Dear Lower Elementary West Community,
As I reflect, it seems to have been quite a busy week for us... I want to tell you a bit more about what we do before I move on to events.
Freedom and Responbilitly
In the classroom, now until the end of third grade, the children are engaging their work process, sorting out the relationship between "freedom" and "responsibility." These are buzzwords in Montessori, and for good reason. One of the primary goals of a Montessori education is to develop discipline and concentration on life's work, both academic and social. Their actions at school constantly play between the freedom (movement around the room, choosing follow-up work from lessons, self-chosen or "interest" work, social interaction and much more) and their responsibilities (to their work, their learning, their pro-social behavior, their contract within the classroom and school community, their respect of others and the environment, and more).
In the process, they bump up against boundaries, whether built into the environment or provided by guides or classmates. The boundaries are designed to aid in the development of healthy decisions, discipline, and responsible freedom. When a child's education is complete, these boundaries are no longer necessary, and freedom and responsibility are complete and applicable dynamically. This is the aim of our work.
Right now the children are fully engaged in the process. It is a lifelong process just begun, and it's beautiful to see successes and the ever-present constructive challenges. And so the school year has begun!
Recent Events
Here are some bullet points...
- A brilliant movement event on Monday with Maureen Fleming, a professional dancer and dance instructor. The hour-long event was fast paced and full of action. It was a nice complement to our other movement work with our specialist Karin Egge, which occurs on M, T, Th, and F. Visit this link for a peek. Thanks to Michael Williams, elementary parent, for the photos.
- E1 West Fleming Dance Transformation
- Another great trip to Horton Park (at Hamline and Minnehaha) on Wednesday afternoon. This is a weekly ritual that brings us together in walking and free play in an open space. The weather was a September dream.
- Of course: Our field trip to Buttermilk Falls Farm on Friday. We pulled carrots (pictures soon available on a separate communication), seeded rye by hand in an open field, hiked to the waterfall through the fall woods, and got a close look at the barnyard's many animals. My personal favorite was the end of the visit, when the children collected forest items and placed them in a large mandala in the grass. The process and the design expressed well the positive and meaningful energy generated by our visit.
- Our studies included:
- Concrete place value representation, free writing, and globe studies (pillows!) for the first years.
- Varying math operations, animal stories and continued vertebrate work, alphabetizing, and volcanoes for the second years.
- Classifying invertebrate animals, universe studies, "back-to-back writing," and varying math work (especially subtraction) for the third years.
- Keep in mind please that in math and language the lessons will vary, including children from different grades, depending on needs.
Thanks all! You are wonderful!
Best,
Erik
