Each morning we start off our day with mindful meditation. We often assume breathing is just a natural skill; everyone knows how to inhale and exhale. But breathing is more than that. Being aware of our breath not only helps us manage the difficulties of everyday life, it also helps develop compassion, empathy, and concentration. This is an exercise where children practice focusing on the present, instead of worrying about the past and uncertainties of the future. It helps us become aware of how we feel at a given moment.

Encouraging independence and self-motivation is crucial to the Montessori approach. Children at this plane of development love the satisfaction of mastering real-life skills because they come to see themselves as respected members of a community. One way we encourage this in Lower Elementary is having weekly classroom jobs. Monday mornings are especially exciting because that’s when students decide what their weekly jobs will be. Classroom jobs can help build a sense of excitement, community, and interdependence from the very start of the school year.

An exciting part of our week was creating the class “Who Am I” material together. “Who Am I” is a collection of Montessori biology materials used to learn about the different kingdoms of life; specifically, animals, plants, fungi, protists, and prokaryotes. As a fun beginning of the year activity, we made this material with a focus on the children in the classroom. This process started with the children answering questions about themselves. Next, it was typed up, and turned into a material the students can use during work cycle. Not only is the “Who Am I” material a fabulous and popular classification work, it also provides work in comprehension and fluency while helping the children get to know each other!

On Wednesday, we celebrated International Day of Peace by singing “Sing Peace Around The World.” For 24 hours, this special song is sung by Montessori children all around the world. We gathered together as a whole school community from toddler to middle school students.  It was a powerful moment and reminder of the importance of teaching and modeling peace to our children.

Wishing everyone a peaceful weekend!

“There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of different ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community.”  -Maria Montessori

We had a great second full week of school!  This week we got to branch out and grow stronger with our school community. We felt fortunate to have our first community service day where the Middle School students came to help us with our work. Our students love this time with their older peers and take so much pride and ownership in the process of working with them. Not only is it a benefit to us, but the Middle School students get to experience the wonderful feeling of giving help where needed. We love the days our older friends visit!

Each Wednesday afternoon we have intentional community building time. This is a time when the children socialize with each other and build our Lower Elementary community, making bonds and creating memories. Whenever possible, during this time we enjoy going to our outdoor classroom and playing in the woods. Spending time in nature is incredibly valuable and it is wonderful to watch the children be creative and play, no equipment needed!

In a blink of an eye this year has come to an end! The end of the school year is always filled with many emotions, looking back at all we accomplished and seeing how much each child has grown. Each year I feel humbled with so much gratitude to experience each child’s development throughout the  year.

I will miss the children moving on and up and wish them nothing but the best. Each child holds a very special place in my heart. I hope you have a wonderful summer!!!

The 100 mile club program has been used by schools all over the nation since 1993 in an effort to prevent childhood inactivity. The 100 Mile Club program improves the health and well-being of children at school through daily physical activity in a noncompetitive, supportive, and fully-inclusive environment. Children can choose to run, walk, skip, or roll 100 miles over the course of the school year.

Congratulations to our Lower Elementary students for working towards and achieving one common goal!

The year is winding down, but Lower Elementary isn’t! This week the children were engaged in History lessons. The first year children had the lesson of The Long Black Line. This lesson is meant to strike the imagination of the children and create a humbling feeling of the appearance of humans on Earth in the perspective of the vast amount of time that Earth has existed. The second year children had lessons on the Clock of Eons. These lessons introduce the sequence of events that resulted in the evolution of life on Earth, give the history of life on Earth, and introduce the interrelatedness of all organisms and the fragile balance that maintains life. Specifically, the second graders explored the Hadeon eon. The third year students had lessons on the Time Line of Life. These lessons focus on the interrelatedness of Earth to those who live on it and on the evolution of life on Earth. The third graders learned about the Paleozoic and Mesozoic era of time.

Looking ahead, spirit week and field day are the last week of school (6/6-6/10)! Check out my email for details about each day of the week!

This week we had Moving Up Day!  Third-year students spent the morning in Upper Elementary and Mrs. Doyle’s Kindergarten students spent some time with us in Lower Elementary. Next week Mrs. Lopes’ class will have a chance to visit.

Multi-age groupings are an advantage of a Montessori classroom. They give the children the opportunity to go through a cycle of being mentored, practicing mentoring, and becoming the mentor. This week our third-year students practiced being mentees and our first and second year students practiced being mentors to their Kindergarten friends. It was a joy to see students at both levels completely engaged and happy working with their future classmates. Our first and second year students did a wonderful job planning work that was enjoyable and interesting for the Kindergartners. Some children even made posters to welcome their future classmates to the class!