The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Monthly Archives: December 2016

Follow the Child

22 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers, Wilmington Montessori School

≈ 1 Comment

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follow the child, following the child, loris malaguzzi, Maria Montessori, montessori, Montessori education, montessori materials, reggio emilia

_dsc6313As a Montessori teacher, parent or someone affiliated with Montessori education, one often hears the phrase, “Follow the child.” Searching for this quote from Maria Montessori’s writings is challenging. However, her peer Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach to education, stated clearly that “the teachers follow the children, not plans.” Learning is paramount; teachers are guided by the students.

Each student approaches the materials on the shelves, the lessons and the learning process in different ways. Some meet a challenge head on, yearning for more. Others sit back and watch, while still others work together, talk about what they’re doing, experiment and do things in an entirely different way. There are as many ways to approach student work as there are materials in the classroom. It is the teacher’s job to see how students do their work and where the areas of understanding meet those of confusion. Following the child supports the children where they are in their learning while offering new lessons and materials to move them further along. Children lead; we provide the conditions for learning, serving them and their quest for knowledge.

Preschool Lessons

15 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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play, preschool, primary

_dsc6147
Reading this article about the lasting benefits of preschool once again affirms Maria Montessori’s approach to educating young children. A study in North Carolina followed nearly 1 million students from preschool through fifth grade. The results showed that when children attend a high-quality preschool program, the benefits last. High quality is defined as “small class sizes, student-directed learning, and lots of open-ended play.”

Sound familiar?

pinktowerandbrownstairsAt Wilmington Montessori School, we take pride in the quality of the education we offer at all levels. Following the Montessori Method allows us to establish classroom practices that support exploration and learning for all children. The prepared environment is set up for children to succeed. They are gradually introduced to each item on the shelves and how they are used. The social environment is safe and welcoming; children learn to care for each other through positive interactions as well as the predictable challenges that occur while building relationships and sharing spaces.

We encourage enrollment at young ages in order to help provide that strong start in school. Play is the work of children. They need to explore. Their success in the Elementary Program is built on the foundation of the Toddler and Primary classroom practices. Children know how school works. They know how to care for their classroom and each other. They learn how to solve problems and watch others as they learn. They are not confined to learning only the lessons they are ready for, but can also observe the learning of others, discovering what comes next, igniting the sense of wonder and expectation. As the NPR article states, preschool is worth it. Its foundation provides a lasting effect for learning well through elementary school and beyond.

A Lot of Thought

08 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning

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16 06 68, car park puzzle, learning, math, math puzzle, mathematics, problem solving, puzzle, thought

car-puzzleI came across this puzzle the other day and found myself running through all of the strategies I use to figure out math puzzles. I am generally good at these types of puzzles and knew I could figure it out. I added, subtracted, multiplied, divided, squared numbers, etc. I knew the solution was obvious, but still I couldn’t find the answer. I ended up “cheating” and looking at the answer that was provided. The interesting part of this puzzle was not that it was challenging or that I couldn’t come up with the right answer. I love a challenge. It was that I applied tried and true strategies and they simply didn’t work. The answer* was simple…very simple.

How many times have you applied what you know to be true and not come up with the “right answer?” How many times have you been presented with a familiar situation and gone to the familiar rather than bringing a new approach to that problem? Did you become frustrated? Did you give up?

Each day we ask children to approach problems that we understand completely. We know the answer and want them to join us as “knowers.” We offer smiles, nods and perhaps an enthusiastic “Yes” when they reach the pinnacle of knowing. However, do we encourage diversity of thought? Do we join as thinkers and not simply knowers? Do we learn from their attempts to make meaning? It is only in doing these very things that we all learn. I have learned more from the students I’ve taught than I have ever learned from the books I’ve read and the courses I’ve taken. I’ve learned new approaches to “old” thinking. I’ve learned that there are multiple ways to approach any given situation and to still get a problem “right.” And what have those students learned? They’ve learned that it is important to try and that there are multiple ways to solve a problem. They’ve learned that others’ ideas and thoughts have an impact on their thinking. They’ve learned that it is OK to be wrong and that effort matters.

* Click here for the solution.

A Teacher’s Influence

01 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers

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classroom, montess, montessori materials, montessori teachers, multi-age classrooms, prepared environment, teachers, teachers as guides

teacheraffects

Teachers are an essential part of schools. Although current educational thought focuses on the learning, rather than the curriculum, it is the teacher who sets the tone, models the behavior she wants students to exemplify and works to establish the relationships that allow learning to flourish. We can each remember a teacher we loved and perhaps one who was best forgotten. Teachers have a huge influence and impact on the students they see each day.

In Montessori classrooms, the role of the teacher is carefully defined. The teacher prepares the environment for learning to occur. She makes certain that children are able to act independently within the classroom and that they know where materials are kept, how to remove them and the procedures for returning each item to its proper place. The Montessori teacher carefully and thoughtfully observes the children in her care, noting how they move throughout the space and which materials they are drawn to, which they may avoid and how they use them. She knows which lessons will ignite the curiosity and wonder within each child, giving the lessons when the child is ready… not when the curriculum demands.

Perhaps best of all, the Montessori teacher has three years to spend with the children in the classroom. Multi-age classrooms allow the children and the teacher to know and understand one another more fully than can occur in a single-age classroom. Relationships are formed. Though the teacher plays a huge role, influencing children today and well into the future, the wonder of a Montessori classroom is multi-faceted.

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