Encouraging the Inner Self

One thing that is certain for all who journey throughout life – we all try to figure out who we are as we go. What’s important to me? How do I handle situations? What will I do with what I have?

As a Montessori teacher, we assist each child grow into the most healthy and well-rounded human being possible.Why is that important for a child to learn? Getting to know yourself helps you figure out what it you’re working for and doing. In our training it is constantly pointed out that the Aims of any work in the classroom develop Self-Esteem and Confidence in a child. The goal of everything we do is to help them grow emotionally, because it is just as important as knowledge. A side-effect of growing Self-Esteem in what they complete, they also learned a little Math or Reading on the side. Funny how our current society’s goal is nearly the opposite of that. We measure people’s readiness based on their Math and Reading skills, when emotional readiness is just as important. Is it because those skills are more easily measured? What exactly can a person complete if they know all of the words in the dictionary, but can’t communicate because of low Self-Esteem?

I recently observed a classroom that I felt truly encouraged children to get to know their inner-self. On the wall was a mirror which the children used to give themselves positive messages. Looking yourself in the eyes and paying yourself a compliment is a powerful experience, and even the children visibly felt that importance. I can’t exactly explain how, but each child seemed inwardly happy and confident.

A Montessori classroom operates for the whole of the child. Through a natural curiosity to learn with the adaptive materials, the children complete activities confident in their own ability. The teacher of the classroom has a responsibility to not only educate the child’s mind but also the child’s heart. By being a positive and confident person in herself, her students can pick up healthy habits in regards to themselves. Children are very receptive and perceive many things that we don’t always give them credit for. They always seem to know when I’m having an “off day” and give me their own little hugs of encouragement. They learn that I am human, and can’t be 100% all of the time, but at the same time learn that this is acceptable. We are very adaptable and grow constantly, so we handle life as well as we can with a Sound Heart and a Sound Mind. To encourage the Inner Self in a child, you are encouraging the development for a lifetime.

It’s the Process, Not the Product

Why is it so important?

Lately we’re a world of being done rather than doing. Everyone’s busy, late, and in a rush. It feels nearly excruciating if you’re already late for your morning meeting and your toddler wants to put on his shoes by himself.  But have you ever stopped to watch how much enjoyment comes from a child when they do something independently? Shoes aren’t a big deal to us, we’ve put them on thousands of times, to the point we can do it blindly. But has the Toddler had that chance yet? Ever notice how we instinctively know how to jiggle our heel to get the back of the shoe out from under our foot…but when a 3 year old gets their shoe folded under their heel, they look confused. Think back: waaaaaaaay back. That was once you, not understanding the complexities of a shoe! You have to manage the tongue and the heel simultaneously – lots of work for a young age. The shoes may be on the wrong feet, or mis-matched, but does that Toddler care? Heck no, he put them on with no help!

I live for that day as a Teacher when a child gets SO excited over something typically thought of as trivial. It’s a big milestone for a child pick out their own clothes one day. To them, this means “Hey, I’m growing up and I’m awesome like Mom and Dad!”  I once ran into a friend and her 2.5 year old daughter, who upon being introduced to me promptly lifted her skirt and shouted “I’M WEARING BIG GIRL PANTIES TODAY!” While most adults would be appalled, Mom chuckled and said “It’s been a big day at home, so now we’re out celebrating.”

You cannot get the product you want without exploring the process. You can’t throw all ingredients into a pan and expect a cake, without doing each and every step. We humans are the same way. Children need to explore as they develop as much as possible.  It might not seem important to you, but so many things are internalized in a young one that we don’t get. How do I know why I shouldn’t put my shoes on the wrong feet? I did it a few times on my own, and figured out that it doesn’t feel good when they are opposite! You could explain it to the child, but will they fully understand what you meant unless they experiment?  Scientific and Logical Minds are built when the child can explore and discover the world around them, down to the silliest detail. Smooshing mud between my fingers might get me messy, but man does it feel cool!

