Blog

Mrs. Hood: Cluck, Cluck!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Exposing children to real animal life in the classroom is of great benefit to them. From touching, observing, and caring for them to understanding the delicacy and uniqueness of all life, the children’s focus sharpens and the sensorial experiences are absorbed by them in incredible ways!

This week we introduced the life cycle of a chicken! From using object models and matching works to watching a very short video of a chicken hatching out of an egg, children started to get curious about the topic of the week. Then we received the gift of 18 gorgeous fertilized eggs and we were supplied with a perfectly sized hatcher to watch the magic happening in front of our eyes! Children have been working intentionally to make sure the eggs are taken care of. They have the opportunity to turn the eggs very gently one time each morning! It’s great to see how careful they all are and the respect they show when handling the eggs! Children love to stand by the hatcher and watch the eggs quietly, hearing the sound, feeling the vibration and the soft heat that it emits. We are all so excited!

To add to the excitement, we were visited by two four month old Ameraucana chickens- their names are Shell and Henrietta! This type of chicken lays beautiful blue eggs. Children were in awe! They had the opportunity to pet them, feed them, and hold them! It was a great experience!

Thank you so much to the Heggland family for making all this happen! Your support to our classroom is incredibly valuable! It was so fun!

On another note, our beautiful hungry caterpillars have already reached the chrysalis stage and children can’t wait to see the butterflies coming out! There is magic all around!

Thanks to all the parents that were able to attend the Parent-Child Morning! It was great to see you having a nice time with your child and getting a closer glimpse of what happens in their Montessori world here at school!

Next week the children who will be moving to the Primary program in the fall will be visiting one of the Primary environments for 20-30 minutes and spending some quality time with our amazing Primary guides and some welcoming peers. A more detailed email about this event will be sent shortly!

For those who celebrate this holiday weekend, please enjoy!

Happenings & Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

Art Show on Wednesday, April 17th from 3:30-5:30pm.  Please come to the Commons to see Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School student artwork. Ms. Reid, the art teacher, will be present to answer questions.  Please park at Sand Hill Plaza -shuttle buses will begin at 3:30pm.

Pizza & Salad Dinner on Wednesday, April 17th from 5:00-6:00pm.  The Middle School students will be serving pizza, salad, and drinks to the community.  Please come support the students and enjoy a meal with your family.  To sign-up for the dinner please click here.  Please park at Sand Hill Plaza -shuttle buses will begin at 3:30pm.

Parent & Child Night on Wednesday, April 17th from 5:30-6:30pm.  You and your child are invited to attend an hour of educational engagement.  Parents/ caregivers will have an opportunity to learn about the different Montessori works from their children in the classroom.  This event is open to all parents in Primary through Elementary.  Please park at Sand Hill Plaza -shuttle buses will begin at 3:30pm.

All School Early Dismissal on Friday, April 19th at 11:30am.  No after school care is offered on this day.

Late Opening on Monday, April 22nd at 10:30am.   This is a Faculty In-Service morning –  there is no Before Care Option.

Science Fair on Thursday, April 25 at 8:30am and also 6:30pm.  Upper Elementary and Middle School students present.

FWM Summer Camp is OPEN for REGISTRATION!  Weekly sessions for summer program offerings for Toddler, Primary, and Elementary age children.  Register online at MyFWM.org under PROGRAMS.

1st Year Laser Cutting

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

Our 1st years have become my target group of introducing the beginning techniques of using our Glowforge (laser cutter).

 

We started with our acrylic keychains, moved on to a collaborative wooden memory game made from animals, and are currently finishing up a STEAM flower project with Mrs. Reid, our art studio teacher.

 

Laser cutting typically requires CAD drawings and vector files in order for the machines to understand where to cut, engrave, or score. Unlike other machines, I purchased the Glowforge because it also has an extra feature that allows me to use it with all my students: a camera! This means that students can put a drawing into the machine, and we can tell the Glowforge where to cut or where to engrave. This “tracing” feature is what our 1st year students are learning about.

 

Here’s our process:

  1. Research our design
  2. Sketch our design on white board tables
  3. Draw our design on paper using pencil
  4. Get feedback from peers and Ms. Ulacco
  5. Trace the final product using a black marker and a new clean piece of paper.

Once their black and white image is ready to be traced by the machine it is handed in and set aside for me to cut after class is over.

 

Please enjoy the pictures below of our process thus far! Bravo, 1st years!

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Insect Alert!

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

Insect Alert!

Flowers aren’t the only ones that come out of hiding during spring, after the cold of winter you’ll notice more insects start making their appearance. Curiosity towards these six legged friends hits a high note in April, and we take the cue to “follow the child” and their deep affection for insects. Over the next several weeks we will continue to support your children’s curiosity, exploration, and understanding of insects through hands-on activities, songs, lessons, and outdoor exploration. The intent is to encourage their interest in the diversity, beauty, and joy of nature.

Is a spider an insect? The children know, ask them.

Have a warm and wonderful week!

Cindy & Sharlene

 

 

 

 

Lower Elementary: Polygons, Angles, and Triangles

Posted on by Karen Sankey

 

In the Montessori classroom, our work with Geometry brings great enjoyment and satisfaction to the children. They are able to work with materials designed directly for their ages and for the aims of the lessons. They can use the materials for as long as they want. Through working with the materials, the children see relationships between the figures and can start to discover the rules of Geometry which come from these relationships. Although they won’t learn the rules and theorems of Geometry until high school, they are creating the demonstrations for them without even knowing it.

