A Year in the Life - Primary Week Two

In our Children's House, we refine and improve our little society throughGrace and Courtesy. The little skits performed by Senora Medina and I during our morning gathering are exaggerated and sometimes funny so they capture the children's attention and then they want to act and speak in these ways, too. Grace and Courtesy is also established through modeling and clear language by the adults and older children. 
 
What is Grace? A beautiful, unmerited gift that we receive from God to remain with Him. When I think of someone who is 'Full of Grace,' our Blessed Mother comes to my mind. So, how might she be a model for us in our daily interactions with children? I have often wondered how she might have responded when the child Jesus sneezed or tried to get up from the table before the meal was finished or ran off in a different direction. Surely, he needed to learn how to do things in the right way. How did she respond?  How did she teach him?
 
Courtesy is how we extend that gift to others through refinement of our movements, our words, our tone of voice and the overall consideration of others.

In our children's formative years, they are absorbing the behaviors and manners modeled by the adults and children around them, and therefore Grace and Courtesy is essential to the peacefulness and respect in our environments: school, home, play yards or wherever we are. Before the age of two and a half, children are taking everything in (we refer to them as an Unconscious Worker) so we want to give them all that is true, good and beautiful. Between 2 and 1/2 and 6, they are more conscious of their actions and those around them, and are refining all of these inputs and taking in more still! They refine by practicing their tone of voice, their actions, their language, how to treat others in social situations and what is acceptable and not acceptable.
 
(Here I will add...It is especially good to remember that when choosing shows or any media inputs for your children at home, these should also reflect the courtesy that you want your child to be absorbing!)

In our classroom we are trying to establish a culture of respect towards others through mindfulness of these virtues and details. When the teachers and parents are mindful of their own words, tone of voice, and movements the children respond in these same ways. When I give my full attention to a presentation using the materials and cleaning up to prepare something for the next person to use, the children do this too. When I make sure the classroomistidy and beautiful or notice when children are hurt or sad, the children notice too. They are watching everything we do and repeating everything we say.

Some examples ofGraceand courtesy skits that we offer:

• How to say, " excuse me " when passing by someone;

• How to put your sneeze inside your elbow and saying, " God bless you" to someone who sneezes;

• How to wait for a teacher's attention when she is busy with someone else;

• How to walk around a work mat that is on the floor so that we don't step on somebody else's work;

• How to open and close a door quietly;

• How to observe others working in the environment;

• How to walk on by someone who is working without disturbing them;

• How to put a heart on your table or work mat when you need help from a friend.

Dr Montessori recognized that children will be naughty at times, and warned their adults (parents and caregivers) not to give into these irritations with harsh language or actions, because it breaks down relationships, whichisfoundational for young children. Instead, model and show childrenwhatto doin different situations and they will happier and more compliant in the long run... and parentingis, by the way... a long run.

A Year in the Life - Toddler Week Two

We’re thrilled to share that all the children in the Young Children’s House are now on a normal schedule together! Both the returning and new toddlers are learning to be part of their new community. You can imagine the excitement and movement as the children’s curiosity leads them to explore new materials, experiences, and friendships. We are establishing routines and guiding the children as they learn how to BE in this new environment. There is so much happening, and the children's eagerness to explore and engage is wonderful to witness.

Though there are many exciting things occurring, I’d like to highlight one special routine that we are sharing together – our communal meal.  This week marks the first time all the children are partaking in our communal meal! This provides a great opportunity for them to connect with each other, have conversations, and enjoy some nourishment together. The children are eager to consume what’s on the table and it’s a delightful time for all. Food is a powerful motivator for many children, and sharing a meal together is a wonderful way for them to build relationships.

We are guiding the children on how to set the table and help prepare the food for the communal meal. So far with food preparations, they’ve helped by slicing apples, peeling the clementines, and separating the clementine segments.  They will continue to learn more each day as we vary the menu items.

The children are also learning to recognize our special song, “Come to the Feast,” which signals the start of our communal meal. When they hear the song, they gather around the table, stand behind their chairs, and sing our traditional grace. Our traditional grace that we sing was composed by Mr. Garvey, one of our toddler’s grandfather. Afterward, the children carefully pull their chairs out and take their seats. Each child serves themselves using tongs or a serving spoon from the serving dish, which they are mastering at their own pace. Some children quickly pick up the food, while others are focusing intently on this new skill. We gently guide them through the process, reminding them to place the food on their plate first instead of directly in their mouths.

In addition to the communal meal, the children are learning grace and courtesy while expanding their language – new and rich language and nomenclature.  We continue to guide them in setting up their spots with the appropriate table settings, and soon we will introduce more food preparation activities, including the beloved daily breadmaking! We can’t wait!

PARENT TIP: For those introducing new foods at home, remember that children aged 12 months to 3 years are in a prime period for trying new things. It may take up to 20-30 exposures to a new food for their taste buds to recognize it, so be persistent and keep offering new foods, even if you get a poor response at first.

Elementary Week Two - Good from the "Bad"

One of the most beloved verses in all of scripture appears in Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans: "We know all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."
 
