We have so enjoyed watching our caterpillars transform into butterflies over the last couple of weeks! We set them free, and the children were able to see them fly out into nature. After learning about butterflies, we became interested in knowing more about pollination and other animals that help. Kindergarteners had the chance to hand-pollinate cucumber plants in Makerspace and told us how that experience was! We learned that hummingbirds, honey bees and even bats are also pollinators!

As we are enjoying our last few weeks together in the classroom we are appreciating our time together and getting excited for what is ahead! The Kindergarteners had an opportunity to visit Lower Elementary last week and we started the discussion of what “moving up” looks like. The children are all excited to move up to their next step in the year ahead.

Have a wonderful weekend, and keep a lookout for our classroom butterflies flying around town!

Marissa & Sue

It’s always a little startling to realize that the end of the school year is quickly approaching. May is an amazing month because we look back to see all that we have accomplished and take stock of what we have left to do. Each child’s learning at this point is very much cumulative and continues to build upon all of the skills that have been mastered since August. A perfect example of this is the kindergarten animal research project the children have been working on for several weeks. We start this project in late spring because we need a foundation of reading, writing, geography, science, and even math in order to be successful. I was ‘interviewing’ the kindergartners for the About The Author section of their books, and, as typically happens, several other children quickly wanted to be interviewed and share their future career aspirations. Their answers are sure to brighten everyone’s day.

Matteo: Scientist
Eowyn: Princess
Ava: Policeman
Charlotte: Princess
Brinley: Baker
Conor: Wild Thing
Victoria: Scientist
Anthony: Scientist
Carter: Veterinarian
Simone: Veterinarian
Shea: Fireman
Ruscher: Construction Worker
Katie: Veterinarian
Levi: Astronaut
Lemon: Makeup Artist
Soren: Scientist and a Construction Worker
Lucia: Mom and a Horseback Rider
Savina: Swimming Teacher and an Artist
Charlotte: Princess
Elsie: Movie Producer

A special thank you for all the beautiful flowers and thoughtful notes sent in this week.  We felt very loved!

Wishing you all a week filled with peace and love!

Marissa & Sue

We continue to admire our Painted Lady caterpillars each day. We have an observation station set up where children are invited to draw and document the growth of the caterpillars. While we are watching this metamorphosis in real time, we are also using hands-on materials to visualize the life cycle of a butterfly.

Learning about the different stages of a butterfly’s life: adult, egg, larva, and pupa has been so interesting and eye-opening! Some questions I have received from students are:

“Do butterflies have families once the eggs hatch?”

“Well, is it a full cycle if the butterfly or caterpillars die?”

“Is “larva” and “pupa” a fancy word for caterpillar and chrysalis?”

“What is the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon?”

Do you know the answers to these questions? These would be great conversation starters with your children!

We also continue our journey through Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak. This month’s poem goes like this:

In May, I truly think it best
To be a robin lightly dressed
Concocting soup inside my nest.
Mix it once, mix it twice,
Mix that chicken soup with rice!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Marissa & Sue

We are closing our Bird study and beginning our study of butterflies and honey bees! To kick off this next month, we welcomed five tiny caterpillars to our classroom. It is so exciting to observe each step of the fascinating life cycle of the painted lady butterfly. Right now, our caterpillars are busy eating, spinning silk, and growing bigger every day. During this incredible period of growth, they will shed their exoskeletons four times and grow more than ten times their original size! When they have finished growing, the caterpillars will climb to the top of the cup. Once there, they will hang from the paper disk in a “j” shape under the lid. Finally, they will shed their exoskeletons one last time before they pupate and form a chrysalis.

On Wednesday, a classmate shared the wonderful traditions of celebrating the New Year in Sri Lanka during the month of April. He showed us his special outfit, shared homemade Sri Lankan snacks, and gave each child a keychain representing Sri Lanka. Thank you so much to his family for sharing a little piece of their culture with us!

