“Averting war is the work of politicians, establishing peace is the work of educators.”
-Maria Montessori

Peace truly begins in our homes and in our classrooms. The basics of peace include providing day-to-day environments which operate under an umbrella of respect, where our children can freely share concerns, feel safe, be productive and enjoy one another.

Your children celebrated an International Day Of Peace with Montessori children from around the world on September 21st. We participated in a round robin of sorts singing, “Light A Candle For Peace”, during an allotted time slot. The song was sung non-stop for twenty four hours by children from around the world.

On Thursday, October 19th (from 1pm to 9pm) and Friday, October 20th (from 7:30am-11:30am), FWM will be holding Parent & Teacher Conferences.

This is an important time to meet with your child’s teacher about how your child is progressing at the school. Scheduling for Parent & Teacher Conferences will be done on MyFwm.org in the Parent Module.

The sign up will be open Tuesday, October 3rd. Please note, conferences are typically 20 minutes long; however, each slot is 30 minutes in order for teachers to take notes and prepare for the next conference.

Thank you in advance for being punctual to your Parent & Teacher Conference and for adhering to the 20 minute limit.

Though we have been enjoying the warm weather, the official arrival of autumn has brought with it the exploration of the various parts of apples, trees and leaves.  We have begun slicing apples for apple crisp baking this week and have had a wonderful time making our own “binoculars” for a nature walk next week.  Children are hard at work throughout the classroom as they become more acquainted with the environment and acquire new skills.  It is truly a joy to observe!

Our classroom has been humming with the buzz of busy friends at work!  In addition to having new lessons and revisiting previously learned concepts, we have been preparing to join our FWM Community in celebrating Peace Day on Thursday, September 21st.  Children have enjoyed making peace symbol bracelets, Pinwheels for Peace and a peace poster that will be displayed outside our classroom.  Some of our friends’ suggestions for peaceful activities have included sitting on a bench, sleeping, sitting quietly and relaxing on the couch.

The foundation of a Montessori classroom is the Practical Life area.  This area provides a bridge between a child’s home life and school life.  As parents, we often hear children say repeatedly, “I can do it myself.”  How right they are!   Practical Life is teaching daily living skills while helping children to develop focus, concentration, independence, coordination, a sense of order and developing hand strength.  Sshhh, the children don’t know about any of that, they just think it is a fun area to spend time in.

Help me, help myself.

                 —Maria Montessori

 

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One of the early science activities in Montessori Education is learning about living and non-living. This week your children enjoyed learning and exploring the four characteristics of living things. They easily identified our fish Galaxy as living, and our Pepperidge Farm goldfish snack as non-living!  Have some fun at home this week identifying those things in your environment that are living, and those that are non-living.

The start of a new school year is an exciting time.  The children are busily working, having new lessons and increasing their independence through interaction with their classroom environment.  We are looking forward to a year full of fun, friendship and learning!

Our new school year has begun with all the smiles and promise that each year brings.

The children are quickly settling into our routines, rekindling old friendships, and making new ones each day.

Please enjoy this sneak peak into our classroom!

 

The beginning of the school is a busy and exciting time here at FWM!  The children are learning new lessons, developing relationships with teachers and peers and becoming increasingly familiar with the structure of our day.  We are so excited to have had such a positive start and inspired by the hope and promise of a wonderful school year.

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”

—-Maria Montessori