Things continue to move right along in Makerspace. The Garden Tower and Vermicomposter (worm composter) are both doing great, and some students have already enjoyed an occasional harvest of lettuce and bush beans. We had a slight issue with the bell peppers, but they are bouncing back, and we should have a few more ripening in the next week or so. Cucumbers have finally begun to flower, so the Kindergarteners will take over pollinating those with some tiny paintbrushes in the coming weeks.

The kindergartners have been busy choosing a variety of work each week. Making masks is still a hit, and we recently introduced OZObots, which are small robots with light and proximity sensors. The students are able to draw paths on paper that the robots will follow, and they’re able to explore how more complex paths impact the robot’s behavior while we get to talk a little bit about coding and commands.

Lower El has also had the chance to explore the OZObots, but we’ve stepped up the complexity by introducing how blocks of color along the pathways can direct the robots to do different things (speed up, slow down, turn around, and even do a little dance with music). The knitting projects have also continued and are progressing wonderfully. Some arm warmers, small bags, and pillows are nearly complete, and some larger projects are reaching very exciting heights.

Upper El is continuing with its cardboard projects, making everything from cars to scale models of household items and buildings to storage organizers. As these have finished up, some students have taken on making props and parts of costumes for Performing Arts. These projects have just begun but are already showing very exciting potential. Along with some Lego Spike challenges, we’ve also introduced Sphero robots, which are programmable/codable and allow the students to have fun while working on coding precise movements.

Middle School has taken on some personal, long-term projects ranging from clothing design and pattern drafting to 3D modeling projects. When taking breaks from these, we’ve also recently introduced some electronic dissection, researching the purpose, model, manufacturer, and critical parts of various electronics and then carefully taking these apart to find useful and interesting parts and pieces. Any useful pieces will be used for future projects, and the students have already begun to brainstorm future projects for the circuit boards, mounting hardware, and other parts. The STEAM cities are also nearing completion, with just the final details and placement needed to finish these up before the holiday break.

It has been another wonderful few weeks in the performing arts room!  All of the students are having so much fun with all the singing, dancing, acting, and instrument playing! All classes are working on their repertoire for our Winter Concert.  They are very excited to learn all of our music and movement for this performance! In addition to learning the notes and rhythms, each level of students in performing arts is also focusing on how to connect emotionally to all of the music they will be sharing with our audience in just over a month!

In Primary, students continue working on their steady beat skills with many new rhymes and songs.  One of their favorites has been “Chop Chop Chip-pity Chop,” where students keep the steady beat while “chopping” their vegetables for our imaginary soup! They also really enjoyed the song “Punchinello,” where students get to take turns making up silly dance moves for the class to follow.

Lower and Upper Elementary students have been learning about how the piano is made up of patterns of notes. They are able to identify the keys on the piano and start to place those notes on the musical staff. Both Lower and Upper Elementary students are also really enjoying playing their favorite drama game, Wax Museum. They have also been doing hard work on their musical ear by listening and echoing different intervals and patterns in solfège.

In Middle School students have continued their music theory work.  They are becoming more proficient at reading a musical score and identifying the notes in the treble clef.  A highlight of middle school performing arts over the past few weeks was our pantomime project performance!  Students did an amazing job with these projects and the Lower and Upper Elementary students really enjoyed coming to watch their performance and guess which fairytales the students were acting out!  Since these were pantomimes, the middle school students really had to use their acting skills to tell their stories to the audience, and they did a wonderful job!

This month at FWM, students kept working on their Spanish Greetings and the calendar. They keep improving their Spanish vocabulary. Students from primary, Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School listened carefully to books and songs in Spanish; they also participated in interactive games that were displayed during class. As part of Spanish enrichment, students from LE, UE and Middle School were able to learn about the “Hispanic Heritage Month” and a celebration of “Dia de los Muertos”. They understood why we celebrate them and how we celebrate them. All the students were very excited to learn about it.

Primary students became engaged in learning the basic colors in Spanish: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, anaranjado y morado through Spanish Montessori lessons that were left on the language shelves of each class for the students to practice for the entire week. In addition, they are learning the numbers from 1 to 10 in Spanish using Montessori methods and songs.

Lower Elementary students also learned eleven basic colors in Spanish: rojo, azul, amarillo, verde, morado, anaranjado, blanco, negro, gris, café, rosado y blanco. They learned these colors through Spanish Montessori Lessons that were presented in class. In addition to they worked on some worksheets during this period to support the topics learned in class.

Upper Elementary Students put in hard work learning the Spanish ABCs, recognizing and separating the words into syllables which is going to help them to read short stories in Spanish. They also listened carefully to a Spanish story, Llama en Lima by Katie Baker.

