The Montessori Classroom and the Language of Virtue

As a Montessori teacher, I try not to assign copious amounts of homework. I believe a student’s homework is meant to be in the form of sharing time with family and participating around the home. When I do assign homework, I try to make sure it is significant and meaningful. Projects, reading literature, and assignments that were not finished during the school day are the sort of things I most often assign.

I am excited about implementing more character education activities into the Montessori classroom that can also be taken home.

The Listening Bracelet

I have heard of teachers using something called a listening bracelet. This is a bracelet kept in the classroom that Montessori students use when they are having a conversation or discussion and need a reminder to use their listening and communication skills. The teacher presents this item with a lesson and role-playing. The bracelet can help the students practice and utilize giving, listening, understanding, exchanging and thanking. The bracelet can be made by the students and could also be a necklace, rock or other small, beautiful object. Whatever your listening object, it is housed in a basket and kept in a place easily accessible to students.

A listening object could be sent home with each student to use with their families. A letter of explanation to parents along with the student’s knowledge from using the object in the classroom will allow parents and children alike to develop their listening skills.

Character Education Cards

I am also interested in adding character education cards to my classroom, as a tool for expanding my students’ virtues vocabulary. A character education card could include simply one or two words describing a character education trait or a virtue (grace and courtesy, honesty, prudence, etc.) The cards could also be more explicit and give an example for the student in the classroom and home settings. Each card could also have a sentence started that the student would have to complete. These cards could be used for practice in the classroom and/or for role-playing. Like the listening object, these cards could be sent home once per month to reinforce the work that is happening in the classroom.

By nurturing an understanding of character virtues, and helping our students find peaceful and respectful ways for expressing themselves, we can set the stage for students to develop a keen awareness for their own character development. The hope is to encourage students to strive to embrace character virtues in their own behavior, and to recognize and acknowledge these in others. By sharing some of these lessons both in the Montessori classroom and at home, we can work toward creating a consistent, nurturing environment for that character development.

Other blogs on character education:

• Character Education Ideas for the Montessori Classroom
• Why Montessori: Part III - Educating the Human Potential

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Maslow and Montessori: Education of the Human Potential

[The child] learns everything without knowing he is learning it, and in doing so he passes little by little from the unconscious to the conscious, treading always in the paths of joy and love. ~Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Abraham Maslow developed a humanistic approach to psychology in the early 1940’s. Rather than focusing on behavior as a result of stimuli and reinforcement or the psychoanalytical idea of unconscious instinct, Maslow focused on the capability of humans to reach their fullest potential. Rather than looking and trying to make sense of the dysfunctional brain, he searched for what it was that made humans exceptional. In a sense, he looked at what it was to be human.

Maslow created a set of hierarchical needs that best describe the growth of the human psyche. By analyzing the environment, he synthesized that given the right environment, humans will develop to their fullest potential, that of self-actualization. If the environment is not right, therein lies the potential for damage to the human spirit.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is usually portrayed as a pyramid, with the most basic needs providing the supporting foundation. He theorized that if these basic needs were not met the higher needs, such as loving others, contributing to society, and expressing unique talents, could not be actualized.

Maslow’s Hierarchy in the Montessori Environment

Educational humanism is a philosophy which believes that developing the human intellect is what makes humans stand apart from the rest of the animal world. Humanists, such as Maslow and Montessori, believe it is necessary to study and develop the whole person over the course of his or her lifetime. Teacher candidates in traditional training programs are often asked to look at how their classrooms and lessons are addressing Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The same can be done in the Montessori environment.

• Physiological – A Montessori environment is full of movement. Children are free to move about the classroom at will. In addition, the activities of Practical Life provide the opportunities to develop both gross and fine motor movement.
• Safety – The Montessori Environment is prepared with the child in mind. The classroom and materials are beautiful, simple in design, accessible to all children, and kept in a tidy, precise order. The Montessori environment is organized which allows the child to feel safe and secure, knowing his or her world is in order.
• Belonging – There is a sense of mutual respect in the Montessori environment. Children learn to develop friendship through the lessons in Grace and Courtesy by being helpful and kind to others.
• Esteem – Success builds self-esteem. The materials and lessons in the Montessori environment are self-correcting with a built in control of error. This allows the child to immediately see mistakes and learn from them rather on relying on others to point out his faults.
• Self-Actualization – Montessori said “No one can be free unless he is independent.” (The Absorbent Mind). By helping a child to develop independence and autonomy, the Montessori teacher is helping the child reach self-actualization or his full potential as a fully functioning member of society.

