Wait and Watch, Transformations are Happening All Around!

By Mary Pat Blanchette, Middle School Guide

“Let us leave the life free to develop within the limits of the good, and let us observe this inner life developing. This is the whole of our mission.” (Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook)

The word transformation is playing over and over in my head this week. One simple definition states: "a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance." Transformations are taking place in the Middle School community, in me, in the children and in our outdoor works.

Mrs. Wolf planted sweet potatoes this summer with some of the children in our community. We harvested them on Monday. Transformation! Because of the lack of rain this summer, we weren’t confident of what we would dig up. The dramatic change took place under the surface and the joy of the discovery of bountiful sweet potatoes was also a transformation in our souls.

The children picked a large amount of green beans last week. The excitement coming from them was tangible. They washed the beans, snipped the ends, and then made the environment smell like a four star restaurant. Here we are again, transformation. Garlic, beans, salt, pepper, paprika, sugar and olive oil! So delicious, and from our raised beds.

Sometimes in life the transformation is slow, hard to see, or maybe even invisible. So then, I become anxious, irritable, my peace and focus slip away. God in His great mercy sends someone or something, . . . sweet potatoes, a child, a coworker to restore my peace. Have patience and take heart! The transformation is taking place in His time, not my time.

Developing Through the Senses, Despite the Possible Messes

By Claire Nguyen, Toddler Guide

The Young Children’s Community is busy mastering their movements, the BIG movements! They practice daily climbing up and down the stairs and riding the trike, repeatedly. In addition, the toddlers are focusing more on the intricate and controlled movements they do in mixing the ingredients for bread, kneading the dough, and particularly in dish washing, table scrubbing, hand washing, and window washing. 

The latter four works I mentioned share an important matter needed to do the activities, they all require WATER!! Water is used daily for many things. In our toddler classroom, we use water in our practical life works to care for the environment and to care for ourselves. Children are naturally attracted to water which is why these works are so interesting to them. They love these works so much that most children need to change in to dry clothes (sometimes twice) before the morning concludes.
 
To give you a glimpse of what the children do when they choose a practical life work, here are the steps:
 

1. Fill the pitcher with water (sometimes several times);

2. Hold the pitcher with two hands and walk carefully with the water-filled pitcher to the basin/bowl;

3. Pour the water into the basin/bowl; and

4. Do the work (hand washing, dishwashing, table scrubbing, etc.) – the child is engaged for long periods of time and is deeply concentrated.

After step 4, most children walk away from the work without cleaning up, which is normal for toddlers that are 1 or 2 years of age. Some toddlers do the clean up process and/or restore the work back on the shelf. As the year progresses, most of the children, if not all, will be able to accomplish the work from beginning to end. 
 
As I’ve mentioned before in one of our weekly updates, the importance of repetition with no time restrictions is necessary in supporting toddlers to master their skills and achieve independence. I highly encourage parents to allow your children to work as freely as possible with water. Water is invaluable for their development so “sit back” and witness the full sense of joy and love of your children’s activity!

Motor Skills Making Way For Mental Growth

By Jennifer Ashton, Primary Guide

When the children arrive in the morning, there are many things to tend to, and first is the tying of their shoes! In the classroom we have a Bow Tie Frame that the children can us to practice tying a bow, and this week we have two more children successful with this task! The exclamation of joy was heard across the room, “I DID IT!” We also have a lacing frame, which is usually introduced after the bow tie frame (about age 3 1/2 to 4) but I am observing 2 1/2 and 3 year olds working on it with extraordinary concentration! They have seen older children lace up shoes and they are watching me lace up their shoe over and over, (because oh, how fun it is to take the laces out of shoes!) The children love to do these things for themselves and they are learning to be careful and precise in their movements as they are refine their muscular coordination.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Once the shoes are tied, they are ready to begin their day. As I am often in the cubby area greeting children as they arrive, by the time I get into the classroom, activity is in full swing. Children are folding and laying the napkins and glasses on the community table, others are preparing food (so the classroom always smells delicious!) A group of children with untied shoes is sitting (or rolling around) on the center rug, waiting for help from me or an older friend, and another child is often sitting with a basket of clothes and washcloths to be folded from the previous days laundry.

There are a myriad of ways to look after the classroom throughout the day, such as sweeping up spills, dusting, watering plants, and polishing. The children take great interest in the tasks of daily life, which helps them connect to their classroom, slow down and settle their bodies, and develop concentration. Consequently, when I sit down to give them the lessons of reading, writing or math, they are ready to enjoy and receive it. Maria Montessori refers to this as education of movement. We give the children something to handle: trace an outline of a letter with their finger, hold a thousand cube in their hand, or manipulate a binomial puzzle. We are interacting with children in a way that is natural to them and they are learning at the same time!

These daily actions involve judgement and will, self-disciple and an appreciation of orderliness, all of which are growing in the children each day that we are together and reminds me of a song we often sing in the classroom, “the more we are together, together, together; the more we are together the happier we’ll be!”