A Meeting of Montessori Minds

Mountain Laurel Montessori (Virginia) students and faculty were delighted to host 

Metro Montessori (Oregon) last week. 

We worked together on the farm building a new sheep shelter, weeding the hoophouse, mulching the flower beds, preparing lunches and dinners, and repairing the electric fence around the  bees. 

Many hands make quick work of weeds in the hoophouse

We also played some great soccer games, made music together, and exchanged ideas about current events. 

Preparing food together

It was a great meeting of the minds for both students and faculty.

Fearless Leaders

Thank you to Metro for your visit!

We officially apologize for the rainy weather and leaky tents. 

Next time you visit, we'll schedule a sunny day.

Babies in the Classroom

It is always lovely to have an infant join the adolescent community.  This lucky young boy is well-loved and entertained by the students at Mountain Laurel Montessori Jr. High.

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Fiber Fun!

Mountain Laurel Montessori Students 

visit Central Virginia Fiber Mill

Our 9th year Sheep Manager organized a visit to the Central Virginia Fiber Mill to deliver the fleeces from our sheep.  The fleece will become lovely roving and yarn.  We will have new yarn for sale soon!

THANK YOU to Mary Kearny for teaching us about the process from raw fleece to yarn, roving, and batting.

As a bonus, we got to meet some very curious alpaca.

Students Backpack the Appalachian Trail

Mount Marshall and Shenandoah National park are right outside our back door. They are what we see each day as we go about our school lives.  They helps define who we are and where we are in the world.

Students and faculty of Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School got up close and personal with the park and Mount Marshall on a 3 day backpacking trip in April.

Before...

After...

A Cosy Rainy Day

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students enjoy the fire on a rainy day in February.

Algebra dog

Chopping wood for the fire

Rappahannock County Farm Tour Sept 24th & 25th - join us at the Farm School!

Join us for the third annual 

Rappahannock County Farm Tour!  

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School will be open and ready for your visit both Saturday and Sunday from 9-4.

• Farm School students will be waiting to give you a tour, introduce you to the animals, and tell you about their school.
• You'll be able to pet the sheep, hold a chicken, gather eggs, and feed the pigs! 
• We'll be serving a delicious lunch made by our students using our home-grown meats and vegetables.  
• You'll also have the opportunity to hand-dye wool yarn and try your hand at spinning wool into yarn.
• There will be games, face painting, and more for children of all ages.
• Our Farm Market Stand will be open both days.

Tickets are $5 and may be purchased in advance on line:  farmtour.visitrappahannockva.com or at Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School on the day of the tour. 

Children under 16 get in free! 

At the Farm Tour website you are also able to get directions, check out the other 17 venues, look for special tracks (family friendly, horticulture, crafts, etc), and learn about the "All Things Rappahannock Market" at The Link in Sperryville.

Welcome Smithsonian Campers!

On Wednesday, 52 campers came down from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) to learn about Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School. These rising 9th and 10th grade students were part of the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) camp.

Thank you 

to Mountain Laurel Montessori students who came out to give tours!!! The campers' favorite part of the tour was reported to be learning to catch chickens!

It is exciting to be right down the road from an institution doing amazing international conservation research and we are very happy to be able to share our school as a model of land-based education.

For more on SCBI: http:nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi

Toddlers visit the Farm

Farm School student introduces a chicken

The Toddler Program students visited the Farm School for their end-of-year picnic. 

Animals, songs, and watermelon - a great combination!

Farm School students invite toddlers to fill pig water buckets

The pigs provided lots of entertainment

A Farm School student and a toddler look for eggs in the chicken tractor

Toddlers dance to rock and roll

Meet our rooster

Community Plant Sale

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students sell homemade food at the Waterpenny Farm Plant Sale

Farm School student spins wool into yarn

Spring produce donated to Plant a Row for the Hungry

Proud of their harvest, Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students bring their produce to the Rappahannock Food Pantry and Plant-A-Row-for-the-Hungry

student grown broccoli, spinach, and kale

Mimi weighs in the broccoli

Thanks to Hal Hunter for getting this all started by donating the hoophouse!

Students harvest...

the broccoli they planted in March...

and bring it to the Food Pantry the same morning - couldn't be fresher!

