“Education between the ages of six to twelve is not a direct continuation of that which has gone before, though it is built upon that basis. Psychologically there is a decided change in personality, and we recognize that nature has made this a period for the aquisition of culture, just as the former was for the absorption of the environment.” -Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential

Maria Montessori identified different stages in children’s development, which she called the Planes of Development. Each stage is divided into six-year periods: 0-6, 6-12, and 12-18, with each period further categorized into three-year segments. Each stage has a primary focus, and children at each stage exhibit specific characteristics. Montessori teachers use this information to create age-appropriate environments and lessons for their students.

Children in the elementary level are in the second plane of development, characterized by the “Elaboration of the Mind and Personality.” Elementary-aged children transition rapidly from concrete thinking to abstract reasoning, developing the ability to solve problems logically. They become more interested in the social world and are highly concerned with justice and fairness.

During the first three years of the elementary plane, lower elementary children are in the “period of construction” and are increasingly interested in comprehending how things work. They develop a strong moral sense and show an interest in culture. In the lower elementary classroom, their needs are met through extended opportunities for reading and writing, more involved group activities, and expanded projects.

In upper elementary, the second three years of the plane, children are in the “period of consolidation” and are working on integrating the lessons of the first three years. Upper elementary children begin to exhibit internal and external order, and the socially challenging behaviors of lower elementary children mature into a more serene and well-ordered nature. Children at this level are more focused, calm, and predictable. They have learned to resolve conflicts using logic and reason and understand things from their peers’ perspectives.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Karen and Krystin

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied together into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality…Before you finish breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality. We aren’t going to have peace on Earth until we recognize the basic fact of the interrelated structure of all reality.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Maria Montessori’s life spanned two world wars, and after the start of the Second World War, although she was already a promoter of peace, she became determined to educate the world about the vital connection between peace and education. She believed that if children grow up with a great respect for humanity, they won’t live in ways that destroy that humanity. They will develop a conscience and a feeling towards life and be incapable of cruelty. Montessori is known worldwide for her contribution to peace between nations; she spent many years laying the foundations of peace through education. Montessori classrooms must be nurturing, respectful, and inclusive places that celebrate our diversity.

I can honestly say that this diverse group of students would be a good model for many to follow in how to work together respectfully, peacefully, and productively. Peace education isn’t a separate curricular area for them. They continually learn to respect their peers’ physical space and collaborate respectfully as they move through each day. They have a powerful sense of peace and social justice at this age and are learning to view conflict as an opportunity for growth and leadership.

Wishing you a peaceful weekend,
Karen & Krystin

 

Our classroom is buzzing with enthusiasm as we begin our Autobiography Project this week! Each student will be able to share their unique life story with the class through a written account of five chapters. These chapters will delve into their personal experiences, family background, thoughts, and aspirations for the future. This is a significant project for all of us, and we will dedicate the next seven weeks to it. Students will work on their autobiographies in class and at home, honing their writing skills and reflecting on their lives. Once the written portion is complete, they may create a slide presentation to accompany their oral presentation. This project will enhance their public speaking skills and create a treasured keepsake for each student to look back on.

In addition to our focused independent autobiography work this week, we had time to play in the snow and have other group and individual lessons. Geometry lessons focused on finding the area of an acute triangle. In grammar, we learned about indefinite, demonstrative, and possessive adjectives. Our biology lesson this week looked at the vital function of sensitivity.

We had a great and busy week after our winter break. We have a new member in our classroom until the end of next week, Miss Alyssa, a college student studying to become an elementary teacher. She is observing my lessons and working with students during our work cycle. The children welcomed her and enjoyed the extra attention.

We had productive daily group and individual lessons this week. The fourth graders learned about proving equivalence between a trapezoid and a rectangle in geometry. The fifth graders learned how to find the area of a parallelogram.

In biology, we focused on the vital function of circulation and learned that there are two types of circulatory systems: open and closed. We compared the open circulatory system to a fountain and the closed system to a radiator. During their independent follow-up work, students will learn which animals have an open or closed system.

This week, the fourth graders learned about common and proper nouns in grammar work. The fifth graders started their lessons on adjectives, focusing on descriptive, article, and numeral adjectives.

In Literature Circle, students are finishing their book and are excited to start their next book, The Wild Robot Escapes, next week.

In anticipation of snow on the ground when we return to school next week, students will need snow boots, snow pants, winter jackets, hats, and gloves or mittens to enjoy recess in the snow. We go out to play when the temperature is 20 degrees or above, and we love to play in the snow!

