Blog

Digging In: Ancient Civilizations

Posted on by Karen Sankey

I hope you all had a wonderful break and enjoyed the holidays with your families. We have had a happy and busy first week back full of collaborative work, individual lessons, and engaged class discussions.

This week we kicked off preparations for our upcoming research presentations during the first week of February with daily lessons on Ancient Civilizations. In Upper Elementary, we study civilizations to learn to see them as an evolutionary stage and to identify with the process of civilization. They learn to challenge the notion of a simplistic, linear progression of human development and they discover the most significant events of civilization. We explore the cultural contributions of civilizations and we hope these studies will arouse each student’s curiosity for expanded studies of civilizations. As we learn about the development of civilizations, we will explore how each group satisfied certain fundamental needs. We will look for ways they expressed basic human tendencies and will compare and contrast groups. Within each study, we will focus on geography, cultural activities, everyday life, and political and economic systems. Upper El students will be working in small groups, each group focusing on one civilization. Working together, they will complete their research in school. During the first week of February, they will present to their peers and I will record their presentations. The Ancient Civilizations group presentations will be shared with you at the end of that week. I’ll be sharing more information with you as we go!

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Hidden Treasures Everywhere

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

Children’s literature is a passion of mine.  I truly hope that each child who spends time in our classroom will quickly absorb not only how important literature is, but also how much enjoyment it brings.  Each month we do an author study, learning about the author and reading their books. Books are everywhere in our classroom and we read throughout the day. We have a book corner in our classroom, a wonderful spot for a ‘brain break’ or to spend quiet time with a beautiful story. We read a chapter (or two, or three) each afternoon from a chapter book.  Our older friends have both private reading and partner reading built into their day. When a child says “I don’t know what to do,” I just give them that well practiced teacher look and usually they say, “I know, I know, I can read!”

In our classroom, we call books ‘treasures‘ and we speak about how important it is to take care of our books.  The children love to hear how so many of the books I bring to class are the very same ones  from my childhood.  I saved them and shared them with my own children and now I am sharing with each of them.  It is an absolute joy to witness the impact of literature on every child.

We asked the children to share the title of one of their favorite books.

  • Elliot:  All the Lego books in the world.
  • Gregory L.:  The Magic Tree House Books
  • Harper:  Miss Nelson Went Missing
  • Julianna:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  • Mya:  The Bible
  • Anchor:  Dragons Love Tacos
  • Gregory G:  Lego City Fire Department
  • Lily:  The Going To Bed Book
  • Xander:  Bob Books
  • Carmen:  Paw Patrol Books
  • Greyson:  Construction Site
  • Landon:  The Noisy Dinosaur
  • Luca:  Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed
  • Olivia:  Baby Shark

Happy Reading!

Michelle & Lizette

 

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Copo de nieve

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Happy New Year, families! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and you got some relaxation and meaningful time with your families! We are thankful for all of you and for the joy your wonderful children bring to our lives! What an honor it is to see them growing and blooming right before our eyes! We want to thank you also for your generosity through your gifts and encouraging words! Ms. Maria and I love partnering with you through this adventure!

Your children transitioned peacefully after the break and they arrived eager and ready to explore the environment and all the new works on the shelves. We were also  given the privilege to receive a new member and his family into our toddler community this week and we couldn’t be happier.

As we have officially entered the winter season we will be focusing on bringing it into the environment and enjoying different aspects of it.  Water and its different stages will be a main object for conversations and sensorial experiences during this month. 

In the language area we introduced an object to picture matching work, focused on arctic animals. Children learned to recognize a harp seal, an arctic fox, a killer whale, a walrus, a husky, a caribou, a beluga whale, and a polar bear. In addition to this, children enjoyed exploring the solidification of water in the form of snow and creating a habitat for some of the animals introduced. 

At the end of the week children were exposed to creating art using ice cube painting, and oh boy! Most of the students really seemed to enjoy and immerse themselves in this sensorial experience.  

Also, this week children learned a new song in Spanish called: “Copo de nieve” by Super Simple Español. We used our beloved scarves to represent the snow falling from the sky and also practice some body parts in Spanish such as: cabeza (head), nariz(nose), mano (hand). As time goes on we will continue adding and practicing more body parts in Spanish.  We recommend you to add this song to your playlist and sing it with your little one. 

For food tasting children explored broccoli, and even though this vegetable didn’t receive a standing ovation, we can say that 99% of the class tried it and most of them really liked it. 

We are so happy to be back and can’t wait for all the fun we’ll have this month. 

