This week we implemented a new tool in our classroom called class meetings. The purpose of class meetings is to identify problems brought up by the children and brainstorm solutions as a community to fix the issue moving forward. When children feel involved in brainstorming and creating solutions, they are more likely to follow them. Below I listed some more details.

• Our class meetings will take place 2-3 times per week.
• There are jobs during Class Meetings:
  • Facilitator (I do this): Keeps the meeting on track, moves the meeting along, facilitates respectful sharing
  • Time Keeper (child’s job): Keeps track of the timing of each meeting segment and lets us know when the time is up
  • Scribe (I do this): Records the brainstormed suggestions of the class on chart paper
  • Secretary (child’s job): Records the problem and solutions in a notebook which is a permanent record of the meetings and is accessible to all students, anytime
• There are four sections to the Class Meeting:
  • Compliments and Appreciations: This is a five to eight-minute opening where each person can give and receive a compliment or a thank you.
  • Review of a past agenda item: The secretary reads one problem and solution from a previous meeting with a quick discussion to review how it’s going.
  • Brainstorming: The person who added the agenda item being discussed shares it, and we take turns brainstorming solutions. After the brainstorming, we vote (if it’s a class problem), or the person who shared the item chooses a solution (if it’s not a whole-class issue).
  • Connection Activity: This is a fun closing where we share jokes, riddles, or two-minute mysteries.

 

Like every other month of the year, February is a time for celebrating each other! Valentine’s Day is in the middle of February and is a reminder to express love and gratitude for the ones we love and appreciate. Lower Elementary enjoyed celebrating their classmates last week, passing out Valentines to each other. There is always so much affection and joy in the classroom, but this day was extra special. Thank you to the parent volunteers who sent in treats and supplies to make our party happen!

One aspect of the Montessori curriculum is the integration of peace education and tolerance. Helping the students embrace each other’s differences is a vital role for the Montessori educator.  February is Black History Month, a time that we celebrate the accomplishments of Black lives that have helped formed our nation. Over the past few weeks, we have recognized the contributions of several African Americans throughout history by reading stories and engaging in conversation. On Tuesday, we visited the Black History Month Gallery in the commons, put together by the Middle School students and teachers.

Lower Elementary has begun its research projects and has been immersed all week! Each child has been given categories to choose from, and everyone has made their choice. This shared focus connects us as a class and allows opportunities for the older children to take a mentoring role and help the younger children who are new to research. The older friends did an amazing job mentoring the younger children and teaching them about the research process. Each child was patient, kind, and helpful as the younger children got acclimated to the new process. This will be going on for the next several weeks.

First-year students will make posters with information about their topics, second-year students will make posters and write research papers, and third-year students will make presentation boards, write papers, and give oral presentations. All of this work will be done at school.

There will be more information to come about Research Night on April 13th! We’re looking forward to it.

Parent teacher conferences will be held next Thursday, February 16th, with additional slots provided throughout the week. If you haven’t already signed up, please do so here!

The Montessori three-year cycle in Lower Elementary provides the space and time for children to develop interpersonal skills by interacting with and learning among children of different ages.  The children learn how to cooperate with one another and respect each other. First-year students are the observers, learning from the second and third-year students. Second-year students are no longer the youngest but are still learning from the thirds while practicing for next year by helping younger classmates. This second year of the three-year cycle is as important as the first and third years of their time in the classroom. This is their growth year. The third-year students are the leaders; teaching the younger children while also setting a good example for them. Throughout this three-year process, the children gain confidence, and competence and learn how to interact with a diverse peer group. They gain great social skills, preparing them for success many years down the road.

The children are LOVING the mystery readers!! Thanks so much, Jordan Rabidou, for spending some time in LE this week!

This week in history, Lower Elementary is learning about the days of the week and their origin.

The number seven representing seven days seems to have originated from Judaism, which tells a story of how the Earth was created in six days, and on the seventh, God rested.

The numeral seven also has mystical significance in some cultures. According to the Romans and Anglo-Saxons, each weekday’s name has a significant meaning, either of a planet or of one of the gods they worshiped. How interesting it is to learn the background of why each weekday is named what it is! Ask your child to share what they know about the days of the week!

In geography, each student is immersed in work about South America. First years are working with the puzzle map material, seconds with the pin maps, and third years are learning to label a map abstractly.

Thank you Elle Callanan for being our first mystery reader! We loved having you!

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Lower Elementary students celebrated his good work. Tuesday morning we read the powerful story, Martin’s Big Words, which facilitated a great conversation about segregation, equal rights, and the power of using our words. Later that day, the children enjoyed watching a short video clip about the life of MLK and his great work. Afterward, we talked about Martin’s Dream; equality, love, peace, and inclusion. Next, we brainstormed our own dreams for the world, our families, and for ourselves. See below for what we came up with.

Dreams for the world:

• Shelter for everyone
• Clean water everywhere around the world
• Healthcare for everyone
• Ending starvation
• World peace
• Stop wars

Dreams for my family:

• Stay healthy
• Love one another forever
• To see each other more
• To spend quality time together
• To be kind!

Dreams for myself:

• To travel
• To cut the arguments with my friends/siblings
• To help the earth stay clean
• To always love myself
• To be a good friend

To Maria Montessori, the teaching of grammar was at the center of her language curriculum for elementary-age children. Today, it still remains a critical element in the teaching of a complete language program in a Montessori environment. At this age, grammar is being presented at an impressionistic level, and later on, in their later elementary years, they will explore these concepts on a more formal level.

This week the first-year group has enjoyed learning about articles. We started the lesson by reviewing the previous part of speech learned earlier in the year (nouns). They learned that articles are a special group of only three words, that go in front of nouns. The second-years are learning about adverbs- a complex part of speech. They are learning that an adverb supports the verb and they tell us how to do an action. In Montessori grammar, just like the verb, the adverb is also represented as a ball. The adverb is a smaller ball than the verb because it is less important than the verb itself. In the third grade year, the children are learning about conjunctions. They are learning that words that join two objects or actions together are called conjunctions. We even jammed out to the Schoolhouse Rock song- Conjunction Junction. As a follow-up work to practice this grammar, they all love to use the grammar dice.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and break with your children! We are all happy to be back, working hard and having fun.

The first half of the year focuses mainly on adjusting to classroom routines, learning expectations and developing strong relationships with peers and teachers. The second half of the year is always my favorite time because that’s when I notice exponential growth, both socially and academically, from the children. I am eager to see how the rest of the school year will unfold!

Maria Montessori’s primary goal for education was to bring about a better and more peaceful world. Staying true to this goal, we spend intentional time in our classroom on kindness and caring for one another. Focusing on this now will help the children to grow into peaceful, compassionate adults. The children in our class regularly and spontaneously help their classmates in need, from helping each other with challenging work, giving one another spelling tests, to cleaning up spilled stamp game stamps.