LEW Holiday Newsletter

Season's Greetings!

I hope this message finds all of you well and in the company of loved ones.  I'll try keep and keep this brief as I am sure you are all busy with the holiday bustle. 

I've attached some pictures and highlights from last week. There are pictures from the Winter Solstice Celebration and Clara's Dream - Behind the Curtain.

Winter Solstice Celebration

Let me just say how much fun it was to celebrate with all of your children. We legitimately celebrated 5 holidays in 1 day to celebrate the Winter Solstice from around the world and they pulled it off beautifully. We had one group dedicate their display to the holiday of Santa Lucia which is celebrated in Scandinavian countries. They made crowns with candles and had fun crosswords and coloring pages. We had a group do a Hogmanay (pronounced: hog-MUH-nay) celebration for the Scottish New Year, accompanied with a fun play and sing along of Auld Ang Syne. They also created their own color by numbers and coloring pages to commemorate the one of the largest fireworks displays in the world. Going further east, we had a group create a Teng Cheih exhibit to celebrate the Chinese celebration of Winter Solstice. There were lanterns and dragons and little gifts in red envelopes as well as a huge, beautiful Pinata made by one of our students and her grandmother (love the fusion).  We also had a classic game of dreidels and the students generously shared delicious chocolates to play the game properly. The Hanukkah group was quite busy of course.  We then had a stand to celebrate Boxing Day which is celebrated in the U.K., Australia, and Canada. The students created a play and demonstrated how boxes are stuffed with gifts to give to those in need.  I just wish I had more pictures to truly show you how much fun (and exhausting) this celebration was.  I'll be sure to try and send video of the plays to you once I figure it out. 

Clara's Dream

What a great way to cap off 2015! We got to see our friends Michelle and Preston from the St. Paul Ballet and they gave us a fun sneak peak at their rendition of the Nutcracker.  They showed us the famous Snow Scene and snippets of all of the dances in the Land of Sweets. I forget how there are so many songs from this show are so well known and so timeless. The dancers also took us back stage to see the costume areas, the props, the back drops, the box office, and their rehearsal space. It was an absolute blast. 

As if things couldn't get any better, Erik surprised us back at school when we returned. Only a few of the students got to see him, but it really was a incredible surprise. He's looking great and definitely healing. After being in the classroom, he felt excited to be back in the swing of things. His hope is that he will feel strong enough to return on January 4th with the rest of us. Sending him thoughts and wishes of healing :)

Finally, I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all an incredible holiday and we look forward to seeing you in 2016!

All the best,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 12-12-2015

Good afternoon on this toasty December day,

First of all, just wanted to happily send the news out again that Erik is back home and on the mend. Hooray! Thank you for the quick responses to sending a meal to his family today.

Kind Language

With the holidays approaching and what with the added excitement and energy that comes with it, I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the importance of the community and how we try to nurture it in LEW.  At the core of community is how we relate and communicate with one another.  The students themselves declared that our community should sound..

"Considerate, Peaceful, No Harmful Words, and that we All Do Our Part"

Recently, we've noticed that we need to refer back to these beliefs.  On the one hand, the students are truly bonding with one another - even across grade levels. On the other hand, since they are more comfortable with one another, we tend to forget our grace and courtesy and talk more forcibly with one another when there are disagreements. Even so, saying things like "shut up" or calling people names is not only unacceptable, but it completely goes against what the students believe our community should sound like.  Language that is harmful or intended to hurt is not what we want the students to fall back on. Instead we coach them to use "I language." For instance, "I felt frustrated when you kept interrupting my work and I need to you wait for me to be available."  It's inevitable that we will disagree with one another once in a while, but we can still problem solve respectfully.  

One way we intend to help the students feel more comfortable using this language is to model some scenarios in meeting where we use "I felt..because...and I need..." language to solve our problems. Also, if we notice that a student is using harmful language, we help them take a moment to calm down.  Then, we go over what happened and practice using the appropriate language the second time through. The goal is that the harmful language is addressed as soon as possible, but if for some reason we are not able to walk through the problem that day (because it's the end of the day or what not), then I will send a note home to the students' families so that they can practice at home.  Then the next day the students will make things right with one another - i.e. restitution.  

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of kind language, I would be more than happy to talk with you.

What we're working on

We're winding down, but we're still working!

First years are studying the story behind the months of the year, working with money quantities, and learning about how we can help conserve water.

Second years are finishing up the fundamental needs, creating physical maps of north america, and brushing up on subtraction with borrowing. 

Third years are continuing their study of the Timeline of Humans and writing fascinating origin stories - like the first fire, the first boat, or the first piece of art. They are also continuing their practice with 4-digit subtraction with borrowing and checking with addition.  They are also practicing their x facts - see if they can do the multiples of 3, 6, 7, 8, or 9 up to times 10. 

Gex needs a home for the holidays!

Unfortunately, I am somewhat late with this request. Gex, our beloved Bearded Dragon, needs a home for the holidays.  He is extremely docile and very easy to care for. The students are professional caretakers at this point! If you would be interested in housing a bearded dragon from December 18-January 2, please let me know. 

Book Drive

Thanks so much to all of you for your book drive donations. There is still time to donate! Please bring any gently used books to school by Dec. 18. The Minnesota Literacy Council and the children they serve would be incredibly grateful.

Clara's Dream and Winter Solstice Celebration

Thursday and Friday will be special days in lower el.  We will have the chance to have a little winter solstice party planned by the students and a chance to take a trip and see the ballet, Clara's Dream at Macalaster College. What a great way to send off 2015! 

I hope all of you are finding time to enjoy the season ... and also finding time to relax :)

All the best,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Update on Erik and Saturday Meal

Hello all!

I'm happy to let you all know that Erik is finally back home and on the mend :) 

Also, we have an opening for someone to bring a meal for his family tomorrow.

If you have the time and are willing, please sign up by clicking on the link below:

http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=ZHQX7732

Happy Friday everyone!

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Last minute chaperone request for Wed. December 8th

Hello all!

