Last Friday, the entire Lower Elementary team came together to celebrate International Peace Day. Students were encouraged to write messages of peace on the sidewalk for our community to see. They had such a fun time! Check out some of their messages below! Students were introduced to their Work Plan this week. This document is a task list for the children to help them organize what projects they need to independently practice and which lessons they will receive from the teacher that week in the different curriculum areas. In an elementary Montessori classroom, students are free to choice work from their plan to complete throughout the week. We explain, "You are free to work, not free from work." Young children need support in planning and organizing their week. We will continue to provide supports to build this independence. Additionally, students are required to complete their Daily Language, Daily Math, and Daily Journal assignments. These questions and tasks follow the Common Core Standards for each grade level. As we build peace and community as a group, our class has been learning about specific spaces in the classroom that allows them to express their emotions and feelings as well as take responsibility and ownership. This week we learned about the Safe Space - a place where children can go for 1-3 minutes on their own time and their own choice to take a moment for breathing, reflecting, and composure. We discussed how when someone is feeling angry, lonely, anxious, or worried this individual can go to the Safe Space to practice deep breaths, writing in our reflection journal, and practice mediation. Students invest in their classroom when they feel ownership over it. We want to teach our students to feel responsible and proud of their work in our room. Every two weeks, students can apply for a job in the room with a real application. They must write what qualifications they have to meet each job. Jobs include Message Reader (for our daily message), Facilities Manager (taking care of cleaning our room), Feelings Buddy (supporting a lonely or sad friend), and Historian (writes the newsletter and surveys the room). Every day, students come in and hang their hearts on the Wish Well. Not only is this a way to see which students are absent and present, but it is also shows are students that our classroom community is thinking about them even when they are not present. Our Welcome Back Committee can write notes to our sick and absent classmates.
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AuthorMs. Bizon is a Lower Elementary Guide at Suder Montessori School. Archives
September 2018
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