“This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.” -Margaret Atwood

Upper elementary students had an exciting week as they prepared for the Winter Concert. They worked incredibly hard and showed great enthusiasm during our practices and the performance as we welcomed families and friends to celebrate the holidays with us.

We want to thank everyone who contributed treats to our class party and for your incredibly generous and lovely gifts. We greatly appreciate your support throughout the year. A special thank you goes to the McCann family for caring for our class guinea pigs over the break!

It is no coincidence that we have such an amazing group of students, thanks to their wonderful families. We feel very fortunate to guide these remarkable individuals, and we are grateful to you for trusting us with their care.

Wishing you joyful and peaceful holidays filled with love,

Karen and Sara

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive.

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us—listen!

All the long echoes, sing the same delight,

This Shortest Day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And now so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome, Yule!

-Susan Cooper

Our shared past reminds us that we are all part of the human family, with a common bond that transcends borders and differences. -Donald Johanson

Upcoming events:

• Thursday, 12/19
  • Holiday Party
  • Pajama Day
  • Secret Santa – Students bring a gift ($15 limit) for their recipient.
• Friday, 12/20
  • 9:30: Pre-concert breakfast
  • 10:00: Holiday Concert – Concert attire (no sweatpants, sweatshirts, jeans, crocs)
  • Early Dismissal (11:30) – Students can be dismissed after the concert.
    

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This week, we wrapped up our study of modern humans. We learned about these ancient humans not primarily through their fossils but rather through the artifacts they left behind—specifically, the tools they crafted. The different ages of tool-making identify each group of ancient humans.

The earliest period was the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age), followed by the Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age), and then the Neolithic Age, which marked the beginning of farming. Finally, around 4,000 years ago, people began creating tools from metal, marking the start of the Age of Metals.

Each student presented a specific group of modern humans, emphasizing the key facts that intrigued them the most. We learned about the Aurignacians, Solutreans, and Magdalenians from the Upper Paleolithic Age; the Azilians, Maglemosians, and Kitchen Midden Folk from the Mesolithic Age; the Lake Dwellers and Megalith Builders from the Neolithic Age; the Battle-Axe People, Beaker Folk, and British Settlers from the Bronze Age; and the Celts from the Iron Age.

Reflecting on our study of modern humans, it’s clear that the evolution of tool-making is not just about the objects themselves but also about the people who created and used them. Each age tells a story of adaptation, innovation, and the journey of modern humans through time. We can’t wait to delve deeper into history as we continue our studies with Ancient Civilizations up next!

“An inner change has taken place, but nature is quite logical in arousing now in the child not only a hunger for knowledge and understanding, but a claim to mental independence, a desire to distinguish good from evil by his own powers, and to resent limitation by arbitrary authority. In the field of morality, the child now stands in need of his own inner light.” -Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Recognizing the distinct traits of children at different stages of development allows us to better support their growth. Fourth and fifth graders are full of energy, possess evolving interests, and navigate complex social dynamics. They experience a period of physical growth while generally maintaining a calm demeanor, leading to a time of stability and happiness. During this stage, they shift from solely focusing on self-construction and information absorption to exploring the world around them. They develop a keen interest in culture, history, science, and, most importantly, their place in the world.

These children are bursting with enthusiasm and thrive on rough-and-tumble play, often gravitating toward team activities. They typically display greater happiness and friendship as they begin to navigate complex social interactions. With growing self-confidence, they develop a deeper acceptance of diversity in their relationships. Their lively curiosity drives them to ask probing questions, helping them understand the world better.

By understanding these characteristics, we can more effectively support children’s academic growth and create an environment in which they can thrive socially and emotionally. Recognizing these traits enables us to encourage their development and address their unique needs as they transition from fourth to fifth grade and beyond.

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. 

Over the next two weeks, we will wrap up our study of early humans with lessons and discussions about fourteen cultures of modern humans who lived in Europe during the last 40,000 years: the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Ages.

I want to extend a special thank you to the families and Paromita, who contributed to our beautiful Diwali celebration this week. We enjoyed the Diwali stories, dancing, and delicious food!

At the Upper Elementary level, Montessori math work begins with hands-on demonstrations and work with materials for each new concept before students move to the abstract. This provides many benefits for students. Concrete math work allows students to naturally develop a deep understanding of concepts, with exploration leading to understanding rules and formulas. Our process is an introduction with the material, independent practice, and demonstration of understanding through the use of the material. After understanding is demonstrated, a rule or formula is verbalized before students begin to complete the problems abstractly. The rule or formula is often recorded in their math books for later reference by the student.

Students are also encouraged to develop their math problems within the concept they are studying. This process, called Guided Discovery, leads to children engaging with issues that arise in their exploration, creating opportunities for mini-lessons as those issues arise. It focuses on the technique or the process instead of the correct answers to each problem. This means that students can move through the curriculum at a pace that interests them and makes math engaging. Working at their own pace helps students to develop confidence in their problem-solving ability and a strong sense of independence.

We have a variety of math work going on. In geometry, one group is finding the equivalence between two figures while the other group is learning to find the area of different figures. This week, the equivalency group learned about using a rhombus’s major and minor diagonals to prove equivalence to a rectangle. The area group learned to find the area of a regular polygon by comparing the perimeter of the polygon to the base of a rectangle and comparing the apothem of the polygon to the height of the rectangle. In individualized math work, different students are working on the following:

• finding the lowest common multiple of large numbers
• researching factors of two-digit numbers
• common factors and the greatest common factor
• square of binomials
• square root formed of only units and cross multiplication

The UE students exhibit remarkable enthusiasm and self-motivation in their mathematics work. Their eagerness is evident in how they engage with complex problems and collaborate, fostering a dynamic and supportive learning environment.

“I sincerely believe that for the child, and for the parent seeking to guide him, it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused – a sense of the beautiful, the excitment of the new and unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love – then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response. Once found, it has lasting meaning. It is more important to pave the way for the child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts he is not ready to assimilate.” -Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

We had a wonderful last week of October! We began the week by learning about the upward flow of liquids from a plant’s roots to its leaves. This biology lesson focused on root pressure, capillarity, and aspiration. We discussed various theories explaining how liquids ascend in plants and discovered that multiple elements work together to facilitate this process. Roots pump water into the plant, which then travels up the stems. As the water evaporates from the leaves, it creates a vacuum that pulls more water from the stem, resulting in a continuous flow of water and dissolved substances from the roots. We also learned that the strand of water remains intact and is strong enough to pull water ten times higher than the tallest tree.

Halloween was filled with excitement as we dressed in costumes and participated in a parade for the primary and toddler students. Their joyful cheers and wide-eyed wonder added to the festive spirit. The parade ended with the elementary and middle school students and our fabulous performing arts instructor, Megan Kirk, surprising us with a choreographed Halloween dance. After the festivities on the field ended, we returned to our class to carve our pumpkins and enjoy our delicious treats. Thank you for your generous contributions to our class party!