Little Flower Montessori School · Winter 2026 Issue ·
Little Flower Montessori School · Winter 2026 Issue ·
The Elementary Experience
News and stories from the elementary community
Adrian S. and Seraphina G.
Unsinkable Flower Fun
On Saturday, November 8th, the 4th graders (Adrian, Seraphina and Ella) entered the cardboard boat race in Hollywood, FL. Did they sink or float?
The first part of the cardboard boat project was that Mr. Pete gave the fourth graders a list of boat terms. We had to look up 15 words. For example, PDF stands for Personal Floatation Device. We also needed to learn the parts of a boat. The most important concept of all we learned was the Archimedes principle, which has to do with the displacement of water. After we looked up the terms and learned the parts, we made two model boats. We gave our models to Seraphina’s dad, Julio, who made the actual boat using our models as guides. You’re probably wondering what our boat was based on. It was designed and named after the great and famous TITANIC . It looked so great. Thank you, Julio!
Once we got the boat, we had to cover it with duct tape. Seraphina had to do most of the taping along with Mr. Pete, because Adrian and Ella were sick and absent that final week before the race.
“It was hard work, but it paid off,” said Seraphina.
Then the big day finally came. We were all ready to go . We dressed in fancy clothes, like the passengers on the Titanic. There were many supporters from school at the race.
Finally, we were on the water. We paddled fast. Seraphina kept yelling: “Keep paddling!”
We tried to sink the boat—like the real Titanic—but could not make it sink. It was built and taped too well, so we jumped out of the boat with our violins.
Our boat won third place for most creative design and second place for people’s choice. We even made it into the Sun Sentinel. It was a fun day!
Gavin G.
Wednesday Wonder
Every Wednesday, in the afternoon, one of our teachers tells us a strange wonder. All of the children sit in a circle while they listen to a wonderful fact or tale.
One of the wonders was about a small boat that was seen on the most remote island in the world, Bouvet Island. It was seen half in and half out of the water in a lagoon of the island. The first people to see it were in a helicopter. The second time explorers tried to investigate it, the boat was gone! There was no ship! It had disappeared! Everyone was shocked. Where had the boat gone?
Another Wednesday wonder was a comet that entered our solar system It was called 3I/ATLAS. It stands for Third Interstellar Atlas. It is from a different solar system! When it was first spotted, it was acting very weird. It was moving fast, then stopping. Some people thought it might be aliens. But then scientists discovered it was a piece of comet from another solar system. This comet is only going to be in our solar system for a few months. It will eventually blast out of our solar system.
The best time to see it is in November. But the closest it will get to Earth will be December 19, 2025. To see it, you have to have a telescope.
We also learned about a second quasi-moon the Earth has, a star named Betelgeuse that might one day explode and how scientists might bring a wooly mammoth back to life! The Wednesday wonders are so fun!
“If the idea of the universe is presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than just arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.”
— Maria Montessori
Mr. Paul Visiting Our School
One Tuesday, after circle, Ms. Chris came into our class and told us she was going on an Honor Flight the next weekend. She also showed us a challenge coin that has the symbols of the Navy, the Army, the Marines, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard on it.
Space
This year we have done a lot of space-involved Wednesday Wonders. I think space is very interesting, with all of its planets, black holes and galaxies.
Fall Festival
The fall festival is like a big party that LFMS has every October to celebrate fall. All of the Little flower children and teachers and families are involved.
New Class Pets
The elementary class got two young guinea pigs in October. Their names are Miso and Truffle. Miso is usually hiding and Truffle is usually running and eating. They’re both a bit skittish but they’re loving.
Shopping and Cooking
This year we get to cook snack every Friday. Buddy groups work together to plan and shop and prepare the food. On Wednesdays, our buddies walk to Publix to buy the food.
Geography
This year our class is trying to learn all of the 195 countries of the world. We are also learning about the seven largest islands of the world and will study the longest rivers too.