First Hoophouse harvest!

Our first Hoophouse for the Hungry harvest is in!

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students have planted cool season plants, and have already harvested spinach and kale. The garden chore group has taken on seeding, transplanting, and daily watering.  

We took our first harvest to the Rappahannock Food Pantry and helped unload a bread delivery while we were there.

Thanks Mimi for your leadership at the Food Pantry!

MLK Jr. Day 2011:"Everybody can be great because anybody can serve"

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students and faculty honored the 25th anniversary of the Federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by helping in their community.  They visited senior citizens in two Front Royal nursing homes.  Together, the adolescents and seniors made collages, played games, and spent time telling stories about their lives.  We hope to make this a regular event throughout the year.


"Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love". 
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


For more information on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and community service, visit the Corporation for National and Community Service: http://mlkday.gov/

We All Pitch In To Make the Playground Safer

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students joined in with parents and teachers this fall to make the playground safer for our youngest students. Together we moved and spread 9,000 pounds of rubber mulch to our playground at the Front Royal campus. Our Toddler (ages 16 months to 3 years) and Primary (ages 3-6) students use the playground every day and will be much happier now.

 It was wonderful to see the faces of our youngest students watching with fascination as the "big kids" worked, and to have an opportunity for our adolescent students to give back to the campus that nurtured them from the time they were toddlers and on through elementary.

One of the unique aspects of Mountain Laurel Montessori is the strong community that nurtures children through the whole continuum of childhood, from birth through 9th grade.

A True Community

This morning at Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm school 15 children and youth (current students, incoming students, graduates, and siblings), 2 parents, and 2 staff members gathered for community work.  Community work is a weekly event - students, siblings, parents, staff members, and neighbors gather voluntarily, taking time out of their summer vacations, to work together at the Farm School.

While we worked very hard moving our chickens to fresh pasture, weeding the garden, mowing paths, turning the compost, and cleaning the beekeeping equipment, it was truly joyful work because we worked together as a community.

Building community is hard work and a long term process.  It takes dedication by all included.  Joyful days like today remind us what good work it is.

Students Perform Music and Drama at Coffeehouse

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students perform at the final coffeehouse of the year. The evening included original songs, drama, guitar, drums, duets, solos, group songs, and more.  The beautiful early summer night was perfect for the outdoor concert.

Creative Expression is an important part of life as a Mountain Laurel student. Students choose from among classes such as guitar, voice, watercolor painting, drawing, drama, drums, pottery, and dance. 

Farm School students take on New York City

"Above all it is the education of adolescents that is important, because adolescence is the time when the child enters on the state of manhood and becomes a member of society...the adolescent needs an understanding of the society which he is about to enter to play his part." - Maria Montessori

As part of their study of the Industrial Revolution, Farm School students spent a week in New York City. Their Odyssey included visits to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a tour guided by staff of the Tenement Museum, and a visit to the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

MLK Day: A Day of Service

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is,

'What are you doing for others?'”

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On January 18th, the Farm School Community celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by doing service for those in need in our wider community.

One group cleaned up the grounds and garden of the Fauquier Family Shelter in Warrenton. The work inspired some of the students to suggest bringing vegetable seedlings grown by Farm School students to the Shelter's garden in the spring.

Another group helped to organize and price donated goods at the Fauquier Food Bank's Thrift Store. This group also enjoyed the work, and appreciated the element of recycling while also helping those who need access to lower cost household items and clothing.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often quoted as having said: "Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education." Setting aside time to recognize the needs of others around us, and to lend a hand to those in need, builds character.

The Farm School students returned from their service projects on Monday filled with optimism.

"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Digging out from the snowstorm

Good will abounded as students, parents, teachers, and neighbors came back to school on the first day of winter vacation to help dig paths to the animals.

Two feet of snow fell during the weekend before Christmas 2009 in the biggest December snow storm ever in Flint Hill, Virginia.

Volunteers dug paths to the pigs, sheep, and chickens, and made sure all were warm and had access to fresh water and food.

It was a wonderful demonstration of the dedication of the Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School Community.

Holidays are a time for appreciating and enjoying family, and at Mountain Laurel Montessori we really value ours.