The Role of Education

Maslow and Montessori both felt that traditional education systems had the potential to be more of a hindrance than a help to development. Both recognized that children are to be respected as fellow human beings. Indeed, Maslow’s ideas on educating children coincide with Montessori’s own philosophy. He believed that education should help children:

• Be authentic.
• Transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens.
• Find their vocation and right mate.
• Know that life is precious.
• Be good and joyous in all kinds of situations.
• Learn from their inner nature.
• See that basic needs are satisfied.
• Refresh their consciousness; appreciate beauty and other good things in life.
• Understand that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad.
• Transcend trifling problems.
• Grapple with serious problems such as injustice, pain suffering and death.
• Be given practice in making choices.

~Abraham Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation (1943).

Is your Montessori environment meeting the needs of all your children? Observe closely and ask yourself how you are addressing Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs within your Montessori environment and what you could add to make sure you are reaching and following all in your care.

The word education must not be understood in the sense of teaching but of assisting the psychological development of the child. ~Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method

NAMC’s Upper Elementary Health Sciences manual contains further related information and activities.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

More than Candy and Skeletons: Halloween and Dia de los Muertos in the Montessori Classroom

Most Montessori schools where I have worked did not want classroom celebrations of popular holidays. It was not that these schools wanted to ignore the existence of these holidays; they simply felt the Montessori classroom was not the appropriate place for the commercial “candy fests” that most of the holidays had become. A cultural lesson about the history and meaning of the holiday was considered acceptable.

Halloween is celebrated in several countries and is one of the world’s oldest holidays. The holiday’s roots are in the Celtic festival of Samhain. Halloween came to America with Irish and English immigrants. Today Halloween is celebrated with costumes, parties and trick-or-treating.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated in Mexico, in certain parts of the United States and in other Latin American countries. The celebration honors the dead and embraces death as a continuation of life. It began over 3,000 years ago and still maintains the basic ideas of the original Aztec ritual. The ritual was celebrated during the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar (approximately the beginning of August) and the celebration lasted for the entire month. When the Spaniards came to Mexico, they did not understand Dia de los Muertos and moved the celebration to November 1 and 2 to coincide with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day and in an attempt to make the ritual more Christian. Today Dia de los Muertos is celebrated by wearing wooden skull masks (called calacas), dancing, creating altars, eating skulls made of sugar and visiting cemeteries where loved ones are buried. While in the cemetery, people decorate graves and have picnics that include favorite foods of the deceased.

Halloween and Dia de los Muertos Activities for the Montessori Classroom

• Research Celtic history and the festival of Samhain.
• Create a timeline and map of Halloween and its roots and journey around the world.
• Read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as a class.
• Make Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls as a class. Want to avoid sugar? Make Dia de los Muertos hand soaps instead!
• Study Mexican folk art and create some of your own. Do an internet search for images of the Dia de los Muertos art for inspiration.
• Practice Spanish vocabulary with Mexican Loteria. This old and traditional bingo game can be purchased in affordable and beautiful sets or your students can create their own.

Halloween and Dia de los Muertos Books for the Montessori Classroom

• Shake Dem Halloween Bones, by W. Nikola-Lisa and Mike Reed
• Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
• By the Light of the Halloween Moon, by Caroline Stutson and Kevin Hawkes
• Halloween Night, by Charles Ghigna and Adam McCauley
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving and Russ Flint
• Day of the Dead, by Tony Johnston and Jeanette Winter
• Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book, by Jeanette Winter
• Festival of Bones / El Festival de las Calaveras: The Little-Bitty Book for the Day of the Dead, by Luis San Vicente
• Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Life and Death, by Amanda Doering Tourville
• Paper Crafts for Day of the Dead, by Randel McGee
• El Dia De Los Muertos: The Day of the Dead, by Mary Dodson Wade
• Clatter Bash! A Day of the Dead Celebration, by Richard Keep
• Mexican Folk Art Coloring Book, by Marty Noble

The NAMC elementary Cultural Geography manuals provide a rich cultural curriculum: 6-9 Cultural Geography / 9-12 Cultural Geography.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Resources

• http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html
• http://www.diadelosmuertos.us/
• http://www.lessonplanspage.com/Halloween.htm
• http://www.history.com/content/halloween/real-story-of-halloween/halloween-comes-to-america

Elementary Montessori Practical Life: Fostering Independence and Responsibility

The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one's self. -Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind.

When my son entered his first Montessori classroom at age 5, he was drawn, as if by a magnet, to the Practical Life area of the classroom. I have to admit, the small pitchers, the child-size brooms and dustpans, the apple and banana slicers in the snack area, the bright colors and increasing difficulty of the dressing frames held a certain fascination with me, too. It is not hard to understand why this was his favorite area in which to work.

I began teaching in the Montessori upper elementary environment two years later and was surprised and saddened to see that my classroom had no Practical Life materials. When I approached my level leader, she told me that by upper elementary there really was no need for Practical Life activities. I politely yet resolutely disagreed.

