The Importance of the Montessori Kindergarten Year

Should we stay or should we go?

It is often a very difficult decision for families to decide whether to enroll their child for a Kindergarten year in the Montessori classroom or to start them in their next school environment. Highlighted are some of the benefits of committing to keep your child in their Montessori classroom for that critical third year:

• Your child has spent the last couple of years in this classroom. They have been active participants in nurturing and growing this community and take great joy in watching new and younger children experience their common space.

• The third or Kindergarten year is the year when many of the earlier lessons come together and become permanent in your young child's understanding. The Montessori early childhood curriculum is set up for a three year cycle to take advantage of all available materials and lessons and to solidify concepts and skills as older children move into more abstract thinking.

• They gain a significant increase in self-confidence and executive functioning skills as the older students in the classroom with more responsibilities and wisdom. The research shows that the experience of mentor and mentored has powerful benefits.

• When children leave Montessori at age five, many of their concepts that are still forming evaporate. Just as a child living overseas will learn two languages, but many quickly lose a second language if his family moves back home! 

• In a Montessori kindergarten, your child will progress at her own pace, but in traditional school, she has to wait for other children to catch up to her.

• Every class teaches critical thinking and composition. They learn community service at a young age and about their impact on and responsibility to their fellow citizens.

• Students learn to collaborate and work together in learning and strive for personal best rather than compete against each other for getter the highest grade in their class. A child reaches his cognitive growth way above their grade level. 

• Traditional classrooms may have much lower expectations and freedoms than those of the Montessori environment.

Of course, there is no one right answer for every child or family. But in the end, a commitment to a Kindergarten year results in such a wonderful and engaging time for your older primary student as they begin to truly demonstrate and practice their capabilities to be a lifelong learner.

Some more helpful information from the Montessori Foundation.

 Learning to Read in the Montessori Classroom

When will my child read?

This is a very common question lately as families become more concerned with their children meeting milestones and the high expectations of today’s current educational climate. Recent research has most schools flocking to the Science of Reading approach, focusing on phonemic awareness with explicit, systematic practice of phonological skills and an equal focus on background knowledge and its importance for comprehension and understanding.

Seem overwhelming? The good news is that the Montessori approach to language development has been doing this for over 100 years! And it works! But only when the child is ready and given the correct, developmentally appropriate lessons at their most sensitive period for absorbing this critical  knowledge.

So how do we know when a child is ready? It starts early…and with a lot of observation, skills assessment and practice. The Montessori environment is full of rich, diverse and sensorially significant language experiences and content. The children are exposed to an extensive and vast vocabulary, poetry, songs, stories and movement activities that all play a part in early language development. By engaging children early with simple, but fun, oral language activities that incorporate initial sounds, rhyming, sequencing and syllables, we are teaching them early about the cadence of language and defining what sounds are and that sounds make words, that words make sentences and that sentences tell stories or give us information. This all happens before we even talk about what a “letter” is or what it looks and sounds like!

Through very tactile and hands-on activities, the young child is eventually introduced to letter forms and their corresponding sound and how they all work together to make words. This is a huge leap for the young child and takes a lot of systematic and explicit practice. While it is an exciting time, it should not be rushed, and a child could spend several years mastering these skills. We must be patient and understand that while they are able to read simple phonetic words one day, they may not be able to on the next. The child will not master these skills until their brain makes the proper connections and orthographic mapping takes place. Recent research on childhood brain development is fascinating. Checkit out!

So, what is the age that a child should be reading? This is different FOR EVERY CHILD. As a culture, we are pushing reading fluency earlier and earlier and it simply is not developmentally appropriate for young children. Most children may not be ready to practice reading until age 6 or so. The groundwork and foundation of all of the oral language and phonemic awareness activities must be strong and secure before we expect to introduce text to a child and expect them to retain the value of that content. If pushed too hard too soon, your child will avoid reading and have a negative response to language activities. We want our children to love reading and harness the power of the written word for themselves!

We all know the value of strong reading skills and how they enrich lives and shape minds. But you may wonder what you can do as a parent or caregiver to aid in this development at such a crucial time. Thankfully, the internet is full of resources and examples of how to incorporate language activities into your daily life. The following are some links to a few of our favorites!

https://www.readingrockets.org/literacy-home

https://www.beginlearning.com/parent-resources/phonemic-awareness-activities/

https://heggerty.org/blog/10-activities-to-grow-your-childs-phonological-awareness/?srsltid=AfmBOooPVYR94BzYkoz2MRQ_2Bb39Ik5_gYa0uuyHKW4a-GbzT_xCyrF

Your child's Montessori guide is an excellent resource, so use them! If you truly understand where your child is in their language development journey, you will be better able to assess appropriate activities and books for them. You may even learn a few things about reading yourself!

Most importantly, have fun! If you are excited and positive about reading, your child will be too!

Some resources to learn more about the Science of Reading and the Montessori Language Curriculum:

https://improvingliteracy.org/brief/science-reading-basics/index.html

https://www.in.gov/doe/files/3-science-reading.pdf

https://www.trilliummontessori.org/montessori-language/

https://www.maitrilearning.com/pages/language-development-the-big-picture

Let’s Go Apple Picking!