We have the opportunity to see the GRS dress rehearsal for Annie on Wednesday afternoon at the Wellstone Theater. We would like to have 1 chaperone come with us. We will be leaving GRS at about 1:00, so it would be great if you could be at school by 12:50. We will be back by 3:00.

Let me know if this interests you.

All the best,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 12-5-2015

Good afternoon to all!

Gratitude

As I took a stroll around Lake Calhoun this morning, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to all of you and your children. I told the students the other day that I absolutely love coming to my job and working with them each day. With Erik being away and with all of us missing him dearly, it's heartening to see the students stepping up and helping out in any way that they can - like greeting each other at the door, or showing someone how to do a lesson that they missed, or problem solving together at the peace table with little to no guidance at all. I'm not going to say that it has been easy - this kind of work is never easy - but it's obvious that the students believe in this community and they enjoy working with one another. 

On Monday, Erik's wife, Monica, will be coming to the class to talk to the students a little bit about appendicitis and to answer any questions they might have. We're grateful that Monica has offered to do this for us :)

What we're working on  

This week's lessons were really fun. We are all studying the water cycle and we've created our own water cycle experiments. See if they can tell you what we did. 

First years are studying the months of the year and the history behind the name of each month. They are also practicing subtraction with borrowing and researching amphibians.

Second years are practicing fraction addition and beginning their study of invertebrates - yay porifera!. They have also been introduced to the Fundamental Needs of People lesson - we will be seeing some big work come out of this.

Third years are practicing multiplication facts and long multiplication. They are also getting really good at using protractors. They need to prove that when you add up all of the angles in a triangle, it adds up to... ask them :) We have also begun our study of the Timeline of Humans. They have been asking for this work for a while now, so they have already made a lot of progress, making their own timelines, studying the origins of the first tools, the first fire, the first shelters, the first burial... This work will take us all the way to winter break.

Upcoming Events

LEW Book Drive - December 1-18 

Have loads of books gathering dust? Are they books that are appropriate for young students between Kindergarten and third grade? We would love to have them for our book drive! This will be the second year that we will be gathering books to donate to the MN Literacy Council. The Council will donate the books to families that cannot afford to purchase all the books their children crave.  If you would like to learn more about this organization, click on the link below:

http://mnliteracy.org/support/book-donations

Clara's Dream - December 18

We have a field trip to see the St. Paul Ballet once more on December 18th.  This time the SPB will be performing Clara's Dream just in time for the holidays and the student will get a behind the scenes look at the costumes, set up, and stage.  Thank you to the families that already offered to chaperone :)

Enjoy this unseasonably warm weather and the rest of your weekend.

Peace,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Update on Erik

Below is a message from Sam O'Brien, our Head of School, in regards to Erik's health.

Dear Families of Lower Elementary West,

Erik Akre is recovering from a burst appendix. A fever last week turned into an appendicitis diagnosis, and then a rupture. He is in the hospital recovering from infection and surgery. Projected recovery time is 4-6 weeks. Julia Nelson has been capably subbing for Erik - and Jessy will shortly be sending out a note with ways to help out Erik's family with food deliveries etc. Keep him in your thoughts, and as soon as we have a more concrete way to offer support, we will let you all know. 

Sincerely,

Sam O'Brien

Head of School

Hello all,

One way we can help support Erik's family is by preparing some meals for them. Click on the link below if you are interested. Please note that his daughter, Lily, is a vegetarian.

Link to Akre Family Meal Train

Couple things to know about the site:

1. If it asks for a password - it's 2015.

2. If there is another date that works for you, but it's not listed, just let me know.

Thanks in advance for your support.

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter - Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to send all of you a couple of pieces of news before all of your festivities. 

Erik still remains in our thoughts as he recovers. Fortunately, Julia Nelson has been an unconditionally kind and supportive substitute with Erik's absence and she will continue to work with us until Erik feels strong enough to return back to work.  

Attached are some photos that Heather Thomas, our PEG parent, took at today's Thanksgiving Festival. It was completely organized by 4 second grade students and they did a fantastic job creating games, decorating, and bringing tasty treats to share. We had a great time. Enjoy the photos!

Happy Thanksgiving once again! It must be said again -- we are incredibly thankful for all of you.  Have an incredible weekend with all of your loved ones.

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    ​

 Thanksgiving Fest 1.zip

​​

 Thanksgiving Fest 2.zip

​

An Bday Invitation from Eva :)

The following message is from Maria, Eva Ridgeway's Mom.

Hi all, Eva Ridgeway (1st grader) is turning 7 and is having a birthday party at the Edinborough Park indoor playground:

7700 York Ave S, Edina, MN 55435

Sunday Dec 13th from 3-5pm. We hope you/your kids can join!

RSVP by email or text/phone by December 1st. Marieridgeway@gmail.com 
651-724-0454

No gifts are necessary, handmade cards are welcome!

Paper invite to follow, Eva will hand out during group time.

~Marie

LEW Newsletter 11-22-2015

Happy Sunday, LEW Families,

Hope all of you had a chance to catch the snow flurrying about last night. I know the students were thrilled to see a few flakes on Friday. Winter is on its way!

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving approaching, our short week will primarily revolve around acknowledging the people and treasures in our lives that we are truly thankful for.  We will have a chance to share what we are grateful for and we will have a chance to have a little celebration on Wednesday with a few students that have volunteered to organize the party (Thank you advance if your child comes to you for some supplies! :) 

And thank you to those of you that have notified me and Erik if you will be out of town on Wednesday.  We truly hope you all get a chance to relax and enjoy time with your families.

Work this past week

First years are finishing their study of basic land forms and water forms and creating some of their favorites with salt dough.  We also reviewed the 4 foundations of geometry - point, line, surface, and solid. They are practicing using the stamp game to master 4-digit addition and finishing up their money practice work as well. See if they can help you add up some of the coins in your pocket.

Second years are beginning their study of North American biomes and creating huge posters and books based on different animals, plants, and people you might find in the different biomes. Ask your child which biome they chose to study.  Second years are also practicing the stamp game with addition and subtraction as well as categorizing different triangles by their sides (equilateral, isosceles, and scalene).

