Montessori Consulting

The children have been engaged in lots of math lately. Kindergarteners have been learning how to do addition with the golden beads through the thousands place. Once they learn the operations with the golden beads, the most concrete of the mathematics materials, we teach them how to work with the bead bars to learn the math facts.

So many children wanted to do addition with the bead bars today that we had to borrow some from the elementary class!

It all adds up to lots of learning. In fact, children learn those facts without having to resort to flash cards. There are so many kinds of materials that they can use that they go through many repetitions through their natural interest. Not only does it add up to lots of learning, but that learning is fun and powered by the fact that the children want to use the materials.

I go to other schools to visit fairly often and when I return I am even more aware of our classroom. I was away on Friday and the classroom seemed very “fresh” to me today. At 10:17 I looked up from the computer where I had entered a lesson and this is what I saw.

A child was working with the Mortensen math materials doing a counting and changing activity to better understand place value. She had been doing this since soon after arriving this morning. Another child was looking at pictures of the continents while nearby a student was doing a puzzle map.

A younger student was transferring water using a turkey baster. One child was testing materials for magnetism. A student was painting and nearby another was coloring with crayons. There was a child stringing beads, too. A small group had gathered to feed the gerbil. One child was having snack.

A boy was practicing writing his numbers and another was working on cutting with scissors. Other children were in the process of choosing lessons or conversing or looking out the window. One fellow found a large black fly at the window, which we caught and put in the magnifier for the children to study. That caused a momentary flurry of excitement, but in short order the classroom settled down again.

What a wonder place to learn. What a wonderful place to help children learn.

We had our annual open house for the beginning of re-enrollment last night. What an event! In addition to our enrolled children and families, there were interested folks from the public who wanted to learn more about the program. The classroom was hopping!

What really impresses me is that we see our students in a very different light during open houses. When the students do lessons at school, they are working just for themselves and their intrinsic pleasure of learning the activities. They appear calm and relaxed with their work. They concentrate on the lessons that they choose.

But when they are sharing the wonderful things they do with parents there is an air of excitement. They are so pleased to have such an important audience. We don’t see that level of concentration and absorption that happens in the classroom, but we do see the shining pleasure of the children interacting with their families.

There is always a bit of risk in the open houses. We teachers are always very careful to allow children to do their work without censure for mistakes. We know that given time, those errors will correct themselves. It is hard for parents to see their children make mistakes, though. They want to “teach” them the right answer instead of letting them discover it. Children understand this subtle pressure to perform correctly. Sometimes it results in the child’s not wanting to use that material again for fear of further failure.

Even so, the benefits of having parents come into the classroom for these special events far outweigh those risks. They see the excitement and get somewhat of a feel for what their children do during the day. It gives parents and children more common ground for communicating their worlds with one another. And it also gives parents a better appreciation of the important work that their children do at school.

Montessori wrote about the importance of having an uninterrupted three-hour work cycle. In her schools she observed that children do their highest level of work during the last thirty minutes of this work cycle. It is important for teachers to weather the “storm” of the period of “false fatigue” that happens just before this.

During that time there appears to be less concentration and the children are louder and seem restless. But allowing them to settle themselves results in the higher levels of work once that false fatigue passes.

Those high levels of work at the end of the work cycle have really been evident recently. Today there were several lessons happening when it was time to bring the morning to a close. One child was matching and ordering the bells into the C major scale. Two children were doing the Grand Array, also known as the lesson of 45s since 45 units, 45 tens, 45 hundreds and 45 thousands are all placed out next to the appropriate number cards from 1 – 9000. It is truly an impressive lesson.

Yesterday a student asked if there would be time to complete the hundred board. That involves mixing tiles with the numbers from 1 – 100 and placing them in order on a grid. It is gratifying to see this high level of activity and concentration. Once again the genius of Montessori shines through the work of the children.

Recently I wrote about stepping back to look at your child with a slightly different viewpoint. We have to do that in the classroom, too. But our view will be different from the parent’s view.

Both views are critically important. We care deeply for the children in our classroom, but we can never replace the unconditional love that comes from parents. Nor will we ever know the children as well as parents do.

On the other hand, we see children in a setting and from a viewpoint that parents do not know. We have the perspective of knowing scores, even hundreds of children from over the years. That perspective allows us to understand the children with whom we work in a broad social context. We may have insight about how children interact with one another that parents won’t be able to see, even when they have friends visit. That broad social interaction includes children who may be friends and those who may not. Interaction will occur with all, regardless of how fond the children are with one another.

We adults can help each other so much by sharing our perspectives. They will be different, But we can learn much from the different focus we bring. The important thing is that we work together to the best benefit of the children.

