Blog

Mrs. Wilson: Little Meteorologist, Ornithologist and Botanist

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

April is a month filled with opportunities to learn about Spring! The children will explore various aspects of this season, focusing on weather, birds, and seeds. This week, we began discussing the weather. Throughout the month, I’ll be inviting a child to be the “Meteorologist of the Day.” They’ll observe the weather outside and describe what they see. Afterward, the child will visit the weather board to find and share the matching weather symbol with their peers. We’ll practice saying the phrase, “The weather is __________.”

In addition to learning about the weather, the children will also discover the backyard birds native to our area. We’ll listen to the different bird calls and work on identifying the names of various birds.

We’ve also started planting sunflower seeds! Each child filled a small starter pot with soil and carefully chose a seed to plant. These pots are now in an indoor greenhouse, where the children can check on them daily to see if any seeds have sprouted. We’re all excited to see if we can grow 12 magnificent sunflowers by the start of the next school year!

We celebrated a friend’s birthday this week with delicious cupcakes! Happy birthday to our friend!

Food Tasting: This week, the children explored asparagus. They seem to enjoy the uncooked version better than the cooked one.

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Busy Writers in Lower Elementary!

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

Our lower elementary students have been hard at work these past few weeks, diving deep into their informational writing books! It has been wonderful to see their creativity and enthusiasm as they bring their ideas to life on paper.

Throughout this process, they have practiced brainstorming topics, crafting engaging introductions, and organizing their information into clear topics and subtopics. First, students selected topics they felt knowledgeable and passionate about, ranging from animals to space, sports, and beyond. Then, they mapped out their ideas by breaking them into subtopics, ensuring their books would be well-structured and easy to follow. They worked hard on writing strong introductions to hook their readers and provide an overview of what they would be teaching. As their books have taken shape, they’ve also been practicing revising and expanding their ideas to make their writing even stronger!

Next week, we will focus on conclusions—an important final step in tying their books together! Students will learn how to wrap up their writing in a way that leaves their readers feeling informed and satisfied. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for their finished books, which will be sent home in Friday Folders. We can’t wait for you to see all of their hard work!

Ms. Mollie: Hello, April! 🌦☂️🌷

Posted on by Mollie Smith

Our week has been a great opportunity to view the changes in weather; the children love singing our  “What is the Weather” song to describe the weather each day. We continue to talk about what makes spring, spring! We planted some seed starts this week- flowers, of course! The children have a very keen eye for growing plants and for the new types of birds showing up at our feeder. They are very excited that we have a cardinal now.

The highlight of the week that the children enjoyed most was definitely making chocolate zucchini bread! When I asked the children if they liked zucchini, they all said, ” Ewww.” So I switched up our game plan, and we “hid” it in our bread! The children followed the baking sequence beautifully; they now know what to do with minimal help. They enjoyed each step, especially the sharing and eating!

With full hearts,

Ms. Mollie. Ms. Lizette and Ms. Anabelle

Ms. Marissa: Weekly Update

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

In a Montessori classroom, learning is often a hands-on experience that invites curiosity and fosters a sense of wonder. One of the most captivating subjects for young learners is the world of colors. A study of rainbows and the science of color mixing is an exciting way to engage children in discovering the beauty and magic of the world around them. Recently, our classroom embarked on an exploration of rainbows, primary colors, and the fascinating process of color mixing!

Once the students were familiar with the idea of a rainbow and the variety of colors it holds, we delved into the core concept of color theory—the primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. We used Montessori color materials like the color tablets to visually explore and differentiate between these hues. The tactile nature of the materials, paired with the children’s natural inclination to touch and explore, made this lesson particularly engaging.

Through sorting activities, students were able to identify and arrange primary colors, gaining an understanding that these colors cannot be created by mixing other colors. This revelation led to our next exciting step—color mixing!

With the foundational understanding of primary colors, it was time for the children to explore the art and science of mixing colors. The children were free to use red, yellow, and blue in any combination they wished to see what would happen. It’s been an exciting week!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Marissa & Sue

Mrs. Lopes: A Look at Our Week

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

We are now studying the continent of South America in our classroom. South America is pink on the Montessori map and a topic of great fascination for the children. It is a beautiful region with vibrant cultures and traditions and a wide range of climates and terrains.

South America is the fourth largest continent in our world and comprises twelve individual countries. It is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. An isthmus is one of the landforms we study. Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the major languages spoken are Spanish and Portuguese.

