May was an exciting month with fun and games played by all! Enjoy the pictures we gathered throughout the month.
We have enjoyed getting to know every student a little more each day. We wish you and your family a wonderful summer!
Best,
Mrs. Rebecca Faust
rfaust@fraserwoods.com
Director of After School
“Play is the work of a child”- Maria Montessori
The children put their gross motor skills to work investigating the larger playground that will be their very own next year. Gross motor skills work the large muscles that are important for walking, running, sitting and other activities. There were many new things to learn and explore that encouraged the children to use those large muscles! They enjoyed the swings, climbing rocks, more space for running and jumping from petal to petal. On their own playground they put their muscles to work some more, by climbing trees, running with dump trucks, balancing on the border of the sandbox and sliding! The children were exhausted from their all hard “work”!
In the classroom the children were able to have a tasting of raw broccoli. Most enjoyed (in case you’d like to serve it up)! Some words they used to describe it was bumpy, green, soft, and crunchy.
We have been talking about the life cycle of a frog, discussing the different stages of them (egg, tadpole, froglet, and adult frog). I was able to bring in some tadpoles for the children to look at. We have noticed that they have grown in the two days we have had them, but it is unlikely for us to see them change into frogs. So we will just enjoy them for now!
Upcoming Events:
June 4th- Field Day
June 6th- Bridge Crossing Ceremony-email to follow
There is so much focus in Montessori on fine motor skills, I think at times we can overlook the importance of gross motor skills, the development and coordination of those large, gross motor muscles and movements.
In our toddler environment gross motor movements include free movement around the room, lifting and pouring, practical life activities like mirror washing or table scrubbing, sweeping and dusting, as well as climbing, balancing on the beam, spinning in the bilibo seat, rocking in our moose, and on our well loved boat.
Maria Montessori knew how integral movement is to intellectual development. Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it. “Movement helps the development of the mind, and this finds renewed expression in further movement and activity.”
Children need freedom of movement too. We have observed that sometimes our toddlers just need to get outside and exert their energy, to run until they can’t run anymore. To laugh and to chase each other. To be free and just let it all out. To us this free time, this physical exertion is just as important as good nutrition, or a good book. We are thankful for a campus that fulfills the children’s needs in this area. From beautiful environments, to a huge and well equipped gym and from a beautiful natural playground to a large soccer field.
Running, skipping, dancing, hopping, or climbing a tree – using all those gross motor skills are just as important as taking a tray off the shelves and working at a table. Life skills, risk taking, fun, physical exertion, problem solving, critical thinking can all come from gross motor play. Gross motor work also lays the foundation for the use of fine motor skills.
A big Congratulations to the Smith family in their new beautiful addition. Cheyenne was born on Monday May 27th 2019 at 2:57 pm. She is 8lbs and 9oz!
Upcoming Events:
Field day – June 4th
Bridge Crossing ceremony – June 6th
On Wednesday, the third years got a sneak peak of what Upper Elementary will be like next fall. Some thoughts from the day were:
To wrap up our biology studies, this week the children are learning about mammals and flowering plants. In addition to learning the external parts of a horse, we also learned how to take care of one, the steps you need to take to ride a horse, and about the temperament of a horse. Thank you to the Paulos family for letting us visit their stables, everyone had such a blast!
For the past three classes in the Art Studio, Kindergarten artists have been exploring the concept of radial balance. We began by learning the definition of radial balance, which is any type of balance based on a circle with its design extending from center. We looked at a range of examples: a star, the iris in our eyes, a wheel with spokes, a mandala, a rose window, and a daisy flower are all examples of radial balance. We used words such as symmetry and asymmetry to describe the examples we looked at.
Students then created their own radial designs using pencil first, starting by drawing shapes in the center and then radiating outward with more shapes or lines. Students had the option to use shape stencils to assist in creating their design. Once their design was complete with pencil, each artist traced their design in black sharpie to create a bolder image. For the last step, color was added using crayons, sharpies, neon paint, and finally sparkly gems for extra pizzazz! Emphasis, balance, symmetry, color, contrast, space, and value were the elements and principles of art touched upon in this lesson.
It’s been a great week back after spending last week on our trip to Washington D.C. We were fortunate to have a wonderful tour guide, Dwight, who was incredibly knowledgeable of the city and its sites. One of the biggest benefits to having Dwight was the thoughtful discussions he led with our students and having them make connections between the sites. He offered questions before visiting memorials to have the kids figure out through observation and the prior knowledge he provided.
Additionally, as Chris noted in his reflection email, the middle school students were fabulous; there were no complaints, and they were flexible. We are incredibly fortunate and grateful to have a group like this middle school. It makes traveling fun!
Finally, this week the 5th years spent a morning attending our classes. They were excited to be immersed in the middle school and were great participants. We can’t wait to welcome them in the fall!
This week the fifth year students visited the Middle School while the fourth year students hosted the third years in our classroom. The fifth years returned midday to share their enthusiasm about the possibilities that lie ahead in Middle School. The fourth years were excellent hosts, showing the third years the ropes and welcoming them to our environment. We will miss the fifth years, but look forward to the incoming students for 2019-2020!
This week the primary level got to witness and be a part of a beautiful program called Isle of Skoo, from Ben’s Lighthouse. The director, Francine Wheeler, took our children on a journey to teach them kindness, compassion, and how to be beacons of hope and change.
Isle of Skoo is a beautifully choreographed puppet show that was both heart warming and interactive for the children and enforced the core principles that our children live by each and every day in the classroom.
Thank you Francine and the rest of your team for coming and giving us the opportunity to learn, grow, and shine bright.
It is hard to believe that we are heading into our last week of school. We are looking forward to the time we have left together this year and the exciting events we have to share as a community.
Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli