Mrs. Doyle’s Class: More Than a Mat

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

The love of one’s environment is the secret of social evolution. -Maria Montessori

Retrieving a mat, picking it up carefully, finding the ideal space to work, and rolling it out provides an opportunity to practice gross motor skills and body consciousness. Everything that gets placed on the mat thereafter becomes the responsibility and privilege of the child working on that mat.

Montessori work mats delineate a work space as the child’s own and sets an intention to “work.”  Not only does the child know that their lesson is exclusive to them, they also have the responsibility to put their materials away when they are finished, before they roll up their mat and signal the end of their work session. This small rug actually helps to define a child’s work space and develop a child’s sense of order.

Our floors have been a sea of rugs! Your children are skillfully maneuvering themselves throughout the environment, careful not to disturb a friend’s work. We continue to be amazed at their growing control and respect for both friends and the environment.

Wishing you a peaceful week!

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Welcome Fall

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

 

A chill to the air, the first fire in the fireplace, the smell of pumpkin spice. It’s finally fall!

This week your children experienced autumn, not just as a date on the calendar, but as an opportunity to use our sense of smell to really savor the season. The smells of cooking applesauce, spices, and newly fallen leaves brought smiles and created lasting memories.

Maria Montessori believed there is a sensitive period for developing the senses. Although the senses are an integral part of our lives, children during the early years have the greatest potential to develop and retrieve them. It is precisely this idea that demonstrates the purpose of Sensorial materials in the Montessori classroom. The Sensorial materials are powerful tools, which allow children to become aware of their unconscious impressions and bring these impressions into conscious awareness. Additionally, they enable your children to create a basis of order in their mind, allowing for intelligent exploration of their environment.

Wishing you a wonderful week,

Mrs. Lopes and Mrs. Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Our Peaceful Classroom

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child. –Maria Montessori

Peace education is a basic tenet of the Montessori philosophy.  In the 3-6 environment, studying the seven continents, including their people and cultures, provides a global view of our world. As Montessori teachers, practicing and teaching peace, kindness, and acceptance is a natural part of our day. Dr. Maria Montessori believed we should think of education as peace, not education for peace.  She also believed that young children were our hope for eliminating conflict and instilling peace throughout the world. Dr. Montessori, as always, knew that lecturing children would accomplish very little and that to truly understand peace they would need to discover it for themselves.

Typically to celebrate Peace Day, we participate in “Sing Peace Around The World.”  Beginning in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii, Montessori schools around the world sing “Light A Candle For Peace” for five minutes and during a specific time slot. So for 24 hours, this special song is being sung in a different part of the world by Montessori children. To keep the children and teachers safe, this year is different. We were so lucky that Ms. Ulacco came to our class to teach the children how to ‘sing’ “Light A Candle For Peace” in sign language.  Her video is shared below.

Wishing everyone a peaceful week!

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: A Peaceful Classroom

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

” We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”-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 understanding of respect, where our children can freely share concerns, feel safe, be productive, and enjoy one another.

As is tradition, Fraser Woods celebrated the International Day of Peace on Monday, September 21st.  Normally we would gather together as a school to sing the song “Light a Candle for Peace,” but this year we had to be creative.  We were so lucky to have Ms. Danielle Ulacco come into our classroom and teach the children how to sign the song.  The children really enjoyed signing along with her while listening to the music.

May we all work together to create a world where everyone everywhere is able to enjoy and exercise their ‘right to peace.’ And may we all help our children learn how to carry on this important mission.

Wishing you all strength and peace,

Mrs. Lopes and Mrs. Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Getting Into the Swing of Things!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Each of us, as parents, are filled with many emotions about the beginning of a new school year!  This year, we were aware of protocols that needed to be in place in order to ensure everyone’s safety. Some of us may have had concerns about the ‘what if’s’ and exactly what the day would look like.

It is with great excitement (and relief) that I share with you, those concerns are only on the adults’ minds!  The children enter the classroom each morning, ready to learn, laugh, and love.  To see their smiles, hear their laughter, and observe their desire to absorb new knowledge is very heartwarming. The routines of our days are running smoothly and create a calm environment. We are happy to see new friendships developing and others deepening.

