The students are in charge of doing lots of the tidying and straightening in the classrooms. In the early childhood they learn the basics such as dusting, sweeping and polishing. They wash their dishes after eating snack and mop up any spills. They straighten the materials on the shelves before leaving at the end of the day.

The same responsibilities are in place in the elementary with some added jobs to meet the growing capabilities of the children. This year, instead of having one of the students assign others to shelves to clean each day, we told the children that they would be responsible for particular shelves for the entire year. They could dust, straighten, scrub, and even paint their assigned shelves any time it was needed. That has allowed us to lengthen the afternoon work cycle by about 15 minutes, and has reduced a certain amount of “chaos” during that afternoon cleanup time.

We promised the students that they would be assigned to shelves as soon as we had the pictures of them ready. The number of children “pestering” us about getting those pictures has been encouraging. And today, we finally had them ready. There was quite the hubbub in the class this morning as the children arrived to find out which shelves they had. Immediately there was a run on dusters. Lessons and boxes were tidied all around the room. And a first grade student even scrubbed his shelf.

A secret to all this joyful work is the substitution of “get to” for “have to.” Our children get to scrub napkins. They get to iron. They get to paint the shelves. We build the sense of ownership and pride into having these responsibilities. And if there is someone who doesn’t want to take on a responsibility there are many other volunteers. Hands shoot up as soon as we say, “We need a volunteer to….” We appreciate all the work they do, both academically and environmentally.

Some adults may find the idea of children cleaning in the school a waste of their time. But that is one of the secrets that makes the Montessori approach so successful. We are not about making the children into little geniuses. We are about helping them grow into well-rounded, capable individuals in all areas of their lives.

That is one of our responsibilities.

A few incidents recently have really made me take stock of things that we tend to take for granted in Montessori. In the elementary there is a student who transferred in from traditional school. The lack of Montessori foundation is quite obvious in the normal behavior in this young man. He is in no way a behavior problem and loves school. In fact, he said to me the other day that he would like to go to this school until college.

But he does not have that built in sense of responsibility that we simply come to expect in our children. He needs reminders do some of the simple maintenance chores that even our youngest children learn to do as a matter of course. He is getting there, but it will never be as well established for him as it is for children who “grow up” Montessori.

Today at lunchtime another transfer student made an interesting comment. We were finishing up all the dishwashing and sanitizing that we do after the meal. Some of the basins were no longer needed so I was helping the kids empty them while others were doing other jobs like emptying the trash. A first grade girl was assigning the “extra” jobs that we leave to volunteers once they have been excused from cleaning up their personal space. The student who made the particular comment during this buzz of activity is now in her second year of Montessori after attending traditional school.

She looked at me and said, “You know, in this school we learn a lot more responsibility than in public school.” I agreed with her and let the comment hang in the air for a moment before adding, “That’s good isn’t it?”

Her hearty nod accompanied with a broad smile was all the answer I needed. Responsibility breeds self-confidence and assurance. Growing up Montessori. Growing up responsible. I wish all children could have this experience.

We had our first music classes with Georgi Schmitt, the new Orff music teacher. It was wonderful. Right off the bat the children were moving to music as Georgi wove following directions into fun activities for the students. And before the first lesson was over every child had gotten some experience playing one of the xylophones. They learned how to handle the mallets and strike the bars to the rhythm of the songs being sung.

Georgi was very pleased with how well our Montessori family of students did in just the second week of school. She was amazed that already they could walk in a circle and stay in line. Teachers work hard these first weeks helping students learn to be part of the community, but it really shows.

The elementary students had a wonderful lesson, too. And afterward they started learning to play their recorders. Georgi was skeptical that the second grade students would be ready to do that, too, but once she worked with them, she agreed that they should also be doing recorder work.

What a wonderful, musical school we are going to have. This is the start of some amazing musical experiences that will stay with the children for a lifetime.

We are required to have a “rest time” after lunch for those children who have not yet turned five. For many children this is a disservice and definitely not appreciated by those who don’t need the sleep.

We re-framed our whole nap time this year. Now we have rest and relaxation and a time to find “inner peace.” We no longer use the word “naps” to describe any of that afternoon time or the paraphernalia that goes along with it. We really do want children to enjoy that restful time. We brought in a yoga mat so we could demonstrate some very restful techniques, too.

Once those who really need to go to sleep have found that peace, the others who are awake can do quiet things like look at books or choose activities from the shelves. Once the routine is natural, it won’t take very long. We find that the sleepers pretty much “zonk out” within a few minutes. The non-sleepers are learning to respect that need in others while they enjoy some rest and relaxation, too.

We had some feed back from one of our non-sleepers that the idea of rest and relaxation is beginning to sink in. As he finished cleaning up from lunch he said with a great deal of enthusiasm, accompanied by energetic arm punctuation that he was, “gonna go find some inner peace!!!”

The new year is off to a wonderful start. This was the third day for all the elementary students and the new students in the early childhood class. Our returning students in the EC class were in full attendance today, too.

Already the elementary students have been taking advantage of being able to work on the new patio. And they seem to enjoy spreading out into the expanded space we have available for them. Yesterday as I was reviewing the work the children had done and getting the information into the records it struck me how much the children must enjoy learning. There was just so much of it going on!

Today, there were two large projects in process when it was time to stop working. We left those out for completion in the morning.

It was busy in the EC room today, too. I was able to slip into that room for a little while this afternoon while the new kindergarteners were learning some of their responsibilities after lunch. One of the younger students had convinced a new staff person that he was in kindergarten, too, and was happily wiping down the tables!

Today the elementary students finished establishing their rules for this year. They change slightly from year to year, but, as usual, I am impressed with the final result. This year there are four (maybe five) rules:
1.Be kind and peaceful.
2.Be careful.
3.Be respectful.
4.Be responsible.

The world could learn from these children. I told them that we would be posting the rules where we could see them. They will be adding their handprints as a way to signify that they agree with them. “Sort of like a contract,” one of the kids said. What a wonderful school we have.

I’m loving it.

We have been busily preparing the school for opening the doors to students next week. It has been nice to have the staff at school and bit of time for camaraderie amid all the tasks. We had a regular staff meeting this afternoon and in conjunction with that a mom came to give us instruction about diabetes as a guide for working with her son. She offered to give a demonstration of how to test the blood for glucose and suggested that she could test herself. I offered to be her “subject” though.

She commented that I didn’t flinch when she pricked my finger. That is no surprise to me. Her son is one of my heroes. He never complains about those daily finger pricks, nor the shots. I use him as my role model whenever I have to get blood drawn. I mentioned that today, but I doubt that mom really understands how much this young man’s equanimity in the face of the never-ending assault by sharp object to his body has affects me. When I say he is one of my heroes, I am not making light of it. I will never complain about the occasional pin prick. No, not when I see daily heroism from a child.

I have the great benefit of having another set of heroes enter my life. One of the new families joining our Montessori community has suffered through a major tragedy. And yet… And yet, here before me is a family with love and joy and compassion. I am humbled by this family. I hope that I never have to live through what they have experienced. But I also hope that should I need to, I can continue life with even half of their heroism. In comparison, any challenges that I face pale in significance.

I am blessed and honored to be able to count these heroes as part of my experience. We all need heroes. I’m glad that some of mine are a daily part of my life.