Blog

Four Weeks to Go

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Can you believe there are only four weeks left of school? This year has gone by so quickly and each student has grown a tremendous amount academically and socially. I’m going to savor every minute of these next four weeks with this amazing class.

Over the next two weeks, each Literature Circle group will finish reading their book and we will do some fun final activities with Home of the Brave and Bridge to Terabithia during the last two weeks of school. In geometry this week the fourths learned to find the area of acute angle triangles using three different formulas and the fifths learned to find the circumference of circles using the diameter multiplied by Pi. Our biology work focused on cotyledons and we learned how to determine if a plant is a monocot or dicot. We wrapped up our Work of Air lessons in geography by learning about the effects of wind erosion. We enjoyed looking at photos of some magnificent formations in the United States caused by wind erosion. We also learned about human contributions to wind erosion and the harmful effects it can have on the Earth.

Please send bug spray and sunscreen if you haven’t already done so. We are spending greater amounts of time outside now that the weather is nice for outdoor learning.

Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop!

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

Our focus in Reader’s Workshop has been on the study of story elements. The children have been learning that characters are the most important ingredient in any story, and when readers go on reading adventures, they pay attention to details to learn all they can about the characters on the way. Also, they are learning to think about the problem the character is facing and the way the problem was solved to consider the ending and what the character may have realized. Afterwards, they think about the lesson as a universal message we can all learn from the story, not just the character.

In Writer’s Workshop the focus has been on realistic fiction. This unit involves something they already do everyday- pretending! The children call on their imaginative skills to invent characters and small moment adventures, and then name them and put them into imagined scenarios. They are learning to get their characters in and out of trouble to give their readers a satisfying ending. In addition, they are learning to bring their stories to life by making their characters think, feel, talk, and move.

6th Year Egyptian Pharaoh Portraits

Posted on by Jen Reid

In Art Humanities, sixth year students have been hard at work on an art piece to go along with their studies of Ancient Egypt. Students have been creating a portrait of an Egyptian pharaoh and learning about the proportions of the face in doing so. To begin, we lightly sketched out an oval shape for the head and divided the face into sections using dotted lines as our guide for the facial features. Students then drew an elaborate headdress, known as “nemes” which were pieces of striped head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt, similar to a crown. Next, students traced all of their pencil lines with sharpie and added thick black lines around the eyes as well as other details such as jewelry and hieroglyphic symbols.

Lastly, we learned about how the Egyptians made paint using ground up pigments from rocks mixed with egg yolk as the binder, known as egg tempera. Students then made their own own egg tempera paint to use in their pharaoh portraits with a mixture of powdered pigments and egg yolk. Gold acrylic paint was also added to their portraits. Bravo, young artists!

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Caring For Our Environment

Posted on by Andrea Hood

One of the pleasures of watching a child grow is being shocked out of taking the mundane for granted. The most ordinary things that we seemingly know without thinking and can do without trying are, for the child, wondrous, new discoveries and engaging, joyous challenges. This includes the everyday routines and practices of life: preparing food, dressing oneself, cleaning, habitual courtesies, and more—these are for the child new, maybe daunting, exciting tasks that are visibly part of the human world and that are empowering to master.

This week we introduced two of these all time favorite, practical life activities: mirror washing and plant cleaning.

First of all, asking a child to use a spray bottle feels to them as such a gift, and while doing so they exercise their gross motor skills; they have to rely on their sense of balance as they make big arm movements to ensure water covers the mirror and to be gentle and precise enough to wet the one leaf to be cleaned on the plant using their hands to clamp down on the spraying mechanism all at the same time. Children repeated over and over these exercises while strengthening their concentration skills and seemed so proud of themselves when finishing their whole multi-step activity!

The greater lessons of this exercise are those of self-control and self-discipline. While spraying water can be a thrilling sensory experience, the child has an opportunity to understand the responsibility of the chore they are there to perform … for example, the spray bottle is not for use on the floor, on their faces (or peer faces), but rather, to clean the mirror or to clean the leaves on the plant. 

There are great benefits in the lives of the children when they are involved in caring for their environment. We encourage you to add these exercises to your list of chores your child can do! They will be happy to help you by maintaining a sparkly space at home, while also having fun! 

Happy spring cleaning!

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Bright Futures

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

I think we are all still slightly shocked that the end of the school year is quickly approaching. May is an amazing month because we look back to see all that we have accomplished and what we have left to do. Each child’s learning at this point is very much cumulative and continues to build upon all of the skills that have been mastered since August. A perfect example of this are the Kindergarten animal research projects the children have been working on for several weeks. We start this project in late Spring because we need a foundation of reading, writing, geography, science, and even math in order to be successful. I was ‘interviewing’ the Kindergartners for the About The Author section of their book and several other children quickly wanted to be interviewed. Truly, what they wanted to share with us was what they hoped to be when they were older. Their answers are sure to brighten everyone’s day.

Anchor wants to be a soldier who protects people.

Carmen wants work in a Target store and have a lot of meetings.

Elliot wants to be a a scientist, an astronaut, or a dentist. He is well aware that it would be impossible to do all three jobs and is happy that he won’t have to make that decision until he is either fifteen or eighteen years old.

Emma wants to an artist or a school bus driver and will decide when she’s a grown up.

