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Celebrating Research in Montessori

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

Each year Fraser Woods Montessori School hosts a Research Night. Students share pieces of their extensive work with our community of students, parents, and friends.

Students create visuals, either artistically, by hand, or for our older students, digitally, as part of their slide show presentations. Our oldest students prepare thoughtfully produced reports reflecting their knowledge of the topic they chose to research.

At FWM we view the task of research as what Maria Montessori referred to as “Deep Work.”

At the Elementary level, your child’s day is marked by time dedicated to deep concentration and focus.  It is the “work cycle.” The last hour of the work cycle is often when we see children choose their most challenging work of the day and concentrate deeply. Children become absorbed in their work because they have the freedom to choose activities that interest them, and research is often at the top of their list.

Our Elementary students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th year recorded their presentations. It was a joy to see that, not only had the seeds of interest taken root, but that students had been given time and space to thoughtfully follow areas of interest and perfect them with story and art. Our Upper Elementary students took on the discipline of organizing and producing artistic models and information for their group presentations of ancient civilizations- Egypt, Rome, and Aztec. Our Lower Elementary students chose any topic that was of interest to them- animals, countries, and people. The information they researched and shared in their presentations and the visuals the children created are wonderful.

This year our Middle School students in 6th and 7th year did research surrounding the theme, Great Discoveries. Some of the topics are the Big Bang Theory, Stonehenge, and Nuclear Energy. The students prepared a written paper and a Google Slides presentation. Students hosted a Zoom presentation discussing their research and how today we still see the effects of the event. Each one was very impressive and impactful.

We look forward to our 8th year students who will present their Expert Projects in May.

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Little Explorers!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

‘The best way of invigorating a child is to immerse him in nature… it is also necessary… to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself a treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature” – Maria Montessori 

There’s no question that time spent outdoors in free, unstructured play results in happier, healthier children. They are calmer, more focused, and better able to regulate their emotions. Numerous studies have shown nature evokes creativity, imagination, and curiosity and refines cognitive thinking skills and problem-solving abilities.

In her lifetime, Maria Montessori observed that “when children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength.” Children, whose brains, bodies, emotions, and immune systems are still developing, benefit ENORMOUSLY  from regular unstructured time in the fresh air; especially in this age of decreased physical activity and increased screen use. This developmental need does not change even when the weather turns colder, but it takes a little more effort on our part to get outside.

Maria Montessori’s call to action was to immerse children in nature in all types of weather! And I encourage you wholeheartedly to listen to her words and enjoy watching the benefits it brings to your child and to you! 

Even though I don’t like driving in the snow, I am SO thankful for the big snow storm we had and for having a great space outdoors at our school to explore with each one of your toddlers safely! It has been so fun watching the children enjoying themselves in nature!  

As winter weather requires more attention to clothing, outdoor temperatures, and wind chill in order to prepare children for appropriate cold-weather play, we thank you for your continued support in providing the necessary items for your child to stay happy and comfortable outdoors each day! 

We can’t wait to “see you” next week on our Parent-Teacher conference scheduled appointment, through Zoom.

Happy weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

Middle School: Research Presentations

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Thank you to all who came to watch our 6th & 7th year scholars give their virtual presentations on Wednesday and Thursday evenings! Research Night was the culmination of a multi-week investigation into a topic surrounding the theme, Great Discoveries. Students used an inquiry-based research method to develop and support their thesis statements.

The expository paper included 3-5 pages of writing, in-text citations, transitions, an interesting introduction, and a summative conclusion. Skills such as locating reliable resources, word and sentence variation, organizing information, and paraphrasing were included.

For their presentation of 5-10 minutes, students were asked to use the research that was relative and interesting to their topics to achieve the answer to the question, “What do I want my audience to walk away knowing?” The visual component to their presentations included audio clips, video segments, pictures,  and some quotations relating to the topic. The students focused on their voices being the main focus for information.

The Middle School teachers are incredibly proud of the students showcasing their individuality in their topics. Congratulations!

**Snow gear is encouraged when there is snow on the ground! We love to jump in it, throw it, build with it, slide through it, etc. and want to keep students as comfortable and dry as possible when they come back inside.**

Research Fair

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This time of year is special because the entire class is focused on one common goal, completing their research projects. This common focus connects us as a class and allows opportunities for the older children to take a mentoring roll and help the younger children who are new to research.

