Fun Fridays

A few years ago, the Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School Governance Board President, Sara Meeks, and Partnership Coordinator, Gin Winter, came up with a program idea called Fun Fridays.

The concept came directly from the west side Eau Claire school's teachers, who offered feedback explaining they wanted to host speakers in their classrooms but couldn’t necessarily find the time to do so in addition to the required curriculum and classroom planning. The purpose of Fun Fridays is to expose the students to topics outside the typical curriculum and provide parents, guardians, and community members an opportunity to connect with its students during 30- to 60-minute presentations, three Friday afternoons per school year.

Guest speakers can share their favorite hobby, talk about their occupation, explain cultural traditions, conduct science experiments, read a book, craft with the students – really, whatever interests them.

Students have enjoyed learning about topics including sculpture art, geocaching, Japanese culture, beekeeping, First-Aid, martial art Hwa Rang Do, Hawaiian culture, band and orchestra instruments, and much more.