Gregory G wants to work at a car dealership, selling Bugatti’s.

Gregory L wants to be a runner or a soccer player. He’s very relieved he won’t have to practice too much for either sport because he is already very good at them.

Greyson wants to be an astronaut because he loves flying and exploring.

Harper wants to be a singer who writes her own songs and music and then sings all over the world.

Julianna wants to be a veterinarian because she loves animals so very much.

Landon wants to work on a computer like his dad.

Lily wants to be a doctor because she likes to take care of people who need help.

Luca wants to be a basketball or soccer player.

Marin wants to be a teacher so she can help children make good choices and do the right thing.

Mya wants to be a ballerina who will dance in parks all over the world.

Olivia would like to be a mama because she loves her mama so much and wants to be just like her.

Simrin would like to do as much cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes as she can. She just really likes doing grown up stuff. She’s also contemplating becoming a teacher but needs to learn how to read first.

Virginia would like to be a mommy when she grows up because she loves her mommy so much.

Wilder would like to work in his dad’s building and earn lots of money.

Xander would like to be a doctor or a dentist.  He wouldn’t mind brushing other people’s teeth but really doesn’t like when he has to brush his own.

Wishing you a week filled peace and love.

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Wilson: Roots and Wings

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

 

It seems like only yesterday I was visiting so many of your homes. Here we are today with just one more month of school left. In this short time, the children have grown so much. Not only developmentally, but in their relationships with each other. I witnessed the most beautiful conflict resolution in all my years working with children. The conflict ended with, “Sorry, FRIENDS!!!! I love you, I love you. Hug.”  The other child replied with, “Sorry, you love me!” and this child had a smile that was so big and gave a big hug to their friend. Children are our teachers and they teach us every day that love is one of the most important gifts you can share with each other. 

In the month of May, we will explore birds, flowers, and pond life. This week we sang Two Little Black Birds. We changed the lyrics from Jack and Jill to loud and quiet, high and low, and fast and slow. We also played a game where I would pick two of the children’s names and they would become the birds. The children would stand up when they heard their name and fly away then come back. It is a great way for the children to listen carefully and follow directions. That was some of the best flying I’ve seen to date. The game-changer was when they anticipated their names to be called and I invited myself and Ms. Sara to become the birds. The giggles that came out of these children was such an incredible sound.

We changed our movement area by adding a place for the children to practice yoga. They can choose from 4 yoga poses or flip through a yoga book to copy the poses. We added a mirror for them to see their body move into the poses of their choice. 

The seeds that the children started are ready to be transplanted into the ground. We added some herbs and vegetables to our garden bed. We also have some miniature carrots started in a clear glass container in hopes they could experience the growth of the carrots.

Even though this was a four-day week it had so many wonderful changes. Speaking of changes, our caterpillars are now chrysalis and the children are eagerly awaiting their transformation.

“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Maria Montessori 

Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: April Showers Bring May Flowers!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

The quote, “April showers bring May flowers,” has always been my favorite way of explaining the weather during the early stages of spring. As we started May this week it felt like we had more rain than sunshine, but it is important to remember the beauty that emerges after the earth drinks up all that rain! As May comes into view, so have the colorful blossoms of flowers and vibrant green buds on the trees. Without those April showers, none of these things would be here for us, which is one way of remaining positive during those dreary, rainy days.

That rain also keeps us inside the classroom longer during our morning work cycle. Sometimes it is hard for the children to sit and concentrate without releasing some energy outside, but this past week has been filled with some amazing moments of focus and perseverance.  The children have been so engaged in their work, some days they forget about going outside and lose themselves in the activities around them. Their ability to work for longer periods of time just goes to show how much they have grown over the course of the year. The children are confident in themselves and excited to continue to learn and grow as individuals.

You could say that these April showers have made our children grow, and soon bloom, as we head into our final full month of the school year, May!

Wishing you a beautiful week,

Amanda & Sharlene

Research on the Benefits of a Montessori Education

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

Maria Montessori believed that our first duty of education is to stir up life, but leave it free to develop. She said that more than a century ago and today Dr. Steve Hughes, a neuropsychologist and a pediatrician who is also a Montessori dad, firmly believes that the Montessori Method strengthens certain brain functions that help expand cognitive development. Dr. Hughes claims that neurological development is strengthened by learning through the Montessori Method, especially the areas of social development and executive function. Skills like organizing, planning and prioritizing, starting tasks and staying focused on them to completion, accepting other points of view, self-monitoring, and self-regulation. In a Montessori classroom, children develop executive function skills through different activities such as: waiting, looking for material by going through a maze created by other students doing their activities on the floor, searching the shelves for work that interests them, etc.

Dr. Steve Hughes states:
“Montessori children are independent moral agents. They have self-control, advanced academic skills, empathy, and they understand complex systems. They understand that we are all connected. They know all human beings have the same needs, and they also know that whatever comes out of a smokestack is going to land on someone, somewhere they love the earth. They are attached to reality. They are tomorrow’s leaders and they will change the world.”

Please enjoy this short video of Dr. Steve Hughes’ talk on research that supports the benefits of a Montessori education.

Looking ahead:

Fraser Woods Montessori School Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year.

Reminder: We have no school on Monday, May 3rd.