Blog

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!

Peak into Toddlers’ Music Class

Posted on by Yun-Kyung Kim

 

The effects of music on children are magical. Music can be both energizing and calming. Toddlers learn by watching others tapping, shaking, always experimenting with the environment as well as their voices motivated by what they hear. Music supports social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. 

In our Toddler music class, children gather together to do all of the activities that are described above within the musical structure that is provided. By listening and singing along, they learn to sing in tune and how to keep the beat. By playing instruments, they are improving fine motor skills. By moving with musical cues, gross motor skills are enhanced. By participating, creativity and self-expression get inspired and blossom.

These are some moments to witness the wonders of the music class!

Middle School: Impermanence

Posted on by Michelle Lamb

On Thursday, the middle school took a short walk through FWM’s trails to the Resiliency Center of Newtown. This week, visiting Buddhist Monks completed a sand mandala in honor of Jeremy Richman.

Ms. Reid taught all of her middle school art students about this ancient traditional practice in her classes a few months ago. In Humanities classes, we are constantly learning about the beauty and importance of diverse cultural traditions. This experience brought meaning to the content in our classes.

While there, we were fortunate enough to be welcomed into the space to sit and observe this Tibetan Buddhist practice. One of the monks explained the entire process to us, the philosophy, and allowed the students to ask questions.

It is common for people to be shocked that after about 40 hours of work to complete the beautiful and intricate piece, a ceremony is done and it is dismantled. The meaning behind this part of the practice is invaluable: impermanence. The idea is that there is beauty in creation and compassion for the process, but we must be mindful that not everything is permanent in life.

During Poetry Tuesday last week, the 6th years read Robert Frost’s,”Nothing Gold Can Stay”. The 6th years connected this to the mandala and its purpose while we reflected on our visit. I posted the poem at the end of the post.

I am grateful we were able to view the mandala and speak to the monks at the Resiliency Center of Newtown. It was not only beautiful and emotional to witness, but moving for me to see the students in awe of something that holds so much meaning.

“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold, 
Her hardest hue to hold. 
Her early leaf’s a flower; 
But only so an hour. 
Then leaf subsides to leaf. 
So Eden sank to grief, 
So dawn goes down to day. 
Nothing gold can stay.

Mrs. Thomas: More Fun Work in Action!

Posted on by Stephanie Thomas

We are thrilled to be outside more and more each day! As the children play on the playground, they are noticing the buds on the trees and bushes and how the leaves of the tulips and daffodils are pushing up through the flower beds.

Inside, the shelves are filled with materials reflective of the new season. We have books about birds, caterpillars, and butterflies to enjoy. Plastic eggs have been hidden in Easter grass for the children to find and place into an egg carton and then do all over again. White construction paper butterflies become colorful as the children decorate them with Do-a-Dot markers. Little golden eggs are transferred from one silver bowl to another with a ladle. And brightly colored woolen flowers are transferred with small tongs.

We have also put the doll house away and brought out the barn. The children love playing with the cow and calf, the sheep and lamb, the duck and ducklings. A horse, goat, turkey, and two cats round out the animals in the barn. It is such a joy to watch their imaginative play blossom with this new cast of figures and to hear them learn the adult and baby names of these animals.

We added another sensory bin to the environment this week. Small items are hidden in rice for the children to find. They LOVE running their fingers through the rice…such a fun sensation! As they find these items, they are learning their names such as “spring”, “knob”, “cog”, and “anteater”.

Next Thursday is our Toddler Parent/Child Morning. An email will be sent out soon with more details.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Head, Thorax, Abdomen!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

We are hard at work becoming entomologists.  This is always a favorite unit of study for the children.  An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. We began our unit by reporting on what we already know about insects, what they are and what they can do.

This week as a class, we discovered that insects are slimy, little, gross, soft, and hard. Insects can crawl, sting, bite, eat, fly, walk upside down, and jump. We learned that insects lay eggs, have antennae, three main body parts, a head, thorax and abdomen, eyes, and six legs. Insects are also cold blooded, have an exoskeleton, and many have wings. We found out why a spider is not an insect. Ask your child to see if he or she knows.

We also welcomed five tiny caterpillars to our classroom. It is so exciting to observe each step of the fascinating life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly. Right now our caterpillars are busy eating,  spinning silk and growing bigger every day. During this incredible period of growth, they will shed their exoskeletons four times and grow more than ten times their original size! When they have finished growing, the caterpillars will climb to the top of the cup. Once there, they will hang from the paper disk in a “j” shape under the lid. They will shed their exoskeletons one last time  before they pupate and form a chrysalis.

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja