First Week of School-day 1

We survived the First Week of School!


this is going to be a little blog posting about how I wished it had gone like.....and how it actually went. 



First: How I Wished the First Week of School had gone:

So after talking to teachers and brainstorming and learning from our mistakes from the first week of school, I came up with a game plan for how an ideal first week should have looked like. 


1st day

• children learn where the bathroom is, where the sinks and drinking fountains are
• how to ask to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water
• children learn where the circle time area is and how to sit in circle
• play "simon says" and then have a special word for sitting cross-legged with hands in their lap like "criss-cross apple sauce
• children learn how to walk in the classroom
• slowly with arms folded
• children learn what to do when they hear the bell
• stand up and freeze with arms folded, listening for the teachers instruction
• children learn how to get out a mat and roll it out/roll it up/ walk around it
• children learn how to do a puzzle
• lunch protocol
• lunch boxes under chair
• raising your hand when you need help

So on the first day you get all your kids, some have been there before, some are brand new! We had mostly new students, but a few older ones. So after the children were all in circle, we sang a few songs, played a few name games, and then I had them follow me with their eyes as I introduced the bathroom, the sinks, etc. 

Then, after I demonstrate walking/rolling  a mat, i ask a student who has been in our Montessori class before to show the rest of the class. This is very empowering to them and great fun. Then, let the children all practice 1 by 1 at first. Then let everyone go practice. Once you've finished all your drills. I suggest snack. 

Now that you've had snack, it's time to show them the jobs. Introduce the areas of the class, but here's the kicker, and the main thing I wish I would have done. 

Rule 1: Do not touch any jobs that you have not had a lesson on. 

This is to keep the children from misusing materials, get discouraged by the inability to do jobs they are not ready for and to stop bad habits from forming before they've had a lesson. You still need to have the entire first month of jobs out (most of them, I suggest not having out jobs that include sand, water or glass for the few couples of week). 

That's why I suggest having lots of puzzles around.  It's pretty hard for a child to misuse a puzzle, but still, I suggest modeling taking out a mat. Walking over to the puzzles, bringing it over, and thing laying out the peices one by one exactly how it appeared on the puzzle on the mat. That way anyone can redo the puzzle.

Work on that until recess, lunch after recess. Teach the children to put their lunchboxes under their chair. and to raise they're hand when they need help opening things. That way you don't have a million kids clammering all over you to open their capri sun. 

Rule 2: have the same expectations from day one. 

Don't let things slide or do things for them that you don't plan on having to do for them later in the school year. Have consistent expectations. That way, from day 1, we had the children clean up after themselves after lunch. Have plenty of rags and a bucket of hot soapy water, lots of brooms and dust pans. You'll have to do a lot of the work, like sweeping things into piles to make it easier for them to sweep it into the bin, but it's setting the habit that is important. After lunch, it's time for nap.

I hope this was helpful. 

What do you do on the first day of school?

Tips For How To Set Up a Montessori Classroom

From Lunchroom to Classroom!

A little background, I work at a Montessori school, the same one where I got my training. I've worked there for about a year as an Infant and Toddler Teacher. This year, I am taking over a brand new classroom, Room 3, that's 3-6. The classroom I'm taking over was being used as the lunchroom, and I had the chance to transform it into a classroom again. (the children will now be eating in their own classroom instead of a communal lunchroom, which is the norm in most Montessori schools).

It took a LOT of work, a LOT of digging through closets for materials, a LOT of moving furniture, and a LOT of help from the wonderful girls at my school to set it up, but here's what we've come up with!

Here it looks like an absolute MESS! trying to figure out what jobs were complete, what I needed to make or scrounge from the closets and where to put what.



Here it's getting a little more cleaned up, but the shelves aren't in their final positions, i'll move them around like a hundred more times!

Here we go! Finished!!!  from back to front, language, cultural, sensorial, math, practical life.The peace area is that around sheet in the very back. That island in the middle doubles as part of the Sensorial area and other side is the art shelf, conveniently located next to a table.


Here is our bulletin board and circle area. This is where we'll do a lot of our language work, so it's nice and roomy for rugs.
On the bookshelf are a lot of books about the first day of school, individuality, and emotions. (I feel Silly, Hug, What I Do Best, etc.)



