It was a week of spooky fun and focused work in Upper El. We celebrated Halloween with a costume parade, a class party complete with many tasty foods brought by the children, and pumpkin carving. Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to our delicious spread! For some, it was their first time carving and pumpkin and there was a range of reactions to scooping out the seeds and soft inside of the pumpkin. After carving, a group of students separated the seeds from the rest of the innards and we have been enjoying roasted pumpkin seeds all week.

Our lessons this week included learning about the digestion process in biology, advanced equivalences in geometry, and identifying parts of speech in language. Individual students also had various lessons in math. We added two new pieces of independent work this week as well. The first is puzzles which are designed to help children sharpen their ability to reason, draw inferences, and evaluate evidence, all of which are important and vital critical thinking skills. The puzzles they worked on this week involve using deductive logic; students must draw conclusions based on what they know as certainly true or false, or unknown. The second new work is analogies. When students work with analogies they sharpen their reasoning skills as they analyze the subtleties of language and relationship. Analogies are useful tools for developing students’ grasp of concepts and ideas in different content areas.

Now that the weather has turned colder, please make sure your child has proper outdoor clothing each day at school. This means a warm coat for our morning recess and possibly a hat and gloves or mittens as the temperature continues to drop. We go out to play when the temperature is 20 degrees or above.

Upper elementary Montessori students study the parts of speech to become conscious of the diversity of language and how words do their work. Classifying a word depends on the work it does in the sentence, and Upper El children are asked to draw fine distinctions between types of functions. We look for categories of naming, describing, or relationship words. Work at this level prepares students for logical analysis, where it becomes even more apparent that the name a word takes in a context is totally dependent on the job that word is doing.

This week, we reviewed all of the basic parts of speech with mini-lessons on each. Then, students were asked to identify the part of speech for each word in some sentences from a book we are currently reading in class. What happened next was magical. Students enthusiastically collaborated, referencing dictionaries and our grammar flow chart hanging in the classroom. As I observed them working, I kept hearing, “This is so much fun! I love grammar!” I immediately took out my camera and recorded a short video so you could share in their enthusiasm.

We also had a fantastic class meeting to end our week. When I attended the Positive Discipline class last year with Gina Tryforos, I learned that students often have the same concerns about a classroom as teachers. If teachers are patient and let the class meeting process work, the children will solve most problems. Our most recent agenda item, written by a student, was “behaving when there’s no teacher in the room.” As I sat silently in the meeting and listened to the students brainstorm, I experienced the success of the process. Students took turns coming up with excellent solutions to the problem without me saying a word. This was just as meaningful for the children as it was for me.

“We must see the individual in [their] place in society because no individual can develop without the influence of society. It is like the nourishment of the body – we can talk about food, but if there is no food, our stomach cannot digest anything. Although we have lungs, we cannot breathe without air.” -Dr. Maria Montessori

We view the class meeting as the hub of a wheel that builds a community that fosters belonging, mutual respect, and cooperation; it supports the entire community. Many social and behavioral problems in an elementary classroom affect more than just the people directly involved, they have an effect on the whole classroom. In a class meeting, everyone shares their thoughts and feelings, and the group helps their classmates find solutions.

There are generally four different types of problems that are solved in the elementary Class Meeting.

• Individual problems: difficulty finishing their work, organizational challenges, playground issues, making friends.
• Problems that affect the whole group: people aren’t putting their work away, lessons are too long, people are being disruptive, and jobs aren’t getting done.
• Interpersonal problems: conflicts between two or more students.
• Ideas: field trips, projects, celebrations.

We have class meetings three times per week. There are four parts to the format: compliments and appreciations, follow-up on prior solutions, agenda items, and connection activity. The entire process takes 20-25 minutes. Our fifth-grade students take turns facilitating the meetings. Some important roles they take on are timekeeper, agenda keeper, scribe, and secretary.

This week, our agenda items were: people are holding the guinea pigs too long, and people are not being careful with the materials. Through brainstorming and discussion, Upper El students were able to come up with solutions for both problems, giving them ownership and buy-in of the solutions. We encourage you to ask your child to tell you about our class meetings!

“We can become sensitive to the needs of others; we can feel worthwhile, respected, and appreciated. We can learn to alleviate others’ problems. Not by words but by actions. We must work for the general establishment of human dignity, mutual respect, and mutual assistance to truly have a “democratic society.” -Rudolf Dreikers

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Karen and Deb

I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 26. Look for an email sent today to sign up for your time slot.

We’ve had a busy week here in Upper Elementary. In addition to our lessons, we added some new things to our daily work cycle.

Before starting their work, students respond to a daily journal prompt. Journaling is a great way to reflect on everyday experiences and relationships and can help us get in better touch with our thoughts and feelings. A journal offers a safe space to express and work through emotions. These journals are for each student’s eyes only to honor that safe space. The second new addition is a daily word problem. Students are encouraged to work together to solve each problem, allowing them to tell and write about their thinking process.

In our history lesson this week, we discussed evidence that may indicate our closest living relative: the species with which we share common ancestry. Using cladogram diagrams, we looked at the alternatives, remembering that we are looking for the animal with whom we share an ancestor. We compared humans with gorillas and chimpanzees by evaluating complicated evidence for the different possibilities. We compared bones and teeth, soft body parts, chromosomes, and molecules. As we completed this work, we discovered that humans share an unknown ancestor with chimps and that ancestor shares an unknown ancestor with gorillas. In other words, it seems we are most closely related to chimpanzees.