Third years are also studying North America, but focusing on the political map and its boundaries. Some are creating their own pin maps of the countries and capitals and some are choosing to study a specific country in North America.  Third years are also practicing rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1000 as well as how to use protractors to measure angles in a triangle.  

Upcoming Events

LEW Book Drive - December 1-18

Have loads of books gathering dust? Are they books that are appropriate for young students between Kindergarten and third grade? We would love to have them for our book drive! This will be the second year that we will be gathering books to donate to the MN Literacy Council.   The Council will donate the books to families that cannot afford to purchase all the books their children crave.  If you would like to learn more about this organization, click on the link below:

http://mnliteracy.org/support/book-donations

Clara's Dream - December 18

We have a field trip to see the St. Paul Ballet once more on December 18th.  This time the SPB will be performing Clara's Dream just in time for the holidays and the student will get a behind the scenes look at the costumes, set up, and stage.  Thank you to the families that already offered to chaperone :)

Huge Thank You

Once more, Erik and I feel so fortunate to have so many families that are willing to donate supplies and their time to work in the classroom.  Just this last week, we received hoards of supplies from our wish list and two new parents came in to work one-on-one with the students. Wow. The support and the love you all bring to this community is so strong - it is truly incredible.  

In our thoughts...

Erik has be out sick the last few days and he's been dearly missed. The students made multiple, beautiful, larger-than-life get well cards for him:)  We wish him a speedy recovery and that all of you may stay healthy as well! We all deserve a healthy holiday. 

With gratitude, 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Warm clothes for tomorrow!

Hello LEW families,

 

After 3 days of no outdoor recess, we are all extremely excited about a dry day tomorrow. With that being said, it will be chillier so please make sure your child comes to school with warm clothing:

 

- gloves (water resistant preferably)

- warm outdoor jacket

- warm outdoor shoes

- hat

- snow pants - if there is snow on the ground

 

Just so you know, we will have outdoor recess any day the wind chill is above -15 degrees (brrr).   

 

On another note - thank you all so much for sending in your donations. So many of you chose something from our wish list from conferences and were are all extremely grateful. 

 

Stay warm and dry tonight,

 

Jessy

 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Weekly Newsletter

Dear Lower Elementary West Community,

We had a good solid week of improving community and good work.  At this point the children are in a good place with work: There is a general sense of purpose to the morning work period, and the atmosphere of positive activity is building.  I especially appreciate the way the children come in every morning ready to get to their tasks.  

At any one time during the morning, almost half of the children are engaged directly in academic work, while the other half is either a lesson, reading in the library, preparing or eating snack, or enjoying a break with social interaction.  At this point in the year, very few (or no) children are without "something to do."  This is just as it should be, and it bodes well for a very healthy remainder of the year.

Socially and in terms of community, we see important developments every week.  The student-led community meetings have become very meaningful times for connection, reflection, and decision-making.  In fact, the children's attention and willingness has outgrown the short time we have for meeting in the afternoons.  It seems all of us are wishing there were a little more time in the day.

One high point this week was Jessy's sharing discussion of what it means to be human.  She spoke to the whole group: What do humans have that other life forms do not?  She opened the discussion up to the children's sharing, and they responded beautifully, sharing how they themselves have experienced the work of the hands, heart, and imagination in their own lives.  There was much meaningful expression around family members and pets that have passed, and how much love for them still remains.

Work and Lessons

For first years, studies importantly included lots of writing, especially labeling the room with sentence cards to explain things such a shelves, plants, tape dispensers, guitars, and other things.  Their written expression is really taking off; such a good sign of developing literacy.  A group of first years also lent their passion to an "owl project," which has become a tour de force.  Happily, they're receiving meaningful help from older students.  They also received lessons of counting money, basic geographical land forms, and labeling the classroom.

Second years learned about fractions and capital letters, and some also participated in the labeling.  Their work is especially varied, working to finish animal studies, prepositions, graphing weather, and other things.  There are a few working on chosen tasks, such as analyzing recipes and studying their ingredients (and bringing the product in for snack!).

Third years seem to always have big work happening, supplemented by daily studies of math.  Rock and mineral projects continue to excite them, among other things.  There is a dramatic piece about annelids (earthworms and leeches) and nematodes (roundworms and others), which is brewing up bit by bit.  We look forward to seeing that finished and performed!  The third years received lessons on advanced landforms and grammar strips, and they're working to perfect their skills with the clock.

And last but not least... Jessy and I so appreciated our conference time with you these past few days.  Your effort and willingness to come and meet means so much to us.  First of all it's fun, but also it gives us valuable insight that can really improve our work with your children.

With very best wishes, and warmly,

Erik

Wednesday Clarification: Dismissal @ 12:30 - Lunch Included

Hello all,

Just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that dismissal is at 12:30 on Wednesday and we will be eating lunch at school.

Also, buses will be coming on Wednesday, but there will be no Big Canoe Kids Club.

See you all in a couple of days!

Best,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 11-8-2015

Greetings LEW families,

Hoping that all of you have had a chance to enjoy the weekend thus far. 

Work this week

We are beginning a series of science experiments related to water and its vitality. The students were prompted to think about how important water is to our survival - ask your child if they remember how much of our bodies are made up of water or if they've figured out where the wettest and driest places on Earth are... We will also be learning about the importance of water conservation, absorption, and pollution prevention. 

First years are continuing their work with dynamic addition, using the golden bead material. We also learned about articles in grammar and filled in a fun story about a donkey that was missing all of its articles.  We also learned about the year and its parts - years, months, weeks, days --- semesters, trimesters. This group is really getting into timelines and calendars. Thanks to all of you for sending in photos to put on their timelines. They're really incredible.  

Second years are moving from the material more in addition and learning how to add four-digit numbers abstractly with multiple addends. Second years are also practicing and reviewing the preposition grammar boxes, and diagramming sentences like "Lay the pen by the pencil." We are also learning about how other cultures fulfill their needs of food, shelter, clothing, art, love, etc. We're mainly focusing on cultures in North America since we will be studying this continent in depth. 