A discovering child is a fascinating thing to watch. I say we celebrate the process!

The Little Things

I was recently observed by my Field Supervising teacher as a requirement for my Montessori training class. As nerve-wracking as my first Observation was, I learned A TON from it. I’ve focused for a long time on the major things I’ve been changing in order to be a great teacher, but this visit gave me the opportunity to examine the small things.

• Positioning when talking to a child

I’m sure many people have heard that kneeling to talk to a child is better than leaning over to talk to them. It’s about respecting the child by giving them the opportunity to look you in the eye. You’re showing them that what they say matters to you by being on their level. I try to do this often, but I do notice I don’t do it if the child is seated.

• Eye Contact

This goes along with your positioning when you’re responding to the child. I try to always look people in the eyes when they are speaking to me, and I notice this is something that seems to be less prevalent as I meet people in life. It’s sometimes quite hard for me to focus on what someone is saying unless I’m looking directly at them. As a part of Grace and Courtesy in the classroom I try to always turn to the child and look at them while answering their question. I’ve noticed that if I am not looking at the child and answer their question without making eye contact, they don’t seem to realize I’m speaking to them. Perhaps children actually NEED to have eye contact to successfully communicate?

• Tone of Voice

There are those times when you know you’re at the point where you need a few moments alone, but that won’t always happen. It’s hard to remain cool and composed at this level. When I feel myself getting upset, I try to step back for a moment and think “How would I want someone to talk to me right now?” It’s hard sometimes. However I have noticed I’m getting better at not carrying my attitude towards a different child. Little steps!

• Independence

I am finally starting to see the product of an independent child. I’ve been in the same classroom now for going on 3 years, so I’ve seen the full cycle of several children coming into our classroom and leaving at 6 years old. What a wondrous and beautiful change it is! From the 3 year old who needed lessons on everything in their reach to the 6 year old working independently for hours at a time making fully colored and labeled World Map. Every little step of independence we give these children leads to a magnificently self-confident child. It’s very tempting sometimes to constantly assist the youngest children in the class because they’re making a large mess, or not doing something in the most efficient manner. However if we don’t interfere and instead let the child see things on their own, they blossom into self-aware and self-confident children.

Of course knowing that you’re being watched causes you to focus on your every move. “Did I use my left hand instead of my right hand? ” I found myself turning to see if she was watching me sometimes to find that of course, she was. I want to do as great as I am capable! No more silly mistakes! “Oh man I should have knelt down with that child. ” Being a teacher is a work in progress – what a ride!

Picture time!

Pumpkin Counting

Tracing Sandpaper Letters

Soap Whisking

Water Pouring

Brown Stairs and Pink Tower Extension

Binomial Cube

Banking Game - Hundreds and Units

Removing Grass from the Garden

Have a Happy Halloween!

What’s Happening Lately

We mailed our Arizona postcards to the other schools / home-classrooms from the 50 State postcard exchange we participated in. That’s been a wonderful experience, I plan on joining many more in the future! I put the postcards that we received into a basket on our Geography shelf for the children to use. It’s become a tradition at our school for children to bring back a postcard from wherever they visit, so we can talk about it. Those postcards were added to the basket as well, so they made a Reading Matching game out of the multiple cards from the same state. Some children took the postcards and found each state’s location on our large map of the United States.

This past weekend in my Montessori Training class, we discussed Peace Curriculum, and the idea of a Peace Table, and a Peace Rose. I LOVE the concept of both the Peace Table and the Peace Rose, and definitely plan to use those ideas in my own classroom someday.

Peace Education is something that is very important to teach young ones. It’s a difficult concept to teach as Peace has many forms, but by leading by example the concept should be easily attained. Lately I’ve been trying to think of different ways to say things to children, so that my words are kinder. Looking for the positive when a child pours food-colored water all over themselves and the furniture can be difficult, but it really makes a difference in the child’s future interactions.