When I look at all the children in my class and all their backgrounds, I am reminded how hard a job parenting is. Of everything we do in our professional lives, there is no comparison for the job of parenting.

We study extensively for the work we do professionally, sometimes for years and years. But parenting is something that we have to learn as we go. No matter have many parenting books we read, or classes we take, there is no real guide that will prepare us for our unique situations.

For one thing, children do not read the books, so they are not up on the scripts. We may come into a situation thinking that we are prepared, but our children throw us a curve ball!

And we are so emotionally involved in our own situations. I’ve often thought that we should be able to have a children swap system when we need it. Sometimes it is so hard to see our own situations clearly because we ARE so involved. Another parent who may have handled a similar situation (being emotionally involved at the time) can see what is happening and what could work so much easier because your child is not their child! They aren’t better parents. It’s just that we all have blind spots for our own children.

We aren’t going to trade our children off to other parents. But here is the tip. At those times when parenting is its most challenging, take a step back and consider what you would advise to another parent in the same situation! Pretend your child belongs to another parent and you are looking at the situation from a different angle. It may give you just the insight you need.

Good luck all you parents out there. You have the hardest job on earth. But also the most rewarding AND the most important.

Montessori talked about how children develop through different levels of “obedience” from the least developed where they do what they are supposed to do only because they are afraid of what might happen if they don’t, all the way up to total self-discipline.

I had a good reminder of this principle this week. One day our assistant had to leave before lunch so there were only two adults in the classroom for the meal. We normally have the children arranged in three large tables with an adult sitting at each table. On this day we had four of the more mature children sitting together without an adult.

I noticed a student at the teacher-less table retrieving a chocolate cupcake from the lunch box during the very first of the whole lunch process. And this is the comment I heard, “I can eat this first because there is no teacher sitting with us.” As soon as that was said, I caught the student’s eye and immediately saw a look of guilt.

Well, this student definitely has not reached that highest level. But at least we are seeing the level where the students know what should be done and will do it when an adult is around. So I’m glad of that. And those higher levels do develop. We just keep working on it and continue to give the students lots of responsibilities and lots of trust.

I got the greatest note from a family this week. Their daughter was watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and announcing the continents that the countries were in whenever a participant from a country was introduced.

In light of the abysmal state of geographic knowledge in our country today this may seem rather remarkable. In fact, it is not unusual for children to learn the locations of all the countries of the world during their kindergarten or first grade year of Montessori. That is the age that learning lists of things and new vocabulary appeals to them the most. It isn’t drudgery for them. It is a game, a challenge that they impose upon themselves.

It isn’t just names of countries that appeal to the children. They learn the parts of animals, names of dinosaurs, names of elements, eons and eras of time. In fact, they will learn any body of terms to which they have access. The more, the merrier. And it is almost effortless on their part because at that stage of development they learn through simply absorbing what they are exposed to in their environment.

The Montessori environment is rich with learning possibilities. What a treasure trove for children! What a delight they experience in learning!

Let the games begin.

Tonight we are getting all the cute little Valentine cards ready for tomorrow so I won’t be spending much time blogging.

I love to spend Valentine’s Day with the kids. It is one of the rare parties that we have at school. In the elementary it is fun to watch the kids share the cards and have their special snack. What always amazes me is that without any one telling them to do so, they just clean up their desks and sweep up the little scraps after the festivities are over.

For the early childhood class I bought some Vanilla Wafers and food markers. I drew hearts on the cookies in red! For the student who is allergic to most regular snacks I drew a red heart on his graham crackers. I can hardly wait to see their reactions!

Today we started getting some preparations done for Valentine’s Day next week. Our students decorate white bags into which we put their Valentine cards for them to carry home (after the festivities). The early childhood class was a bit noisier than usual because of that added distraction. We had an observer, too.

When the observer and I we stepped out of the classroom at the conclusion of the observation, the guest commented that it was so quiet in the classroom. I know she did not believe me when I said that today had been a loud day!

In the afternoon the kindergarten students were able to decorate their bags as a group. It was such a pleasant time. They sat around with all sorts of decorating supplies and cut and pasted to their hearts’ content. It was such a clam and settled afternoon. They shared the foam hearts that I had laid out for them and tried cutting their own hearts out of paper.

We had a wonderful time chatting and getting ready. I really enjoyed that time with them and let them know. Working with children has such intangible rewards that cannot be bought. Priceless

Yesterday I was doing a lesson with a little fellow and he noticed that the safety chain from my bracelet was hanging down and dangling enticingly. He started stroking the chain absent-mindedly while I was giving him the presentation.