Third years are working on abstract subtraction with four-digit numbers. We are also doing scientific experiments with rocks and minerals. Each third grader has chosen a research topic and should be able to tell you the difference between a rock and a mineral at this point :) Third years are coming on the end of their grammar study (only need to learn about interjections!) and then we will be diving into logical analysis. Believe it or not, the Montessori material makes learning about predicates, subjects, and adverbial modifiers exciting! 

The Philosophy behind Lower Elementary Celebrations

 

We wanted to take this opportunity to explain the philosophy behind celebrations in lower elementary.  Though there are some differences between the two classrooms, the rationale and the direct aim of the celebration remains the same.  For example, we like to give the students a chance to plan and organize their own celebrations. We may celebrate a big work. We may celebrate right before a holiday. Whatever the children choose, they are completely responsible for coordinating and organizing the event with very little guidance from us. The children truly cherish these celebrations and they take ownership and pride in planning the event. 

 

Both classrooms also use birthdays as a time to honor a child and to give the child the opportunity to celebrate with the community. We look at pictures, share stories, and sing together as a group.  Though there are many similarities between our two celebrations, we acknowledge that there are a few differences. For instance, one classroom invites families and the other classroom has the child prepare a special snack.  Still, at the heart of the celebration, the direct aim remains the same: we honor the child's place in the community. 

 

When we have the opportunity, we also like to celebrate as a whole group. In the past, we've had Thanksgiving Gatherings and Medieval Feasts.  It has also become a tradition that at the end of each year, the entire lower elementary works together across the classrooms to build a museum.   It's easy to find things to celebrate! The students love to plan the events and they learn so much from the experience.  If you are interested in learning more about lower elementary celebrations or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.  

A few friendly reminders

• We have a half-day on Wednesday. 

• Conferences are on Thursday and Friday. If you have a chance, take a look at volunteer opportunities and wish list items we'll have posted. Also, take a look through lost and found if your child is missing a few things :)

• If you haven't had a chance to sign up for conferences, here's the link to sign up: https://greatriverschool.acuityscheduling.com/

• Link to the LEW class blog if you've missed other newsletters: http://grslew.blogspot.com/

Erik and I are looking forward to meeting with all of you this week! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

With deep gratitude. 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Thursday Folders

Hello, dear families,

This is just a friendly reminder to please send Thursday Folders each week. We had a lot of stuff to send this week. You will find your child's beautiful photos (or a link to order them), their work, and Chinook order forms.  We realize that the Chinook order forms have a quick turn around (due Tuesday), so anything you are able to do is much  appreciated. 

Also, I'm afraid I might've sent home a child's photo with the wrong student. If you notice another child's photo in the folder, please just send it back to school.

That's all for now.

Thanks so much and enjoy the rest of this autumn evening,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

This Week's Newsletter, Lower Elementary West

Dear Lower Elementary West Community,

I greet you all with my sincere gratitude for all that you do, on the scene or behind it.  Jessy and I feel so fortunate to partner with you in this meaningful work we do together.

Festival of Fall

Last things first: After a week touched so happily by Halloween excitement, the third years graciously and enthusiastically treated the community to a "Fall Festival," which allowed some direct celebration of the season.  The Fest included 

• decorations (seasonally-colored paper chains, and a creepy spider web full of creepy spiders)
• engaging works and activities (including the highlight: a "pumpkin-yata," which ended up being hit with a sizable wooden log from the playground, after our broom was broken on it!  What abandoned revelry!)
  
• cookies! (an extremely rare treat in our community)
• happiness and engagement for all, young and old
• sincere and gracious post-festival acknowledgements from the younger children, to the third years

Overall, it was a great way to end the week, after so much anticipation--a little pent-up due to the other tasks at hand--of the holiday weekend.

Looking out the window this morning, I see a dull, chilly, grey day, but the rain has stopped and the wind is still.  I'm hoping that all of you can enjoy whatever revelry is in store for you with your children, on this most exciting day.  I know the children have been looking forward to it.

Work this Week

There seems to be a lot of construction going on at work time.  The third years completed huge projects to demonstrate the fundamental needs of humans, with historical dioramas.  One of them is on display near the dining hall; check it out!  The first years are becoming master cardboard engineers, especially with their fish "habitats"-- diorama structures complete with clay models, pencil and marker color, tissue streamers, construction paper, and written descriptions.  They are also continuing their study of plant life with constructed trees, showing the different types of leaf margins in the leaves.  Second years have now mostly completed their tooth-pick and clay models of vertebrate skeletons--a surprise hit.

Other learning...

First Years: Much plant work--parts of the plant, types of leaf margins, and planting a seed to care for.  I emphasize empathy and respect for plant life, including in one lesson the "befriending" of a plant outside and writing about it.  They have also further studied addition facts with the concrete materials, and begun constructing a photo/writing timeline of their life so far.

Second Years: Other work and lessons include the ongoing exploration of animal knowledge and stamp game decimal exploration, as well as addition fact work and contractions (it is --> it's, etc.).

Third Years: They have finished up some big projects, earnestly planned the Fall Festival for the community, and attended a field trip to the Planetarium to culminate their study of space.  The latter activity was a great success.  The children expressed their excitement for it, bright-eyed with appreciation of the concrete perspective on the heavens and the celestial bodies.  They also received a lesson on Rocks and Minerals, which promises to engage them once the other excitement dies down!

Again, I wish you a happy holiday weekend.  Jessy and I truly enjoy our time with the children, and it's a pleasure to report their activity to you.  I hope and trust you will not resent the excessive length of the newsletter.  It's difficult to say less!

We wish you well,

Erik

LEW Newsletter 10-24-2015

Greetings LEW Families,

What an incredible week! We capped it off with a fantastic performance by all at St. Thomas University on Friday.  

