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Mrs. Sargeant: Penguins, Crayons, and Big Research

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

A Week Full of Special Visitors, Shared Discoveries, and Kindergarten Curiosity

Last week, the classroom was full of energy as the children settled back in, reconnected with one another, and dove straight into purposeful work across every area of the room.

One of the week’s most memorable moments came from Lucia and her brother Enzo, who brought in penguin feathers collected all the way from Argentina. They shared remarkable facts with their classmates — including the astonishing detail that penguins drink ocean water and then sneeze out the salt! The class was completely captivated, and the photos they brought in made the lesson feel wonderfully real.

Our guest reader this week was Ava’s mom, who arrived dressed as a crayon to read The Day the Crayons Came Home — and brought handmade postcards addressed to our class. It was a truly special visit that the children are still talking about.

In the practical life area, we introduced the mortar and pestle this week by crushing cloves and exploring the wonderful aroma together. This work builds hand strength, concentration, and sensory awareness all at once. If your family has something at home that would be fun for the children to grind or crush — spices, dried herbs, or similar — please feel free to send it in!

Finally, our kindergarten students have chosen the animals they will be researching for their individual projects. Flamingos, pandas, komodo dragons, salamanders, and hammerhead sharks — we cannot wait to see where their curiosity takes them!

Extending Learning at Home

Try setting up a simple grinding or crushing activity at home — dried herbs, peppercorns, or even crackers in a zip-lock bag work wonderfully. Talk with your child about what they noticed: the smell, the texture, and how the material changed. If your kindergartener has chosen their research animal, encourage them to share what they already know — and wonder together about what they might discover.

UPCOMING EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

This Week

  • Monday, March 30
    ⋅ Flowers & Food. Sharpe Family
  • Wednesday, April 1
    ⋅ Guest Reader: Kochuba
  • Friday, April 3
    ⋅ No School | Good Friday

Ms. Mollie’s Class: Hello Spring!!!

Posted on by Mollie Smith

Welcome back from Spring Break! We missed our sweet children so much and were so happy to have the classroom filled with their energy again.

This week was all about gently easing back into our steady, familiar routine. After time away, children often need a little extra support to feel grounded again, so we focused on reconnecting, slowing down, and reestablishing the rhythm of our days.

We spent time baking together, enjoying the warm spring sunshine, and simply being present with one another. These shared experiences help rebuild connection and create a sense of calm and belonging in the classroom.

With the return to routine also comes a renewed need to revisit boundaries. It is very natural for children to test limits after a break in consistency. We support them best by remaining calm, clear, and consistent, showing them that our expectations are steady and dependable. In our classroom, “no means no,” and we guide the children with kindness and respect as they relearn these important boundaries. Know that, as families, you can also implement this at home, especially if your little one is testing.

It has been a joyful week of reconnection, and we are so grateful to be back together.

With Full Hearts,

Ms.Mollie and Ms. Lizette

Mrs. Wilson: Finding Spring

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

It has been so nice to come back from Spring Break and see all of our friends again! We hope your family had a wonderful two weeks together, whatever you chose to do during the break.

The children certainly seemed to miss one another. This first week back, we focused on getting back into our routine while continuing our exploration of colors and zoo animals.

We were also very happy to enjoy our much-missed playground again. The snow that had buried our slide and was too deep for the children to walk through has finally melted. We’ve even started to notice signs of spring, with flower buds peeking out of the ground. They seem to be waiting for the last bit of cold weather to pass so they can fully bloom and add beautiful color to our world.

This week, we also celebrated three birthdays. Happy birthday to all three of our friends!

For Food Tasting this week, we tried zucchini. The children were a little confused at first because they thought it looked like a cucumber. While the two do look similar, we discovered that they do not taste the same. All of our friends tried the zucchini raw, but only some chose to taste it cooked.

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

Ms. Vicki’s Weekly Update

Posted on by Vicki Downs

This week, coming back from spring break, we’ve seen such a beautiful shift in the classroom. The children are truly showing that they are ready for more responsibility, and it has been amazing to watch their growth.

The children have been eager to help with real classroom tasks like folding laundry and even helping with the washing process. They are also taking pride in putting away their cots after nap time, helping Miss Patty load the cart, and getting their backpacks ready. These everyday routines are building independence, confidence, and a strong sense of responsibility.

We continued focusing on colors this week through a variety of activities, including puzzles, sorting, matching, and building. The children are becoming more confident in recognizing and grouping colors, all while strengthening their fine motor and problem-solving skills. We also got to do a magic science experiment and watched marker spread across a paper towel to finish making a rainbow.

One of the most special things we’ve noticed is the increase in teamwork and kindness. The children are choosing to play together more often, using kind words, and supporting one another. They are also taking initiative in caring for our classroom by cleaning, mopping, and wiping down surfaces.

It has been a week full of very mature progress, and we are so proud of how the children are growing, not just in skills, but in independence, cooperation, and confidence. We can’t wait to see all the wonderful things they continue to accomplish!

Reminders:

  • No school Friday, April 3rd

This Week in Upper El

Posted on by Karen Sankey

“Come with me into the woods. Where spring is advancing, as it does, no matter what, not being singular or particular, but one of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.” -Mary Oliver

This week, it felt great to get back into our normal routine after all the hard work we put into our autobiographies before March Break. We started off by adding two new activities to our morning work cycle: weekly math word problems and daily writing prompts.

The math work, which is in addition to their individual lessons and assignments, is designed to be collaborative and to focus on skills they’ve previously learned or to enhance their math skills. This week’s math involved working together on skip-counting, using calculators, identifying patterns, solving word problems, creating graphs, working with modes, collecting data, making line plots, and understanding fractions.