Purpose

The purpose of the Montessori Practical Life activities is to help children develop their independence so that they may become fully capable and responsible adults. The Montessori elementary Practical Life curriculum is a continuation of the practical life skills presented and practiced in the primary classroom. Skills pertaining to care of self, care of environment and living things, along with grace and courtesy are still important; however, these activities now begin to take the children outside of the classroom and into the greater community. While the activities may change, these skills are just as important in the upper elementary, middle school, and even high school years.

The exercises in Practical Life also serve an important social purpose. Children become more self aware which helps them develop empathy and sensitivity to others. It is because of this greater sensitivity to others that community service projects are a big part of the upper elementary Practical Life curriculum. Additionally, Practical Life activities help foster self-discipline, self-reliance as well as teaching children how to concentrate and cooperate.

After my discussion with my team leader, I made a trip to my local craft store. I bought a latch hook rug kit and some simple cross-stitch kits. I put them into simple baskets and found a place for them on my shelves. My students noticed them immediately. “Miss Michelle, are these for us?” “When can we use them?” “Will you show us how?” They were so excited! That afternoon, I gave lessons to all who wanted to learn. There was a new sense of purpose. Work was completed in record time so they could work on their sewing. They had a new sense of pride and accomplishment. It was so satisfying for me to watch them. Even the parents commented on the changes they saw, not to mention the fact that several of them had had to make trips to the craft store over the weekend.

Is there a place for Practical Life work in the upper elementary Montessori classroom? You bet there is! Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing more about what types of activities to bring into your upper elementary Practical Life area. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them!

Practical Life resources from NAMC:

• 3-6 Practical Life manual
• 6-9 Practical Life manual

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Montessori Principles and Practice: Finding Evidence in Schools

Many of our NAMC students and graduates around the globe are interested in eventually opening their own Montessori schools. In fact, this was the main reason I completed the NAMC 3-6 training. I realized that if I was going to be the administrator of a Montessori school, I needed to know personally about the Montessori philosophy and method if I was going to hire and retain the best teachers and attract families.

Striving for and maintaining the Montessori “standard” is an ongoing commitment and practice for any Montessori school. Whether you are an experienced Montessori teacher or a Montessori administrator it is a good idea to occasionally take a look at your current program and make sure you can find evidence that what is happening in your school accurately reflects the Montessori philosophy of education as well as your school’s mission statement. Montessori teacher candidates and prospective Montessori parents are encouraged to visit several Montessori schools and make formal classroom observations so as to witness the Montessori philosophy and method in action. Using a checklist such the one below should help you get a sense as to whether or not the school is adhering to Montessori’s own principles.

What would Dr. Montessori observe?

"The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences." (Maria Montessori. The Absorbent Mind.)

Environment:

• designed for the child through beauty, order, and simplicity
• utilizes mixed age groups
• maximizes independent learning and open-ended exploration
• maintains a calm, orderly environment
• materials are attractively displayed and stored appropriately
• materials are grouped by subject
• materials are sequenced by level
• materials are accessible to all students
• space is provided for large activities
• activities are diversified to accommodate learning and intelligence styles
• traffic patterns are established by placement of furniture
• designated “quiet” areas
• variety of work spaces
• student work is attractively displayed
• promotes freedom of movement and exploration
• encourages the natural social movements of children
• reflection of the personal style of the teacher

“It is my belief that the thing which we should cultivate in our teachers is more the spirit than the mechanical skill of the scientist; that is, the direction of the preparation should be toward the spirit rather than toward the mechanism.” (Montessori, Maria. The Montessori Method.)

Teacher:

• warm and nurturing manner
• shows genuine interest in students
• uses the 3-period lesson
• engages and encourages students in lessons
• maintains a low-profile in the classroom
• models grace and courtesy
• uses a soft “inside” voice
• promotes peace and conflict-resolution within the classroom
• engages in positive, respectful redirection of inappropriate behaviors

“If we could say: “We are respectful and courteous in our dealings with children, we treat them as we should like to be treated ourselves,” we should certainly have mastered a great educational principle and undoubtedly be setting an example of good education.” (Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook.)

Program:

• promotes respect for all cultures and peoples
• clear student expectations
• emphasizes responsible, personal choice
• collaboration between students as well as between teachers
• use of non-classroom resources, including “going-out” experiences
• provides on-going parent education

NAMC's Classroom Guides provide detailed guidance on the Montessori philosophy, and how to apply it in your Montessori classroom. The Classroom Guides are an integral part of all NAMC's diploma programs, and are also available for sale separately.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Environmental Stewardship: Montessori Cosmic Education

It is the child who makes the man, and no man exists who was not made by the child he once was. – Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind. 1995. pg. 15

Very few of us live in an environment that is not man-made. In fact, many children do not know where the food they eat or the fibers of the clothes they wear truly comes from. In an effort to educate the child so as to promote responsible environmental stewardship, educators and parents play an important role in helping children to understand, love and respect nature.