Bella Luna

Lower El West and Upper El West got to see the fruits of their labor from all of their work in Creative Movement. With excitement and a little uncertainty, the lower elementary students went on stage first. They showed the audience how they warm up with grande plies, jetes, tendus, piques, coupes ... they are much better at remembering what each French term translates to in English. Then they performed three choreographies and the audience had to guess which emotion they were performing through movement - no words allowed! The students did so well that the audience was able to guess each (anger, happiness, and sadness) with ease. Next, the upper elementary went on stage in small groups to perform their own choreographies and again the audience had to guess which emotion each group was trying to emulate. The lower elementary students were excited to see familiar faces on stage, doing similar moves that they learned in movement and they had fun participating in the guessing game. Finally, St. Paul Ballet went on stage and performed Bella Luna. This was absolutely magical (and, honestly, quite emotional for me and Erik), because we could hear all of the students whispering excitedly about the characters and the story. They've gotten to know the characters and the story so well over the last three weeks - Michelle and Preston from the St. Paul Ballet were incredible instructors.  The students were mesmerized - they were sad for Izzy, excited by the soldiers, grossed out by the character, Scuaracce... The story was truly brought to life and we are so grateful for the experience we got to have with the St. Paul Ballet company.  We will see them again in December to see Clara's Dream. We'll keep you posted. We absolutely want to keep this partnership alive. 

Request for Video of the LE performance 

Unfortunately, my camera only captured a snippet of the lower elementary performance. I know many of you wanted to see the performance, but couldn't make it. If anyone has a copy of the lower elementary performance, we would be extremely happy if you could share it with us :) 

In the classroom...

First years are creating designs with parallelograms, trapezoids, hexagons and more. They are are writing fascinating stories and magazines.  After collecting leaves with Erik, the students learned about the parts of a leaf. They are also exploring the parts of fish and creating habitats.  First years are also continuing their work with the decimal system and the golden bead material.

Second years are exploring the relationships of equal sides, parallel lines, and angles in 6 different quadrilaterals.  They are also creating elaborate skeletons of the 5 vertebrates and they are continuing their practice with telling time and practicing stamp game addition and subtraction.  

Third years are creating elaborate exhibits once again, but this time they are creating Roman and Greek cities that feature all of the fundamental needs of people (food, shelter, clothing, art, etc.). They have also learned about the origin of Roman Numerals and have discovered that there are only 7 triangles in reality. See if they remember all seven and if they remember which 2 triangles are impossible to create.  They are diagramming sentences that have articles, adjectives, nouns, prepositions, verbs, pronouns, adverbs, and conjunctions.  Finally, they've had the chance to experiment with chlorophyl and what it does for the plant.  

Big Thanks

Cate and Jason for providing October's delicious snack.

Joanna, Meredith, and Kerstin for being our reading buddies.

Heather for all your yarn balls (huge amount of work) and help keeping our classroom spick and span.  

Nicole for the beautiful flower bouquets. 

All of you for sending in materials like calendars, boxes, and precious objects so that the students can do their big and ambitious work. It truly proves to the students that we value their ideas and creativity.  

With appreciation and gratitude, 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Wanted: Field Trip Volunteer for Friday, Oct. 30 9:15-12:00

Hello LEW families,

On Friday, October 30th, I will be taking the third graders to check out the Exploradome at the Bell Museum. They will also have the chance to do some astronomy labs - a great way to put a cap on all of the great space work we've been doing. 

I need one volunteer that would be willing to come on this trip with us. If you are interested, please let me know. We would love to have you!

Warm regards,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

omission

Hi all, I omitted the date of the ballet performance.  Sorry!

It's on Friday, October 23.  The rest of the information is in the newsletter for this week.

Thanks!

Re: Weekly Newsletter, Oct. 12-14 - space exhibit pictures pt 2

Pictures from the space exhibit part 2

On Oct 16, 2015, at 8:58 AM, Erik Akre <eakre@greatriverschool.org> wrote:

Dear Lower Elementary West Community,

This week I want to introduce you briefly to one of my favorite Montessori topics.  It's not addressed directly in all the texts and writings, but it holds importance to me as an educator.

Boredom and its Value

If I'm not mistaken, most people regard boredom as an enemy--something to be avoided at all costs.  Some educators, and some parents, will go to lengths to stave off their children's boredom and provide them with something to do as quickly as possible, whatever that might be.  My use of the word "boredom" means, in this case, "not knowing what to do," or "not having the immediate will to choose something to do."

   In the Montessori classroom, boredom is seen as an opportunity.  By no means is it ignored or unaddressed, nor however is it squelched or pacified.  All of us find ourselves naturally in situations of not knowing what to do, or feeling like there's nothing to do--at home or at school.  At school, we see this not a a crisis, but as an opportunity.

   A bored person is a person poised to make a creative choice, by an act of will.  The key is providing 1) an environment with healthy choices for activity, and 2) adults who can offer these choices with calm and clarity.  The will to act develops from a state of lacking a will to act, and if any of us avoid boredom to seek mere entertainment, instead of healthy and productive activity, we miss out on a great opportunity to exercise the muscle of will-power.

   Therefore boredom is not the enemy, and it should not be hastily pacified.  At school, as at home, there are many choices for activity.  Many of them here stem from chosen follow-up work from lessons, and some can come about from the child's own independent creative choice. In any case, these choices are clearly available in a number of ways, and in independently choosing an appropriate, healthy learning activity, the child builds up that strong, creative will-power, bit by bit.  By the end of the child's Montessori education, this may be (in all honesty and seriousness) the most lasting point of learning he or she receives.  And it is a truly valuable gift.

This Week's Events

It was a short week, of course.  The children are gearing up, with the help of their professional ballet instructors, for next week's ballet performance, to which you are all invited and most welcome: The children will perform their ballet at 12:45pm, at the Brady Education Center, at St. Thomas on the on their South Campus.  A performance of Bella Luna, by the professional dance troupe, will follow at 1:45 until 2:45.

The children have been working hard, through the challenges of a new and complex art form.  On Wednesday, we were forced by space limitations to do our rehearsal in an open field outside, and they did wonderfully!  There is much excitement and anticipation (and some giddy nerves about being on stage).

The other event worth mention this week is the Third Years' fantastic "Space Exhibit" (advertised by a First-Year's admiring poster for the event, with the most wonderful creative spelling: "Spais Egzibit!").  The children set up museum-style booths with topics ranging from black holes to galaxies to planets and planet-moons.  One pair pulled off an excellent dramatization of Mars exploration, complete with story-telling and space-suit props.  The event foreshadows the Third Years' trip to the Bell Museum on October 30, at which they will learn about space up close, so to speak, at the hands of professional guides.