As a gentle reminder, please bring winter outdoor gear for your child in a labeled reusable bag. This includes, snow pants, waterproof mittens with mitten clips, snow boots, winter hat, and jacket. 

Warmly, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Off to a Great Start!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

The holiday season came and went in a hurry and the new year has officially begun. Coming back to the classroom after our winter break is always one of our favorite times of the year.  The children are familiar with the classroom routines and often return to school ready and excited to learn!  We begin to introduce longer, more involved lessons and we see their academic development begin to take off.

This month our classroom travels will be taking us to the continent of Asia, the largest of the seven continents. We look forward to exploring the various countries, customs, animals, foods, music, and literature this culturally rich continent has to offer.  This week we focused on China.  We explored Chinese writing and how they use characters to represent words rather than letters.  The children enjoyed trying out some of the characters on our Buddha board.  We also discussed how several countries in Asia use chopsticks as an eating utensil.  We added a pair of chopsticks to our practical life area for the children to practice their skills.

As we begin this new year, we would like to wish you all a very happy new year and look forward to what the remainder of the school year will bring!

All the best,

Amanda and Sharlene

Non Fiction Fun!

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This week we kicked off our non-fiction Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. The classroom was buzzing with excitement!

Reader’s Workshop was started by reading the children both a fiction and non-fiction book and their job was to listen for any differences between the two. What they came up with was; nonfiction books had facts and information, unlike fiction books. Then, the children learned the importance of studying each page for detail when reading non-fiction books.

In Writer’s Workshop, the students began the new unit by partnering up and teaching each other all about something they are experts in. Here is what each student chose:

  • Dante- drawing
  • Gianni- frogs
  • Lola- pets
  • Matthew- throwing a birthday party
  • Cecelia- riding a bike
  • Henry- Mario Cart
  • James- Dragamons
  • Luke- football
  • Lulu- baking and cooking
  • Olive- going to bed
  • Stella- riding a bike
  • Maximo- Mario cart
  • Alessandro- building
  • Allie- Roblox
  • Olivia- taking care of dogs
  • Remy- horses
  • Jane- Roblox

Mrs Wilson: New Year New Lessons

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

The children joyfully came back to school and settled quickly into their routines. This month we are focusing on winter, the colors blue and purple, and one to one correspondence using mittens and snowflakes for counting. They were very busy and focused on all the new lessons.

We have been practicing putting on mittens independently by reciting the “Mitten” poem. The children really enjoyed the poem and requested it over and over again. In case they sing it at home here are the lyrics:

This is the song we sing in mitten weather.
Thumb in the thumb place,
and fingers all together.

With the cold weather here we will still go outdoors as long the temperature is at least 32 degrees. Please provide cold-weather gear even if there is no snow. It will help the children stay dry and warm.

Happy New Year!
Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara

Middle School: Come One, Come All

Posted on by Michelle Lamb
Welcome back to a new year at FWM! Both teachers and students were excited to return and celebrate the start of 2021. The Middle School teachers are incredibly grateful for your generous holiday gifts.
To kick off the school year, CARNIVAL DAY FINALLY ARRIVED! All middle school classes participated in a class Carnival Day activity on Tuesday, January 5. Each student created a unique game with rules, creative title, and full description. Students were asked to calculate the theoretical probability before the actual game day in order to predict the chances of winning their games. We invited FWM staff to join in our games and hope to have an all-school Carnival next year. Students created games that involved throwing discs, spinning a spinner, tossing a bean bag, randomly selecting a candy, flipping a coin, and knocking down cans with a tennis ball. The entire class period was filled with cheer and practicing our learning of probability in the classroom. Students recorded their results and presented a final Google Slides presentation with their experimental probability findings.  I am extremely proud of the students’ accomplishments. Based on the photos, you can see how exceptional the final games turned out.
REMINDER: There will no longer be Thursday Math help sessions after school on Zoom as we have incorporated this time into our weekly schedule. Students are given a 40 minute math help period on Monday afternoons to maximize time for one-on-one support.

Wishing Our FWM Community the Happiest of Holidays

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The holiday season gives all of us time to pause and reflect and to say “thank you” to the entire school community – parents, staff, and students alike. I have witnessed our FWM community come together as a true community family to celebrate and support each other, never losing sight of our purpose… the children. As we enjoy this time of family, friends, and celebrating, we want to extend our warmest holiday wishes to each FWM family in our community.  Thank you for entrusting your children into our care every day and for the support you have given our school.  

I hope you all have a festive and special holiday with plenty of time to relax and enjoy family and friends.

Warmest Wishes for a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!