Seeking the Invisible

As we near the end of October, our Children’s House is thrilled to welcome our parent observers to come and take a peek into our little community and daily activities. We have been brushing up on our Grace and Courtesy to welcome our guests (including how to offer some hot tea), and I have heard at least one child say to a guest, “welcome to our Children’s House!” And another prepare some tea.. As conferences are around the corner, I am looking forward to sharing with parents about the beautiful progress and transformations that are happening in your individual child in the context of our whole community and so glad to have you come in to see for yourself!

It is this time, that the biggest work of the Montessori guide now begins:  to set a challenge before each child and support them to see it through to the end. It is the strengthening of each child's character. Our whole team works together to encourage each person to act in a meaningful and purposeful way through lessons in Math, Language, Sensorial refinement, Catechesis and Practical Life. The materials provide the necessary activity that offers an opportunity for collaboration between their body, mind and spirit which not only supports concentration, but also brings them peace and joy! 

 Every visible choice and behavior reveals something invisible within us. What I mean by that is that what we see in a child’s action is only “the tip of the iceberg”, so to speak of what goes into making a choice or responding to a stimuli. Recognizing each person means that we are also seeking to understand the invisible interior when we see a child’s choices or behavior. What are their interests? What are their emotions? What are their gifts? What is their struggle? Who is this child in the eyes of God? These are the questions that I ask when seeking the invisible. As the adults who get to journey alongside your children each day, we embrace both the joys and struggles and rejoice with each person in the moment that they discover that what was once hard is not now a favorite!

The Nido Nest

The Young Children’s Community has been busy busy busy and I’ve been so caught up with all the excitement happening in the environment that I haven’t had the chance to properly introduce our three youngest children – the "babies"!! =)  I’m thrilled to finally talk about them and the amazing work our team is doing with them. Within the toddler community, we’ve created a special space called the Nido environment, which translates to "nest." This is our first year incorporating the Nido, and it has quickly become an enriching and heartwarming addition to our program.

 The Nido environment is designed specifically to meet the needs of our youngest children, giving them a safe and nurturing space to develop at their own pace. Our little ones are already hard at work, much like the toddlers, constructing themselves and gaining important skills. It’s truly remarkable to witness their progress firsthand. Some of the milestones they’ve already reached include recognizing their own reflection in the mirror, conversing with the adults in the dance of communication, having periods of concentration and focus, learning to sit up on their own, crawling, pulling up to stand, climbing, practicing their grasping and releasing skills, and so much more. Each day brings something new, and it’s been so fulfilling to observe and support them through these foundational stages of growth.

 One of the most beautiful aspects of having the Nido as part of our toddler community is seeing the connection between the babies and the toddlers. The toddlers are so fascinated by the babies and their presence in the space. They’re always aware of the babies' movements and their sounds – whether it’s a cry of hunger, a need for a diaper change, or a joyful coo or screech of excitement. It’s incredible to see the toddlers’ natural inclination to care for and observe the babies. At the same time, the babies are equally curious about the toddlers, often watching them with wide eyes as they explore their own environment.

 We’ve been able to integrate times when the babies join the toddler environment for special moments of exploration and interaction. During these times, they also participate in our communal meals and prayer services, which has been a beautiful way to foster a sense of community across the age groups. The babies are so engaged with the sights, sounds, and activities in the toddler environment, and the toddlers are incredibly patient and gentle with them.

 It’s a gift to behold this natural exchange happening between the babies and toddlers, and I know it will only continue to grow stronger as the babies develop. It’s exciting to think about how these youngest children will gradually become more and more comfortable in the toddler space, eventually transitioning into it full-time when they’re ready. We anticipate this to be seamless from the nurturing Nido to the dynamic toddler environment and it will truly be one of the most rewarding parts of our work. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to share this with you, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings as we continue to watch these babies grow, learn, and thrive!

The Guide on the Side

As you may have read, I have been at home recovering from pneumonia, and since the last weekly update, my time with the elementary children has been brief and my knowledge of the classroom secondhand.  While I meditated on what I could possibly have to tell you today, what immediately popped into my head was the concept of the teacher as a bottleneck and obstacle in the classroom.  
 
