100th Day of School

Newsletter update on the special day:

This week we celebrated the 100th day of school.  Where this is an annual elementary program event, we wanted to take some time to explain our thinking behind this unique day of the school year.  We want to first stress what the 100th day isn’t.  It isn’t a count-down of school days till summer break.  This is completely contrary to how we view learning and school at WCDS.  Instead, we see this as a unique learning opportunity that allows for a practical application of mathematical thinking, problem solving, and creative expression.

In teaching, we often look for learning opportunities, where students are more open to key ideas or concepts.  For example, on the first snow it is fun to read a short book about the science behind the creation of snowflakes.  Along these lines, as part of our daily morning meeting, the younger students conduct a numerical count of school days as a way to work in some simple mathematical applications and a regular practice of hierarchical values.  The number 100 then quite naturally becomes an exciting moment in that it is when we get to use three place values!

Taking this naturally occurring event, as an elementary school building we then design a wide variety of activities that celebrate the number 100.  We come up with activities that touch upon all aspects of our Montessori learning experience. Here are just some of the events from this year:

• Read 100 books as a school in reading pairs with upstairs students
• Can you do 100...(jumping jacks, push-ups, jumps, or other physical activity)?
• How far is 100 steps?
• Making a paper chain with 100 strips of paper
• Problem solve: on what day of school did we spend 100 hours of school?
• Collect 100 cans/perishable of food to donate
• Write a poem using only 100 words
• Journal Prompt: You are given $100.00 how do you spend it?
• Name 100 verbs
• What does 100 (paper clips, sheets of paper, pencils, etc.) look like?
• Design an abstract piece of art using 100 pieces of (rice, pasta, or beans)

Happy birthday, Dad!

Tis the Season

School Newsletter: Glimpse into the Classroom

Today's newsletter from Joshua's classroom:

Happy New Year!  It is a delight to be back in the classroom with the students.  As is usually the case, the students came back with an excitement to get back into the swing of things.  They were eager for new lessons, writing assignments, cultural units, and new skills in math, language, and their other fields of study.  It is always such a delight to observe how quickly students settle back into the daily routine.

Generally speaking, there is a peace and simplistic joy you can see in how they carry themselves, move through their respective work cycles, and sink back into a familiar rhythm of learning and working.  It is in these moments, that it can be enjoyable to simply take a mental snapshot of all the wonderful work happening simultaneously in the classroom.  Once a year, we like to attempt to verbally share that snapshot with you in hopes that you too can enjoy the “Montessori buzz” of learning and exploration the students move within daily.  Keep in mind, this is truly what an average work time looks and feels like, enjoy:

Tuesday morning back at the computers a couple of students are exploring the Smithsonian Natural History Museum website researching and taking notes on the Paranthropus group for their paleoanthropological journals.   At the tables, just behind them, a student is busily writing in her journal and next to her, two students are moving through some math corrections.  Right behind them is a young student standing by the water bottles for a quick water break. On the math rug to the side is a small circle of students with Ms. Jen learning abstract long division, a challenging but incredibly rewarding milestone in their math journeys.  Scattered along the two rugs and center tables are a number of students.  Two students are just sitting down with the morning snack and sharing briefly how excited they were when the Eagles won the game, next to them is a student busily and carefully tracing the countries of their Asia map.  One student is on the rug with a mat and working out a division problem with the racks and tubes.  He occasionally looks up at an older student at the tables near the door who is conducting a heat conductivity lab testing and comparing the time it takes five different metals to heat up.  Next to her, is a student diagraming a sentence and another student is identifying some of the different species of Echinoderms.  At the small bean-sized table is another student working through a challenging puzzle that matches antonyms.  Behind him by the old fireplace are two students working together to pantomime the different types of lines recently studied in geometry.

Flashback: January 2013

January 2013: Alma skating for the first time with Grandpa in Bethlehem

Happy New Year

So grateful to be headed into 2019 with these two wonderful little lights in our lives.