Frindle Book Club
All of the third and fourth graders are in a book club. We all went to Ms. Chris and everybody got a copy of a book called Frindle by Andrew Clements.
Book Fair
The book fair is a fair after school where you can buy books for school and for home. The fair was at Barnes and Noble on Thursday, November 13th.
Buddy Groups
Buddies are classmates who do projects together and who help each other. On the first day of school we met our buddies.
Halloween Party
Once a year, on Halloween, the elementary class throws a fun and exciting Halloween party. Every year students guess each other’s costumes. We can wear our costumes to school or we can change into them at school. We always have a theme for our costumes. This year our theme was fictional characters from books.
Reading Buddies
At Little Flower we get to have reading buddies. Elementary students read to primary children and that is very fun for all of us. When we first met our primary buddies they were very shy. Hopefully they will start to feel more comfortable soon.
Clubs
Clubs are things that we make on our own. People can sign up for different clubs. You can do clubs outside or inside. Clubs happen every Friday in the afternoon. Clubs are fun!
Math
I have learned a lot of math this year. My favorite type of math is the fractions. There are a lot of math materials that help with math in our classroom. Math is really fun!
Spelling
I love passages. Popcorn reading is my favorite part. That is when we take turns reading our passage out loud. Every Tuesday Ms. Chris gives us a passage and spelling words.
Specials
Our elementary class has music and P.E. on Thursday afternoons. They are both very fun to do. Everybody looks forward to them every week.
Recess
Recess is awesome! This year we have recess before lunch. I usually play soccer every recess with Julian, Gavin Adrian, Aiden, Jack, Liam, Jason and Auggie. Sometimes Cami and Maria like to play too.
Parts of Speech
We learned about nouns in the first week of school. We searched around the classroom for nouns. We taped word labels to things and people all around the room. Isabella taped a label that said “boy” on me!
Going to Independence Hall
About once a month some of the elementary students go to Independence Hall Senior Living Center to read books to the people living there.
Jason N.
Weekly Topics
This year we are doing something new in Elementary. Every day of every week we do something different. On Mondays, we do something called Monday Manners. We practice thoughtful words or kind acts all week. On Tuesdays, we do Idioms of the week. On Wednesdays, we do Wednesday Wonders. Wednesday Wonders are when Mr. Pete or Ms. Lisa introduce something science-y. Thursdays we do Thursday Thoughts. That is where Ms. Lisa or Mr. Pete put a quote on the board. For example, some were written by : Will Rogers, Jane Goodall and Jesse Jackson. We have to write what we think the quote means. Last, but not least, are Friday Fun Facts. This is where we go around in a circle and tell interesting facts. Then Mr. Pete checks the facts. On the next Friday, Mr. Pete tells if our facts were true or false. Then we tell new facts and go over the same routine. I like our new system of new topics.
Adam R.
Spanish
There is something different happening on Wednesdays this year and that is Spanish. Ms. Daniela, Adrian and Lucia’s mom, is the one teaching us. We have four different Spanish groups and the people in my group are Gavin, Seraphina, Maria and Victoria. We learn body parts in Spanish as well as vowels, emotions and sometimes numbers.
Learning Spanish is important if you are going to go to a country that speaks Spanish. You can read signs, order food and read Spanish books. It is cool to speak two languages! Would you like to learn to speak Spanish?
Julian S.
Winter Festival
The day before winter break in December, there is a massive, fun party that all children and their families of LFMS go to. It’s called the Winter Festival. This year, it is happening on Friday, the 19th of December in the morning. In our elementary music classes with Ms. Emi, we have been practicing four different holiday songs that will sing during the party. Two of the songs will be in partially in Spanish! In addition, there will be lots of games (like cornhole and Jenga), crafts (like bracelet making), and lots of yummy snacks made by our families (including holiday cookies, carrot cake and frozen yogurt from Menchies – yum!) Children are often running around and playing games like tag and hide and seek. It’s a great way to end the first half of the year!
