Blog

Toddler: Sensory Learning

Posted on by Sara Kasbarian

Our Toddler environment is like home and everything in the environment encourages sensory based learning. We focus on fostering this age group’s ever-growing need for independence, order, movement and language.  The children work independently, or in small groups, and are introduced to each material at the appropriate time for their individual development.

“The training and sharpening of the senses has the obvious advantage of enlarging the field of perception and of offering an ever more solid foundation for intellectual growth. The intellect builds up its store of practical ideas through contact with and exploration of the environment” ~Maria Montessori

A reminder:
The deadline for this year’s FWM sweatshirt is the end of the day on Monday. Order yours now! FWM Sweatshirt Order

STEAM: Jewelry Unit

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

Middle School students just wrapped up their STEAM Jewelry Unit this past week. Mrs. Reid and I, who teach the class together, were utterly amazed by the dedication and originality that our students demonstrated within their designs.

This unit started with an introduction to vector illustrations. We used vectr.com as our main program and provided many group and individual lessons to make sure students understood the ins and outs of creating within the website. Some students went above and beyond and used the Adobe Illustrator program (this is what “real world” designers use).

Once students finished their designs, this was the process:

  1. Share with a peer for feedback
  2. Share with a teacher for feedback
  3. Decide on final size and material to be used (hardwood, plywood, draftwood or acrylic)
  4. Share on Google Classroom
  5. Ms. Ulacco or Mrs. Reid send the file to the Glowforge (laser cutter).
  6. Assembly of jewelry if needed.

Students were so excited to take them home or give them away as gifts! So much so, that we had a hard time documenting the beautiful accessories! Hopefully most of them made it home for you to see. The photos in this blog show you a few of the designs that were submitted which showcase their individual interests, passions, and overall knowledge of creating vector drawings.

Lower Elementary: Working Together

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This Tuesday, our Kindergarten friends joined our class. It was a nice glimpse into what next year’s class will be like. They are such a great group of children and we thoroughly enjoyed starting to get to know each and every one of them. It was a joy to see students completely engaged and happy working with their future classmates. Our mentor students did a wonderful job planning work that was enjoyable and interesting for the Kindergarten students.

This week the children were engaged in History lessons. The first year children had the lesson of The Long Black Line. This lesson is meant to strike the imagination of the children and create a humbling feeling of the appearance of humans on Earth in the perspective of the vast amount of time that Earth has existed. The second year children had lessons on the Clock of Eons. These lessons introduce the sequence of events that resulted in the evolution of life on Earth, give the history of life on Earth, and introduce the interrelatedness of all organisms and the fragile balance that maintains life. The third year students had lessons on the Time Line of Life. These lessons focus on the interrelatedness of Earth to those who live on it and on the evolution of life on Earth.

We have begun our immersion week in our preparation for this year’s performance of SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL to be performed by Lower and Upper Elementary students next Thursday, May 9th at 7:00pm.

What is a Montessori Immersion Week?

Maria Montessori believed it is important to give children opportunities to understand the process of working together toward a larger goal and to immerse themselves deeply in meaningful work. At FWM, we expect a lot from our students during the week. We know that challenging academics will help our students get ready for the path that lies ahead. Because we are committed to the development of the whole child, we embrace the prospect to give students the opportunity to be creative in a different setting and to see each other’s strengths in a new light.

Art Studio: Notre Dame Gargoyles

Posted on by Jen Reid

In Art class, second and third year students looked at images of the beautiful 12th century Notre Dame cathedral and reflected on the devastating fire that ravaged the cathedral on April 15th. In honor of Notre Dame, students learned about the magnificent architecture and lively gargoyle statues that stand throughout the exterior of the cathedral. We learned that a gargoyle is a carved or sculpted mythical figure, usually designed with a spout of some sort that carries water away from the building. Not only are they designed to redirect rainwater, but they also have a symbolic purpose to keep evil spirits away from the church.

While looking at gargoyle images, students pointed out the various characteristics a gargoyle has, such as wings, horns, beaks, claws, and more. Each student was asked to design their own gargoyle that combined multiple features of different types of animals and creatures. After choosing their final sketch, students were given air hardening clay to sculpt their gargoyle. We began by forming the body shape, then attached the body part such as wings, horns, claws, and facial features using the “scratch and attach” clay technique. Once the gargoyles dried, they were given a quick coat of black and gray spray paint to give them a stone-like effect. Each gargoyle is unique and full of personality! We were so happy to make something in honor of the spectacular Notre Dame Cathedral!

Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

This was a loaded week! So much went on in our classes. The kids even commented about how quickly this week flew by.

In Science this week, the 6th year Earth Science students have been working on their unit, Earth, Moon, and Sun. Within this unit, students are discovering how Earth moves in space and how it associates with our seasons. Students created a short, stop-motion video representing key aspects and principles to each objective. The 7th year students are identifying the characteristics of waves. This unit informs students how a wave travels through or not through certain mediums. In order to facilitate these principles, students were able to demonstrate certain aspects of a wave using a slinky. Lastly, the 8th years are finishing their unit, Minor Bodies of the Solar System. Students have been working on identifying aspects of our moon in addition to the similarities/differences between meteoroids, meteorites, asteroids, and comets. By understanding more of the “small picture” within our solar system, students will better understand the “big picture”.