Do not misunderstand me: the students have not been unsupervised in my absence.  They have been in the classroom with Mrs. Mello, Mrs. de Bernardo, and Mrs. Blanchette, with Mrs. Dankoski joining to help out at recess.  The students have had all the resources available to them they normally have.  They are not in any sort of holding pattern, waiting for my return.  What are they missing?  Essentially, they are missing the one who gives them most of their new lessons.  
 
While we can all agree that getting new lessons is a good thing, I think we can also understand that phenomenologically, a lesson can pop up as an unwelcome interruption.  This feeling has many sources, and we should not judge it too quickly.  It can surely come from a wanting of docility and obedience--a willfulness, perhaps.  It can also come from a real and honest desire to keep doing the good work they are doing.  Each of us who has done real work with our hands or with our mind knows the pain of being pulled out of a task with few natural stopping points.  
 
With younger children, who receive more of their elementary lessons in smaller groups, we have a greater ability to catch them in between tasks.  For older students, we might see ten students gathering for a meeting to discuss the distinction between cells, tissues, organs, systems, and organisms.  If I was waiting for them all to be between tasks all at the same time, well, we might still be waiting for this presentation that I gave a month ago!

We make our peace with this in the classroom, though.  Just as we cannot walk without wasting effort due to air resistance, to be together in the classroom is to accept this inefficiency.  It is a cost of doing business.  For this reason, sometimes I will draw a bottle of ketchup on the section of the board where we normally have our lesson schedule and announce a "catch-up day".  (This type of silliness can really bring a group together, even if it is to scoff at a goofy pun.)
 
So what happens when there are a few unplanned "catch-up days" in a row?  Behind the scenes, there is a lot of communication between me and the rest of the elementary faculty.  Who is using their time well?  Who needs some out-of-the-box work ideas to help inspire them?  As always when the elementary faculty talks shop, children are not "good" or "bad".  They are not problems to be solved.  Rather, they are individuals who we are trying to inspire and introduce to topics and dynamics that will capture their imagination in some lasting way.  And yet we are not relativists, nor are we airy sentimentalists.  We are hard nosed experienced experimenters.  We are trying out strategies and seeing what works.  
 
One thing I noticed when I checked in with my staff, that there were never statements of "the class was this" or "the class was that".  I was hearing about your individual children--what they were doing, what help they needed, and what lessons they are eager to receive when I am back.  
 
Here are some other things I heard about:
 
When I came in for a half day on Friday (before the severity of what I was experiencing was known to me) I checked in with some older students when they returned from a field trip.  One of them reported doing more work than they ever had in their entire life when I was gone.  (Side note about the field trip: a lot of our older students visited the nearby Nokesville Winery to get some insight into how they cared for their grapevines, how they dealt with spotted lanternflies, and how grapes were turned to wine.  Everyone had a wonderful time, and I got a very nice email from the man at the winery, who had never had to talk about his craft with 9 to 12 year olds before!)

One reason we focus so much on the virtue of our elder students is that their habits--whether they be work habits or habits of speaking--will migrate down to the younger folks in the classroom.  One first year saw the upper elementary students (including his two older sisters) progress from a proposed idea of visiting a vineyard to the actual trip.  He expressed his own desire to do that kind of work.  His intended destination?  The Air and Space Museum in Chantilly.  In the time that I have been gone, this student has not just researched planes from different eras of history, he has collected a posse of three other students--some as old as 10--to help him with this research with an aim to see some of these planes in real life.
 
Now, when students begin one of these research projects, it is not every time that it reaches the fruition of a trip.  There are many reasons for this.  Sometimes a group or individual loses interest in the subject.  Other times, their curiosity is sated by their in-class research.  Listening from afar, though, this seems like a group of children that have that certain something that makes me think we will be looking at the schedule soon and writing permission slips and arranging transportation.  
 
I am eager to return to the classroom and take up again the mantle of being the "guide on the side".  I also look forward to seeing what other fruit there has been from this unplanned period in which the stars of the show have been the independent work of the children.  This is the time this year that Maria Montessori would have been most proud of, I think.  I think the Good Shepherd was uniquely interested in this period of time in our classroom too.  The Lord wishes for each of us to develop our will so that we may independently choose the good, even when teachers and parents are far away.  We hear in the Easter Vigil that "all time belongs to Him".  Yes, this time has belonged to Him, even this time when it seems that the guide-on-the-side has fallen off the front of the stage.