Category: Upper Elementary

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu As winter resolutely stays and we crave the warmth and light of the coming spring, let’s admire the light that shines despite the cold – the sunlight that breaks through, the light of friendship, the light of … Continue reading “Light…”

For many of us, schooling is inextricably linked to memories of testing, evaluations and scores. One thing that draws us to Montessori is the general absence of testing as we experienced it. However, the absence of traditional tests is not an absence of assessment. Assessments are only helpful if they give information which is valid … Continue reading “Standardized Testing”

With the Sixth Years taking on Montessori Model United Nations in New York City, the rest of Upper Elementary decided to a take on the City Museum! Upper Elementary students came up with the idea, planned the trip and obviously had loads of fun! My thanks to Lauren Knight and Samantha Clarke for the photos! … Continue reading “Adventure on Valentine’s Day”

Anna Schwind sneaks us in to take another peek at the magic of Elementary classrooms … Class Meetings: Dialogue, discussion and decisions. Welcome to the second part of the series on creating community together. The previous entry  was focused on the early work the children do to establish guidelines and norms for the school year … Continue reading “Creating Community Together Part 2: Class Meetings”

Yes, it’s still cold here in St. Louis… The children are generally undaunted by the weather though and make the most of whatever Mother Nature hands them. There isn’t quite this much snow on ground anymore but look what joy the children have taken in our campus this winter! We are so lucky that our … Continue reading “Snow Days, School Days…”