In Math this week, the 6th years are now working on transforming formulas.  They know how to find the area of triangle, but now they have to find the length of one of the legs.  They are given the area of a circle, but they now have to find the radius. Next, the 6th years will move onto graphing points and lines on a coordinate plane. The 7th years will conclude their geometry unit this week.  In addition to finding the perimeter and area of polygons and circles, they found the surface area and volume of prisms and cylinders.  They have also learned how to find the slant height in order to find the surface area of a cone or pyramid.  Their unit will conclude with converting areas and volumes within or between systems of measurements. Lastly, the 8th years will finish their unit on quadratics this week.  This unit included solving quadratics by graphing, factoring, and by using the quadratic formula.  They discovered that their answers can have two solutions, one solution, or no solution.  The class also solved systems of linear and quadratic equations.

In Humanities this week, 6th years continued reading Shooting Kabul, by N.H. Senzai. Connecting to the Humanities curriculum, we learned about the Islam religion as well as common Western misperceptions about it in a post-9/11 country. They are also watched a short documentary about the city of Kabul as it is today. Also in connection with the novel, we have been learning about racial profiling and bias. We have personally reflected and are becoming mindful of our own biases, recognizing them and moving forward. The 7th years finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell this week. They also had a rebellion and I was overthrown, leaving Humanities class completely in their hands. During this two-day experiment (which is deserving of its own blog post) students decided what to do and how to move forward. In the end, we reflected and I also gave them a play-by-play of what they did and said. It was interesting for me to see, and for them to hear, the roles they take on when they are left on their own devices. Finally, 8th years completed the first round of expert presentations and received written feedback for moving forward. I can’t wait for the community to see what they have done!

Have a wonderful and peaceful weekend! Don’t forget to order your FWM sweatshirt and RSVP for next Friday’s dance, hosted by our 8th years!

Upper Elementary: Garden Beds

Posted on by Brian Comstock

This week we followed the students’ enthusiasm that spiraled off of our latest botany lessons to build two raised garden beds. Both grade levels helped construct the garden beds near the back entrance to the school. We invited Mr. Robertson to the classroom to present the idea and brainstorm potential locations. We took into concern appropriate amount of sunlight, ease of watering, and high visibility as important factors in our decision making process. Our week also included a birthday breakfast for the April student birthdays as well as a softball victory over The Mead School on Tuesday.

Thursday kicked off the start of immersion week as the students prepared for “Suessical The Musical, Jr.” It’s going to be a fantastic show!

What is a Montessori Immersion Week?

Maria Montessori believed it is important to give children opportunities to understand the process of working together toward a larger goal and to immerse themselves deeply in meaningful work. At FWM, we expect a lot from our students during the week. We know that challenging academics will help our students get ready for the path that lies ahead. Because we are committed to the development of the whole child, we embrace the prospect to give students the opportunity to be creative in a different setting and to see each other’s strengths in a new light.

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Fly, Fly, Butterfly!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Fostering an appreciation for nature is a cornerstone of Montessori teachings. Dr. Maria Montessori was a strong advocate of integrating nature into the daily learning plan of all students. She believed that “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.”

After days of observing patiently, our very hungry caterpillars fulfilled their metamorphosis process and became beautiful painted lady butterflies! Children were in awe to see them stretching their wings when they emerged from their chrysalis. They also had the opportunity to observe them very closely while the butterflies used their tongues to drink the nectar from a juicy clementine.

One by one, the butterflies were released into our Zen Garden and we got to see them flying away! Your little ones were very excited to see the butterflies standing on their fingers or clothes. There was so much giggling and excitement! It was a great experience for all of us!

On another note, some of the popular works this week were the matching pegs and rings work, encouraging creativity while fostering fine motor skills and shape and color recognition; water transfer by operating a dropper; our new addition into the movement area – a walking beam; and our fun sensory bin using colorful cooked spaghetti! Oh how they loved the tactile and visual experience! Some of them also turned it into a gustatory experience! 🙂

Older children also enjoyed three period lessons using our giant insects. This week we introduced the praying mantis, the ant, and the grasshopper.

For food tasting, we enjoyed some delicious mango! Children were amazed at how heavy it was to carry one. They were also shocked to discover that the pulp was yellow and not pink as they thought and they all entirely loved the flavor! Another win for your list!

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: An Intention to Work

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

Retrieving a mat, picking it up carefully, finding the ideal space to work, and rolling it out provides an opportunity to practice gross motor skills and body consciousness. Everything that gets placed on the mat thereafter becomes the responsibility (and privilege) of the child working on that mat.

Montessori work mats delineate a work space as the child’s own and sets an intention to “work.”  Not only does the child know that their lesson is exclusive to them (unless they invite someone to join them on their mat), they also have the responsibility to put their materials away when they are finished, before they roll up their mat and signal the end of their work session.

Our floors have been a sea of rugs this week!  Your children have skillfully maneuvered themselves throughout the environment, careful not to disturb a friends work. I continue to be amazed at their growing control and respect for friends and the environment.

A gentle reminder to our Kindergarten parents that we will be visiting Flanders Nature Center on Thursday, May 9th. Be on the look out for an email with an additional reminder and overview.

Peace and progress,

Cindy & Sharlene