I'll take a lot more pictures of the individual shelves to show detail once they are set up. I'm still missing a few essential jobs.

So I learned a few things while setting up my room. Are you setting up a room for the first time?
If so, take a look at this list of things to keep in mind.


Things To Keep In Mind When Setting Up a Montessori Classroom

1.) Decide where you want your Circle to be FIRST and build around that - Your circle is where your classroom will meet together several times a day to take roll, sing songs, read stories, do calendar activities, and group lessons. This will be the HEART of your classroom, so pick where you want that to be and build around it. (and make sure your circle is facing NORTH! this will come in handy when introducing directions)

2.) CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!
Before you put in all the shelves and materials and decorations, CLEAN THAT ROOM! It will never be easier to clean all the nooks and crannies. I spent the first few days cleaning the walls, wiping down shelves and washing the windows.  It will never be as clean as the first day, so make your starting point a good one. Also, have you ever heard of the Broken Window phenomenon? People treat clean environments better than dirty environments. Want your children to respect your classroom? Start with it clean and KEEP it clean!

3.) Be Creative with your Shelves! -if possible, get shelves that aren't too long. The shorter the shelves, the more creative you can be with them. My classroom is very long, but not very wide, so my shelf space is limited. I compensated by making wings and offshoots from the main shelves, and creating islands. Also, you can do a LOT more with a 4 tiered shelf than a 3 tier.
And don't be afraid to try different combinations, move them around multiple times.


4.) Be mindful of room for children to work both on MATS and TABLES
Much of the Montessori materials need to be done on a mat on the floor, while others need to be done on a table. Much of Practical Life needs to be done at a table. So put the PL area near the sinks with two long tables in that area. Also, PL is the CORE area for your youngest children, so I made sure they were our lowest tables and smallest chairs. However, handwriting jobs also need to be done at a table, like recording for math and writing for language. So I put some of the LARGER tables in the back of the room where the Handwriting station is. There is also a larger table in the middle of hte room next to the ART and MATH area.

The rest of the room as ample space for working on mats. Language and Sensorial need a lot of mat space, so I put them next to our circle. As you arrange your classroom, lay down a few mats yourself, and try to walk around. Can you navigate? can you pull a job off the shelf without disturbing a mat?


5.) Keep in Mind that Cultural can be broken up
Sometimes it's hard to organize everything, but one secret is that cultural can be broken up! If you can't find room to put botany, zoology, history, music and art together, don't worry! Have a little extra room there? Make it botany. A little extra way over there? History! Bam! Makes it a lot easier. I chose to put Botany and zoology close together, I put music next to practical life, Art next to sensorial, and history next Language.

Try to put much of your cultural next to language, because it's the CULTURAL materials that inspire your kids to want to read!



Those are my tips, Do you have any? I'd love to hear them!

One week left!

One Week Left of Training!

I am absolutely amazed that 5 weeks has gone by so quickly! When I started this 6 week training program I thought they would just drag by, but we have been learning so much so quickly that I barely have time to process it all.

Everything we are learning is AMAZING. Psychology of the child, management skills, philosophy of the method, how to present materials, curriculum, it's all fantastic.

Are you thinking of taking 3-6 training?

If you also want to take the training to be a certified 3-6 Montessori teacher, here are my tips that I've learned.

1.) TAKE PICTURES WITH YOUR PHONE AND LABEL THEM IMMEDIATELY

part of your training requirements are to make "albums", or huge binders filled with your manuals on how to present lessons. To pass off those albums you have to "make them your own" by adding notes, pictures, rationales, and more. And of course you're going to want to take pictures of the way your trainer presents the lessons because sometimes that can be unclear in the manual.

So here's my tip: take pictures with your smart phone using this app TEXTSPHOTO. if you don't have an iPhone, search for another app that lets you add a caption to the photo. That way, you can write as soon as you take the photo what lesson that picture is, because TRUST ME! You will have HUNDREDS of pictures, and by the end of the day it is very difficult to remember "was that presentation 1 of math lesson 3 or variation 6?"

2.) Don't waste time, get Google+ to upload all your pictures to your Google account for you!

You are going to be busy enough logging practice time, writing rationales and making original lessons, you don't need to see at your computer manually transferring all the pictures from your phone/camera to your computer. Download Google+ and it will put all your pictures on your Google account. You can access them from any computer that way. AND they are private, unless you wish to share.

