The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Tag Archives: primary

Food, Architecture and Montessori Education

08 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers

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alice waters, architectural digest, architecture, chef, design, montessori, montessori philosophy, montessori teachers, primary, sensorial, toddler

One of the last places one might expect to find an article about Alice Waters, the owner and chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., is in an issue of Architectural Digest. She may be best known for urging us to eat local and healthy foods, but she is also dedicated to education, helping children learn where their food comes from and how to prepare it. She is a Montessori teacher.

Alice WatersI was awakened around design when I went to France when I was 19. I was living in a culture that really cared about food in a big way. They valued how it was served in all aspects, in terms of what was on the plate, what that plate looked like, and what that napkin looked like, and what things were in the room that reinforced what was on the plate. I just absorbed that sense of beauty connected to food and the aliveness of food. I also see this as a Montessori teacher. Dr. Montessori really believed that the senses need to be educated, that they are the pathways into our minds, and so the idea of something looking right and being able to touch, to be able to smell, to be able to taste, to hear, to listen, these are all ways that we can reach people and we can awaken them. I had that real experience when I was in France, and then I thought about the restaurant in that way, using that subtlety of reaching people through aroma and through their actually touching the food, engaging them and sort of winning them over.

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Preschool Lessons

15 Thursday Dec 2016

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

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play, preschool, primary

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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.

Work is like preschool.

19 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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21st-century skills, grace and courtesy, kinder, montessori, Montessori education, preschool, primary, social curriculum, social skills, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School, workplace skills

Room 13 - BeeBotOne of the best things about sending your child to a Montessori school is the social curriculum that is embedded in every aspect of the day. Whether children are playing together, sitting on circle to greet one another, working on an assignment or choosing what work to do, our classrooms are filled with what Maria Montessori called grace and courtesy  – teaching children to be kind, caring and work together. When my son entered his first Montessori classroom, I was struck by the courteous manner of not only each adult I encountered but also by the children. They greeted classroom visitors in a polite manner. They interacted with each other, noting differences but also embracing them. Yes, they may have also been a bit mischievous at times, but they also respected and cared for one another.

In this article the author notes the similarities between the social curriculum in the Primary Program and what is demanded in the modern workplace, stating that the skills learned in preschool are essential in our changing world. The job sectors that are growing are those that demand social skills. Machines replace the non-human element; they can’t replace a friendly smile or a conversation. At Wilmington Montessori School we know that children cannot learn until they feel accepted and safe. Our social curriculum is central to all that we do; it is not an “add-on.” If there is a problem it is addressed. Sometimes that can be messy… especially with children involved as they learn to deliver and accept a well-placed apology. As humans we are all works in progress, learning and growing along the way. At WMS the opportunities to refine these skills are available all day every day.

“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.  

Purpose of Education

15 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, making a difference, Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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21st-century, 21st-century skills, alumni, chris lehmann, cosmic education, education, first plane of development, global citizens, Maria Montessori, montessori, Montessori education, primary, to educate the human potential, toddler, wonder

GCAP Web 1Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to hear two speakers who shared ideas that cause me to reflect on the value and purpose of education today. There is inspiration in learning from others.

Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. He is a bundle of energy and dares us all to think more deeply about what we need from schools. He shared his “biggest” idea early in his presentation. He views the primary goal of education as creating citizens of the world, people capable of making informed decisions that benefit others. Where have we heard that before?

In To Educate the Human Potential, Maria Montessori says, “Children in the first plane of development (birth to 6 years old) have already absorbed the immediate environment and the restricted society they and their families have dealings with. You must try to give the child what he now longs for: the understanding of the world, how it functions and how it affects the life and behavior of humanity.”

The purpose of cosmic education, which she proposes is the task of the child in the second plane of development (6 to 12 years old), is to help us understand ourselves and relate to the world in which we live. We do this by learning about and understanding others; this prepares children for the future.

Schools, educators, parents and the general public worry about the skills being taught in schools. Public education began as a way to make sure that we had a literate populace. That continues to be the general goal of school today. However, it is not the primary goal. Our children have access to facts in more ways than ever before. They can learn and practice skills in so many ways that we could never have imagined. What they need is to learn to think, to wonder, to question, and to consider what has been done and what is possible. They need to understand facts that are presented and consider how they have evolved over time.

If, as Chris Lehmann and Maria Montessori propose, fostering engaged citizens to make responsible decisions for our world is the purpose of education we are well on our way at WMS.

39.803863 -75.482658

“A Magical Place”

18 Thursday Dec 2014

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

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3-6 classroom, education, hands-on learning, Justin Tarte, kindergarten, montessori, Montessori education, preschool, primary, Wilmington Montessori

september 13_2013 443As I read this blog, I came across an interesting view of kindergarten and how it should influence the school experience.

Heather Siple- space shuttleJustin Tarte presents the view that perhaps all of school should be like life in a kindergarten classroom. Now, he is speaking of a school with single grades, which is different from a multi-aged Montessori classroom. However, he captures the essence of what a Montessori experience is and what education should be like for everyone. School needs to provide the opportunity for children to collaborate, create and imagine. Teachers are there to ask guiding questions, observe and ensure the classroom has the materials needed to further the children’s work.

Dr. Tarte states that, “Kindergarten classrooms are indeed a magical place.” We know that all classrooms can be just as magical and provide experiences that last a lifetime.

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