Children between the ages of 6 and 12 are characterized by having both physical and intellectual energy. They are interested in many things and have a great capacity for imagining. They are seeking the answers to their questions: Who am I? What am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Montessori believed it was crucial at this age to present the universe to children in an effort to help them find the answers to their questions. This was the basis of her “cosmic education” - to teach them that Planet Earth is a gift to each and every one of us.

By learning to connect with nature, Montessori students learn to respect, protect, understand, and enjoy the natural world. Earth education is about more than just talking about saving the planet. It is about going outside and exploring the beauty of the earth. It is about learning about human’s place on the earth and the role we play in both the preservation and desecration of the planet. It is about learning to work together to protect the earth and the living things that inhabit it.

Earth education is the process of helping people live more harmoniously and joyously with the natural world. - Steve Van Matre, The Institute for Earth Education

There are many things you can do within your Montessori environment to promote and encourage stewardship of our planet. Some can be done at the classroom level and some involve the greater Montessori community. The more you model and practice ecological respect and responsibility, the more people you will touch who may follow your example.

School Level Activities

• Recycling
• Composting
• No-trash lunches
• Alternative energy
• Rain barrels
• Sustainable gardens
• Ponds/stream/river/lake clean up
• Habitat preservation

Going-Out Activities

• Farms – both agri-businesses and organic
• Botanical gardens
• Nature centers
• Nature Hikes
• Wetlands
• Riparian land
• Coastlines
• Water treatment facilities
• Recycling centers
• Garbage dumps

Community Level Activities

• Sunrise/Sunset weekend hikes
• Family camping weekends
• Stargazing
• Community gardening/farming
• Orienteering
• Adopt-a-Highway program

I had lunch at my son’s public middle school yesterday. As I took my lunch out of my bag, someone remarked that I must have taken all the leftovers out of my refrigerator because I had so many little containers. I told them, actually, I had just made all of my lunch fresh. I told the story how, three years ago, my family and I made the commitment to not using plastic sandwich bags or other consumables to wrap our food in an effort to reduce the amount of trash we throw out. Several at the table thought that was a good idea and even started thinking about how they might accomplish something similar. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to raise awareness, just a good model and commitment.

If for the physical life it is necessary to have the child exposed to the vivifying forces of nature, it is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation… – Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method: The Origins of an Educational Innovation

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Montessori Preschool Practical Life – More than Pouring Water

To have a vision of the cosmic plan, in which every form of life depends on directed movements which have effects beyond their conscious aim, is to understand the child’s work and be able to guide it better. - Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

To the untrained eye, the Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 3 to 6) Practical Life activities appear to be, well, child’s play. On closer examination, however, the Practical Life activities present themselves as a highly logical, sequential chain of activities that indirectly lead the child to grander things.

Take the simple task of pouring water, for example. At first glance, it comes across as ‘no big deal’. After all, the child is only pouring water. Take a closer look. Did you realize that the activities for pouring liquids come after the Montessori child has learned to transfer and pour solids? Why? There is a greater chance for error when pouring liquids. Transferring and pouring solids offers an opportunity to practice those skills first with something that is easier to clean up.

Look again. Why are there so many pouring activities on the shelf? The Montessori Practical Life activities are graduated and isolated in difficulty. When transferring water from one container to another, we begin with the largest motor skill to isolate. In this case, we begin by transferring water from one bowl to another using a sponge. The child concentrates on using whole arm and hand movements. Once that is mastered, the child moves on to pouring from one pitcher to another, one pitcher to one glass, one pitcher to three glasses. Each activity introduces a new level of difficulty.

So why all the emphasis on pouring? I thought if you knew how to pour water without spilling it, you were finished? The Practical Life activities are indirectly preparing the Montessori child for something larger. There is, so to speak, a behind-the-scenes theme happening simultaneously. First, the child is preparing for more complex works that require more steps. This builds concentration. Second, the child is now able to pour herself something to drink when she is thirsty. This builds independence. Third, the child is able to serve others something to drink without spilling. This builds coordination. Fourth, the child has learned to evaluate how much water is in the pitcher and estimate how much should be poured into each glass so that they are equal. This is developing a mathematical mind. And last, but certainly not least, the Montessori child has developed small muscle control by moving from a whole hand to a pincer-grip movement. This is an indirect preparation for holding a pencil and writing.

On the surface, pouring water is simply that, pouring water. However, dive a little deeper and you’ll find it is much more.

NAMC's Practical Life 3-6 manual offers many activities for developing a sense of order, concentration, independence, confidence, respect for others, fine motor skills, grace and courtesy and self-esteem. See table of contents.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/