Our work in Geometry this week focused on polygons, angles, and triangles and each lesson used a material called the box of sticks. The first year students learned the difference between concave and convex polygons. Second years learned about adjacent, complementary, and complementary adjacent angles. The third year students learned to classify triangles by sides (equilateral, isosceles, scalene) and angles (right, acute, obtuse).

We have some field trip information for you. On Friday, April 26 we will be going to Loews Theater in Danbury to see the Disney Nature movie, Penguins. Children will be provided with a snack pack at the theater and we will return to school in time for lunch.

On Tuesday, May 21 we will be going on our overnight trip to Camp Jewell in Colebrook. We will return to school on Wednesday, May 22. In the past, this trip has cost around $170, with the cost depending on the number of children going since we divide the cost of the bus. Please do not send any money until we give you a final amount. We will have an informational meeting during the first week of May but please reach out before then with any questions if needed. We will also be sending information to you about the trip, including a packing list.

Ms. Kayser’s Class: Like a Caterpillar into a Butterfly..

Posted on by skayser

 

“Growth is not merely a harmonious increase in size, but a transformation” -Maria Montessori

My, has this year flown by. It seems like yesterday that the classroom was buzzing with eager excitement for what was to come. The students were all so unsure of what the year had waiting for them, but in a blink of an eye, they have grown into insightful, creative, and secure little humans. It is strange to look back at the pictures from the first few weeks of school and see how much they have truly grown, both psychically and intellectually. The beautiful change that has been occurring in our classroom is like that of the caterpillar into a butterfly. With patience we have sat back and watched these incredible beings learn and grow and ultimately, change into who they are today.

The children have luckily been able to witness this amazing transformation themselves, but through a magnifying glass. We have watched patiently as our caterpillars have grown, preparing themselves for the beautiful transformation they are about to make. This week our caterpillars have entered into the final stages before emerging as a butterfly, the chrysalises. The children have spent many days learning about the magic of this transformation, and are eager to see when our butterflies will join us!

Another special thanks to our amazing art teacher, Mrs. Reid, for a project that combined nature and art, allowing the children to explore and experience all the amazing gifts our world has to offer us. The children got to spend the afternoon outside scavenging for sticks, flowers, and other natural art supplies to use to create stunning butterflies. The outcomes were breathtaking!

All the best,

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Upper Elementary: Angles

Posted on by Brian Comstock

We recently spent time during our geometry lessons working with angles. The fifth years learned how to calculate the area of triangles using a formula after they had lessons with the materials for right angle, obtuse angle, and acute angle triangles. Next, they spent time making enormous triangles on chart paper and calculated the area of their own triangle to display in the classroom. The fourth years each used a set of tan grams to create congruent figures based on very specific directions. One set of tan grams consists of two large triangles, one parallelogram, one small square, one medium triangle, and two small triangles. They are looking forward to more future lessons with the tan gram materials!

Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

**Don’t forget to place your pizza orders for next Wednesday, April 17th!

It’s been another busy week in middle school! We started off with new electives. Frisbee Golf has returned this spring and is a great outdoors activity with some competition. Chess is also being offered and students are continuing to challenge each other in matches. Finally, a Game Creation elective is being offered. Students are developing rules, setting an objective, and designing boards and materials. In the end, they will all play their games with each other.

In Humanities, sixth years are studying the history and beautiful culture of Afghanistan. We are most focused on the country since the early 1900’s. They have learned about Soviet involvement and the Muhajideen, how religion plays a role in the country, and the origins and myths surrounding jihad and the Taliban. We are excited to begin Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai now that we have historical context for the novel. The seventh years are writing essays using specific examples from their last two novels to support the quotation by Joseph Lekuton, “…a man who has gone through hardships will be the most likely to enjoy success” (84). Finally, 8th year students are doing challenging literary analysis of Karen Hesse’s book, Witness, about a rural, Vermont town being introduced to the KKK in 1924. We are also reading about the historical references mentioned in the novel like the election of Miriam Ferguson, the case of Leopold and Loeb, and the variety of views of race in a northern town.

In Science, 6th and 7th years have continued working on their science fair reports and projects. 8th years have conducted several activities related to their unit on our solar system. Students have illustrated elliptical orbits, orbital periods, origin of our solar system, and a rap presentation describing the unique characteristics of each planet.

In Math, the 8th years will finish unit 8 this week and next week will begin their unit on quadratics.  In this new unit they will be solving quadratic equations, graphing parabolas, factoring quadratics, and will be introduced to the quadratic formula. The 7th years continue working with the Pythagorean Theorem and square roots of rational and irrational numbers.  Shortly, they will be introduced to the tangent, sine and cosine ratios.  The 6th years are continuing their measurement unit.  They have been introduced to area and perimeter.  They have also learned to find the surface area of prisms and cylinders and will soon be introduced to volume of prisms and cylinders.

***NOTE: If your child/children is not coming home the way they typically do (staying after for extra help, being picked up by a different adult) please make sure you email Michele Stramaglia in the office (mstramaglia@fraserwoods.com) and the appropriate teacher/advisor to inform them of this change at the start of the day. Thank you!***

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for 3 wonderful events on Wednesday, April 17th!

Art Show from 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Elementary and Middle School student artwork will be showcased in the Commons!

FWM Family Pizza & Salad Dinner from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Dine with us! Service and hospitality provided by Middle School students in the GYM!

Log in and place your order here:

https://www.myfwm.org/schools/myfwm.org/forms/?id=MTM%3D

Deadline for orders to be submitted by Monday, April 15th

Parent & Child Night from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Work alongside your child by engaging in the many Montessori works in his or her classroom!