Lately during our afternoon line time, the children were very rambunctious when putting their work away and coming to sit down. I decided to try one example of Peace Education, and sit quietly amongst them until they quieted down. Normally I would have raised my voice and asked them to get quiet, and then have to deal with a few minor behavioral issues as we continued to sit there. However as I sat there quietly, they one by one started to notice me not speaking, and not making eye contact at all. I glanced at my watch occasionally to see how much time had passed. I had several children ask me questions, or come up to me to tattle on someone bothering them. It was SO SO SO tempting to respond to them, but I remained quiet. After 9 minutes of loud ruckus the classroom fell completely silent. After a few seconds of silence I started whispering very quietly how pleased I was that they decided to join me on the line quietly. I talked a little bit about respect, and how by observing quietly the classroom got much quieter than if we had demanded quiet.

The next day I wanted to see if they had remembered, so I sat quietly before they were told it was time to clean up. Without mentioning anything, a few children put their work away and came and sat silently next to me. One of the afternoon Assistants went around and quietly whispered to each child it was time to clean up. It was enchanting how quiet the classroom got as each child quietly put their work away and sat peacefully. It was as if the children understood an unspoken rule about the Peace around us in the classroom and were entranced by it as well. We sat for a few minutes in complete silence instead of having a group discussion or a book read, as everyone was enjoying the Peace. I learned so many things from them during this! Even our noisiest children were completely content sitting silently. I know the Silence Game is something Maria Montessori loved, but I hadn’t really ever seen it’s beauty until that moment. No one in the room wanted to be the one to break the silence: even I was reluctant to do so, but it was time for the regular school-day to end and for after-care to begin. I can’t wait to try it again, I just don’t want to do it too soon so they lose interest in it!

Getting back to the Peace Table and the Peace Rose – I’d like to know more about what sort of set-up others have out there… What do you include in your Peace Table? How do you demonstrate to your own children how to use the Peace Rose? Have you noticed improvements in peer to peer relationships? I haven’t seen it in practice and would love any ideas you all have!

The things I ponder most

• What work should I direct _____ to?
• Where on earth did I leave my pen?
• Has _____ had a lesson on that yet?
• I’m hungry…is it snack-time yet?
• Why does this child move around this way?
• How can I assist this child?
• This would make a beautiful picture – OH NO! Where’s my camera?
• What is the best way I can enlighten this child?
• Really now, where is my pen?
• I thought ____ was here today, you mean they aren’t?
• Should we talk about our latest “You’re not invited to my birthday party” issue during Line Time, or not…
• Which specific sense of the child is engaged at this moment?
• Where is the child’s current fixation?
• What can I do to be more organized?
• Her name isn’t coming to me, what is it, what is it, what is it…OH RIGHT
• When can we go outside again, it’s soooo hot….
• Am I being the best teacher I can be?
• What will my next blog post be about?

Some pictures:

I fell off the face of the Earth…

..and came back to post!

Ahh, the new school year! Many children moved on, many new ones moved into the class. New names to learn, nametags to make, lessons to give. We’ve been very busy, leading to me coming home and basically turning into a vegetable on the couch, staring into space. (As I keep doing right now, it’s very hard to concentrate lately!)

It’s an emotion-heavy time of year for any teacher. We’re sad to see the children we’ve worked with for so long move on in their educational career, but also very happy for the child as well. Initial anxiety of getting new children in the class is replaced with happiness of the new little lives we get to help grow. The addition of new children to the classroom is often a somewhat rough transition. I know that if you have a classroom that is not year-round, you can give all of the introductory lessons in the first few weeks of class. At our school the new children aren’t all introduced at the same time. They move to our classroom when there is a spot available, and not all of our older children left on the same date. So lessons and introductions to the classroom are somewhat sporadic, but we’re managing – as you can see below!

