Blog

Mrs Hood’s Class: Apples to Apples!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Skin, flesh, seeds, and stem are words that we can hear often in our environment. Every morning children arrived to the classroom with one mission: Check the apple on the observation tray! Our little friends have been so amazed at the changes. At the beginning of the week, they felt tempted to bite some of that apple, in fact, one of the corners was gone. But by the end of the week those cravings were gone! 😉 Conversations about decomposition have also been an engaging tool to develop language. In contrast, this week children explored a fresh yellow apple and enjoyed the taste of it.

One of the main highlights this week was working together in making a delicious apple sauce! Using an apple peeler, each student peeled, sliced, and cored a fresh apple. Then they helped by opening the slices, arranging it in the crock pot, adding some fresh lemon juice and water. There was no need for sugar or other ingredients! Our environment smelled so delicious and children were eager in tasting the results. 100% of our class ate every little bit of it!

Food preparation is one of the main areas in our Practical Life area of the curriculum! There are many benefits to involving children in food prep. Even the pickiest of eaters has been known to be more willing to try things when they have had a hand in preparing it. These works also help develop fine motor skills, build coordination, and create a sense of community, as well as increase knowledge of nutrition, science, and math.

In addition to this fun project, we used this opportunity to present a lesson on Grace and Courtesy. Two of our oldest toddlers worked into spooning some apple sauce into small bowls and serving the younger toddlers in Mrs. Wilson’s class. They felt so proud of their work. It was precious!

On another note, children worked this week in a special art project that will be exhibited in Oktoberfest this coming Saturday, October 5th, from 4-8pm at FWM! We really hope you and your family can join us! It’s going to be great fun!

Upper El Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

Upper Elementary students have the grand opening of their small pop-up café starting on October 18th. The name for their business is “The Happé Café” (it rhymes!)

 

Students took time in our MakerSpace and Art Studio to have a full cross curricular approach to finalizing their hopes and dreams of their coffee shop. We closed our eyes and tried to envision this small business and what the set up would actually look like. This created a discussion of signage, menus needed, necessary supplies, and possible merchandise for sale. We decided as a group to use the logo they custom designed as a team to create coasters that will be available for purchase. Both Mrs. Reid and I were ecstatic to introduce the students to the process of engraving, coloring, and perfecting a Glowforge’d tile!

 

More to come on our STEAM adventures at FWM!

Peace Day Ceremony 2019

Posted on by Yun-Kyung Kim

On September 20th, we celebrated the annual International Day of Peace. Fraser Woods as well as many other Montessori schools across the planet were united as ONE, singing Shelley Murley’s song, “Light a Candle for Peace” for the past 5 years in a row. The song for peace moves around the world throughout the whole day; “That our wish for world peace, will one day come true!”

Maria Montessori believed that establishing peace is the work of education. And thus, peace is an integral part of the Montessori philosophy.

Mrs. Wilson: The Apple of My Eye!

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

What a fantastic week we had!

On Wednesday your child experienced their first food tasting. The children used their senses to explore a red apple. The apple was passed around for them to see, feel, and smell. Then I cut the apple in half. The children heard new language as we talked about the different parts of an apple, skin, flesh, and seeds. Each child had an opportunity to taste the red apple. The children seemed to enjoy it as they were asking for more, more, more!

On Thursday our Toddler friends from next door shared the delicious apple sauce they made with us. Two friends came over and kindly served this special treat as our children patiently waited. This experience was a great way to teach the children about grace and courtesy. Thank you, Mrs. Hood and friends!

We sang The 5 Little Apple Song.

Way up high in an apple tree, (Hold up both your hands and spread your fingers for pretend apple tree)
Five red apples smiled down at me. (Hold up 5 fingers)
I shook that tree as hard as I could, (Pretend to shake the tree)
shake shake shake shake shake shake shake
Down came an apple! Mmmmm it was good!
(Rub your tummy in a circle motion)

See you all at Oktoberfest!
Mrs. Wilson,
Miss Heather, and Miss Sara

Middle School: Week in Review

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Another busy week in Middle School has come to a close! We enjoyed the beautiful weather the first half of the week at recess and felt fall really begin at the end.

In Science, 6th year students are working on creating a stop-motion video depicting how convection currents influence geographic features. This project is based on their current unit, Plate Tectonics. 7th year students are establishing the differences between chemical and physical reactions. We have been conducting experiments identifying physical characteristics of matter such as volume, mass, and density. 8th year Life Science students are finishing their unit on cells. Moving forward, they will be studying Structure of Life, identifying how cells help shape and form certain systems all around us.

