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Lower Elementary

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  • The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary

The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary

  • Posted by Lower Elementary
  • Categories Lower Elementary, Parenting, Quest at a Glance
  • Date October 10, 2019

Welcome

Each day begins with acts of grace and courtesy. Students are greeted individually by the lead teacher as they enter the classroom with eye contact, a handshake, and a “good morning, how are you today?” Children then take out their learning journals and begin planning their days. A first year student, making that transition from Primary to Elementary, may plan just a few things at the start of the day and then make new choices later on, while a more senior student, will specifically choose at least one material from each area of work; math, language, cultural, science/research, etc. In Lower Elementary we are setting the stepping stones for the foundation of personal choice and responsibility that continue on into Upper Elementary, Middle School, and beyond. 

The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 1
Good Morning from Lower Elementary
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 2
Planning the Day

Work Cycle

Like in their previous years of Primary, Montessori materials are engaging, based on developing skills over time. Throughout the morning students are invited to either individual or small group lessons including reading groups. Constant observation by the teacher, record keeping through their learning journals and work folders, and conversations during weekly one-on-one conferences with the lead teacher all play a role in understanding what students are interested in and assessing when they are ready to move on to the next lessons. 

If you were to come visit Lower Elementary during this time you might see students outside recording seasonal changes in nature journals, a third-year student working on 3-digit multiplication, a pair looking through reference books and researching the life of African elephants, a collection of first years exploring the importance of the relationship between an article and a noun, and any multitude of other explorations happening at once. A couple of mornings a week also include Spanish or Music to add to the importance of a well-rounded and multi-faceted experience at school. 

There is a sense of spontaneity and wonder, even while being guided by the teacher, because students are free to move to areas and materials that attract them, learning opportunities that call to them, and they are encouraged to discover what interests them in the world and how things are interconnected. 

The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 3
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 4
Building the Checkerboard
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The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 6
Working on the Timeline of Life
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 7
Exploring Biomes with Classroom Spiders
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 8
Follow Up Projects on the Great Lesson
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 9
Weekly Conferencing

Recess and Lunch

Everyday we have recess and make sure to preserve that time for students to be outside, to be physical, creative, and foster feelings of fellowship in games and play. Students may visit with chickens, build forts and shelters, play gaga and field games, and use their imaginations in infinite ways. 

At lunch children are randomly seated with other classmates to help cultivate conversation, community, and ever-growing friendships. A second year might never have realized they had something in common with a first year they haven’t spent much time with and lunch is the perfect opportunity to make new friends. Like in our other classrooms, students set up placemats and napkins, and use real plates, bowls, and cutlery during lunch. A table starts eating when every child at that table is seated and ready to begin. As students finish they are excused to clean up their places and then return to the table for continued conversation until everyone they are sitting with has fully cleaned up. Then it’s on to the afternoon work cycle.

The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 10
Lunch with New Friends
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 11
Homegrown Food for the Chickens
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 12
Outdoor Lunch Break
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Finding Frogs at Recess
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Teamwork Fort Building
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 15
Gaga at Recess

Afternoons

By one o’clock everyday, Lower Elementary students start their afternoon work cycle. These afternoons vary throughout the week. On Mondays and Wednesday we have Art, Spanish and PE and on Fridays we leave time for specific lessons in Botany and environmental sciences and the third-years dedicate time to their capstone study of the Narragansett Bay. There is always time for students to receive more lessons from the lead teacher, do further work on something from their morning plans, or take time to start planning big works, like research projects, writing longer stories, or helping another student who might need an extra hand in setting up a difficult math problem. 

At the end of the day, building on the skills they’ve learned from Practical Life in their previous Primary years, students help with jobs to care for our classroom environment and contribute to the larger school community. These jobs include:  feeding chickens, taking out the compost, straightening up the shelves for the next morning, watering our classroom plants, and putting up the chairs. Often there is time for a short gathering or read-aloud which means our days in Lower Elementary always end with friends and little bit of glee.

The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 16
Spanish Lesson
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 17
Presenting Finished Work
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 18
Time in the Greenhouse
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 19
Organizing the Class Library
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 20
Caring for the Chickens
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 21
Butterfly Release
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 22
Caring for the Classroom Fish
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 23
Narragansett Bay Work
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 24
Peer Music Performance
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 25
Third Years Doing Shore Work For Narr. Bay Study
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 26
Hungry Chickens
The Quest Montessori Day: Lower Elementary 27
Chicken Love
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Lower Elementary

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The Quest Montessori Day: Primary
October 10, 2019

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Quest Spirit!
17 October, 2019

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Quest Montessori School

1150 Boston Neck Road
Narragansett, RI 02882

P (401) 783 3222
F (401) 783 3229

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