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Marissa & Sue

“Help me to do it myself.”

In our hurried world filled with timelines and schedules, it is often so much easier and quicker for a parent to help their child put on a pair of shoes, rather than encourage the child and patiently wait for them to put on their own shoes.  Doctor Maria Montessori recognized that children possess an innate need for independence. She also understood that this independence and the child’s desire to: “Help me to do it myself” was the key driver behind their intellectual and physical development.

According to Montessori theory, the child’s journey towards independence begins from the moment they are born, and progresses as children learn to become fully functioning, empowered individuals in our world.  Our classrooms are designed to allow the children to experience “real work” and to fulfill their need for independence. It is common for some children to immediately say “can you help me” or “I can’t do it” before even trying.  We ask the children to try something three times before seeking out help from a teacher.  Quite often, before that third try is up, they have found success. So, if you see your child is struggling or taking a long time to do something, take a step back and create the opportunity for them to independently be successful.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,

Marissa & Sue

In the Montessori classroom, we put a lot of emphasis on repetition. For example, a few weeks ago, we began our in-depth color-mixing journey. We learned how different amounts of reds, blues, and yellows would result in a variation of new colors. It was an extremely popular activity; I couldn’t keep it on the shelf! But, the children repeated and repeated and soon mastered that version of color mixing. Moving on to this month, we are studying birds. We always incorporate art into our work, especially science – the perfect way to continue color mixing but in a more creative way. Children were given drawings of feathers with “prompts” of which colors to use. Children can use these colors separately or mix them together to see what they create. It has been a popular project, and I have loved seeing children move from the mechanical practice of color mixing to the artistic practice!

Our Fraser Woods Auction is coming up on April 27th! I am attending as both a teacher and a parent and would LOVE to see you all there as well. It is a great way to show up to support our wonderful school AND have a fun time! The children in our class have worked so hard on our class project in honor of the event! April 22nd is the last day to purchase tickets, and you can do that HERE.

A message from Middle School: Order your 8th-grade-designed 2024 FWM sweatshirt ASAP! Orders close on April 27! Click here to order.

See the video below for a demonstration of our most recent color mixing!

Our April study is one of my favorites of the entire year! We are studying everything about birds. We are learning about many birds we may see in our own backyards, like Blue Jays, American Robins, Goldfinches, Crows, and Black-Capped Chickadees. We look at photos of birds, learn their names, and even get to listen to their beautiful songs! In one of our Sunshine Spots, children can look at an interactive book and hear bird calls from many different backyard birds.

We incorporate birds into our math work by counting birds and making feather booklets where we write numbers. Children have been tracing hummingbirds and Stellars Jay and painting them with beautiful watercolors. There is even a pretend bird’s nest where a mama bird is caring for her four eggs!

Our Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up on Friday, April 12th and 19th. Please look out for the Sign Ups on Monday!

The children have really been enjoying singing songs about birds. Ask your child to sing Two Little Black Birds or Red Red Robin.

Our absolute favorite is Jennie Jenkins. You and your child can sing along!

What the hand does, the mind remembers. —Maria Montessori

Every Montessori classroom has a Sensorial area, and it is filled with materials that help the child study their environment through their five senses. Maria Montessori believed that sensorial experiences begin at birth for every child, and by refining these skills, they begin to understand their surroundings. The sensorial materials allow the child to acquire concise information and classify things around them. They use their senses not only to create their own experiences and knowledge but also to help them figure out different impressions each sense receives. The child is, therefore, a natural “sensorial explorer.”

Each material in this area has a built-in control of error so that after an initial lesson, little teacher direction is needed. This control of error helps a child determine what needs to happen to complete the lesson successfully. The children can distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what they already know. Each sensorial material isolates one specific quality, such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, or smell. These materials emphasize this particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Many of the sensorial materials are also the basis of future mathematical concepts the children will learn.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Marissa & Sue (she’s back!!!)