Science students began researching arguments on the topic of stem cells. Each student has been assigned to either be in favor of or oppose the use of stem cells. Students will be provided several days to gather pertinent information to support their side before we hold our Stem Cell Debate. The goal of this assignment is not for students to decide what is right or wrong, but rather to demonstrate effective research skills that support a viewpoint with supporting data and facts.
Mrs. Lopes’ Class: A Peaceful Classroom
” We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”-Maria Montessori
Peace truly begins in our homes and in our classrooms. The basics of peace include providing day-to-day environments which operate under an understanding of respect, where our children can freely share concerns, feel safe, be productive, and enjoy one another.
As is tradition, Fraser Woods celebrated the International Day of Peace on Tuesday, September 21st. We discussed what peace means as a class and brainstormed ways that we could spread peace. Some examples the children came up with were “Sharing my toys with my little brother,” “Helping my Mommy with the dishes,” and “Giving someone flowers.”
The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.” We invite you to celebrate peace by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope.
May we all work together to create a world where everyone everywhere is able to enjoy and exercise their right to peace. And may we all help our children learn how to carry on this important mission.
Wishing you all a peaceful week,
Amanda and Heather
Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Sing Peace Around the World
Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child. -Maria Montessori
Peace education is a basic tenet of the Montessori philosophy. In the 3-6 environment, studying the seven continents, including their people and cultures, provides a global view of our world. As Montessori teachers, practicing and teaching peace, kindness, and acceptance is a natural part of our day. Dr. Maria Montessori believed we should think of education as peace, not education for peace. She also believed that young children were our hope for eliminating conflict and instilling peace throughout the world. Dr. Montessori, as always, knew that lecturing children would accomplish very little and that to truly understand peace they would need to discover it for themselves.
Typically to celebrate Peace Day, we participate in “Sing Peace Around The World.” Beginning in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii, Montessori schools around the world sing “Light A Candle For Peace” for five minutes and during a specific time slot. So for 24 hours, this special song is being sung in a different part of the world by Montessori children. As with most large gatherings, protocols have changed the way things are done. This year, our children learned the song “Light A Candle for Peace,’ during their music time. We also played the song periodically throughout the day and watched a short video of children singing it. We eagerly look forward to the time we can all gather together to take part in this simple but beautiful tradition.
Wishing everyone a peaceful week!
Michelle & Liset