The children were so excited the past few weeks as the anticipation of Research Fair crept up. They were thrilled to be sharing their projects with their classmates, who they love so deeply. The third-year students had their first public speaking experience, presenting to their classmates. They were amazing! Although it was optional, some second and first years wanted to present to their peers as well! All of the children worked diligently and should be very proud of their work, as am I.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Love Is In the Air

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

As Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, we thought we would ask the children what love means.  Their answers are sure to bring a smile to your face.  In similar posts that we’ve done in the past, we always say the world would do well to listen to these children. It couldn’t be more true with this post as well.

Anchor:  Love is people caring about other people.

Carmen:  Love is giving hugs and kisses to everyone.

Elliot:  Love is caring about people and sharing your toys with them.

Gregory G:  Love is always telling the truth because lying is not love.

Gregory L:  Love is giving something you really like to someone else.

Greyson:  Love is being happy.

Harper:  Love is giving people a hug when they need it.

Julianna:  Love is being sweet to someone.

Landon:  Love makes you feel happy.

Lily:  Love is reading books and having pillow fights with your family.

Luca:  Love is giving flowers to everyone.

Marin:  Love is not hurting anyone you care about.

Mya:  Love is sharing with everyone you love.

Olivia:  Love is when my whole family comes to visit and we all play together.

Simrin:  Love is giving hugs to everyone.

Virginia:  Love is playing with my baby brother and Christmas.

Xander:  Love is giving kisses to your whole family.

Don’t forget Parent/Teacher Conferences are next Thursday.  If you have not already done so, please take the time to sign up.  We look forward to “seeing” everyone.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace, love and friendship.

Michelle & Lizette

Preparing for Presentations

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Upper El students LOVE the snow, but the snow days on Monday and Tuesday of this week made finishing their group research projects challenging. The nature of this type of research depends on intense collaboration, so when we arrived at school on Wednesday, the young researchers were a little concerned about whether they would finish in time to record their presentations at the end of the week. We had a class meeting about it and, in order to preserve the integrity of the process, I reassured them that they would be given the time they needed to complete these projects that they have been so enthusiastic about, even if it meant postponing our presentations by a day or two. Our classroom has since been virtually converted to a MakerSpace, an art room, and a research laboratory. Observing their focus and collaboration throughout this process has been both inspiring and impressive. Bravo, Upper El! Look for the Ancient Civilizations Presentations to be shared with you next week!

The presentations of their slide shows and models is part one of their research of ancient civilizations. Part two will be ongoing for the next several weeks as we enter into our next set of writing lessons: Bringing History to Life and The Lens of History: Research Reports. We will be applying the knowledge they have gained over the past few weeks about their civilizations to learn about writing informational books.

Bingo Bowling in PE

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

 

The Lower Elementary participated in a bowling unit.  Bowling is the number one participation sport in the United States with 67 million people bowling annually. Bowling is a lifetime sport that provides many benefits for youth. The students participated in team Bowling Bingo. Students were broken up into teams of three. The game was played with a bingo sheet. Each student had one roll to knock down all the pins and had to color a bingo box with the amount of pins that fell. Students had to use math skills to calculate scores and also learned how to work as a team and compete together to achieve a common goal. They learned that bowling is a 5 step process: step, step, swing, roll, follow-through. At the end of class they had a chance to use scooters to crash and knock into the bowling pins.

Mrs. Wilson: What’s New for February

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson
“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

This month we will be exploring emotions, facial and body parts, and people from around the world. We also have materials throughout the room that symbolize Valentine’s Day. It is a great month to pull all of these together to create a love for the world around us. 

On Wednesday the children worked together with the teachers to remove the winter materials and replace them with the new works for February. The children take pride in being part of the changeover as this is their environment. When they saw all the new lessons they became eager to get started.

We had so much fun playing in the snow. The children happily threw snowballs at each other, but mostly at us.  There was lots of laughter as we chased each other around the playground. They even created a snow slide on a large pile of snow.

Please continue to bring in their snow gear so we can continue to have this joyous experience.

Peace and Love,

Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara