Fanfare for the Common Sandwich

Upper Elementary Lunch 

By Anne Kruk, All Day Primary Teacher

Research has consistently pointed to the importance of family dinners.  So much so, that in reading articles meant to encourage this healthy habit, one can be left feeling guilty and overwhelmed, rather than inspired.  A recent Washington Times article noted “multiple studies have demonstrated that frequent family dining is associated with a greater ability to problem solve; more complex thinking; higher self-esteem and grades; and lower rates of teen smoking, drinking, illegal drug use and prescription drug abuse.”¹  I don’t even have children, and yet I can still imagine anxiously watching my child eat fast food, wondering how many hamburgers it would take to turn her into the miserable dropout of which the studies warn!

A new child has lunch with her older partner.

What is less often discussed in research about children and nutrition is the fact that, even if every dinner a child eats is a Norman Rockwell painting of home cooked goodness and family serenity, dinner is only one of three meals a day.  What about lunch?  Most lunches are eaten outside the family milieu, at work or school, so why not research the effects of lunch just as extensively?  At a guess, I suspect that researchers are seeking to emphasize that which parents can directly control, the meal which they (are “supposed to”) eat every night with their children.

That’s a lot of pressure for one plate to withstand.  How about we share it?

All Day Primary children receive a lesson on cleaning a table after lunch.

At the end of last year, the staff here at CFMS began discussing ideas we had about how to improve the lunch experience for our students.  As Montessorians we are constantly seeking to meet children’s developmental needs by providing the best environment we can.   After careful consideration, we decided to embark on a new way of eating lunch at CFMS, one in which mealtimes are a seamless continuation of Montessori principles.  In most classes lunch now happens at tables topped with tablecloths and all the other accoutrements -- both tangible and social -- that go along with eating in polite society.  

In the All Day Primary class, we eat in two groups: one group eats while the other plays on the playground, and vice versa.  Children eat lunch with their partners (another innovation this year that pairs older children with younger ones).  They fully set their table -- tablecloth, napkins, plates, silverware, mugs, and salt and pepper shakers -- before putting their food on their plate.  And then they wait quietly, chatting with their partner, until everyone is ready, at which point we all sing grace and begin our lunches.   At the end of lunchtime, each pair reverses the process, cleaning the table carefully to be ready for the next children: clearing all the dirty dishes, crumbing the table, sweeping underneath, and cleaning any messes.  

Lower Elementary eating lunch in their classroom.

Why such fanfare for a sandwich?

Primary children are driven by a deep desire to be independent in all they do.  That is particularly evident in the practical life area of the classroom, where they practice every day skills like sweeping, washing dishes, pouring water, baking, sewing, cleaning up messes, etc.  Children love these works, and lunch is a natural outlet for them to use these skills, and thus see their work come to life.  

Maria Montessori described the joy of watching children learn self-care skills:

The children of three years of age in the "Children's Houses" learn and carry out such work as sweeping, dusting, making things tidy, setting the table for meals, waiting at table, washing the dishes, etc ., and at the same time they learn to attend to their own personal needs, to wash themselves, to take showers, to comb their hair, to take a bath, to dress and undress themselves, to hang up their clothes in the wardrobe, or to put them in drawers, to polish their shoes.  [ . . . ] This has a truly educational, not utilitarian purpose . The reaction of the children may be described as a "burst of independence" of all unnecessary assistance that suppresses their activity and prevents them from demonstrating their own capacities. It is just – these "independent" children of ours who learn to write at the age of four and a half years, who learn to read spontaneously, and who amaze everyone by their progress in arithmetic.  These very children reveal to us the most vital need of their development, saying : “Help me to do it alone!”²

I have gotten to experience that same joy this year.  I have watched older children take their partners gently by the hand and lead them through the steps of lunchtime.  I have listened to children talk together with joy about the things that matter most to them:  their favorite animals, what game they will play together outside, what they like to do with their parents.  I have heard them naturally discover the ebb and flow of conversation: questions, replies, and responses.  I have seen children develop patience in waiting, and the calmness that that brings them.  I have watched a child spill his water accidentally, and without a moment’s hesitation say “I can clean it up!” and then do so.

Developing children’s joyful independence is well worth a few minutes of set-up and an extra load of laundry.

1: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/14/health-benefits-eating-together/

2: Montessori, Maria.  From Childhood to Adolescence (pp. 66-67).  

Upper Elementary: Building Community at Rolling Ridge

by Sarah Vekeman, Upper Elementary Teacher

Each fall the Upper Elementary class and their parents head to Rolling Ridge for the annual Upper El retreat.  In this beautiful natural setting, students and their parents camp, hike, play, volunteer, pray, and enjoy the beauty of the mountain together.  It is a time for creating new connections, and for strengthening old bonds.  