The girls in my training have shared all our pictures in case one of us missed a day or had camera malfunctions.

3.) BUY YOUR BINDERS AT THRIFT STORES!

For your albums you will need to buy some HUGE binders (I got 3 inchers) and if you go to Wal-Mart or Office Depot they are around $5 a piece! If you do some searching, you can usually find binders in good shape at thrift stores like Goodwill, Savers, or Salvation Army.

I suggest going to your Goodwill (that's where I found mine) especially the one next to your local college.


Well! those are my tips so far! Hopefully I'll have more as I continue my last week of instruction and continue my year-long training as an intern. 

Let me know if you have any questions about Montessori Teacher Certification Training!

Philosophy Highlights

Philosophy Highlights

We made it through two weeks of philosophy training! It was amazing. The things I think I'll most take away from that is this:

1.) Follow the child

This is something you'll hear a lot from a Montessori teacher. Children have "sensitive periods" where their brains are primed to learn a specific skill. You've seen it, that 3 year old that is obsessed with lining things up, they are in a sensitive period for ORDER. You're 4 year old who just wants to know what 3 + 12 is, how tall that mountain is, how many degrees is the sun? They are in the sensitive period for MATH. There is a sensitive period for Language, order, movement, small objects, refinement of the senses, grace and courtesy, writing, reading the spatial relationships. 

A "normalized" child will naturally gravitate to those things that fulfill that need, and a Montessori classroom is set up in a way to provide an environment rich in objects and materials that will also fullfill that need for learning when the child is most ripe to receive it. the Key to "follow the child" is to give the child the freedom to choose for themselves. It's this liberty that is the key to a child who is following their sensitive periods, learning self-discipline and just being really happy!


2.) Observe observe observe!!!

A Montessori teacher doesn't teach in the traditional sense. She presents lessons, yes, but she lets the child teach themself, through interactions and experimentation with the environment. This is where true learning takes place, experimentation. The materials in a Montessori classroom are set up in a way so that a teacher doesn't even really have to be there after the initial presentation. They are self correcting, so that the child can tell when they've made a mistake. this means that the teacher is free to observe the child, to see where they are excelling, where they are struggling, clues to their development, likes and dislikes. When we know the child, that is when we are most able to help them succeed. 


3.)  teach the child to do it themself

Children want to be free, the best way to free your child, do empower them to do things themself. Children become fussy, and throw a tantrum because they feel controlled. What if they could do the things they need to all on their own? Children in the Montessori method  are taught to dress themselves, make their own meals, clean up after themselves, choose their own activities, and more. 

Montessori Philosophy

I am so impressed with the training so far! I've loved leanring the philosophy behind the method , and what influenced Dr. Montessori to create the methodology that she did.

Here are the basics of Montessori Phillosophy:

What is Montessori?

• Montessori is a HANDS ON learning environment where children work with MATERIALS,  to develop a CONCRETE UNDERSTANDING of the world, then move to the ABSTRACT CONCEPT. Children learn at their OWN RATE through SEQUENTIAL CURRICULUM with INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION. Montessori offers a GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE where children develop RESPONSIBILITY and INDEPENDENCE through CHOICE and RESPECT.

 

What are the Elements to a Montessori Education?

• Auto-education
• The children teach themselves. You give the lesson and then get out of the way, observe and take notes, but let the child use the material to teach themselves.
• Control of error- child can check their own work to see if they're correct and not ask the teacher

• Didactic Materials
• Designed to teach a specific concept.
• Isolation of difficulty. There is only 1 skill they are trying to learn.
• Ex. pink tower. Isolation of difficulty is the fact that they are ONLY trying to discriminate  it by SIZE (not shape or color too)
• Ex. all geometric solids are the same size and blue

• Individualized education
• "follow the child" philosophy. You give the child WHAT they need WHEN they need it, regardless of what your schedule is
• Makes it so INTEREST does not stagnate and also they are not pushed beyond interest or ability

• Prepared environment
• Geared 100% to the child. Few if any materials should be in the classroom that are off-limits to the child.
• Promotes ownership.
• Everything is child size and inviting to the child

• Teacher as a guide
• It is the teacher's job to guide, not direct. "it is our job to shed a ray of light and be on our way.
• "we are not the sage on the stage but the guide on the side"

 

 

 

What are the areas of study in a Montessori Curriculum?