It’s more than just a fun day out!

It’s that time of year! The apples are ripe and ready for the picking! A visit to the apple orchard is a fun experience for children and adults alike and is a wonderful kickoff for the fall season. But did you know that there are so many benefits to your child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development in this simple activity?

While you may think a trip to the orchard is just about family time, running through the trees and picking delicious apples, there is so much more happening during this enriching experience!

You are introducing and solidifying scientific concepts about life cycles, seasons, and horticulture. Children are so curious about the outdoors, how things grow, why the apples are ripe this time of year, etc. The questions can be endless, as you know! What a wonderful opportunity for curiosity and exploration.

A trip to the orchard is a feast for the senses! Your child will be developing and refining their sensory awareness and comfort level with the exposure to the smell, taste and feel of the apples, as well as enjoying the sound of leaves rustling in the trees and the sun on their faces.

It’s great exercise! Reaching on tiptoe for those high apples or maybe even climbing one of those stronger trees really aids in the development of those gross motor skills. Grasping and twisting the apples also strengthens the hand, which will actually help your child develop hand strength! Think handwriting stamina!

Let’s not forget the language and communication component. Conversations using descriptive words while describing the experience, preferences and observations cultivates language development and provides valuable content to help in reading comprehension.

And finally, the social emotional benefits. Such experiences in nature can strengthen bonds with family and friends and aid in a child’s emotional well-being by reducing stress and making personal connections. A child’s special relationship and fascination with nature should be supported and protected as it is proven to reduce anxiety and depression.

So, take advantage od this seasonal tradition while supporting your child’s development and sense of belonging and community. Time to start searching for those apple recipes!

Checkout some our local apple orchards this weekend!

The Montessori Perspective at Home: Part 2

cont.

Give yourself grace and know that even well-designed and prepared classrooms, lead by trained Montessori guides, allow for mistakes to be made and adjusted as needed. You can do this as a parent too. For me, I felt perfection was the only plausible outcome of incorporating the perspective in our home. So I was doomed from the start. It took one of our children’s primary teachers lovingly saying to me, “You are your child’s favorite person right now, and that is most important. " I received that sentiment with an open mind and decided to forgive myself that I wasn’t the best at academics, but offered my children other wonderful opportunities in our home that mirrored the Montessori philosophy. 

Observation is your connection to your child. Through these observations, we can establish limits, slow down our pace, and set realistic expectations in our home.  The Montessori philosophy has established a groundwork for our family beyond academics. It has further strengthened our relationship with our children and joy of parenting – without which our home tempts the fate of drudgery and constant frustration among children and adults. In order to set limits, set realistic expectations, and slow down. It may first help to understand the basic stages of childhood development, on a very simple level. Combining that understanding, with your own observations of your child, can help you better understand the way they see things, talk about things, and consider things, which is very different than most adults. therefore, you can adjust as needed (remember that grace you need to give yourself?).

Give your children time to get dressed, explore a new toy, stare at a bug. My husband and I are embarrassingly notorious for being fast paced and not allowing enough time for our children to complete a task on their timeframe. We are busy, working, have multiple kids and schedules to manage. We easily forget that our children are not as concerned about the final product when they are younger, as an adult might be. In fact, they are most connected to the process. Most often we as adults look at cleaning our home as an unpleasant task to be completed as quickly and as perfectly as possible. A child sees this very differently. They enjoy the process of filling the bucket with water, putting in the sponge, squeezing the sponge, wiping the window etc. etc. etc.  They do not experience cleaning as a burden until we model it that way.  The Montessori philosophy sees work as a positive experience, one that takes time, thought, problem solving, hand strength, concentration and most significantly an achievable task that builds their confidence. What feels better than meaningful work as adults? Not much! It is the same for the child. Without time, the process cannot be experienced and without the process opportunities are taken away from a child.

Montessori philosophy and perspective both value the whole child joyfully participating in their environment, whether it be at home or in the classroom.  Bringing the Montessori perspective into your home requires no additional training or financial obligation – it is continuing to do what you do as a parent; love your child and be an intentional learner with them.

To bring the Montessori perspective into the home is to consider your child as an active participant in the family, to love them equally for whoever they are, and to respect them for whatever their contribution might be.

About the contributor: Claire is the School Director at Center Grove Montessori and has 5 children, 2 of which currently attend the Primary and Elementary classrooms. She has been a Montessori Mom for 7 years and has learned a great deal about parenting and the Montessori philosophy from the community of parents and staff at CGM.

The Montessori Perspective at Home: Part 1

“Why do we choose Montessori education for our children?” My husband and I ask ourselves this question every year when it is time to pay our annual registration fees for the next school year. We also ask ourselves, “Maybe this year we could transition them to public school and save some money?”  The pros and cons list is just about the same each year, and every year we come to the same conclusion: The Montessori philosophy carried out in an authentic, qualified school, is the best return on our financial investment and nothing else supports our family values quite like our Montessori school. So, we return. We commit to another year. And we develop ourselves a little bit more as seasoned Montessori parents. 