What impressed me most about the exhibition--and what probably says most about its success--was the fascinated interest shown by the younger children.  They were rapt, and so interested in this display of learning.  Some of them immediately began to picture themselves as the presenters, which indeed they will soon be!  The event warmed my heart and gave a direct reminder of the community developing in the room.  Congratulations goes out to all involved.

I wish you an excellent long weekend full of autumn color and joy.

Sincerely,

Erik

Re: Weekly Newsletter, Oct. 12-14 - space exhibit picture pt 1

Pictures from the space exhibit!

On Oct 16, 2015, at 8:58 AM, Erik Akre <eakre@greatriverschool.org> wrote:

Dear Lower Elementary West Community,

This week I want to introduce you briefly to one of my favorite Montessori topics.  It's not addressed directly in all the texts and writings, but it holds importance to me as an educator.

Boredom and its Value

If I'm not mistaken, most people regard boredom as an enemy--something to be avoided at all costs.  Some educators, and some parents, will go to lengths to stave off their children's boredom and provide them with something to do as quickly as possible, whatever that might be.  My use of the word "boredom" means, in this case, "not knowing what to do," or "not having the immediate will to choose something to do."

   In the Montessori classroom, boredom is seen as an opportunity.  By no means is it ignored or unaddressed, nor however is it squelched or pacified.  All of us find ourselves naturally in situations of not knowing what to do, or feeling like there's nothing to do--at home or at school.  At school, we see this not a a crisis, but as an opportunity.

   A bored person is a person poised to make a creative choice, by an act of will.  The key is providing 1) an environment with healthy choices for activity, and 2) adults who can offer these choices with calm and clarity.  The will to act develops from a state of lacking a will to act, and if any of us avoid boredom to seek mere entertainment, instead of healthy and productive activity, we miss out on a great opportunity to exercise the muscle of will-power.

   Therefore boredom is not the enemy, and it should not be hastily pacified.  At school, as at home, there are many choices for activity.  Many of them here stem from chosen follow-up work from lessons, and some can come about from the child's own independent creative choice. In any case, these choices are clearly available in a number of ways, and in independently choosing an appropriate, healthy learning activity, the child builds up that strong, creative will-power, bit by bit.  By the end of the child's Montessori education, this may be (in all honesty and seriousness) the most lasting point of learning he or she receives.  And it is a truly valuable gift.

This Week's Events

It was a short week, of course.  The children are gearing up, with the help of their professional ballet instructors, for next week's ballet performance, to which you are all invited and most welcome: The children will perform their ballet at 12:45pm, at the Brady Education Center, at St. Thomas on the on their South Campus.  A performance of Bella Luna, by the professional dance troupe, will follow at 1:45 until 2:45.

The children have been working hard, through the challenges of a new and complex art form.  On Wednesday, we were forced by space limitations to do our rehearsal in an open field outside, and they did wonderfully!  There is much excitement and anticipation (and some giddy nerves about being on stage).

The other event worth mention this week is the Third Years' fantastic "Space Exhibit" (advertised by a First-Year's admiring poster for the event, with the most wonderful creative spelling: "Spais Egzibit!").  The children set up museum-style booths with topics ranging from black holes to galaxies to planets and planet-moons.  One pair pulled off an excellent dramatization of Mars exploration, complete with story-telling and space-suit props.  The event foreshadows the Third Years' trip to the Bell Museum on October 30, at which they will learn about space up close, so to speak, at the hands of professional guides.

What impressed me most about the exhibition--and what probably says most about its success--was the fascinated interest shown by the younger children.  They were rapt, and so interested in this display of learning.  Some of them immediately began to picture themselves as the presenters, which indeed they will soon be!  The event warmed my heart and gave a direct reminder of the community developing in the room.  Congratulations goes out to all involved.

I wish you an excellent long weekend full of autumn color and joy.

Sincerely,

Erik

Weekly Newsletter, Oct. 12-14

Dear Lower Elementary West Community,

This week I want to introduce you briefly to one of my favorite Montessori topics.  It's not addressed directly in all the texts and writings, but it holds importance to me as an educator.

Boredom and its Value

If I'm not mistaken, most people regard boredom as an enemy--something to be avoided at all costs.  Some educators, and some parents, will go to lengths to stave off their children's boredom and provide them with something to do as quickly as possible, whatever that might be.  My use of the word "boredom" means, in this case, "not knowing what to do," or "not having the immediate will to choose something to do."

   In the Montessori classroom, boredom is seen as an opportunity.  By no means is it ignored or unaddressed, nor however is it squelched or pacified.  All of us find ourselves naturally in situations of not knowing what to do, or feeling like there's nothing to do--at home or at school.  At school, we see this not a a crisis, but as an opportunity.

   A bored person is a person poised to make a creative choice, by an act of will.  The key is providing 1) an environment with healthy choices for activity, and 2) adults who can offer these choices with calm and clarity.  The will to act develops from a state of lacking a will to act, and if any of us avoid boredom to seek mere entertainment, instead of healthy and productive activity, we miss out on a great opportunity to exercise the muscle of will-power.

   Therefore boredom is not the enemy, and it should not be hastily pacified.  At school, as at home, there are many choices for activity.  Many of them here stem from chosen follow-up work from lessons, and some can come about from the child's own independent creative choice. In any case, these choices are clearly available in a number of ways, and in independently choosing an appropriate, healthy learning activity, the child builds up that strong, creative will-power, bit by bit.  By the end of the child's Montessori education, this may be (in all honesty and seriousness) the most lasting point of learning he or she receives.  And it is a truly valuable gift.

This Week's Events

It was a short week, of course.  The children are gearing up, with the help of their professional ballet instructors, for next week's ballet performance, to which you are all invited and most welcome: The children will perform their ballet at 12:45pm, at the Brady Education Center, at St. Thomas on the on their South Campus.  A performance of Bella Luna, by the professional dance troupe, will follow at 1:45 until 2:45.