Middle Schoolers continue working in the “Somos” curriculum, where they are learning new vocabulary and are able to write sentences and short paragraphs. They are learning vocabulary, writing, listening, and comprehension through lessons that teach them about costumes and traditions in Spanish-speaking countries.  To enhance their comprehension even more, they participate in games and activities within the class.  As a way of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, we are reading in class a classic book for middle schoolers called The Bluest Sky by Christina Diaz Gonzales, a Cuban American writer who got inspired to write this book by his father and his friends living in La Havana under “Castro’s Regime.” Overall, students are doing very well in Spanish class.

We’ve been very busy in the Makerspace the last few weeks. The Garden Tower now has cucumbers, beans, and tomatoes in addition to bell peppers. Lettuce seedlings are growing slowly but will hopefully be added in the next week or so. We also got some worms for our Vermicomposter, so students (who are willing) have been helping monitor and care for them.

Kindergarteners finished up their wonderful animal masks, and we were able to sneak in a quick Jack-O-Lantern project before Halloween.

Lower El continues their knitting projects with some impressive progress. Going forward they will have the opportunity to work on these in class when they’d like as well as during recess on certain days. Since these are long term projects, we will have other smaller projects in the future as well.

Upper El has also begun some knitting projects and they’ve really taken the reigns with helping teach students who have never knit before as well as helping each other fix mistakes when they occur. We’ve also begun to dabble with some cardboard construction techniques and effective tool use. We will be using some of the Middle Schoolers’ completed masks as examples of those techniques in the coming weeks. We will also begin construction on the compost soon, hopefully before it gets too cold for us to work outside.

Middle School has just finished up some impressive masks in time for Halloween, constructed almost completely from cardboard. Iron Man, Lightning McQueen, Steve from Minecraft, and a Birthday Cake are just a few of the many characters. The cardboard cities are coming along nicely in STEAM, with neighborhoods, schools, infrastructure, and utilities popping up. Robotics has been a lot of fun, challenging the students to create robots that move without traditional wheels and propulsion, utilize the gyro function within the hub as a means of control, and use the color sensor to direct different functions.

PE classes have been taking full advantage of the new turf field and resurfaced gym floor to begin the school year. The weather has been favorable this fall, allowing most gym classes to be held outside. The updated spaces permit the setup of simultaneous activities and give students more room to move their bodies.

Kindergarten and lower elementary students have been learning to move in control to ensure safety around their classmates during group activities. Students have also been participating in games to improve their balance, locomotor, and cooperation skills, including tag, relay races, and throwing and catching challenges. 

Upper elementary students began the school year working on their sportsmanship and strategy skills during group activities. Highlights include team-based throwing and catching games like dodgeball, capture the flag variations, and “Tic-Tac Throw.” Upper elementary students are currently in the middle of a flag football unit, developing their throwing, catching, coordination, and agility skills. 

Middle school students have been focused on team-based strategy games, including various versions of dodgeball and Capture the Flag. These games present teamwork and strategy challenges and the different solutions students come up with to help their team and classmates succeed have been awesome to see. Similar to the upper elementary students, the middle schoolers are also in the middle of a flag football unit. Agility, footwork, hand-eye coordination, sportsmanship, and creativity are all key takeaways.

PE classes have been taking full advantage of the new turf field and resurfaced gym floor to begin the school year. The weather has been favorable this fall, allowing most gym classes to be held outside. The updated spaces permit the setup of simultaneous activities and give students more room to move their bodies.

Kindergarten and lower elementary students have been learning to move in control to ensure safety around their classmates during group activities. Students have also been participating in games to improve their balance, locomotor, and cooperation skills, including tag, relay races, and throwing and catching challenges. 

Upper elementary students began the school year working on their sportsmanship and strategy skills during group activities. Highlights include team-based throwing and catching games like dodgeball, capture the flag variations, and “Tic-Tac Throw.” Upper elementary students are currently in the middle of a flag football unit, developing their throwing, catching, coordination, and agility skills. 

Middle school students have been focused on team-based strategy games, including various versions of dodgeball and Capture the Flag. These games present teamwork and strategy challenges and the different solutions students come up with to help their team and classmates succeed have been awesome to see. Similar to the upper elementary students, the middle schoolers are also in the middle of a flag football unit. Agility, footwork, hand-eye coordination, sportsmanship, and creativity are all key takeaways.

Learning another language is beneficial for memorization development in a child’s brain, making it more efficient and flexible. This month, children from Fraser Woods Montessori School were able to review and learn basic Spanish phrases and words. Primary and Lower Elementary students recalled greetings, self-introductions, and how to express their basic feelings in Spanish. In addition, children were able to practice the new words learned in class. Upper Elementary students, as well as all the students, had a review of Spanish learned in previous years. Also, they are learning feelings in Spanish and practicing handwriting. They are also learning pronunciation and vocabulary through songs. Middle school students are working the “SOMOS” curriculum, learning more vocabulary, grammar, and cultural aspects. Also, we are using interactive games, videos and other fun activities in class. In addition, Middle School Students are learning about the “Hispanic Heritage Month” in part by reading a very special book for middle schoolers called “The Bluest Sky” by Christina Diaz Gonzalez a Cuban American author.