Math classes were lots of fun this week. All students worked hard to demonstrate their best math skills and brought a positive attitude to class every day!
Algebra 1 has been practicing four new techniques to solve for equivalent equations. They have been building fact triangles to help solve for unknown variables. Unit 2 test is on Friday, October 4th. Happy studying!
Transition has been working on understanding how to use formulas, such as the Pythagorean Theorem. They created grocery lists on Google Sheets to practice working with a new digital organization system.  Also, students played a question game to understand what an open statement is.
Pre-transition has been working on rounding whole numbers, integers, and rational numbers. They are able to successfully convert decimals to fractions and vise versa. They have started to incorporate percent into their learning and will continue to explore this next week.
**As a general reminder, there is an extra math help session happening on Tuesdays after school from 3-4pm in Ms. Sutherland’s room. This is an opportunity for all students to get one-on-one support, go over quizzes/tests, and get homework help.
Humanities classes had a week full of material. It was a current events week, so Group B students presented for the first time this year. With so much going on in the news, the presentations were varied and interesting. 6th years began Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and had great, lively discussions about the chapters. They also worked on identifying nouns in writing and writing personal responses. 7th years wrapped up their presentations on religion and taught each other about Islam, Taoism, and Buddhism and their presence in China. They then traveled to the continent of Africa and are working on the geography of SubSaharan Africa. Finally, students drafted odes after reading Pablo Neruda’s, “Ode to the Apple”. 8th years read excerpts from Stolen Lives: The Indigenous Peoples of Canada and the Indian Residential Schools as they explore the background for the continued American Indian stereotype in pop culture and literature that stems back as far as the late 15th century. In doing so, they read parts of an essay by Charles Dickens and looked at artwork by George Catlin. This is providing context before we go back in time for our study of settlement of the New World after the Age of Discovery. We began the settlements of Roanoke and Jamestown at the week’s end. Students also began talking about the term cultural appropriation and its controversial “grey areas”. They looked into the topic on their own and watched a short PBS talk in class on the issue. We had great discussion surrounding this that I’m sure will continue throughout the year.
More to come next week!

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: The Three Period Lesson

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

When we introduce new concepts or materials to the children, we often do so using a three-period lesson. This is an important tenet of Montessori education and it helps to move the child from basic understanding of a concept to mastery.

Period One is the introduction stage. In this stage we are isolating new vocabulary to the children. For example, if we are introducing the color tablets, we would say, “this is blue.”  Repeating that statement and allowing the child to manipulate the blue color tablet are crucial during this stage.

Period Two is all about association and recognition. It is often a separate lesson. We do not ask the children to remember the vocabulary or recall the concept.  We are simply reinforcing the concept taught in Period One. We use words such as “show me the blue tablet” or “can you place the blue tablet on your lap?”

Period Three is the recall stage and the first time we ask the child to remember the concept independently. We ask them “what is this” when showing them the blue color tablet. We are careful not to begin Period Three until we know they are ready for success.

Every time a child masters a new concept it paves the way to move towards another one.

Beginning this week, our Primary teachers will be collaborating on the weekly blogs. Therefore, the written content will be similar each week.  Pictures for each classroom blog will be specific to your child’s classroom. Each Primary class follows a like curriculum and by aligning our classroom blogs, we can consistently communicate highlights in the Primary classrooms. More so, this platform is a wonderful way to share the beauty and wonder of the Montessori philosophy and materials with all of you.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Michelle & Jeannine

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: The Three Period Lesson

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

When we introduce new concepts or materials to the children, we often do so using a three-period lesson. This is an important tenet of Montessori education and it helps to move the child from basic understanding of a concept to mastery.

Period One is the introduction stage. In this stage we are isolating new vocabulary to the children. For example, if we are introducing the color tablets, we would say, “this is blue.”  Repeating that statement and allowing the child to manipulate the blue color tablet are crucial during this stage.

Period Two is all about association and recognition. It is often a separate lesson. We do not ask the children to remember the vocabulary or recall the concept.  We are simply reinforcing the concept taught in Period One. We use words such as “show me the blue tablet” or “can you place the blue tablet on your lap?”

Period Three is the recall stage and the first time we ask the child to remember the concept independently. We ask them “what is this” when showing them the blue color tablet. We are careful not to begin Period Three until we know they are ready for success.

Every time a child masters a new concept it paves the way to move towards another one.

Beginning this week, our Primary teachers will be collaborating on the weekly blogs. Therefore, the written content will be similar each week.  Pictures for each classroom blog will be specific to your child’s classroom. Each Primary class follows a like curriculum and by aligning our classroom blogs, we can consistently communicate highlights in the Primary classrooms. More so, this platform is a wonderful way to share the beauty and wonder of the Montessori philosophy and materials with all of you.

Enjoy your week!

Cindy & Sharlene

Be Internet Awesome

Posted on by Danielle Ulacco

When our students are young, we do our best to help them get the most out of the Internet while protecting them from the risks and downsides of the online world. As children mature into teenhood, our role shifts to helping them learn to make their own safe and thoughtful decisions as they navigate their digital lives. At FWM, we believe in partnering with parents and preparing our students to:

  • Think critically and evaluate websites, email, and other content online.
  • Protect themselves from online threats, including bullying and scams.
  • Get smart about sharing: what, when, how, and with whom.
  • Be kind and respectful toward other people online, including respecting their privacy.
  • Ask for help with tricky situations from a parent or other trusted adult.

This year, these efforts will include Be Internet Awesome, a multifaceted program designed to teach students in 2nd grade through Middle School about the skills they need to be safe and smart online. One of the resources, Interland, is a browser-based game that makes learning these skills interactive and fun – just like the Internet itself. Developed by Google in partnership with educators, researchers, and online-safety experts at The Net Safety Collaborative and iKeepSafe.org.

Smart, safe technology usage can enable students to help drive their own learning and help our school function better. We believe the Be Internet Awesome program will mark an important step toward our goal of ensuring that all our students at FWM are learning, exploring, and staying safe online, both inside and outside the school walls.

We encourage you to ask your student about what activities they are participating in and continue the conversation at home – and who knows, you just might pick up a few privacy and security tricks yourself!