Friday, October 24, 2014
September at Far Horizons - Elementary Class 2014
The month of September at Far Horizons was a month of discovery and of blossoming independence. Our returning students, by now, have discovered that they are leaders in the classroom. They nearly glow with confidence and pride as they offer a helping hand to the newer and younger students. They are eager to help a friend locate materials in the classroom or assist in completing a challenging new activity.
But beyond this, they have discovered that they can now do many of the more advanced activities in the classroom – those activities they watched in awe as only their “big friends” could do last year. What an amazing difference a year makes in the three year cycle of a child in our Montessori classrooms.
At times, the ambiance in the classroom appears to literally explode with focused activity and excitement. Friday was one such day for our kindergarten students. Most of them began their morning, as usual, selecting a familiar task or what we affectionately call our “growing work”. Busy students moved seamlessly from one completed activity to the next. As I glanced around the classroom, I saw a child writing a story, several working on math materials, and another child helping a friend on our very challenging parquetry designs. One child was reading, and another had just completed the United States puzzle and was about to put it away. A boy sat alone at a table completely absorbed in his new “time” workbook. (He ended up revisiting his new workbook several times that day and completed 42 pages that first day.)
After a while, three children gathered at our large carpet to work on our “big map”. Another soon joined in. Before long, another group of four children gathered across the room to work on our other “big map”. The classroom hummed with purposeful activity. Led by their first grade buddies, the kindergartners were labeling the maps as they located places like the Galapagos Islands, Baja California, Egypt, Madagascar, the Alps, and Washington DC. One hundred and fifty-five places of interest to locate on these big oversized maps. This was the challenge these students had set out to complete.
Then a child took out the United States puzzle map and labeled it. He had learned to assemble the US puzzle earlier in the year, and he had practiced labeling the US state cards. However, this was a work he had not yet seen done in the classroom. We had talked about labeling our Montessori puzzle maps, and he decided that he was ready for the challenge. This was the stimuli that set the rest of the morning geography work in motion.
After the “big maps” were completed, our kindergartners spent the rest of the morning labeling puzzle maps. Some worked alone and some in pairs. They labeled each map twice with the assistance of our classroom control maps; and then a third time from memory, without the control map. It was an exciting morning! A whirlwind morning of learning that left each child a little more knowledgeable and a lot more confident and excited to learn.
But beyond this, they have discovered that they can now do many of the more advanced activities in the classroom – those activities they watched in awe as only their “big friends” could do last year. What an amazing difference a year makes in the three year cycle of a child in our Montessori classrooms.
At times, the ambiance in the classroom appears to literally explode with focused activity and excitement. Friday was one such day for our kindergarten students. Most of them began their morning, as usual, selecting a familiar task or what we affectionately call our “growing work”. Busy students moved seamlessly from one completed activity to the next. As I glanced around the classroom, I saw a child writing a story, several working on math materials, and another child helping a friend on our very challenging parquetry designs. One child was reading, and another had just completed the United States puzzle and was about to put it away. A boy sat alone at a table completely absorbed in his new “time” workbook. (He ended up revisiting his new workbook several times that day and completed 42 pages that first day.)
After a while, three children gathered at our large carpet to work on our “big map”. Another soon joined in. Before long, another group of four children gathered across the room to work on our other “big map”. The classroom hummed with purposeful activity. Led by their first grade buddies, the kindergartners were labeling the maps as they located places like the Galapagos Islands, Baja California, Egypt, Madagascar, the Alps, and Washington DC. One hundred and fifty-five places of interest to locate on these big oversized maps. This was the challenge these students had set out to complete.
Then a child took out the United States puzzle map and labeled it. He had learned to assemble the US puzzle earlier in the year, and he had practiced labeling the US state cards. However, this was a work he had not yet seen done in the classroom. We had talked about labeling our Montessori puzzle maps, and he decided that he was ready for the challenge. This was the stimuli that set the rest of the morning geography work in motion.
After the “big maps” were completed, our kindergartners spent the rest of the morning labeling puzzle maps. Some worked alone and some in pairs. They labeled each map twice with the assistance of our classroom control maps; and then a third time from memory, without the control map. It was an exciting morning! A whirlwind morning of learning that left each child a little more knowledgeable and a lot more confident and excited to learn.
Once again, when we witness how easily
and dramatically children can learn, we are confronted with the
“secret of childhood”.
Children are naturally driven to work and driven to learn. It is our
responsibly to eliminate the obstacles that stand in the way of their
growth. Our carefully prepared Montessori classroom environments and
our Montessori trained teachers provide your child with the
opportunity and the guidance for unlimited possibilities in learning. Montessori
education “adds-up!” Spread the word!
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