Mother Nature fittingly flexed her muscles this weekend at the debut of Hudson Montessori School’s 13th annual Social Studies Fair featuring the “Power of Nature.” The rain did not deter hundreds of our students and their families who visited the free museum-style fair.
Each of the 12 classrooms was redesigned to resemble a museum gallery. The exhibits highlighted nature’s humbling strength and how it inspires, provokes, and teaches us all how to adapt and innovate.
“The Social Studies Fair has always been an essential piece of Hudson Montessori School’s curriculum,” Gracy Jolly, Founding Director, said. “The experiential exhibits extend the students’ learning environment, demonstrating the application of their knowledge. We encouraged the students to learn from each other by visiting all the galleries.”
Every classroom studied a unique facet of nature and its effect on our lives. Topics being covered in the galleries span the gamut from human invention inspired by air, land, water, and biomimicry to the powerful things that occur in nature. Students learned about weather patterns, the water cycle, how food grows, and so much more.The school’s upper elementary students theorized, prototyped, and proposed innovations that solve a problem using nature as inspiration. The younger students made artwork, dioramas, and 3D models.
Starting on May 9, the students will take “field trips” with their class to visit other classroom galleries throughout the week. Students experienced how their learning has transactional value: For each student who visits 10 galleries (classrooms), the school will sponsor the planting of a sapling in a national forest devastated by wildfires.
Student participation in this quest directly helps our planet. The school's goal is to plant 250 trees. On Saturday, 150 students completed the quest. By the end of this week, the school plans to announce which national forest it will select for its grove of 250 trees.
A team from Save Soil, a global movement to stand up for soil sustainability around the world, attended the event, assisting our parent volunteers who operated planting stations for students. Students planted seeds as take-home souvenirs
Following the fair, the school welcomed families to Zeppelin Hall, where the school reserved a large section for its families, including games for children and valuable time for parents to mingle.
To learn more about Hudson Montessori School’s interdisciplinary, theme-based learning approach to education, the Montessori philosophy and methodology, or how the school fosters the love of learning for its students, the school welcomes you to attend a virtual school tour.
