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!