Throughout the school year, we will be exploring life cycles — discovering how living things grow and change over time. To begin this exciting series, we introduced the life cycle of a pumpkin. The children listened to the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington, which tells the tale of a young boy named Jamie who plants a pumpkin seed and patiently cares for it as it grows into a big, round pumpkin. The story ends with Jamie carving a face into his pumpkin and saving six seeds to plant again in the spring—a perfect way to illustrate the full circle of life.

Next week, we will begin our very own pumpkin life cycle project, a year-long science exploration that will allow the children to observe, care for, and revisit the growth process throughout the seasons. This hands-on experience will nurture their sense of curiosity, patience, and care for living things — all foundational to Montessori science learning.

Food Tasting Experience: Sweet Potato

This week’s food-tasting experience featured the sweet potato. The children used their senses to explore its smooth skin and earthy scent before tasting it. The sweet potato’s vibrant orange color also tied beautifully into our autumn theme and our continued exploration of all things orange!

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara

This week, we added a few exciting new materials to our shelves!

On the art shelf, we switched out our playdough for red, orange, and yellow modeling clay. This clay is firmer than playdough, which provides a wonderful challenge for the children’s hands. As they roll, press, and shape it, they are strengthening their fingers and refining their fine motor skills — all while having fun exploring the texture and color.

Another favorite new addition is our class sketchbook. This will be a year-long collaborative project that all the children will contribute to over time. Right now, they are using red, yellow, and orange oil pastels to explore color and movement on the page. As the year goes on, we will introduce new art mediums, allowing the children to experiment and express themselves in different ways.

In the practical life area, I introduced the hand washing lesson. This is such a beautiful and peaceful work — one that engages both the mind and body. The series of steps encourages focus, order, and care. It’s always lovely to see how calm and centered the children become as they go through the process of washing, rinsing, and drying their hands with purpose.

We also added a mini piano for the children to explore. The piano provides an introduction to music in a joyful and hands-on manner. As the children press each key, they are not only discovering cause and effect but also building finger strength, coordination, and auditory discrimination. Listening to the different tones helps refine their sense of hearing, and playing freely nurtures creativity and self-expression.

Each of these new materials offers meaningful opportunities for concentration, coordination, and creativity — the hallmarks of Montessori learning.

Speaking of new additions, we would like to congratulate The Vrantchans and welcome their newest family member. Big sister is so proud!

This week, we introduced some exciting new work to the classroom! The children have been exploring a beautiful basket filled with all types of gourds, each one unique in shape, size, color, and texture. This activity expands their descriptive vocabulary as they observe and compare. It’s a wonderful way to encourage early science and language development, as they classify and describe what they see.

We also added a favorite seasonal activity—pumpkin hammering! Using a small mallet and golf tees, the children strengthen their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and focus. Activities like this prepare the hand for future writing and build confidence through purposeful work.

Another highlight of our week was taking our first rainy day walk. We believe that outdoor time is valuable in all types of weather. As the saying goes, “There’s no bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” Well, besides tornadoes and lightning. Of course, we stay indoors during storms or unsafe conditions, but whenever it’s safe, we go outside to breathe fresh air and connect with nature. The children absolutely loved splashing in puddles, feeling the raindrops, and giggling as they tried to catch the rain on their tongues.

Moments like these remind us of the joy and learning that come from simple experiences—observing nature, using our senses, and discovering the world firsthand.

Food Tasting:

This week’s food-tasting experience featured a carrot, complete with its stalks and leafy greens still attached. The children examined the carrot closely, noticing its bright color, crisp texture, and earthy scent. We discussed how the carrot is a root vegetable, with the orange part growing underground and the green leaves reaching up toward the sun. After exploring, the children tasted a slightly cooked baby carrot, discovering its natural sweetness. Food-tasting lessons like this foster curiosity, promote healthy eating habits, and instill early awareness of botany as children learn where their food comes from.

Love and light,

Cynthia and Sara

It’s hard to believe we are already one month into the school year. In just these few short weeks, we have witnessed so much growth and change in the children. Their transition into the classroom has been a beautiful one. What has stood out most to me this year is how quickly the children have begun forming bonds with one another. In fact, this is the first time in my career that I have seen such strong connections develop so early in the year. The kindness and compassion they show each other daily is truly heartwarming—I wish I could capture it all for you to see.

On Wednesday, October 1st, we tucked away our apple activities and welcomed a new focus: pumpkins and gourds! Since the children are still captivated by our farm animal work, we decided to keep those materials available and build upon their interest. In art, the color orange is our theme for the month, showing up in chalk, crayons, playdough, and other creative explorations. We’re looking forward to all the joyful learning and discoveries pumpkins will bring in the weeks ahead.

Food Tasting

This week, our food tasting item was a banana. We began by presenting the banana whole, with the peel on, so the children could explore its shape, texture, and color. After a short demonstration on how to peel, the children had the opportunity to try for themselves. Some were so eager to taste it that they wanted to eat it right away! With gentle encouragement, they practiced peeling before enjoying the fruit. These small moments—of curiosity, independence, and delight—are at the heart of what makes food tasting such a favorite part of our week.

Community Connection

One of our Upper Elementary students is collecting old T-shirts to make dog toys for the Senior Paw Project and the Catherine Hubbard Foundation. This is such a wonderful opportunity for our school community to support both animals and a student-led project. If you have any old T-shirts you’re ready to part with, please send them in by November 7th.

Love and Light,

Cynthia and Sara