5 Harvest Celebration Ideas As An Alternative to Halloween

 As the fall season gets underway, many parents are looking for Halloween alternatives that allow daycare children to experience the season without the pagan undertones. To assist you in the search, we have compiled a collection of exciting and educational activities that celebrate the fall harvest.

Elementary Art Class: Holiday Crafts

Art plays a vital role in your Montessori elementary child’s development. Children use art to express feelings, explore creative mediums, and expand their imagination. During the holidays, supplying the themed materials encourages creativity and learning.

Nature Walk: Helping Elementary Students Learn in the Outdoors

Getting elementary students outside is beneficial on several levels. The fresh air is good for the body, peaceful surroundings encourage focus, and there is a lot that nature can teach us. The best locations are away from buildings and in an area where your outdoor forays will not distract other classes in the school. Be sure to take along a field guide to learn about different plants and animals, but give the elementary students opportunities to explore and learn in their own ways as well.

Assessing your Elementary Student after the First Semester of School

Montessori elementary schools do not use a list of topics that all children must learn at the same time. Montessori student assessments cover many non-academic aspects of education as well, limiting the value of traditional report cards. Instead, parent-student-teacher conferences are arranged where the student guide can give you first-hand observation information on your elementary child’s development.

Questions to Ask your Elementary Student's Teacher at the Beginning of the Year

As parents, it is normal to have a million questions about your child’s learning experience. A quick Google search yields dozens of articles dedicated to this topic alone! Fortunately, as the parent of a Montessori elementary student, many questions can be answered by having a familiarity with the Montessori principles that guide your child’s school and classrooms. However, there are still many more answers to be had, and you can begin to uncover them by asking a few larger questions that open the door for deeper and continued conversations with your child’s teacher.

Last Days of Summer: Fun Outdoor Games for Elementary Students

Before the summer comes to a close, give your elementary student a few last flings in the sun. All of the outdoor games presented here are kid-tested, and many can be modified for indoor play if the weather turns sour. The links provided here are not exact duplicates of the gameplay we describe, and we encourage you and your children to come up with even more variations.