The daily writing prompts are meant to complement our weekly writing lessons and assignments, focusing on short, creative writing tasks. As students arrive in the morning, this writing serves as an opportunity to settle in quietly and to write every day before lessons, collaboration, and assignments begin.

I’m already noticing a calmer vibe in the room during the mornings before yoga. Children come in, greet each other, and find a spot to sit with friends to spend a few peaceful minutes writing. This quiet writing time really helps us start the day off focused and productive.

This week in our geometry lessons, the fourth graders were introduced to the concept of finding the area, while the fifth graders learned about the origins of Pi by comparing a circle’s circumference to its diameter. In biology, students worked in small groups to review the vital functions of nutrition, respiration, and circulation. Each group then took turns presenting information about different animals and their vital functions to the rest of the class. In history, we explored Homo erectus and compared them to the fossil ancestors we have studied so far, as well as to modern humans.

For our last student-read book of the year, we are reading The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews. We are reading this book as a novel study instead of as a literature circle book. This means that students will answer questions and complete packets for each set of assigned pages, rather than completing role sheets. We will meet weekly to discuss the assigned passages as a whole class. I have found that reading one book as a class is a wonderful way to end the school year.

Wishing you a peaceful week ahead.

Ms. Handibode: A Week of Stories, Pajamas, and the Magic of Books

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

“You can find magic wherever you look. So sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”
— Dr. Seuss

Last week, we celebrated Read Across America, a national initiative launched by the National Education Association to encourage a lifelong love of reading in children. Observed on March 2nd, it is one of our favorite days of the year. At Fraser Woods Montessori, we mark the occasion with Pajama Day, and the children bring their favorite books from home to share with the class. The room was cozy, cheerful, and full of stories.

In our classroom, we call books treasures, and reading is woven into the fabric of every school day. This week was a beautiful reminder of why. We were treated to a special guest reader: Hanna’s mom, Kate, who sang her way through the delightful book ZooZical! — a book we highly recommend sharing at home. We are also deeply grateful to Maycie R.’s family for the incredible green eggs and ham and the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish parfaits. The care and effort that went into those treats did not go unnoticed.

Extending Learning at Home

Here are some simple, meaningful ways to nurture a love of reading at home:

  • Keep books everywhere. In the car, in every room, tucked into backpacks and bags. The more accessible books are, the more children reach for them.
  • Visit the library often. Getting a library card and learning to ask a librarian for help are empowering experiences for young readers.
  • Get caught reading. Children imitate the adults around them. Let them see you reading — a magazine, a novel, anything — and reading becomes the cool thing to do.
  • Read aloud to your child. No matter their age, reading aloud builds vocabulary, language skills, and opens the door to rich conversations.
  • Let your child read to you, too. You never know what you might learn!

For more on the tremendous benefits of reading with your child, visit childmind.org.

Wishing everyone a very peaceful break. Happy reading!

Mrs. Lopes: The Earth Beneath Our Feet

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Last week, the classroom was buzzing with curiosity as we launched our study of rocks and minerals. We began by exploring a fascinating truth: no matter where you live in the world, you are standing on rock. Rocks cover the entire Earth, and most of them are millions and millions of years old.

The children were introduced to the three types of rocks — igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic — and discussed the unique properties that distinguish each one. We examined real specimens from each category, giving the children the opportunity to hold history in their hands. A new shelf work featuring a magnifying glass and a collection of small rocks and gems was an immediate hit. The children were completely absorbed, studying the texture, color, and structure of each sample with careful, scientific eyes.

Extending Learning at Home

Rocks are everywhere — on sidewalks, in gardens, along stream beds. Invite your child on a neighborhood rock hunt and ask them to describe what they notice: Is it smooth or rough? Shiny or dull? Heavy or light? You can also sort your findings by color or texture, just as we do with materials in the classroom. For an added layer of fun, visit your local library and look for a field guide to rocks and minerals together.

Mrs. Sargeant: Tacos, Taekwondo, and a Very Exciting Tooth

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

“You can find magic wherever you look. So sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”
— Dr. Seuss

Last week brought Read Across America to our classroom, and with it, one of the most joyful days of the year. On March 2nd, the children arrived in their pajamas, arms full of their favorite books. They loved sharing their picks with one another, and there was genuine curiosity about which titles their friends had chosen. We read Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin together, and true to the spirit of the story, Gabriel’s family treated the class to their very own tacos and sour cream. It was a special snack that we are so grateful for.

On Thursday, we attended a Taekwondo demonstration that had the children completely captivated from start to finish. And as if the week weren’t exciting enough, one of our friends lost her very first tooth during afternoon circle — right in the middle of our latest Magic Treehouse book! The whole class erupted with excitement. It was one of those unrepeatable classroom moments.

Reading is an integral part of each school day, and we hope to pass on our passion for books to your children. An article from nationaldaycalendar.com offers some wonderful ideas for motivating young readers wherever they are:

  • Keep books everywhere. In the car, in every room, tucked in backpacks and purses. Accessibility makes all the difference.
  • Visit the library often. Encourage your child to use their own voice to ask a librarian for help finding books on a topic they love — a wonderful confidence builder.
  • Get caught reading. Children imitate the adults around them. Whether it’s a magazine, newspaper, or novel, let them see that reading is something grown-ups do and enjoy.
  • Read to your children. No matter their age, reading aloud strengthens vocabulary and language skills and opens up meaningful conversation.
  • Let your children read to you, too. You might just be surprised!

Extending Learning at Home

Consider taking your child to the local library to get their very own library card. Encourage them to walk up to a librarian and ask — in their own words — for help finding a book on a topic they’re curious about. This small act of advocacy builds confidence, independence, and a lifelong relationship with one of the best resources in any community.