Blog

Middle School: Science Fair!

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

Science Fair is an annual event for 6th and 7th year students and showcases skills such as inquiry, creativity, and critical thinking. This year’s theme asked students to consider the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) when creating their hypothesis to drive their project. Topics such as cryptocurrency, methanotrophs, heart disease, soil absorption, and wealth in medicine were just a few.

It is amazing to listen to the students explain their projects as well as watch their enthusiasm for the topics. They have become experts! It is exactly this type of thinking and passion that make us feel pretty good about them leading the world in the future.

Ms. Kayser’s Class: Community

Posted on by skayser

“There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of different ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community”  -Maria Montessori

This quote by Maria Montessori truly encapsulates our week. Although our sense of community is ever growing among our students within our classroom, this week we got to branch out and grow stronger with our school community. We are lucky to have a community service day where the Middle School students come to join our class for an hour. These students come to work alongside our three, four, and five year olds and give guidance with their work. Our young students love this time with their older peers and take so much pride and ownership in the process of working with them.

This week was also special for our Kindergarten students; they got the opportunity to become like their older peers and give guidance to the youngest students in our school, our Toddler friends! Each Kindergarten student got to take a Toddler student under their wing for part of the day and teach them some of the exciting lessons in our classroom. This experience is not only rewarding for the Kindergarten students, it helps the younger friends prepare for their transition to Primary in the fall!

Next week on Wednesday, April 30th, the Kindergarten students will be going to our Lower Elementary classroom to visit with Mrs. Sankey and Ms. Beckett and have a mentoring experience of their own. They will get to sit and work with the first graders and learn some exciting new lessons!

On another very exciting side note, our butterflies emerged from their chrysalises over the weekend and we were able to release them onto our playground. What a wonderful and beautiful experience it was for all the children. Luckily, we also got to spend some extra time in the beautiful sunshine after releasing our butterflies. Spring is such a magnificent season!

All the best,

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Change Ahead!

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

 

Warm weather and long days have finally returned and our class is in bloom with activity. We have enjoyed observing and recording the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle and were excited to send ours off to begin their new journey.

Our Kindergarten students are themselves preparing for a change. In five short weeks our oldest Primary friends will complete their third year with the Primary, and emerge into the Lower Elementary environment. Next Wednesday, April 30, the Kindergarten children will visit our Lower Elementary environment.  This week our Kindergarten students welcomed Toddler students into our environment; and the cycle begins. Developing our Kindergarten students to become mentors is more than simply asking an older student to help a younger one. A true leader is mentored and shown the process of how to lead and help others. When we take the time to cultivate leaders in our Montessori environment, we see that this is another piece of our carefully prepared environment.

Make a wish, take a chance, make a change!

Cindy and Sharlene

Happenings & Events

Posted on by Alison Kistner

A big thank you to all parents that supported our 25th annual Auction Gala, Havana Nights! For those that missed the event, you can still participate by visiting our auction website here.

Science Fair this Thursday, April 25 at 8:30am. and 6:30pm.  Upper Elementary and Middle School 6th & 7th Years 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.

Elementary Play is Thursday, May 9th – 7:00pm. Seussical performed by Lower & Upper Elementary students. Tickets will be on sale shortly! Exciting musical for children of all ages!

Spring Has Arrived on our Playground and in Our Classroom!

Posted on by Sara Kasbarian

We have had a beautiful week!

Outdoors the forsythia is in bloom and flowers are beginning to bud. Indoors our classroom has been centered around the spring-time tradition of egg dying. The children experienced dying hard-boiled eggs, peeling hard-boiled eggs and eating hard-boiled eggs.

The children had two special surprise guests join us in the classroom.  Henrietta and Shell, two Ameraucana Hens.  Thank you to Rachel Heggland for sharing the chickens from her farm with our class!

“The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge.”- Maria Montessori

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: We’re Going On a Bug Hunt

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

Spring is the perfect time to go for a nature walk and bug hunt and that’s exactly what we did yesterday. Going on a nature walk is simple and full of fun and learning. It’s a great way to spend time outdoors. The secret to a great nature walk is time, lots of time to explore and discover. A bug hunt is a really fun way to help incorporate what we are learning about insects inside the classroom and what we would observe in nature.

As we left the school to begin our walk around the perimeter of the school and see what insects we would discover, we were encouraged by one young friend yelling out “Come on entomologists, we have a job to do!” We had no problem finding insects that were hidden under leaves and rocks, however, flying insects were not to be found. The general consensus is that it was just too cold for flying insects to be out. Mrs. Lyga and I strongly agree!

The best thing about a bug hunt? Once the children get in the habit of learning, observing and studying insects, their reaction is less likely to be “aarrghhhh a bug!”

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

Ms. Kayser’s Class: Be Our Guest!

Posted on by skayser

This week has been an exciting week for our students! To start it off, the children came in on Monday to see that the caterpillars were indeed all spun into their chrysalises! We carefully put them in the upright position in the tank and watched as they wiggled from the unexpected movement. It was such a cool experience for the children to see them move around and prove they were in fact the little caterpillars we received just two short weeks ago. The children anxiously come into the classroom every morning to check on our soon-to-be winged friends. This Saturday marks seven days since they formed their chrysalises, so we may have a surprise waiting for us in the classroom on Monday! The children went outside on the playground and found a few flowers to place in the tank, and we will make a delicious drink of sugar and water to mimic the nectar of flowers in case they decide to come early over the weekend.

Next, the students got a fantastic opportunity to share the classroom with their families at our Parent-Child Night! The night began with a tour around our first Art Show at Fraser Woods, where all the artwork from the year was brilliantly displayed by Mrs. Reid. It was beautiful to see the hard work and dedication the students have put into their pieces. The younger students loved to see all the work that Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School worked on throughout the year! Afterwards the children got to bring their loved ones into our class to show them some of their favorite works. It was such a rewarding experience to watch as the children proudly showed the room to their guests and even gave their own lessons! It was a memorable experience for both the parents and the students that Ms. Alli and I truly enjoyed to watch.

We hope that everyone who celebrates has a wonderful holiday weekend spent with family, friends, love, and laughter.

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Physical Education: “Eggs-Ercise”

Posted on by Pam Pascarella

 

This month, the primary through 5th grade played a game called Eggs-Ercise for their warm-up activity.  For Primary, the game involved matching and sorting the different colored eggs.  We had to run to a cup and check what color they found and match it with the colored egg in the tray. Recognizing the colors and identifying the color names is an important part of a child’s development.  When we recognize colors, we are noticing, matching, sorting, and labeling the characteristics of things in the world around us.  

At the elementary level math was incorporated.  Each team/group had to find a total of 15 eggs but had to arrange them a certain way.  They were asked “How many rows of eggs and how many eggs in each row would you have arrange to equal 15 eggs?”  They would have to work as a team to organize either five rows of three eggs or three rows of five eggs each.  The purpose of this activity is to promote increased fitness, effective teamwork, and math concepts.