We can't believe it's only been two and half weeks - so much has been going on in our classroom! We just looked at our pictures from the first week and it felt like they had been taken a month or two ago. There has been so much action and growth here already.
We began the year looking at our
own community: who we are and consciously discussing what we'd like our classroom community to look
like. The students worked in small groups, with a thoughtful selection of mixed
ages, new students, and the third-year leaders. The leaders in the group
took this role very seriously and are still carrying this role on: helping
younger students, teaching them, as well as reviewing their own skills in all
areas of the classroom. The students have really gelled
and it feels like our little community has become a family, caring for each
other and relying on each other.
We have been reading and looking at a variety of different creation stories as a whole group in preparation for our First Great Lesson: The Coming of the Universe ( based on the scientific story of the Big Bang Theory of Creation). It will be given this week.
As Autumn returns and the cycle of the season surrounds us, the children have been finding and bringing us dead things: a dragonfly, a walking stick, a cicada exo-skeleton, butterfly wing, frog vertebrae, deer bones. This has inspired discussions about vertebrates and invertebrates, which has also inspired the budding “scientific illustrators” in our community. On the Equinox we used our “Seasons Mat”. We sat down and looked at our globe, the mat, a candle, and observed the earths axis and how with the Earth's rotation around the Sun we see the changes in the year.
The classroom is
humming with joyful learners. There has a lot of bustling
activity around our thesaurus, synonyms, homophones, adjectives, and the
study of words. Multiples of numbers are another hot topic in the
classroom as you can tell by all of the children working with the bead
chains in our pictures.
We overheard one child turn around from her work and say to one of her
friends,
“I have figured out multiplication” (with a confident grin on her
face).
Our youngest student is creating his own map of the world, the oldest is
creating a proportionate Solar System, while all of the other students
are working on
everything in between. It is joyful and busy!
We have so much to share and we
can talk more when we meet for Parent Teacher Conferences...which brings us to
the next topic...
You spoke and we listened...
Lower Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Friday, October 9th from 1-4. P.M. And the following week after school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday we will have openings at 1:00, 1:35, 2:10,2:45 and 3:20. After school conferences will be at 3:30, 4:05 and 4:40. If any of these times don't work for you please let us know and we will find a time that does. Please email or text Kris with your top three choices as soon as you can and we will put the schedule together.
Here are a few important dates to
remember:
Wednesday, September
30 Namaste Friends 4-H Club will return to the Tburg Farmer's Market. Please reach out to Bridgid for sign-ups.
Wednesday October 7 Open House and
Philosophy Night at the Elementary Campus
The open House is
from 4-6pm followed by Montessori 101 from 6-7pm Childcare is available
for the philosophy workshop, but please sign up ahead of time. This is
open to all,
please spread the word – invite friends, family, neighbors!
Friday, October 9th Early Dismissal- pick-up is 12:15-12:30. Lower Elementary Teachers will be holding conferences, remaining faculty will meet at Primary School.
Monday,
October 12 School Is Closed Fall Break/Columbus Day
Friday October 16 School Pictures
We are also planning an all-day
event to Indian Creek Apple Orchard in October. We will send some more
information as we know more; we would love a couple of chaperones.
We have also have a field trip scheduled on November 13 to the Museum of the Earth.
Thank you for sharing your
beautiful children with us.
Peacefully Yours,
Kris and Gretchen
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