Wednesday night Windsor Street Montessori families and friends gathered for our fourth annual chili supper and family fun night. Some snapshots are in a Flickr album, here. As in years past, the evening brought teachers, families, and friends together for games, visits to the book fair, and to enjoy a dozen varieties of delicious chili. In an unwelcome twist on our annual fall gathering, the evening began with major storms and a lengthy tornado watch. But even as they were held up sheltering in the basement, WSMS students settled in to read or listen to some of the interesting things available at the book fair. Though the storms kept us inside, WSMS families made the event cosy and fun.

On a personal note, though we’re accustomed to seeing our WSMS kids focused and working intently in their classrooms, seeing them basically settled and content to ride out the storm in the book fair was an eye-opening experience for me. After we heard the all-clear for everyone to leave the basement, I found all the books, decorations, and knick knacks of the book fair pretty much in exactly the same places they had been an hour before. But it shouldn’t have been surprising. Seeing events like the book fair through the eyes of these kids is exciting and fun–these kids are fun. But seeing the respect and caring WSMS kids learn for their school and its special events like the chili supper is also remarkable and inspiring–and it reminds me how grateful our family is able to be part of Windsor Street Montessori.

–Kristin Bowen (book fair chair/on behalf of the WSMS Parent Organization)