Early on in our Montessori parenting journey, we committed to deepening our understanding of the philosophy, so we could best support our children at school and at home. We quickly learned as we frantically tried to set up classroom space in our home, copy all the works from our child’s classroom and create separate time to carry out the philosophy, that we were doing the opposite of supporting our children. So we had to re-think what the philosophy meant to us at school, and what it meant to us at home.

Bringing the Montessori perspective into your home can be explored in many different ways and looks different for each family. It is important to appreciate that each home is different, each child is different and therefore everyone must make work what they can. The love, comfort, and familial connection a child experiences at home can never be replaced by the classroom. And what a child experiences in a Montessori classroom cannot always be duplicated in the home. The classroom is yet an extension of a child’s small world that both enhances and supports their development.  Differentiating between the educational philosophy at school and the perspective at home does require some digging on part of the family. But let me help break it down; The philosophy is carried out in a classroom community, by trained staff. The perspective at home is explored and carried out within the family system. The home easily lends itself to carrying out the Montessori perspective based on the philosophy because it was developed by Maria Montessori’s years of scientific observation and research of children of all abilities and ages, not just in a classroom.  

to be cont.

Part 2: Give yourself grace, and observe the child.

Claire is the School Director at Center Grove Montessori and has 5 children, 2 of which currently attend the Primary and Elementary classrooms. She has been a Montessori Mom for 7 years and has learned a great deal about parenting, and the Montessori philosophy from the community of parents and staff at CGM.

When Will My Child Read?

 Who doesn’t want their child to experience the feeling of curling up with a favorite book, or being able to write a note, read instructions or a story to a younger sibling? These are things we all want for our children. But how do we make sure they are staying on track with learning how to read?

From speaking their first sentence, your child is on their way to reading. Language development starts at a very young age when children learn their native tongue and have an exponentially expanding vocabulary. Then they soon notice that these words, particularly their name, are made up of characters that eventually we discover have their own sounds. Children, for the most part, make all of these discoveries on their own.

Often, we find children move with relative ease into writing their name, their family names and lists of favorite things. Often sounded out phonetically and not always spelled correctly, they will spend a great deal of time in this phase. The leap to reading from a book can happen quickly or take more time.

Moving from writing their own words to reading what someone else has written is a giant leap. They must first sound out, then put the words together into a sentence and finally, understand and absorb what the author is trying to say.

So what can you do at home to support language development and inspire a love of reading?

Follow the child. In most instances a child will want to write well before they are ready to read. This is them making a connection to the written word as a method of communication. Provide a lot of plain paper, writing pencils, sidewalk chalk, markers, etc. and let them make their lists, practice letters or just scribble.

Start the introduction of letters in a phonetic way. Refer to an “a” with its short sound as in the words “cat,” “mat,” etc. children will spend a lot of time practicing these sounds and writing the letter form. Get some physical letters to practice with so that you can begin to put sounds together to make words.

Label your environment. Make slips of paper that can provide children the opportunity to put a word with an item. Children will do this activity over and over and will begin to notice the initial sound of items around the house.

Most importantly, be patient. Do not push book reading until the child has requested practice in this area. Keep reading to them and make it fun. 

It is very important to always read to your child as long as they are interested. Even if they are 10! The time we share with our children while experiencing all that the literary world has to offer is truly priceless. Enjoy this very special time.

Why We Choose Montessori

 What made us choose Montessori? Edamame. Seriously.

Edamame was my daughter’s favorite snack when she was one year old. Isla happily gobbled up edamame when we were sitting on the kitchen floor together, opening up the pods, and popping them in our mouths. However, on the occasions that I opened the pods for her and had a little bowl of beans ready to eat, she usually didn’t touch them. As someone who studied human behavior, I’m endlessly curious about why people do the things they do. I realized that Isla enjoyed the process of opening the edamame herself, as she took pride in prying the beans out. She worked hard for her snack and enjoyed it more because of that. Without knowing it at the time, this was the beginning of my realization that Montessori was a great fit for our family.
By the time Isla was preschool age, we had our home set up with low shelves minimally stocked with wood blocks, open-ended toys, and art supplies. At three, Isla was an active participant in our household; helping to empty the dishwasher and organizing her shelf with her cup and plate, washing windows, chopping vegetables, picking out her clothes, etc. These actions were by no means chores - we simply invited Isla to partake in what we were doing and she usually decided to join.
Creativity and confidence have blossomed in our daughters (we have three now!) as they accomplish small things inside and outside our home. They know we trust in their abilities and, therefore, trust themselves.
At Center Grove Montessori, our daughters are provided with space to explore who they are as unique individuals. The ever-so-competent guides have created an aesthetically beautiful environment where independence is encouraged, creativity is fostered, respect is mutual, and children thrive.

About the Contributor: Lindsay holds a M.A. in Forensic Psychology and worked in the world of jury research before marrying her Army husband, Daniel. They have three daughters: Isla (6) and Sophie (4) who attend CGM, and Edie (almost 2) who hopes to attend CGM before the Army moves their family elsewhere. Lindsay enjoys plants, traveling, hiking, basket weaving, and bringing creative ideas to life.