Located in South America, the largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon Jungle. So it makes sense that we start to explore the rainforest as well. The rainforest is an ecosystem with a dense tree canopy that lets very little light through. To be considered a rainforest, there must be more than 60 inches of rain each year. Rainforests also contain over 40% of the world’s animal and plant species. There are four layers in a rainforest; each layer receives different amounts of sun, rain, and wind and is home to various species.

Another exciting update–we are incubating chicks in our classroom!  A big thank you to Kate Neugold for organizing and donating the incubator and eggs.  We have been discussing the life cycle of a chick this week and the children have been fascinated with following the development of the eggs each day.

As the weather gets warmer, now is a great time to check the extra clothes in your child’s locker to see if they should be changed from winter clothes to spring/summer clothes.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Amanda & Hema

Ms. Handibode: Next Stop, South America

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

We are now studying the continent of South America in our classroom. South America is pink on the Montessori map and a topic of great fascination for the children. It is a beautiful region with vibrant cultures and traditions and a wide range of climates and terrains.

South America is the fourth largest continent in our world and comprises twelve individual countries. It is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. An isthmus is one of the landforms we study. Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the major languages spoken are Spanish and Portuguese.

Located in South America,  is the Amazon jungle, the largest rainforest in the world. The rainforest is an ecosystem with a dense tree canopy that lets very little light through. To be considered a rainforest, there must be more than 60 inches of rain each year. Rainforests also contain over 40% of the world’s animal and plant species. There are four layers in a rainforest; each layer receives different amounts of sun, rain, and wind and is home to various species.

As the weather gets warmer, now is a great time to check the extra clothes in your child’s locker to see if they should be changed from winter clothes to spring/summer clothes.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Maria

This Week in Upper El

Posted on by Karen Sankey

Upcoming Events
April 8-11: CTP testing (see below)
May 27, 28, and 29: Nature’s Classroom overnight field trip (see below)

This week, we welcomed a new friend to Upper El—welcome Emmie and family to FWM! It was a wonderful return to school after our two-week break. We jumped back into our biology work, focusing on the vital functions of plants.

On Monday, we reviewed the concepts we had learned before the break. We analyzed a chart of vital functions and discussed the differences between the vegetative, relative, and reproductive functions of plants. On Wednesday, we explored the creation and use of starch in plants. After the lesson, Upper El students independently tested potatoes and other root vegetables of their choice for starch, extending their activity by examining their specimens under a microscope and recording their observations in their science notebooks.

In geometry this week, one group learned about inverse formulas for finding the area of a rectangle. They practiced determining the missing base or height when given the area and the length of one side. Another group focused on the formula for calculating the area of a circle.

We concluded our week by sharing books with our kindergarten buddies. Our fourth and fifth graders are doing an outstanding job helping their kindergarten friends with reading and sharing stories. This week, they concentrated on books about animals in preparation for a research project the kindergarten students are undertaking.

CTP Testing
The Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) evaluates reading, writing, and math skills and is administered once a year in the spring. We begin testing students in fourth grade and continue through eighth grade. For fourth and fifth graders, this assessment serves as practice, and we do not report scores at these levels. Parents will receive scores starting in sixth grade. Testing will occur during the week of April 8, with students completing small portions each morning on their devices. It’s essential for them to arrive at school each day with their devices fully charged. Please reach out if you have any questions about the testing process.

Nature’s Classroom
On May 27, we will depart for Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, Massachusetts. We will travel by bus and will stay two nights at the Pondside facility. We will return to school on May 29 after spending two nights at Nature’s Classroom. Last year, the cost for this trip was $450. This may change this year depending on the cost of the bus and on the number of students attending. I will hold an informational session for any parents interested. Please email me if you are interested. I will also send more information in a separate email next week.

Read the blog post from March 8 here.

Summer Learning at FWM

Posted on by Gina Tryforos

At FWM, we recognize that summer is a valuable time for students to reinforce their learning while also enjoying a more relaxed environment. 

Our Summer Learning Initiative is a new program that is still under construction. 

It is a half-day program designed to support academic growth with a focus on literacy instruction. Similar to what happens in the classroom, these two-week workshops provide opportunities for review and reinforcement for some students while also introducing new skills for the advancement of others. 

We have a workshop that focuses on students entering Kindergarten and First Grade, running from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. We are also working to develop another workshop for students entering grades 2-5. 

Our first two-week workshop:

  • Week 1 – June 23 – June 27
  • Week 2 – June 30 – July  3 (closed July 4)

The workshops are structured to be both educational and engaging. By creating a supportive and inclusive space, we aim to encourage students to continue developing their skills as they do throughout the school year.

If you’re interested in enrolling your child or learning more, please contact Gina Tryforos at gtryforos@fraserwoods.com