One of the beautiful things about a Montessori classroom is the freedom children have to make choices about their learning. But there's another word that always goes hand in hand with freedom in Montessori education: responsibility. And as our Lower Elementary community settles into the school year, we've been talking quite a bit about what that means! In Montessori, independence isn't simply about being able to do things without an adult's help. It's about gradually developi

Yesterday marked an exciting little milestone at DGS: six weeks back at school! By this point in the year, something special is beginning to happen in a Montessori classroom. The newness starts to settle, and routines begin to become familiar. The children know where things belong, how our days flow, and what their responsibilities are to themselves and one another. In Montessori language, we begin to see our classroom normalize -- settling into the purposeful, peaceful rhyth

Earlier this week, Lower Elementary went on their first overnight adventure of the year! We left school and headed up into some of the oldest mountains in the world, arriving at Camp Rockmont to a beautiful fall day. There is just something so special about the cool mountain air and this sweet landscape! We spent our afternoon picnicking, rock climbing, journaling, creating art, and simply delighting in nature. We were even fortunate enough to have a sweet snake friend visit

Over the last couple of weeks, Upper Elementary has been exploring ecosystems! We defined an ecosystem as a community where living and non-living things interact and depend on one another to survive. An ecosystem is a lot like a team...all of the pieces and players have an important role to play. If one piece is missing, it can affect the rest of the system. We used the fraction materials from the classroom to help us visualize all of the different pieces that make up an ecos

Introducing the division of our globe into two hemispheres. In September, we are covering Senses, Land, Air, and Water; the Map of the World; Living and Non-Living; Apples; and Emotions. In Practical Life, we are sweeping, polishing, and arranging silk flowers. In Art, we have been cutting, rubbing, and pasting. Our Peace Shelf has several items to help us calm ourselves, including a sand timer to watch and a book about peace where we can practice our sign language. Sensor

I’d love to take a moment (or several!) to share some of the ideas I’ve been getting to more deeply explore through my class, and through my subsequent reflections. Many of you have asked how it’s going and I hope I can share bits of this journey with you. Because, for me, I think the best way to grow our understanding in anything, is to try and teach it. And so, I'll try... . . . For starters, I’ve been thinking about the Montessori philosophies in general. Just like an

We are entering one of my favorite times of the year… fall at the Farmers Market! I love a fall morning at the market. The crisp air, the smell of fresh-brewed coffee and baked goods, and wandering around to find all the amazing homegrown produce that will fill my kitchen for the next week. There’s just something about it. I also love that I get to share that experience with our students! Over the last two weeks, students from every class have been involved in some way, shape

Every year, I like to start the school year with a lesson about trash, recycling, and compost. And before you skip on because those may not feel like the most glamorous topics, I want you to think about how often we interact with them. It probably won’t take long to realize that these things are part of our everyday lives and usually, more than once a day! This year, I started our lesson by giving the students an overzealous story of everything I had used or touched from the

As we start our second full week of school, the students are already taking ownership of their environment. Our returning students have been patient mentors, and our new friends have joined in with enthusiasm, together creating a healthy sense of community. Today the Student Board Committee facilitated our first student-led Morning Meeting of the year. Coming together in circle to start our day truly sets the tone for the rest of the day. The process started last week when

Lower Elementary officially has its first field trip of the year in the books! We spent our morning at the Mint Museum Uptown exploring its galleries through an aptly named tour: “Every Picture Tells a Story.” For many of our first graders, this was also their first DGS field trip without a parent accompanying them (a big step in independence)! They rose beautifully to the occasion. Our students listened attentively, followed museum guidelines, asked thoughtful questions, sha

We wrapped up another year's poetry study with Poets' Cafe. Each studet recited poetry, shared recorded poetry with art and enjoyed all the cafe vibes. We studied a variety of poetic elements and styles and spent this last part of the school year reading, writing and listening to poetry. Thank you to our fifth level leaders who created a cozy vibe complete with candles and chocolate fondue. For the recorded poetry, each student practiced reading a poem of their own or anoth

We started building community with Habitat for Humanity last year. It's been wonderful to partner with this organization that contributes so much to our region. https://www.habitatcltregion.org/ We have painted baffles, decorated art for homes, hosted a book drive for Julia's Cafe https://www.juliascafe.org/ and now - fueled a crew. With each step, we have learned more about the work they do and been able to see some of that work in action. This week we brought lunch to th

All of their hard work came to life last week at the Upper Elementary Wax Museum! Their process: choose a person of interest to study read a biography about that person find at least two resources for research take notes document sources write a biographical essay create a backdrop with words and images highlighting that person's life practice reading your essay aloud assemble costume and props presentation day What a joy to experience the culmination of their efforts!