If you have not heard already we have a new addition to our classroom and he goes by the name, Captain Nibbles.  The students were so excited to meet him and voted on a name right away.  He is a Djungarian hamster that enjoys napping in his house, eating while sitting in his food bowl and going for a run on his exercise wheel late at night.

Writing workshop challenged the students to search for small moments in their lives to write stories they wish existed in the world, with characters that have similar struggles to their own.  This new workshop has helped me look at writing from a new perspective and it has been enlightening.

It was nice to take a break from our routine and go the White Memorial Conservation Center on Wednesday. The students learned about animal adaptations, saw live animal specimens and caught some during  our pond study.  We took a hike and searched for species of animals and plants. Many students spotted fungi due to the wet summer we had this year. Thank you to Leslie and Jayne for your assistance on our first field trip!

As part of the Montessori philosophy it is important to teach children how to care for the environment, including animals. A few years ago we had a pet turtle which became too large to care for adequately, so another school welcomed him to their classroom.

Since then our class has been missing the opportunity to care for a class pet. Please join us in welcoming, Captain Nibbles to the Upper Elementary classroom! He is a Djungarian hamster and the children are thrilled to have him in our room! They ask me each day if and when they can bring him home.

Our first two weeks were filled with community building activities, adjusting to new routines and becoming comfortable in the Upper Elementary environment.

The students are enjoying the minor changes we made to the classroom set up and the coziness of the small room, where lessons take place, or work on the Chromebooks.

We had the opportunity to spend time in the Makerspace, where students are learning how to work with Keva planks by building towers, spirals and using their engineering skills.

Our Writer’s Workshop kicked off last week with an assessment.  The Upper Elementary writers are going to stretch their skills this year and learn that we all have a story to tell.  In their latest workshop they learned that writers can create realistic fiction from events that happened in their own lives.  Feel free to ask them about my story from elementary school!

To end our first week the class spent time using our game boards and decks of cards to connect and build community. We are so fortunate to spend time with your children and look forward to a great year together!