Little Field School

Today was a very, very cool day for a couple of five-year-olds. These two buddies started with a lesson on the squaring chain of 5, and they took it from there…

Something as simple as introducing material, presenting the lesson to one child while the other connected pin punching to the metal insets nearby unfolded in incredible ways.

I walked away after the lesson and just observed. They made the connection that five sets of five could be turned into a pentagon - they asked for clarification on that, after realizing, “no, it’s not an octagon because that’s a stop sign shape and this is a house” - which is the shape that had been carefully traced then pin-punched.

The next thing I know, the five chain is put away, and one of them is staring and gently touching each of the cubes for the long chains (he is DESPERATE to explore those!). He asked if he could try something, and I said, “of course!” And the rest is history.

They connected the size of the cubes to the pink tower. They connected the thousand cube to the thousands in our bank, then they realized their layout resembled a city, and they pulled this world landmark card work off the shelf to remember the name of the building they recalled.

Then, they wanted to “glue the five chain onto the pin punching so the light could shine through when we tape it on the window,” so we figured out how to use pony beads and metallic twist ties from the atelier together and we made our own squaring chain!

As one does, when encouraged to follow their curiosity and not bound by the too often strict sequence of Montessori and instead encouraged to experiment, create, investigate, explore, and connect.

These children have my whole heart💞

Yesterday’s provocation; letter sounds begin with cursive sandpaper letters; word building - manuscript/cursive translation - writing in either cursive or manuscript. Spring is so much fun!🌱

We 💚 being outside.

Photo 1: This is what multiplication can look like! Bringing bamboo poles in pairs and grouping them.

Photo 2: We take calculated risks and learn to trust our bodies - and our intuition when something inside says, “not safe!”

Photo 3: We mean it when we say we go outside in all types of weather. There’s no bad weather when you’re prepared with the right gear (and at least one full change of clothes is kept at school!).

Spring has brought us so many wonderful things and it’s only just begun!

What are you most grateful for this spring?🌱
⬇️ drop us a comment!

We read aloud every day… multiple times a day. And in lots of different ways - sometimes favorite story books with intentional, varied media illustration, sometimes new-to-us library finds that leave a teacher to stumble over strong words like “hate,” and then we find ourselves in a long community conversation about words and their power, sometimes we listen to a chapter book without any pictures, and children meander, coming and going from work or outside play.

Boxitects is a favorite, new this year, and when I put it on the shelf at the beginning of the year, I imagined I’d rotate it out soon thereafter. Our learners had other plans! As soon as it disappeared, it was requested, and it’s been on the shelf ever since. It’s requested as a read-aloud, it’s recited by older children to younger children, and it’s placed on laps to use for a “picture walk,” using visual cues from the illustrations to remember the storyline. And it’s best enjoyed from the comfort of a box with a treasured friend and a yummy snack.

Always say yes to the book.

A little glimpse at what we’ve been up to💖

We have just a small handful of placements remaining for our 2026-27 school year!

We’ve got some exciting growth in motion and are eager to expand our community bit by bit💓and we want your family to be a part of it.

📝Apply today to request a family visit: https://www.littlefieldschool.org/tuition-apply

We are grateful to continue to grow with the remaining founding families as we send our leaders onward to their next elementary adventures! We are very limited on our 4- and 5-year-old placements, so please don’t hesitate to inquire as these spots are filling quickly!

💚individualized, child-led curriculum that invites exploration and research through intentional play-work
🩵robust process art-focused, independent and cooperative learning, foreign language, and cursive handwriting invitations to explore
💚 lots and lots of outdoor time with intentional gross motor work and playful reasoning

Questions? We’d love to hear from you! Email [email protected]

Admissions — Little Field School

A glimpse at our morning work cycle - everyone works at their own pace and follows their interests. Painting and exploring secondary colors by mixing primary colors, hundred board with a buddy, experimenting with ice melting using salt crystals of different sizes and practical life skills using spoons, droppers, syringes, and basters. Time flies when you’re having fun learning!

Valentine’s Day Fun Friday! Dance party, making cards and patterns, and sharing love with each other. We loved having a big sister helper for the day!❤️💓❤️

A glimpse at our week - exploring concepts of time and the clock, hearing stories about communities that do not use time (not pictured), building homes for our lovies, after telling stories about “the olden days before cell phones,” and learning about the process of having our film developed, children generated the idea of taking pictures to revisit at a later time, so they haven’t seen this one! Building words, our friends are exploring manuscript and cursive and exploring how letters are formed and either remain separate or flow into the next and have noticed my “handwriting for myself” which is neither print nor cursive!

Not pictured: we have small group calendar work each day and had discussed Valentine’s Day falling on Saturday, February 14, and that it is not a school day because it begins with the sound /s/. Well, when Thursday rolled around, our friends noticed that we love each other every day but Love Day should have a party. So we threw together a party and some friends helped me write an email to parents to coordinate the important part - snacks! We had a blast exchanging valentines pre-made at home and creating notes or art work to share with each other as a gesture of love. We talked about how exchanging “stuff” isn’t the important part, but rather how we feel good about ourselves in relationship with our friends and how we can help our friends feel positively about their relationship with us. Big stuff for little people! They are amazing.

I’ve been trying to spend less time on screens and that’s translated to not posting all the wonderful things happening at Little Field School! Here’s a glimpse at the last few weeks before our winter break.

Approaching the middle of the school year is always a magical time for me as I observe the evolution of community - more challenging work selections, new and evolving friendships, lessons suddenly being given by our older friends, and so much more independence. I love these little people and their incredibly beautiful brains!