At a breaking point in the lesson I said gently to him, “Please don’t pull my chain.” I suppose that is the only time that a student has been “jerking my chain” and I’ve been able to have it stop through a simple request. Plus, he looked up at me so sweetly and said, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

The really bad thing is that I got a bit tickled over the irony of what I had asked and had to hide my amusement from the student. ;-)

The practical life area of the classroom has many activities that are rotated in and out. It is unlike some of the other areas where the lessons remain rather stable throughout the year. Some lessons just have some of their components changed to help keep interest high. Others are completely removed and replaced with new activities.

Earlier this week I brought the flower arranging lesson into the classroom. It gives the children an opportunity to decorate the room with pretty silk flowers. I had gone to the kitchen to get a tray to hold the small vases during arrivals before too many children were in the classroom.

When I returned with the basket of flowers and a tray, one of our younger students exclaimed with delight, “Oh we have gorgeous flowers.” Indeed we did. But I was thrilled to hear such explicit vocabulary. The flowers were more than “nice” or “pretty.” That is one of the things I love about teaching in Montessori. We expose our students to vocabulary that might be considered beyond their capability to learn. And sometimes, that very vocabulary comes back to us in the most appropriate ways.

One of the most important skills that children learn is how to get along with others. I can’t stress this enough. It is right up there with developing self-confidence and a love of learning.

Most of the time we don’t consciously think about how to teach children interpersonal skills. We just let it develop through the ebb and flow of their daily exchanges. But it really is something that should get top priority. For instance, if a child goes to a teacher or other adult and says, “Billy said that he wasn’t my friend,” the response given is going to set the tone for the child’s interactions with Billy in the future.

Consider these possible replies:
That wasn’t nice, was it?
Billy shouldn’t say things like that?
Well, what did you do to Billy?
I’ll go talk with Billy.
You should tell Billy that you don’t like that.

None of these really address the point that the child has come to the adult to talk about Billy, but Billy isn’t there to “defend” himself. In short, the adult doesn’t know the whole picture and certainly isn’t going to get it by listening to just one child.

Here are some alternate responses:
Do you need me to listen while you talk to Billy about how you feel?
It sounds like you are upset. Have you shared that with Billy?
Are you asking me to help you with something? Or do you think you can solve this on your own?
I would rather have Billy with us if we are going to be talking about him. Let’s find him.

Little changes in how we interact with these kinds of situations can make big differences in the long run. Montessori education is Education for Peace. And that peace starts with getting along with our friends.

I visited another Montessori school to observe one of my adult interns. I always enjoy seeing other schools because it is very unusual to come away without some fresh ideas for my own classroom.

Montessori teachers seem to be a creative lot. Today I saw some great floor mats. It is important to have the child define the work area on the floor. We use rugs that are easy to roll up and put away. At the school today they had bamboo mats that were backed with some kind of fabric. This provided good definition, but also a very stable work surface. They also had lots of kneeling height tables that the children used. I think my students would really enjoy those. Last week one of the vendors at the NAMTA conference had some that the children could assemble easily, but could be stored flat when not in use. That may be something that I need to research further.

It was a very comfortable classroom. I enjoyed eating lunch with the children and hearing their conversations. Children are so much fun to be around!

My dad brought an amaryllis bulb to me at school yesterday. Every year my brother repots all of his and sends them out to other members of the family. He had dropped mine off at my dad’s and Dad brought it to me.

I was getting ready to take it home when I realized that the kids would really enjoy seeing it grow and bloom. And considering the amount of time I spend at school, I would certainly be able to appreciate its beauty more by having it at school.

I brought it into the classroom today and several children asked me about it. One girl noticed that it was just beginning to grow. She is an emergent reader so I took her into the other class to borrow the lesson on the parts of the bulb. I invited her to read the information cards and ask for any help that she might need.

She learned all the parts immediately. In the early childhood class we have many copy masters that the children may use to color in their own booklets once they know the parts. She wanted to do a booklet on the parts of the bulb. But in the elementary, the children either draw their pictures freehand, or trace them.

I was really, really glad that we had just started preparing the EC children to begin tracing their pictures instead of using prepared drawings. This child was thrilled to know that soon she would be able to do a booklet without needing copies from the teachers!

When I was at the conference this weekend I bought some new materials for the classroom. Among the new things were two puzzles for children to learn the parts of a compass rose. Last night I laminated the controls and got them cut out this morning before the children arrived.

So they went on the shelf and we started giving presentations of these new things. I realized that I could save shelf space by putting them on stacked paper racks instead of next to each other. I went upstairs to the storage room to look for any unused paper racks. Instead I came down with a better treasure – the dinosaur timeline!

This timeline uses actual dinosaur models to help show the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. Oh what excitement in the classroom. It will take a few days to present it to all the children who are ready, but it is going to happen. I imagine that the lesson will be in use most of time. Children love dinosaurs and there is no better way to help them understand how time passes than with timelines. It is going to be an exciting time!