This little snatch of counsel from the great Apostle has been on my mind as I have walked around in this corner of the vineyard we call Renaissance Montessori School and watched the students get settled into our very first full five day week of school.  Last week I wrote how all we experience is forming us; that everything is pedagogical.  In the classroom, there are things that are planned and things that are unplanned.  Some of these surprises are heartwarming and photogenic.  Many of the stories shared in this space certainly fit in that category.  There is even a monthly feature in Montessori Life magazine with charming anecdotes such as these.  Some of them, I think, might even be true.  There is another type of surprise, though, the unpleasant sort.  Sometimes it is something as morally neutral as the weather.  Sometimes a teacher or student makes a mistake requiring an apology.  As you can imagine, I have some interesting stories about this kind of situation in my memory.  One thing we pledge, however, is to be as discreet as possible when it comes to discipline and your child.  This could mean walking out of earshot of others or waiting for an opportune moment to speak.  It means not using your child's name while meeting with another student's parents.  We are not here to shame.  We are here to turn mistakes big and large into decisive events of personal growth. 
 
One surprise from this week was that our beloved bearded dragon, Lady, has a mouth infection that led to a small abscess on her scaly lower lip.  After some research at my house and some help from some friendly bearded dragon enthusiasts on the internet, I learned about the proper medicine.  My wife purchased some, diluted it to the proper concentration, and prepared a mason jar with some scary warning messages on it, lest anyone think it was water.  This year we have found it helpful to assign a single student to be the point person for each species of animal in our classroom.  A fourth year is in charge of our guinea pigs, though the hardest part of her job is to corral the 6 and 7 year olds who think Catherine and Joan are the two most adorable animals they have ever seen and are more than willing to give them more attention than any rodent needs or wants.  The care of our recovering lizard is entrusted to one of our fifth years, who was initiated into this role last spring, when she learned at the elbow of one of our 6th years.  She already knew the basics: drop one live worm into the calcium powder, and put it in the cage for Lady to catch it.  Give her a bath every now and then.  Wash her cage frequently.  She has a great love for this funny little lizard and was ready to pitch in when she learned what was going on.  Twice a day, she has been dipping a Q-tip into the medicine and spreading it on Lady's lips.  The lizard now also gets a cockroach to hunt.  It seems that the worms and dried food she has been eating have not given her teeth the right kind of workout.  The hard exoskeleton of these dubia cockroaches is just the thing for her.  (You will be interested to know that the rising popularity of this roach among reptile enthusiasts is incredibly well thought out.  They are unable to reproduce in a cool, dry place like Virginia, and so are not the escape risk of crickets or other roach species.)  Lady is already looking a lot better.  She also loves hunting the cockroaches we feed her.  I am happiest, though, about our 5th year.  She is doing important work in collaboration with supervising adults and seeing the results.  I wonder if she has thought of how similar this is to the work her mother does in the medical field.  Much will happen this year that will be foundational, and much she will forget.  I bet, though, that she will long remember a small crowd of young students gathered behind her and watching her intently dip her tool into a jar marked "DANGER" and with gentleness and care lightly touch the cotton tip onto the lips of a small animal.

 
My other example of good coming out of bad is a more everyday occurrence in the classroom.  On Monday, two first year students went into some work with the golden beads at a bit of a low ebb.  The golden beads are a math work which is used both in our primary classrooms and by our younger elementary students.  On this day, neither was excited by the work.  It was late in a long school day.  It was Monday.  It wasn't the students' choice, to do math, to use this material, or even work together!  (It is simply untrue that students do whatever they want in a Montessori classroom.  Sometimes for one reason or another, the guide in the classroom may know what a child needs before they know.)  It took them a little while to get started with the four addition problems I gave them.  They wanted help from a friend who they imagine is a math whiz.  I shooed him away with a smile and an encouraging remark and settled down about 15 feet away to see how they did.  What am I watching when I watch something like this?  I am watching how they cooperate.  I watch who does the work and who is content to let others do the work.  I watch their focus: where their eyes rest when they are thinking.  I listen to what they say.  Some students softly sing to themselves when they work on their math.  In the end, none of the four problems was exactly right.  So much went well, however.  Each problem was very close--often off by only one digit.  It was great data.  That 15 minutes of work gave me all I need to be a better guide to them as they continue practicing their addition.  I also saw that their morale rose as they worked.  This fact excites me even now as I type this.  Few of us relish the idea of settling down into hard work, but how many of us feel so much better while we concentrate on our task and can truly earn the satisfaction of a difficulty surmounted.  The children are like this too.  Just like us, they often want to stick with the familiar and the easy.  They sometimes need to be pushed into the struggle of deep work.  This is why it is so important for you to cultivate the virtue of obedience to valid authority in your children.  Like giving a lizard medicine, the effect is not instant when we practice math.  Our enthusiasm for the task waxes and wanes.  Obedience allows children to be more docile when we guide them into activities which are for their future good.  Next week I will focus on the vital but oft ignored role repetition plays in our pedagogy.  For now, though, let us rest in the knowledge that while mishaps and errors will occur, they are the grist that we at RMS can grind into pure bread.  In elementary, this is exactly what "following the child" often looks like.