The children have been working hard, through the challenges of a new and complex art form.  On Wednesday, we were forced by space limitations to do our rehearsal in an open field outside, and they did wonderfully!  There is much excitement and anticipation (and some giddy nerves about being on stage).

The other event worth mention this week is the Third Years' fantastic "Space Exhibit" (advertised by a First-Year's admiring poster for the event, with the most wonderful creative spelling: "Spais Egzibit!").  The children set up museum-style booths with topics ranging from black holes to galaxies to planets and planet-moons.  One pair pulled off an excellent dramatization of Mars exploration, complete with story-telling and space-suit props.  The event foreshadows the Third Years' trip to the Bell Museum on October 30, at which they will learn about space up close, so to speak, at the hands of professional guides.

What impressed me most about the exhibition--and what probably says most about its success--was the fascinated interest shown by the younger children.  They were rapt, and so interested in this display of learning.  Some of them immediately began to picture themselves as the presenters, which indeed they will soon be!  The event warmed my heart and gave a direct reminder of the community developing in the room.  Congratulations goes out to all involved.

I wish you an excellent long weekend full of autumn color and joy.

Sincerely,

Erik

Reminder: MEA = No School Thursday and Friday

Hello all,

Forgot to add to the newsletter a friendly reminder that there will be no school on Thursday and Friday for MEA conferences. 

That is truly all for now.

Thanks for reading.

(I promise that I try to keep it short. There is just so much happening!)

Best,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

LEW Newsletter 10-11-2015

Good Day, LEW Families!

I hope that this weekend of beautiful weather has given you all the opportunity to go outside and enjoy it. 

Community Meetings

Since day one, all of us in LEW have been learning about the importance of community meetings and practicing every day.  I wanted to give you a glimpse of what the meeting looks like.  At the end of the day, we gather in the circle and the meeting leader (third graders have started taking on this role) will call the meeting to order. We begin with Acknowledgements. The meeting leader calls on students to acknowledge others for doing something helpful like, "I acknowledge Erik for helping me with my weather graph." Then we move on to Good Stuff Play. The leader calls on students and they will say something like, "I have good stuff play jump roping at recess with my friends." Then we move on to Good Stuff Work. Again, the leader calls on the students and they say something like, "I completed my vertebrate work today and I'm proud of how it turned out." We end the meeting with Business. During the business portion, students can bring up problems or questions like, "Should we play music during clean up?" or "Should we share food at lunch?" This is the meat of the meeting and the students truly have to learn how to listen to one another respectfully and present reasonable solutions. Eventually the meeting leader will read out the solutions, we vote and the leader announces what the solution that we have agreed to try.  We check in about the solution at future meetings to see if we truly addressed the problem. Finally, we adjourn the meeting with a call-response Navajo poem called, "In Beauty May I Walk." (see link below) It's an incredible poem that the students enjoy leading. If there's time we sing a couple of songs, accompanied by Erik's guitar (the students really enjoy this - you look around the circle and see students playing air guitars), and we finally end with the "Good Bye Song."  So much growth and learning happens in these 20 minutes meetings.  We learn how to work as a group rather than 32 individuals. Erik and I are noticing that the students are really starting to value this time.  If you have the chance, ask your child about what they think about community meetings.

What we're studying

All grades practice daily to work with numbers and operations (+ - x / ) in varying degrees of difficulty. In addition to their math work...

First years are continuing their study of time, working the with decimal system through the golden beads, sewing globe pillows with all of the continents, identifying and creating 6 different quadrilaterals, and studying the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates.

Second years have learned about the parts of a volcano and are now currently in the process of making their own model volcanoes (be ready to do your own explosion at home - you just need baking soda, vinegar and a little red dye for effect).  The second years are also reviewing the 6 quadrilaterals, but they are going to discover the relationships of the lines in each shape (parallelograms have two sets of parallel sides, trapezoids have one set, etc.). They have learned how to make line graphs and have been plotting the daily temperatures. They are also writing fun little animal riddles about the 5 vertebrates. See if your child remembers some of their little animal stories.  

Third years are working hard to finish up their space research. On Wednesday, the third years will put on an exhibit for the class and they are excited to start creating their displays. There will be exhibits on Saturn, Jupiter's moons, our moon, Mars Rovers and more! At the end of the month, the third years are going to get the chance to go to the Exploradome at the Bell Museum - check below for details.The third years are also embarking on the incredible Montessori work called "The Fundamental Needs. " They are discussing and creating models that represent our material needs (food, shelter, clothing, etc.) and spiritual needs (love, art, music, etc.).   They have also discovered that there are only 7 triangles in reality - see if they can tell you what they are.  

Upcoming Events

On Friday, October 23, at 1:15 until 3:00, Lower Elementary West will perform the fruits of their two-week residency with the St. Paul ballet in a performance called Luna Bella.  After working on campus every day for these weeks, the children will show what they've learned for anyone who wishes to come and see.  Hope you can be there!

One volunteer wanted for a trip to the Bell Museum third graders - October 30 - 9:15 to 12:00

Third years get the chance to do the Astronomy Adventure at the Bell Museum! This means they will get to go inside the Exploradome and do the astronomy labs with the experts.  It will be a great way to culminate all of the work we've been doing about space over the last month.

I need 1 volunteer to come on this trip with us.  We will be taking public transit to the U of M at about 9:15.  Your bus ticket and ticket of admission will be covered and we should be back at GRS by 12:00.  Please let me know if you'd like to join us on this space adventure!

Big Thanks

To Joanna, Cate, and Jason for generously taking care of snack thus far.  

To Heather for working with first years on sewing their pillows.

To Nicole for bringing in a beautiful bouquet of flowers last week.

To our future reading buddies, Meredith, Joanna, and Kerstin, who are graciously volunteering their time and energy to reading with are beginning readers. 

And to Keri and her neighbor for donating all those calendars and yarn balls. 

Thank you!

