That’s a wrap! For our final week of the school year, we celebrated, had fun and everyone pitched in to clean up and organize the classrooms. Wishing all of our Kew Park families a wonderful and safe summer break and we look forward to seeing the children back at school in the fall!
The sights and sounds of the elementary recess yard…
Congratulations to our grade 6 graduates! It was wonderful to celebrate their accomplishments last week. They are all integral members of our school community, exemplary leaders who fully embody our 3 “R’s”- respect, responsibility and resourcefulness. We will sure miss them at Kew Park next year!
Just a little sampling of our wonderful spring concerts last week!
Happy Pride Month! 🏳️🌈
We had a great time at the zoo today! So many animals to see and interesting things to learn there as part of our zoology and botany studies.
Our elementary students just had their track and field meets and they were great! Everyone worked hard, tried their best, supported one another and cheered loudly. Our upper elementary students also pushed through some very unpleasant weather conditions through it all. Everyone should be very proud of their efforts!
On any given day in both our casa and elementary yards during recess and aftercare, you can always find many children playing in the dirt. But playing in the dirt is so much more than just fun! It is essential for a child‘s sensory development. When kids get messy in mud and sand, they engage all their senses - touch, sight, smell and even sound. From the feel between their fingers to the earthy scent that fills the air, playing in dirt offers a rich sensory experience that cannot be replicated indoors. In addition, when children play in the sand they use their problem solving skills, critical thinking, their imagination and their creativity. Just listen to the kiddos in these clips!
So when a child comes home from school and they are filthy, embrace the mess and know that they have had fun, engaged their senses and practiced various other essential skills while at play!
Learning in a classroom cannot answer all a child’s questions, so “going out” is a way to explore beyond the classroom and an essential part of the elementary Montessori experience.
Our 3-day trip to Ottawa this week with our upper elementary class is a perfect example of the value of these learning opportunities. Through the various sites visited, travelling and dining out, students developed their independence and confidence, practised grace and courtesy, nurtured relationships and made memories, applied classroom teachings in a real world setting, sparked their curiosity and interests and explored the interconnectedness of everything around them.
While away, we were so impressed with the way the students managed themselves, used their manners and supported one another, the thoughtful questions they asked and their engagement in every part of the trip. And many people we met commented on their manners, inquisitiveness and knowledge!
On their final morning in Ottawa, the upper elementary students had a tour of The Senate of Canada and then headed back home, stopping in Kingston for a very interesting visit to Fort Henry and a picnic with a view. What an amazing three days!
Day two in Ottawa was full, fun and fascinating! The upper elementary students visited the RCMP horse stables, Canadian Museum of Nature, Sussex Drive, Rideau Hall, the Canadian War Museum, National Holocaust Monument, Byward Market and ended their day with cosmic bowling!
What a great first day in Ottawa for our upper elementary class! The students visited the Royal Canadian Mint, the Supreme Court of Canada and had a walking tour of downtown that included Parliament Hill, the Centennial Flame, the Terry Fox monument, Rideau Canal, the War Memorial and the Women are Persons monument. Looking forward to what day two in Ottawa will bring…
Happy Earth Day!
The Montessori sound cylinders are a sensorial material in the casa classroom. The cylinders come in a set of 2 boxes containing 6 colour-coded cylinders, each containing different materials that make different sounds. The child matches each cylinder with its corresponding sound partner by only using their auditory sense. This activity teaches the child to be able to distinguish between small differences in sound, developing their auditory sense.
Our grade 3 and 5 students have been busy this week doing our annual standardized testing. This language and math test, done over the course of five days, is a valuable test taking opportunity for the children and a helpful assessment tool for both teachers and parents to measure their math and language skills against other children their age across Canada.
Plant care is an essential practical life activity in the Montessori classroom. The purpose of this exercise is to encourage the child’s interest in caring for their environment, to help them learn about what plants need in order to grow and thrive and to develop empathy and compassion as they gently care for a delicate living plant.
The Scooter Club is off and rollin’!
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed curling in gym class today with @rocksandringscurling!
Friends make everything better.
Our annual Science Fair was a huge success and enjoyed by all our students, parents and teachers. Congrats to our upper elementary students for such well researched and beautifully presented projects!