Hello families,
I want to thank you again for your support with the coffee shop. The coffee shop has been a huge commitment for everyone involved. We really appreciate your ongoing help getting your child to school extra early and helping with supplies. They are learning a great life lesson: the importance of grit. Their strong work ethic can also be seen in the classroom.
Several times in the past month I have observed the hard-working Cocoplums in awe! Something exciting shifted in the Cocoplums in February, and I am so proud of their dedication to our lessons.
We continue to graph and keep track of coffee shop sales using math skills that apply to real-life problems. Many of us have also started working on story problems to help us apply information. I encourage you to quiz your child at home on multiplication and division facts so that we can continue to expand our math knowledge. A couple minutes a day over breakfast or in the car are great times to practice math facts.
In upper elementary, the subject culture, specifically ancient civilizations, drives our curriculum. Ancient civilizations are a fascinating way to tie in a variety of lessons. Since August, students have been researching a specific civilization on the timeline. We wrapped up our projects and presented them to the third years. The culminating project was a beautiful example of wonderful Montessori brains. Fifth and sixth years wrote three- to four-page reports that were filled with extensive research, time, and thought. Fifth years have now moved on to ancient Greece, and sixth years are doing an abridged study of the Dark Ages before they move on to the Renaissance. Fourth years continue their in-depth study of Early Humans. They’ve also started their reports on the material needs: food and shelter. They will present their research in the spring at our Cultural Immersion Day.
Honest Eco came in to teach us how to make nets so we can learn more about plankton. We are so grateful for our educational outings with their crew.
Unfortunately, we had many absences due to illness in the month of February. I hope everybody is feeling better and ready for a happy and healthy March.
Thanks again for all you do,
Ashleigh