• Practical Life
• Sensorial
• Math
• Language
• Cultural
• History
• Geography
• Botany
• Zoology
• Science
• Art
• Music
• Movement

To learn more about the philosophy for yourself, check out some of these books. This is also the list required of trainees to read during their training.

• Secret of Childhood
• Discovery of the Child
• Montessori- A Modern Approach
• The Absorband Mind
• The Montessori Method
• Maria Montessori- Her life and work

Psssst! the Absorbant Mind and The MOntessori Method are FREE if you download them from google books (the Montessori Method) or for the kindle (The Absorbant Mind)


I do more on the Philosophy of the Learner and the Role of the Learner next.
Thanks for reading, please feel free to post your comments and questions!

First Week of Training- Philosophy

                                                Us enjoying a lecture by Linda.

                    First Week of training!

 

I have enjoyed this first week of training so much! I can't believe that we've learned so much in so little time. I'm training with five wonderful gals, 2 from my school, 2 from outside the school who might be joining us here, and the instructor- the great and powerful Linda Kahlil (long time teacher and trainer here at MVA).

 

Let me break down for you- in case your interested in taking the training yourself- what's expected during the training, the projects, the deadlines, all that good stuff.

 

EXPECTATIONS:

• 3 observations done by a teacher one you
• 3 observations of students you have to do at a certified school
• 1 year long internship at a school under a certified teacher
• 1 year long project where you research a subject or create a curriculum
• 4 essays on the philosophy of montessori
• Put together 8 albums for all the different montessori subjects (philosophy, practical life, sensorial, math, language, culture, art/music/movement)
• these albums are 1/2 pre-ordered lesson plans and the other half self-made lesson plans
• you are responsible for making 2 lesson plans, 1 original lesson and 1 extension lesson for all subjects
• also need to write 1 rationale for all subjects (2-4 page paper)
 
 

 

 We also have 6 books we need to be reading and include notes from these readings in our albums, as well as quotes and information from the readings in our rationales and essays. the books are:

 

1. Maria Montessori: her life and work
2. Montessori Method (free download on google books)
3. The Discovery of the Child
4. Montessori: a Modern Approach
5. Secret of Childhood
6. Absorben Mind (free download for Kindle)

 

 

 

 This whole first week has been the philosoophy behind the Montessori method. The philosophies and science behind the method, learning about the role of hte montessori teacher, the environment, the role of hte learner and child development and modern research on how children learn.

 

It's all mind blowing!

 

I feel like Neo in the Matrix where he gets his first download, mountains of info poured into his brain in a few seconds via and with an amazed/dazed look on his face he says...."Wow, I know Kung-Fu".

 

More on the specifics of the philosophy later. Hope this was informative for all you wishing to learn more about the training!

1 day until training begins!

My training to become a AMS (American Montessori Society) certified teacher starts on Monday! I am so excited! So before it begins I wanted to let you all have a brief overview of what the process entails.

first- to become a certified Montessori teacher you need to attend a training facility that is accredited by either the AMS or the AMI, the two major Montessori organizations. But, since Maria Montessori, the founder of the method, did not trademark her name, there may be many schools claiming to offer Montessori training that are not sanctioned by many schools.

Thankfully, I work at the only AMS certified Montessori training center in Nevada. (lucky me!)

Second- you need 350 face-to-face instruction
third-There is a year long internship as a student teacher under a certified teacher of at least 2 years
fourth- three observations by a certified teacher of your teaching during your internship
fifth- complete a year long project
sixth- complete lesson resource albums for all the major curiculums (ex. practical life, sensorial, language, math, etc.)

A year long process, but it's worth it! There are thousands of Montessori schools in the US and thousands more around the world. And I'm sure that as we see traditional schooling fall short again and agian, more and more people will see the need for schools like the ones that implement the Montessori method.


I'm most interested right now in picking my year long project I'll be working on during my internship year. One of my fellow teachers who is already certified did hers on creating hand-made materials for the classroom. Another on yoga.

I believe I'll do mine on food education. Gardening, nutrition, the whole bit.

Excited!

