Tomorrow is an exciting day for me. My children and I are traveling to Canada to see my dad’s family, including my grandmother who will be 101 at the end of the month.
Some of you might remember that my grandfather passed away last December at the age of 106 (longevity runs in my family!). I didn’t get to see him before he died so I am anxious to spend some time with my grandmother.
Recently I’ve seen or heard a few questions about what it means to “follow the child”. It’s one of those Montessori phrases we throw around, but what does it really mean?
Since Maria Montessori divides ages into 6-year cycles, it’s helpful to do so for this topic as well. In the 0-6 age group, following the child typically means observing the child in the classroom and using their interests and level of ability as a guide.
One of my favorite topics related to Montessori is how to go about organizing all the wonderful materials. Being “hands-on” means lots of stuff, and that means finding a place to put all of it.
One thing I’ve used successfully for many years is wheeled carts. These usually have three drawers, and can be found all over (from Target to the Container Store). I currently have three of them, one drawer per curricular area: Art, Science, and Practical Life; History, Geography, and Math/Geometry; and Biology, Language, and Math.
I know you haven’t seen a lot of me lately, but I’m still around. This move has been a huge effort and things are calming down. Soon, I will have more time to put into blogging and making new materials…but not just because the move is almost over.
For several years, my husband, Bruce, and I have talked about him quitting his job in the corporate world and joining me full time with Montessori for Everyone. There’s so much more that could be done with MFE, but with me also homeschooling it’s hard to expand the business.
I love the materials in the sensorial area of the Montessori classroom – they speak to the tactile learner in all of us. What impresses me most about how humans learn is how often we use more than one sense to explore.
Because traditional schooling generally groups children of just one age together, mixed age groups is a striking difference between Montessori and traditional educational programs. There are pros and cons to the idea of mixed age groups, but I believe that the benefits definitely outweigh any possible negatives.
This is a touchy subject. We all recognize the educational value and beauty of Montessori materials. We shun the idea of teaching from textbooks. And yet, there might be a place in Montessori for workbook exercises.
No two days are alike in any elementary classroom. Students buzz with activity, moving in and out of projects and conversations like busy bees.
But there are ways to include some consistent (but not very time-consuming) activities each day that teach important skills and help establish the tone for work time. Here are my favorites.
Many years ago I taught at Midwest Montessori School, the school that was run by the Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center. Because it was a training center school, our classroom was visited by many Montessori teachers and interns.
One thing I noticed was that any people who visited were very interested in the set up and layout of the materials on the shelves. It seems that no matter how long you’ve been doing Montessori, there’s always a new way to arrange the work.
I recently read the book “Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, ‘A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes” by Alfie Kohn, a noted author and outspoken critic of traditional education, including grades, test scores, and homework. Much of what he says is in agreement with the Montessori approach to education.
As I read, I thought about this question: In Montessori, we often talk about the harm of external rewards, but are we using them without realizing it?
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