The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Tag Archives: arts

What is learning?

29 Thursday Oct 2015

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

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arts, arts integration, brain development, connections, curiosity, education, experiential learning, GCAP, Great Lessons, hands-on learning, Maria Montessori, montessori, Montessori education, pathways, tai chi

Great Lesson with Arts Integration
What do tai chi, an interpretive arts performance of the Big Bang, pumpkin picking, and a visit to the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations have in common? On the surface nothing. In reality everything. Students at Wilmington Montessori School experienced all of these things in the past week. None of them are in the “official” school curriculum, yet each is vital to the education of the children at our school.

When Maria Montessori developed this method of educating children what she realized is that children learn by doing; the hands are the pathways to the brain. She also urged children to “go out” and explore their world; field trips are an essential component of a Montessori education. As children participate in these and so many more activities, they learn more about the world and how it works. They broaden their experiences and ask even more questions. Their curiosity and wonder are awakened; their love of learning continues to be sparked.

Education is not about a specific content or book or exercise. It is about questions, exploration and wonder. It is built each day through experiences in and outside of the classroom. It’s created from opportunities presented and shaped by the child and all who help to guide these experiences. And it never ends.

“Making”

22 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, code, engineering, hands-on learning, kindergarten, maker movement, maker space, maker studio, makerspace, mathematics, montessori, Montessori education, preschool, primary, science, STEAM, STEAM studio, stem, teachers as guides, technology, toddler, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

3-6 Maker Faires17What does it mean to “make” something? The maker movement encourages us to invent, design and tinker with things. At Wilmington Montessori School, our Maker (STEAM) Studios are hubs of activity. Children are learning about their brains and how they work. Toddlers are working with new tools, learning to operate locks and lights, and creating ramps and tunnels for balls to move through. Primary students are creating music using a banana and electrodes. Others are writing code and giving directions to a robot, watching it move haltingly across the floor. They are hubs of activity. Ideas are being explored, mistakes are made, experiments occur (intentionally and not), and learning is happening.

As children participate in their learning, there must be time to think and follow their own ideas. They are encouraged to try new things or do familiar things in different ways. They are privy to others’ ideas, asking questions to build on their own. Our Maker Studios are extensions of our classrooms. The same Montessori principles that apply to the classroom apply here. Children are given the opportunity to design and create their own learning, guided by an adult who observes and offers just what is needed at the right time.  

Arts Integration Enhances 9-12 Students’ Study of Animals

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, arts integration, national zoo, pathways, science, upper elementary, visual arts, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

9-12 classroom artAs you know, Wilmington Montessori School is embarking on integrating the arts more fully into our students’ learning experiences. This effort will take various forms and several years to fully accomplish. If you walk throughout the building today, at the end of the third week of school, you will notice lots of student work hanging in the hallways outside of the classrooms. Though some of this is art, it is not technically integration, which seeks the blending of content and skills between a given art form and another curricular subject. Continue reading →

Arts Integration… Hip-hop style!

22 Friday May 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Wilmington Montessori School

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artist in residence, arts, arts integration, Ashley SK Davis, clyde evans, dance, Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education, DIAE, hip hop, poetry, story-telling, storytelling

Heather Siple-Clyde Davis-013Over the past two weeks, Wilmington Montessori School has had the incredible opportunity to bring another artist-in-residence experience to our community. Through the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education, Ashley SK Davis offered workshops to students and faculty that demonstrated the connection between dance, poetry and storytelling. She brought these art forms alive for us. Ms. Davis’ work led to a day with Clyde Evans, a hip-hop dancer and founder of the Chosen Dance Company in Philadelphia. The culminating event was a performance for our entire community.
Continue reading →

National Poetry Month

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, arts integration, Billy Collins, montessori, Montessori education, National Poetry Month, poetry, The Lanyard, video, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

April is the month each year devoted to celebrating poetry. Some of us recall the poems we learned or required to read during our years in school. We may or may not have seen them as relevant to our lives.

At WMS, poetry can be found in our classrooms throughout the year. Some children are listening to a poem being read – sometimes more than once – as they begin to memorize the words. Others are writing their own poems after immersing themselves in others’ poems. Some students are making the connections between poems and songs – the rhythm, stressed syllables, pace, emotion and spirit contained in each.

Poetry, though a written literary form, comes from oral speaking and singing tradition. It is meant to be read out loud, to be shared. It has its origins in community and sharing the wonder and spirit of life. Take some time this month to remember a favorite poem or song, and ask your children about a poem they may enjoy, or introduce them to others.

To celebrate poetry, here is a poem for you by Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, as he recalls his childhood.

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The Stories that Connect Us

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, arts integration, hands-on learning, montessori, Montessori education, music, percussion, story-telling, tony vacca, video, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

Their story, yours and mine—it’s what we all carry with us on this trip we take, and we owe it to each other to respect our stories and learn from them.
– William Carlos Williams

Why do we need the arts in education? What do the arts do for us?

This week we had occasion to enjoy a visiting percussion artist, Tony Vacca. His “job” as our artist in residence was to introduce percussion to our students, giving them an opportunity to play and explore the many instruments he shared. What he did was much more. He created enthusiasm and energy about this art form.

He let children and adults explore the instruments, and have the joyful experience of playing them and learning the stories behind the music. Stories connect us. They help us learn about the diverse world in which we live. This week we experienced stories through instruments and music. We heard Tony Vacca as he told us the arts—adornment and music—preceded language and numeracy. As we further our arts initiative at Wilmington Montessori School the stories we share will be many.

“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.”
– Native American saying

Let the story go on.

21st-Century Skills (Part 8)

02 Monday Mar 2015

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

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21st-century, 21st-century skills, artistry, arts, creativity, engaged learners, hands-on learning, innovation, montessori, self-expression, STEAM, teachers, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

Toddler Maker Faire18Creativity, Artistry, Imagination, Innovation, Personal Expression

As we wind up this series on 21st-century learning, it is time to consider the skills at the forefront of discussion when most people think about this topic – the goals of innovation and creativity. Employers want them, and schools work hard to “teach” these skills. Montessori education leads the way in this respect. At WMS, classrooms are set up to allow personal expression to flourish and creative experiences abound. Learning is student directed, not teacher directed.

Continue reading →

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