Exploring Geometric Solids while blindfolded

The blindfolds in our classroom have gotten more use lately than they ever have, as children have been experimenting with what works can be accomplished blindfolded. I had one girl ask me one day if she could attempt to put the Binomial Cube together while blindfolded, and she put it back together perfectly. I regretfully did not get any pictures, but the classroom fell perfectly silent as everyone watched her feel each piece and reassemble the cube. It was absolutely beautiful.

A student giving a lesson on Teen Boards

Teen Boards and Teen Beads

Writing a story

More of the same story

The child who is writing that story comes to me for help spelling larger words, but prefers to work alone and sound out each word. They may not be spelled correctly, but you can read what she’s writing! We correct her writing if she asks, and offer helpful tips when she’s stuck, but the rest is all her.

Cards and Counters

Parts of the Flower

Matching Geometric Solids to Objects

I’m sure that some of my posts in the near future will be taking a language turn- as that is the next class I am taking this semester in my AMS training. I’m very excited! I am also working on my internship too, which requires me to do many original lessons and do some student teaching in the morning class. I can’t believe how quickly one year of training went by, only one more to go!

A Montessori Work Day in Pictures

Making the Parts of a Tree Book

Exploring the Geometric Solids

Crumbing on a tray

Labeling the States

Leaf Shape 3 Part Cards

Tracing and labeling the parts of a horse

Cards and Counters

Bow Tying Frame

Paper Punching

Listening to tones

Reading

It was a busy and wonderful day!

Bliss Despite My Mistakes

Is there anything greater than looking up from what you are doing, and seeing the entire classroom of children quietly working on independent projects? Today was one of those very perfect days. No one needed to be asked to work, no massive social disruptions…just gears turning and thoughts crunching away!  There were several children writing stories, a few Movable Alphabets being done, a duo working on the 100’s board, some Geometric Cabinet lessons, and some quiet puzzle work. Really beautiful to see everything so seamless and quiet! I’ve been a bit passive with my camera lately, and I realize this is pretty boring with no pictures, so I will fix this ASAP.

And now, a confession. I caught myself doing something bad during a lesson the other day. Worst part is, I caught myself doing it several times throughout the day after that too! I have this horrible habit of correcting small things on the child’s work while they are working. In my mind, I justify it by saying that I’m trying to maximize their success, but I realized this is actually impeding them! With one child doing the Bow Tying frame, I kept moving the bow one row up while the child was tying the next bow. In my head, I was thinking “It’s pretty confusing that this bow is blocking some of their view, I’ll just move it.” Of course as soon as I did that, I realized “Oh, now she’s watching my hand instead. Crud.” I can’t believe I did it again later too with a completely different work…I feel like such a failure at Montessori. Watching a child do the Color Matching tablets, I see some aren’t lined up just right and instead of letting the child correct it for himself, I moved it. What’s funny, is I found that at the split second I went to move something into line, or into the correct order, the child makes a move to do it themselves. In that second, I went from thinking how helpful I was feeling, to feeling guilty for not trusting the child to do it independently. I know better now, and I’m making a conscious effort to let them do it alone. Part of their exploration of the materials is learning placement / trial and error. Montessori works are so well designed that the child has the ultimate level of success provided the lesson was given correctly. My interference with the child’s concentration is not optimal for them to see the dynamics of the activity. It’s a lesson learned for myself, for sure. Perhaps after demonstrating the lesson, I should try sitting on my hands to ensure I won’t fidget with their work! 🙂

Good Morning Sunshine!

Starting my day earlier at school was a big change for me. I’m not typically a morning person, but I’m learning to deal with that. Since I started at the school I currently work at, I’ve worked in the afternoons, so shifting to mornings felt really weird. I was expecting a rougher transition, but after seeing how wonderful the mornings are, I’m rather glad I was given the opportunity to switch. At the start of the day the children are alert, awake, and ready to learn. Towards the end they might lose their steam, and are ready to go home. I understand completely why after-school care exists for the families that need it, but it is a rather long day for the children too.