We had a fantastic and eventful week just before winter break. We want to extend heartfelt thanks to Rotem and Romy for their amazing and delicious Hanukkah presentation! We had a wonderful time and learned so much! We also had an enjoyable holiday concert, a cozy pajama day, and our Sneaky Snowball gift exchange. We had a blast making holiday decorations with Ms. Krystin. We even managed to fit in some lessons amidst all of the excitement!

We hope you have a wonderful holiday break filled with joyful family celebrations.

See you in the new year!

Lots of love,
Karen and Krystin

 

“The hand is the instrument of intelligence. The child needs to manipulate objects and to gain experience by touching and handling.” -Maria Montessori.

Throughout their elementary years, Montessori students become proficient in math procedures and gain a deeper understanding of math concepts by starting their work concretely, using purposefully designed materials, before advancing to abstract concepts. The individualized work in the Montessori math curriculum prepares students for the challenges of later school years while promoting joy in learning and a willingness to take on complex problems. Upper El students have been enthusiastically participating in math lessons and progressing to new concepts in their individualized work this week. Collectively, many different math concepts are being learned in our class at any given time. Currently, our range of focus is:

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions with unlike denominators abstractly
• Reducing fractions and converting improper fractions to mixed numbers
• Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimal numbers with materials and abstractly
• Finding the lowest common multiple of two or three numbers with and without materials
• Researching factors of a number to prepare for learning to find the greatest common factor with materials
• Using materials and factor trees to find the prime factors of numbers and finding the LCM and GCF
• Learning and applying divisibility rules

Children can work independently or collaboratively on their assignments. Discussing mathematical reasoning with peers helps students to solidify their understanding of processes and solutions, leading to mastery of concepts.

To those who celebrate, Happy Hanukkah! We wish you prosperity, love, and laughter.

Have a marvelous weekend,
Karen and Krystin

Getting back to a normal rhythm this week with group and individual lessons was nice. In addition to our weekly planned lessons in different curriculum areas, we have daily assigned work during the week. This includes work with analogies, puzzles involving reasoning skills, math word problems, and grammar. We correct these works together, sometimes discussing and comparing answers. This week, students enjoyed using our new Promethean board to explain to their peers how they solved the math word problems.

Our history lesson this week focused on artifacts we study in learning about human cultures by creating our own “trash heap.” We will use this trash heap in next week’s lesson when we learn about the expertise required at an archeological dig. In biology, we focused on the vital function of respiration in animals. We learned that respiration is the metabolic process by which organisms use oxygen, burn food, and release carbon dioxide. Fourth-grade geometry examined the equivalence between a rhombus and a rectangle by comparing the rhombus’s short and long diagonals with the rectangle’s base and height. Fifth graders learned how to use inverse formulas to find the missing base or height when given the area and a rectangle’s base or height.

In the Montessori story of the human being, there are three gifts humankind has been given that distinguish us from the rest of the animals – a mind with which to think, a heart with which to love, and hands with which to work. These gifts are given to us to know, love, and serve our world and ourselves. Maria Montessori felt that this was the cosmic task of our species. This is the basis upon which human work ought to be founded. (Lecture, University of Madras, 1940.)

The following is an excerpt from The Coming of Humans.

Human beings have a different kind of love than other animals. Other animals can love as well, but humans don’t only have one kind of it. We have the kind of love that two people share – the kind where people may be in love with each other – but we also have a different sort of love. Humans have love at a distance. We can even love someone we may never see. We may help others that we hardly ever know, just because they’re human beings. This love has an origin, and the origin is in the depths of time, when at some point in the past, people began to care for one another in a way that went beyond what other animals do. Our capability to love is our second gift. You and I and any other human can show our love for others. When something terrible happens to other people, we can support them in some way by giving them something – even if it may be that we will never know them, never know who they are, never meet them. We can do this without ever even expecting thanks. That’s a kind of love for others that other animals don’t have. We have that transcendent kind of love, when we choose to use it. 

This week the Upper Elementary students organized FWM’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. They enthusiastically spent their recess each morning collecting donations as they were dropped off during arrival. On Friday, they sorted hundreds of items for the two families we are supporting and loaded them onto Mr. Newman’s truck for delivery to the families. I wish you all could have felt the joyful energy in the room as they worked. After we finished and the donations were on their way, one student said, “I feel so good right now.”

Have a wonderful weekend,
Karen and Krystin