Fourth-year students learned about six regular polygons and some of their lines in geometry, such as major and minor base, height, diagonal, bisector, perimeter, and point. Fifth-year students learned to show equivalence between a regular polygon and a rectangle.

Our biology lesson introduced students to the “evolutionary strip.” Using a series of cards arranged in evolutionary order, we reviewed the common and taxonomic names of the familiar animals shown. Students noticed missing labels under two unfamiliar animal groups and were introduced to two new animals, amphioxus and lamprey. They learned that amphioxus had the first notochord that went from the tail to the head and that the lamprey had the first vertebral column.

Finally, Upper El students are enjoying creative writing time, and many have started collaborative stories with friends. They have especially enjoyed sharing their stories in progress with the class at the end of writing time, and we have loved hearing them!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Karen and Deb

“Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.” -Dr. Maria Montessori

We enjoyed our trip to The Adventure Park this week. This is such a wonderful first field trip of the year. It provides real opportunities for the children to bond with, encourage, and support each other outside the classroom. Helping each other at a high ropes course is necessary and creates natural opportunities for teamwork. I saw children challenging themselves to try courses with intimidating and challenging elements.

In general, going out on field trips is beneficial for children. They can practice grace and courtesy with each other and people outside Fraser Woods we encounter on the trip. Taking trips develops children’s resilience, courage, and independence and teaches them about our interconnectedness with nature and the world. Field trips also provide opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world settings and help children develop responsibility, manners, and cooperation.

Upon returning from our field trip, the children seemed more bonded, with new friendships and connections formed during our experiences in the trees.

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” -John Muir

Have a fabulous weekend,
Karen and Deb

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“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.” -Dr. Maria Montessori

Every year, on the 21st of September, the International Day of Peace is observed worldwide. This day was established by the United Nations 42 years ago and is a reminder for all of us to commit to building a culture of peace. Montessori schools celebrate this day from New Zealand to Hawaii by singing for peace. Our school joined in on Thursday, with toddlers through eighth-grade gathering on the field to sing “Light a Candle For Peace” as a whole school. It was a beautiful celebration, with upper elementary and middle school students signing the lyrics while singing the song.

After our Peace Day gathering, Upper El students enthusiastically and sweetly volunteered to help some of our toddlers move from the field to the toddler playground, taking their hands and walking beside them. We also have some fifth-grade students volunteering daily to walk three-year-olds to dismissal and a waiting list of students who want to help next week. I am consistently impressed with their willingness to be helpful and kind. Our fourth- and fifth-grade students emerge as school leaders during their Upper Elementary years.

Another highlight of our week was a visit from guest speaker Kelsey Tainsh. Kelsey is a world champion athlete and acclaimed professional speaker who has survived two brain tumors, one at five and one at fifteen, and a stroke during her second surgery to remove her brain tumor. She inspires audiences through her life experience and met with Upper El and Middle School students, delivering her message of kindness, inclusion, and acceptance.

**A reminder that on Thursday, 9/28, we will travel to the Adventure Park at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport from 10 to 2 for a day of high ropes and fun! Closed-toed sneakers and a bagged lunch from home are needed. We have two parent volunteers and are happy to welcome more! Just let me know if you’d like to join us.

Wishing you a peaceful long weekend,

Karen and Deb

Welcome to a new school year, Upper Elementary families! We had a fantastic first two weeks filled with getting to know each other, sharing, and learning. We even had our first birthday breakfast. Thank you to Luke’s family for joining us and bringing delicious cookies!

We have enjoyed hearing book reports on the summer reading the students completed. Each child that was ready to share, read their book report and then answered questions from their classmates. It was fun to hear about the different genres and authors that students explored during their time off.

This week, we started our history, biology, geometry, math, and spelling lessons.  In history, we began learning about humans’ closest living relatives and where humans fit into the classification of life. We discovered that humans are vertebrates, mammals, and primates. In biology, we will be learning about the vital functions of animals this year. We started our lessons by looking at the classification system and five kingdoms of life. In geometry, fourth years learned about congruent, similar, and equivalent shapes. Fifth years learned to prove and define equivalence between a parallelogram and a rectangle. We also began individual lessons and work in spelling and math. Each student has their own spelling words and has met with me to determine where their math lessons begin this year. All students are already working hard and collaborating on research and other assignments with friends.

We’ve also had a lot of fun this week with group-building games, building our class playlist, and playing on the field, playground, and in the woods of the outdoor classroom.

We are looking forward to our first field trip of the year on September 28, from 10:00-2:00. We will be going to the Adventure Park at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport with Middle School to participate in their ropes course. Students will need a bagged lunch that day and should not bring anything that needs to be heated. I would love to have some parent volunteers join us on this trip. If you are interested, please send me an email. I will send each student’s waivers, which need to be signed, in a separate email.

Thank you for adhering to your child’s scheduled, staggered arrival and dismissal time. Unless your child has a sibling at the middle school level or you have registered for early drop-off, arrival for elementary is from 8:10 to 8:20, and dismissal is from 3:00 to 3:20. 

We are looking forward to seeing you next Thursday, September 21st, at 5:30 for Curriculum Night!

Have a wonderful weekend! For those celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Shanah Tovah!

Karen and Deb

Thank you to every student for a fantastic year! Have an awesome summer. You earned it!

Thank you, Upper El families, for placing your beautiful children in our care!

A special thank you to the Januski family for caring for our cavies over the summer.

Wishing you a summer filled with endless adventures and joyful memories. We will miss you!

Karen and Angie