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!

I can’t believe the first week of school has already come to an end! The children came in energized and ready to go. They are quickly settling into our routines, rekindling old friendships, and making new ones each day. Our third year group has been such an asset to our class by mentoring and guiding the younger and new students through this transition period. It’s heartwarming to see the connections being made. If this is any indication for the year to come, we are all in for a spectacular school year! I cannot wait for more learning and exploring to come!

It is important to intentionally build community at the beginning of the school year. This year, one of our community building activities was reading “Our Class is Family” and then then each child drew a self portrait of themselves. They will be placed on a wall for the rest of the year to help set a sense of community in our classroom. 

The kids had a blast participating in field day this past Wednesday! In overheard conversations, it was the “best day of school ever!” Thanks to Mrs. Pascarella for coordinating and setting up such exciting activities that also involved team work, cooperation and good sportsman ship. Some of those activities include; sponge relay race, egg and spoon relay race, water balloon toss, potato sac race, tug of war, ducks in a pond, and pool kickball. I even had a great time capturing these moments of excitement and laughter.

Below are the themes for spirit week:

Tuesday, 6/1

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. 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.

This year’s FWM sweatshirt, designed by the 8th grade class, is available! Order by Monday to receive yours before the end of the year! 2021 FWM Sweatshirt- Order Here!

There is such a great sense of community in our school. Within the class, the children love just spending time with one another. Every Thursday we have community building time in the outdoor classroom at the end of the day. The children play games, build with sticks, and get creative with friends. Most children play with different classmates each week and, as a result, many friendships are being cultivated! I think that is part of the beauty of a Montessori classroom; the chance to collaborate with children from different age groups. Children of various ages, working together, will learn from each other, both as students and as teachers. Just as siblings learn and grow together, so do children in a mixed-age classroom environment! Our Lower Elementary classroom is very much a family!