Classroom Celebrations should ‘follow the child.’
In the classroom, this means allowing children to experience and engage in activities independently. The inverse is also true: It means resisting the urge to lead the child but instead to create an environment encouraging self-direction.
Therefore, classroom celebrations should not be a directive from above. Instead they should develop organically inside the classroom.
Print Dictionaries: According to students, it’s so much easier to ask Alexa for a definition than to open a book.
We live in a fast-moving world. Being able to access information as quickly as possible is a good thing, right? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Online resources often can’t compare to their printed counterparts. And when needing a dictionary, this could not be more true.
Classroom expectations can be viewed through a larger lens than simply ‘classroom discipline.’ That is controlling children’s behavior through a variety of rewards and punishments.
Instead of ‘classroom discipline,’ the Montessori approach guides children to find discipline from within. Dr. Maria Montessori referred to this as ‘freedom with responsibility.’
There are times when we have to dig deep to find an appropriate feedback response that will not discourage a child’s learning. Giving specific and authentic praise supports your child’s development.
Next time you feel a “good job” or “I’m proud of you” bubbling up inside you try pausing for a moment. Think of ways you can turn your feedback into something more specific. Try to focus on the process the child worked through.
Today’s world has sped up dramatically. It sometimes seems as if time is even moving faster. Consequently, it is difficult for many of us to slow down, pause and reflect on our days. As a result, some very important daily habits – such as reading – are getting overlooked.
Focused, challenging reading is so important for everyone (big and small) to do each and every day. Current research supports reading from a printed book format can help even more. A printed book seems to offer higher levels of comprehension and retention than reading from a computerized screen.
Walking with Nature: New research shows walking and talking enhances our mental creativity. The primary source of walking’s cognitive benefits seems to come from its effects on the mysterious spontaneous fluctuations of our brains. Reason is not the source of intelligence. Instead, it’s the product of it.
Walking with nature also makes us feel good. It releases endorphins which lowers our risk of depression. Walking with nature also increases cognitive functioning and strengthens our memory.
Grace and Courtesy: Teachers are picking up their virtual classroom pieces, gluing them back together and are now attempting to rebuild their classroom communities.
I’m not going to lie to you, this is truly a tall order. Virtual school was not ideal for many reasons. But it did offer one very important component which is missing from a school year littered with COVID obstacles and learning loss hurdles: Consistency.
Montessori classrooms that began the year relying on grace and courtesy lessons seem to be bouncing back most quickly. Here’s why.
Second Plane: Montessori philosophy can feel quite alien. One of those aspects is the terminology. However, understanding just a handful of these terms can shed much light on her pedagogy.
According to Dr. Maria Montessori, the “Second Plane of development” refers to the years of a child’s life between six and twelve years old. The “Second Plane” elementary child, she explained, is motivated to learn through a broad view of the universe and all of its great forces.
Communication Strategies: Parent-teacher communication can look differently among teachers and parents. Some relationships may be more difficult to establish than others, but there are a number of communication strategies that can help teachers and parents increase engagement in various situations.
Discovering the best methods of communication and formulating communication plans early in the year is important. And so is maintaining consistent communication throughout the year.
Non-negotiables: Last week I started discussing the challenges Montessori programs might face when being implemented into a public-school system. These struggles can vary from small to large. And when looked at in their totality, they can have a devastating effect on a Montessori program.
Within public schools, we are asked to compromise a number of Montessori principles. Some of these compromises we can live with while some we simply cannot. To those we can’t, I refer to them as the ‘non-negotiables.’ And, believe me, the public school system has its own set of ‘non-negotiable’ too.