One truly great thing that I love that our classroom does every day is say “Good morning!” I’ve alluded to the fact that I’m really not a morning person, and at first this seemed almost torturous – having to greet each person with a smile on my face is a terrifying thought when the morning is your enemy! I’m learning to love the mornings though…Each time one of the children greets me and we smile to each other, I honestly feel as if my day got a little brighter. It’s really a simple practice that has a great impact on everyone’s day.

The other benefit of me working in the morning now is that I get the mixed-age classroom – the full Montessori experience. In the afternoon, we only have the children who do not nap, which is typically the 4-6 year olds. The morning class is 2.5-6year olds. I’ve worked before in the morning, before I went through training. Now I understand much more why the age ranges are mixed in the classroom. If you had nothing but 3 year olds in a Montessori classroom, you’d be running around insanely giving lessons and putting out fires! (This is not to imply that your children are not well-behaved, or that you do not have a good handle on the classroom. This is just saying 3 year olds are capable of….a lot!) Having the older children with the younger ones provides the chance for peer-education and peer-supervision. I see the older children say to the younger ones “Oh, let me help you with that” quite often, and it makes me very happy to see the generosity being cultivated in the children.

Of course to many of you who read this, I am stating the obvious in a Montessori classroom. I just find the process unfolding in front of me so beautiful and amazing that I can’t help but be captivated by it! I hope that I never come to the point that I take this for granted. Watching the children so focused and in the moment of what they’re doing is an amazing privilege. Morning work time has even further opened my eyes to the truly beautiful environment of the Montessori classroom.

Sorry I haven’t been writing more, I’ve been quite busy the past few weeks! I’m also working on some larger posts that are more specific to the classroom that I hope to be sharing with you all very soon. I guess I just didn’t realize how time-consuming this whole blogging experience would be!

Change is good…

…dollars are better.

Routine is wonderful and fabulous, but also sometimes nerve-wracking. We’re approaching that time of year when the older children leave us to go to new schools,  and children get moved up from the Toddler program.

I’ve heard comments before from other Montessori teachers that changing things in a Montessori classroom after a while can be pretty difficult. In the classroom I am currently in, the Head Teacher has a shelf that we use to put some assorted works on that have to do with the month’s current subject / theme. Sometimes this involves relocating other works from the classroom onto this shelf, which always finds it’s way back to it’s original home by the end of the day. You can explain to the children “We’re going to keep this here for this month, because we are currently learning about Australia. It’s ok to leave it here!” yet you will find it back where it used to go constantly. The Head Teacher also decided to use a new kind of mat for art works that were bigger than the old ones. Because these were bigger, she had to put them on the bottom of our Art shelf instead of on the top (where the old ones were). This was 3 weeks ago, and every time any of the teachers in the room walk by the shelf, we have to relocate the mats to the new location. The Head Teacher commented “Wow-ee, these kids really don’t like change!” I giggled a little bit, because it seems like change does rock their worlds!

These past few weeks at our school have been full of changes! There was a change in management at the school which of course affected us all – We said good-bye to an old friend, and hello to a new one. Another change at the school (which has yet to take effect) is that I will be moving to a morning schedule, so I can be there for morning work time. This is required for my internship, which starts this fall.

I’m very excited for many reasons! In the afternoons (which I currently work) we have Activity time and Craft time that follows our Afternoon Work period. By being there in the morning, I’m going to get more Montessori Work time. Expect to see more posts focusing on my internship following soon!

A child is very capable of dealing with change, I just believe that adequate time needs to be given to the child to adjust. I welcome change with open arms, as it’s the best way to experience life’s many gradients!

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A little note –

I’m working on adding a page that focuses on pictures and works. Hooray!

Also I love everyone’s support: your comments are very appreciated! If you stop by, feel free to comment! Like what I said, don’t like what I said, say so!