Many of you may grimace at the phrase “a new normal” as much as I do; there really is no “new normal” though. Our classroom is a community of young children, growing together and truly getting the most out of each day. I love the “bubble” we have created and am so grateful to be on this journey with each and every child. Thank you for trusting us on this uncharted journey!!

Please remind your child to wear something BLUE on Monday, September 21 to recognize and celebrate the International Day of Peace.  Blue is the universal color of peace.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Lopes’ Class: Enjoying the Small Moments

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

 

As I reflected on this week with your children, I smiled thinking about all the unexpected small moments of joy that happen when you are surrounded by young observers. It is so wonderful to watch our classroom community building and the children growing more comfortable in the environment and with each other.

This week we focused on the life cycle of an apple and the parts of an apple. We also enjoyed an apple tasting where we discussed how not all apples taste the same. It was interesting to watch the children react to the taste of each kind of apple and describe how they looked and tasted different. We heard words such as “crunchy,” “juicy,” “sour,” and my personal favorite, “It tastes like cotton candy!”  At the end of the tasting, each child got to vote for their favorite…Honeycrisp won!  To continue with our apple theme, we learned two fun apple songs together this week. I will share the songs at the end of this post if you would like to have your child sing and share them with you this weekend.

Our most exciting news this week was an unexpected surprise we found on the playground Wednesday morning. While the children played in the sandbox, we saw baby turtles crawling out of a hole in the sand and soon realized we were observing them hatching! We were all amazed and delighted to watch the babies crawl through the sandbox, into the grass, and on to their next destination.

Please remind your child to wear something BLUE on Monday, September 21 to recognize and celebrate the International Day of Peace.  Blue is the universal color of peace.

Warmly,

Mrs. Lopes and Mrs. Sharlene

 

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: The Three Period Lesson

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

When we introduce new concepts or materials to the children, we often do so using a three-period lesson. This is an important tenet of Montessori education and it helps to move the child from basic understanding of a concept to mastery.

Period One is the introduction stage. In this stage we are isolating new vocabulary to the children. For example, if we are introducing the color tablets, we say, “This is blue.”  Repeating that statement and allowing the child to manipulate the blue color tablet are crucial during this stage.

Period Two is all about association and recognition. It is often a separate lesson. We do not ask the children to remember the vocabulary or recall the concept.  We are simply reinforcing the concept taught in Period One. We use words such as “Show me the blue tablet,” or “Can you place the blue tablet on your lap?”

Period Three is the recall stage and the first time we ask the child to remember the concept independently. We ask them “What is this?” when showing them the blue color tablet. We are careful not to begin Period Three until we know they are ready for success.

Every time a child masters a new concept it paves the way to move towards another one.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Lopes’ Class: A Walk Around the Sun

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

With the departure of Ms. Carroll, I feel so honored to be able to step into a classroom with such an amazing group of children and families. The children have acclimated to my presence with ease and have enthusiastically welcomed me into their classroom community. Thank you for your support during this transition. Ms. Sharlene and I are looking forward to a wonderful school year with your children!

This week we had our first classroom birthday celebration. Birthday celebrations are so special in a Montessori environment. For a child, one year is a significant amount of time relative to their life. As part of the Montessori tradition, we strive to celebrate birthdays in a way that is both meaningful and educational.

Our children in the primary environment celebrate birthdays with a tradition called “a walk around the sun.” A walk around the sun can be different from school to school, but typically begins by lighting a candle representing the sun in the middle of our class circle. Labels for each month of the year are laid out around the candle. The teacher and class form a circle around the candle and the birthday child walks around the “sun” once for each year of their life, holding an Earth globe. We encourage parents to share a milestone from each year of their child’s life during their walk around the sun.

The Montessori Birthday Walk is more than just a birthday celebration, it’s a Celebration of Life, a lesson in science, astronomy, and grace, and a community building experience for the entire class.

This Friday we will be sending home a “Friday Folder” with your child’s work from the week.  Please empty the folder and return it to school on Monday.  Some children come home with many items each week, while others do not.  Please remember that many of the lessons and materials in our environment are tactile, so even though your child may not be coming home with much “physical” work, our photos we share each week will show how they have been working hard in the classroom.

If you would like to access your child’s weekly schedule, including enrichment classes, you can do so on myfwm.org. Go to the Parents module and select Student Schedules. If you have more than one child at FWM, you can access all from this one location using the drop down menu.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Lopes and Ms. Sharlene