We spent a good deal of time this week exploring botany during our cultural lessons. Specifically we explored the importance of roots and how roots seek out water. We set up a few experiments in class to observe root growth using bean and radish seeds. The students enjoyed these lessons and requested to plant their own seeds.  They are now set up outside our classroom and we will be able to observe their growth.  The enthusiasm of the class sparked some ideas that we are really excited about! Once we wrap up the science fair next week we will progress with the ideas we discussed as a class. Be on the lookout for some additions to our botany studies the following week! For those of you who were able to make it to Parent/Child Night, thanks for taking some time to visit the classroom with your child.

We recently spent time during our geometry lessons working with angles. The fifth years learned how to calculate the area of triangles using a formula after they had lessons with the materials for right angle, obtuse angle, and acute angle triangles. Next, they spent time making enormous triangles on chart paper and calculated the area of their own triangle to display in the classroom. The fourth years each used a set of tan grams to create congruent figures based on very specific directions. One set of tan grams consists of two large triangles, one parallelogram, one small square, one medium triangle, and two small triangles. They are looking forward to more future lessons with the tan gram materials!

This week as we increased our rehearsal time together the students were challenged to sing and act without the accompanying lyrics or words. They are doing an excellent job and several students have stepped out of their comfort zones to sing and act. Ultimately this will be a great growth experience for these students and a memorable show for all!

There is some upcoming important information for our level. On Friday April 26 we are going to see the Disney Nature movie, “Penguins” at 10:00am. This is perfect timing as Earth Day is in April and it will be a nice break from routine after the Science Fair on Thursday.

Our overnight trip to Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, MA is scheduled for May 21-23. The deposit for this trip is $80. I will send more information in a separate email, but wanted to make sure it was on your radar if your child is interested in joining us.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for 3 wonderful events on Wednesday, April 17th!

Art Show from 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Elementary and Middle School student artwork will be showcased in the Commons!

FWM Family Pizza & Salad Dinner from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Dine with us! Service and hospitality provided by Middle School students in the GYM!

Log in and place your order here:

https://www.myfwm.org/schools/myfwm.org/forms/?id=MTM%3D

Deadline for orders to be submitted by April 12

Parent & Child Night from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Work alongside your child by engaging in the many Montessori works in his or her classroom!

After our long March break it was nice to return to school re-energized to close out the year on a positive note. It did not take much time for the students to get back into the natural rhythm of our work cycle.

Now that each child knows their role for our upcoming play we have spent a little time each morning with the Lower Elementary practicing songs and lines. Based on our first few practices we expect a great show in May!

As we approached the end of the week we celebrated the March birthdays with our monthly birthday breakfast. The students are already looking forward to our next breakfast in April!

Although it was a shorter school week, it was nice to get back to our regular routine after all of the Research Morning preparations. On Wednesday, the students enjoyed decorating Valentine’s bags and sharing Valentines with each other.  Thank you to the families that sent in treats and supplies for our Valentine’s celebration.  Lessons resumed after our long weekend break and we visited the Eli Whitney Museum. The students learned about force and angles as they designed their own pinball machines to take home.  As you can see from the pictures they each came up with a unique design concept. This experience was a good starting point as we will explore inventions for the spring Science Fair.  One final “thank you” to everyone for the thoughtful cards, beautiful flowers, and Red Sox t-shirt for my birthday!  I always enjoy the hand made cards from the children.