This year we worked together to help the community at Rolling Ridge move some “sheep-enriched” soil to their garden space in wheelbarrows, hauled mulch, and split and stacked wood with a hydraulic wood splitter.  Children and parents hiked up and down a small stream, and spent time reflecting in prayer together.  We made a huge campfire and toasted marshmallows for s’mores.  

            Every retreat deepens in me a gratitude for the blessing of being a part of the CFMS community.  The culmination of the retreat happens on the second day, in a hike to the observation tower and a prayer service planned by two students.  This year’s service was marked by deep discussions around community, how we can help each other, and what it means for us as human beings.  Children and parents expressed gratitude for nature, for the people who work to preserve it, for our school, and for the ability we each have to serve each other in love.

Transparent Classroom: A Glimpse into the Life of the Classroom

by Kristi Medley
Director of Education

In the first few weeks of school, the classrooms are settling into a rhythm and the rooms are all buzzing with activity. We hope you’ve been enjoying updates from Transparent Classroom, and the little window it gives you into your child’s life at school.

How often will I see new posts?

A child will typically be tagged in a post at least once per week. You control how frequently you receive updates, using the settings in your profile.

Every teacher and catechist is going to use Transparent Classroom slightly differently. Record keeping is individual and personal, and every teacher has a system that works best for them. For instance, All Day Primary posts might tend to include more detailed notes about lessons, because there are two teachers sharing lesson giving, and they are using TC as a way to communicate to each other as well. Likewise, catechists are in the habit of trying to record as much of children’s responses to lessons in the atrium as they are able.

How many lessons will my child receive?

It’s important to keep in mind, lessons are the way that teachers and catechist connect children to the materials in the classroom. One lesson a week is not at all unusual in the Montessori classroom. For those of us who grew up in more traditional schools, it’s easy to assume, that the important work in the classroom happens with the teacher. But the actual learning happens when the child works with the material on their own. You won’t get updates on every lesson, or every instance that you child works with a material.

What is available on Transparent Classroom?

Activity: Your child’s home page is where you can see all stories, new lessons, and  photos of your child. They appear in the activity feed in order of the date entered. This  is a great place to stay updated on your child’s classroom life.

Pictures: Photos can be seen as they are connected to your child. You may  download any pictures by clicking the download icon on the right, corner  of each photo.  

Lessons: You can see where your child is in the progression of lessons. The lessons  are laid out by area of the classroom. This view lets you know both where your child is and what is might be coming up next. The content of the Elementary Montessori curriculum is vast, and not every child travels through it in exactly the same way.

Getting a Fuller Picture from Transparent Classroom

The best way to get the most information and insight from Transparent Classroom is to log on to the site. Emails give you the names of lessons, but by logging on, you can view the purpose of the lesson, the skills it’s building, and how you could help support it at home. You’ll also be able to view how the lesson fits into the scope of the curriculum. (For atrium lessons, we are still populating that information. That work will hopefully done by next year, with the help of the Center for Children and Theology.)

To get to this information, log on, click on your child’s name in the black navigation bar to the left. This will take you to your child’s activity feed. Click on PROGRESS on the top navigation bar to see an overview of the curriculum. For most lessons, if you click on them, you’ll be lead to a page detailing more about what the work is.  

Teachers and catechists started using Transparent Classroom for record keeping mid-year last year, to familiarize ourselves with it before adding parents. Past lessons from before we used started using TC weren’t backlogged, so keep this in mind as you look at your child’s progress page.

My child had a Grace and Courtesy lesson on using a quiet voice in the classroom. He must have been really loud!

I’ve heard this a couple time from parents receiving TC lesson updates around Grace and Courtesy lessons! Grace and Courtesy lessons are a method of introducing a way of being in the classroom, or to give children ways to navigate social interactions.  We use them to introduce how to handle situations they might encounter in the classroom—anything from walking across the classroom carefully, to telling a friend they upset you, to blowing your nose! They are done in groups and are generally playful as the teacher and then children act out the situation. In a lesson, the teacher might say, “I’m going to pretend I want to do a puzzle map, but Leslie is in my way. Listen to the words I tell her, to let her know she’s blocking my way....'Excuse me, Leslie. I need to get to the shelf.'" Children love them, and we repeat them again and again! (Mastery is a process, even for adults!) And they are always given at a neutral time! Never when a problem has just occurred! So rest assured, if you child has a lesson on Grace and Courtesy on walking carefully, it doesn’t mean they’re running around the room! 

We hope that Transparent Classroom will help parents to feel a little more connect to their children’s life at school. But it’s only a glimpse, not the whole picture. The best way to get a fuller picture is through contact with teachers, Parent Education, Observations, Conferences, and blog articles. We’ll looking forward to Primary and Upper Elementary parents to join us on Monday, Sept 18 for our Parent Education night. We’ll be talking a little more about Transparent Classroom.