Why I Chose Montessori for my career- Reason #1 - it's not a toy, it's a JOB

So it's going to be a few weeks yet before I start my certificaiton training. I plan to do posts for every moment to share the experience of going through the process. But until then, you get to hear my opinions and musings on why I'm going into the training in the first place.

So, why am I taking the time to do this? Why am I dedicating the next year of my life to learning this method?

A big answer to that question lies in one of the first things I learned on the job. The articles you see carefully and meticulously placed on the shelves of a Montessori classroom, even in an Infant or Toddler room are NOT TOYS.

Now, dont' get me wrong. this does not mean that the child cannot choose the item, manipulate it, work with it, and ENJOY it. They often do, and it's designed to be enjoyed and used by the child. But no, it is NOT a TOY. it is a JOB. Likewise, when children are using the materials they are not PLAYING (even though they are enjoying it) , they are WORKING.

 This was a particularly powerful lesson for me to learn. This careful choice of words expresses something very fundamental about Montessori philosophy.

by choosing the words "job" and "work" we're admitting something about children that I think our society is very hesitant to admit. They are IMPORTANT. What they do is MEANINGFUL. In a Montessori school a child sitting down scooping a spoonful of beads from one bowl to another  is just as important as a grown up going to work and making money.

I think that in our society it is so common to see children as these unfinished, unproductive (adorable) people that just take up time , resources and aren't really good for anything until htey reach the magical age of 18 and are suddently expected to be productive members of society. And, UNTIL that time, they are locked away into these institutions (prisons) where they can bide their time, doing busy work that isn't seen as very important.

How sad! I am so happy that Maria Montessori saw that the work that children do is shaping them as a human being! it is important! every single instant of it!

The First Step

I am about to take the Montessori Certification Training. In June. But this story doesn't start in June. I actually found out what Montessori was almost a year ago. I was looking for a job, any job! After months of sitting around the house waiting for a phone call for an interview a friend told me she had interviewed at this place, but it wasn't right for her, so I should call and apply. The only thing I knew about it was that you had to be good with kids. I had no idea what this place was. Was it a daycare? A private school? Little did I know that Montessori was a whole way of LIFE! and that it was about to change MY life.

So after interviewing, I got the job. On the SPOT! (they needed a teacher right away because their previous pick had backed out the day she was supposed to start) Just like that I was thrust into the world of Montessori, starting that very day! I was the new Infant/Toddler teacher and boy was I about to be tested like no other.

But enough about that. Learning to love/handle/defend myself from/play with/teach/learn from those little babies is a whole other story. The real thing I'd like to talk about is: What the heck is "Montessori"???

Well, Maria Montessori was a revolutionary woman, a scientist, who, like Piaget "studied the child". She quickly saw that children are wonderful, capable, curious "little scientists" who learn best when they are able to explore their world.

So what is a Montessori classroom like?
Most Montessori classrooms have: (this list is from wikipedia, with my own reasons following the bold text)

Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most common (this is so that children can learn from eachother. Older kids mentor the younger, making them feel responsibility to set a good example and younger children have a desire to act like their grown up peers)

Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options (this is because children have "critical periods" and "sensitive periods" where they can best learn something, more than at any other time in their life. Montessori teachers respect that when a child is in that sensitive period they want to work on that task repeatedly until they master it, without being distracted by other tasks or subjects they are not as keen on exploring....yet)

Uninterrupted blocks of work time-(this is so that children can learn to CONCENTRATE and FOCUS without teachers saying "ok! time is up! put it away! do this new thing I want to do now!" . they also learn to manage their own time at a very early age.)

A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction- (this is because children learn BEST when they can MOVE! when they can use their hands, when they can touch and feel, dissect and take apart, can taste and smell. Children in Montessori classrooms grow up knowing that they can learn about their world by being in the world, instead of being told about it.)

Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators-(there are special matterials that Montessori teachers like to use to make it easier for children to work with them on their own, but almost anything can be a learning material in a Montessori classroom. Seashells, books, music boxes, puzzles, etc.)

Well, I think that's enough for the first day. I will continue to post more about why I believe that Montessori is one of the most wonderful ways to teach children, and about my own personal journey on becoming a MOntessori Certified Teacher!

EXCITING STUFF FRIENDS!