That's all for now.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

In gratitude, 

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori    

Events this Week

Dear Parents,

This week there are three events involving Lower El West families:

1.  Tomorrow night at the west picnic grounds just south (across the street) of Como Town, we will have a lower elementary bring-your-own-picnic.  Families can meet and greet and enjoy the evening.  We will gather form 5:00-6:30.

2.  Friday is picture day at school!  We'll get more information to you as necessary.

3.  Saturday from 2:00-5:00 pm there will be a Harvest Festival at Great River.  Come and celebrate and meet other GRS families!

Best wishes all,

Erik

News from the Past Week

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 for bearing with a long email.  Please don't forget our casual bring-your-own picnic event on Tuesday evening from 5:00-6:30.  It will be at the West picnic grounds in Como Park, just south across the street from Como Town.  Please contact Erik and Jessy for any needed details.

Thanks all!  You are wonderful!

Best,

Erik

Buttermilk Falls Field Trip - Bus leaving at 8:30 tomorrow

Hello LEW families,

We are so thrilled about the field trip tomorrow (Actually, I'm a bit sad, because I will not get to go - wedding obligations).  

Here's some information that will be helpful for you to prepare for this trip:

- The bus will be leaving at 8:30 tomorrow morning, so please prepare and be here by 8:20.  

Please have your child bring the following items:

- a lunch (if they do not receive GRS lunches)

- a snack

- a water bottle 

- clothes and shoes that can get dirty and are good for gardening.

- something to do for the bus ride. It will take about an hour to get to the farm, so your child may do something in their seat like reading a book, doing an activity book, play cards, etc. something low key but fun.  

Have a fantastic night and we'll see you at 8:20 tomorrow!

All the best,

Jessy & Erik

LEW Newsletter 9-26-2015

Good Morning LEW Families, 

What we've been doing

As a group, LEW got to perform Life Comes to Earth.  Erik told a wonderful, impressionistic story of how scientists believe life came to Earth. The students got to act like the first plants, creep around like the first invertebrates, swim around like fish, crawl around like amphibians, slither and hop like reptiles, and walk and run around like mammals.  The students had a great discussion about our job and responsibility as humans to give back to the life around us and to be appreciative.  Ask your child about their favorite part of the story.  

On Friday, the class also got to make kindness with Teresa Hichens-Olson - an incredible administrator and art expert.  Students went around "catching" each other being kind and giving each other the cranes.

First graders are working on number sense and addition, using the colored beads. They are creating a model of a globe with modge podge as well as their own world maps. The are also beginning their work with geometry by learning and feeling 9 different geometric solids (spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, rectangular prisms, square-based pyramid, triangular-based pyramids, ellipsoids, and ovoids). Ask them about the hidden shapes game. They've had the chance to classify living/nonliving things and plants/animals around campus. They are also exploring different ways we measure time through the seasons, night/day, clocks and being very creative with their follow-up work.  

Second graders are wrapping up their study of the world. They are writing stories about 3 types of geometric lines - parallel, convergent, and divergent.  They are brushing up on their addition and subtraction facts.  Their review of the 5 vertebrates has been very elaborate and it's been a pleasure to observe their scientific brains classifying different characteristics of vertebrates.  Second graders are also working on word problems and using calendars to find the answers.  They've also had a chance to brush up their functions of words and review the noun family and the verb family. See if they can tell you the different symbols and functions for nouns, articles, adjectives, verbs, and prepositions.  

Third graders are also brushing up on their addition and subtraction facts.  They've had a chance to review the types of angles we covered last year plus some others like - right angles, acute angles, obtuse angles, straight angles, and more! See if they can remember why we measure angles in degrees (hint: Sumerian scientists measuring the stars) and how many degrees are in each type of angle.  In science, they have gotten into classifying different things around them - animals in particular.   They are also working on telling time and reviewing the functions of words we worked on last year (noun, article, adjective, verb, preposition, adverb, pronoun).  

Lots of big work happening! Please note that a lot of the students' work is being done in their notebooks. So if you're wondering why some of this work is not coming home, it is most likely because they have chosen to do that work in their notebooks.  

A Note from our Creative Movement Guide

Greetings and welcome to all new and returning families! I am thrilled to have joined Great River School and be working with your children as Creative Movement Guide. Four afternoons each week we've had the pleasure of moving and grooving as we get to know each other. It is such a joy to have their engaged participation and to witness their creativity and abundant energy. If they haven't already, please encourage your child to teach you the mirror game or another one of their favorite activities that we've done--and enjoy moving together at home! 

We've attached a picture of the human peace sign they made for International Day of Peace; a theme we explored during our movements last week. 

Please contact me if you have questions or ideas or talents you would like to share with our group. My email is kegge@greatriverschool.org. 

Grownups, I look forward to meeting those of you I haven't already met, and students I look forward to more exploration and fun through movement! 

Peace,

Karin 

A reminder of upcoming special events:

On Friday, October 2, we'll be going to Buttermilk Falls Farm, as you know.  Please refer to the GRS Newsletter for full information.  A thousand thanks to all of you that volunteered to help with this.  There will be more opportunities!

On Tuesday, October 6, in the evening, there will be a lower elementary family night--a bring-your-own-picnic event--at the area just south (and across the street from) of Comotown at Como Park.  Here is a map if you need it: http://www.stpaul.gov/DocumentCenter/View/67807.  Look for the West Picnic Shelter.  Specific time is yet to be announced, but it will be in the range of 5:00 to 7:00pm.

On Saturday, October 10, there will be a Harvest Festival at Great River, from 2:00-5:00pm.  It's a great way for all of us to build a strong school community.  Look for specifics in the GRS Announcements.

On Friday, October 23, at 1:15 until 3:00, Lower Elementary West will perform the fruits of their two-week residency with the St. Paul ballet in a performance called Luna Bella.  After working on campus every day for these weeks, the children will show what they've learned for anyone who wishes to come and see.  Hope you can be there!

FYI:

Link to the LEW Blog

It has been pretty incredible to see our community truly transform - even just in the last week! The students are getting used to the routine, great work is being done, and we've enjoyed observing how well they have been working and playing together. 

Warm regards,

--

Jessy Eaton Fabel

Lower Elementary Guide

"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori