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Montesorri in hindsight

1K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  Lillianna 
#1 ·
Hi mama's, I have been interested in the M approach for my toddler, but have several concerns, for example, on how children come to learn to read, and write, without any directed instruction, but, rather, at a self- paced mode using "tools" of instruction, like sand paper and moveable letters. How can methods such as these be enough? If I was to provide my child with similar "tools," for instance, and leave her to her own devices, how could I rest assure that she would simply progress on her own accord, with little outside guidance?

I do feel there are many wonderful benefits to the M philosophy, such as, instilling confidence, a joy of learning, fostering a sense of self-empowerment, and important character building traits, such as self-discipline, and an appreciation for developing structure in one's life. However, I feel that my 19 mo is already enjoying learning such things as Practical Life skills at home. My expectations in placing her in an institute of learning is to find an educational environment that will nurture her along her developmental path, and provide opportunities for growth, without focusing on tests scores but rather putting emphasis on instilling a love of learning (which is what I appreciate in the M philosophy), but, how can I be sure that the methods of instruction utilized (such as, manipulative tools) won't serve to hinder further opportunities for growth, and her ability to excel in ALL areas of learning. How can a parent feel confident that such methods are the best approach to educational instruction? What about class dialogue, and discussion, and learning through actual LECTURES on a multitude of topics? How does one learn History, through manipulative tools, for example? And, how exactly does a child "self-correct" their errors without proper instruction and guidance that steers them in the right direction, answering their questions and concerns along the way? I know these are pretty basic questions, but in all my research on the M philosophy, I still don't get it. I see the big picture, but the details are still a bit unclear for me.

I am wondering if any of you with older children who have been in M schools for sometime could share some of their education progresses throughout their years with M. I am so eager to learn of others experience with M, in hindsight, and knowing how your child has progressed from the preschool, through elementary + years, and beyond, and how this experience has also served to benefit them in the later school years.

Thank you so much for sharing.
 
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#2 ·
I was montessori educated from age 3 to nearly 10. My younger sister also attended (from 2.5 to 6). My experience is anecdotal, but I hope you find it helpful.

I think one of the big pieces you're missing is the role of the directress and the other children. You're right that giving a child a movable alphabet and sandpaper letters won't teach her to read. In a montessori classroom though students aren't just left to do what they wish with the materials. The directress or another child shows the student how to use it and teaches the concepts that go with it. For example, with the sandpaper letters the child is shown how to trace the letter and also taught what sound it makes.

The directress will also offer presentations on materials to individuals or small groups to encourage the child to explore different areas of learning or to advance their skills. The mixed age group also encourages students since the younger ones often want to do what the older ones are doing.

Control of error is built into the materials. There is almost always some way for the child to check their own work and then correct their mistake or ask for help. An early math activity involves ten boxes labeled with the numbers 0 to 9. The child takes spindles (or other objects) out of a large container and puts the correct number in each box. The large container only has 45 spindles, so if the child miscounts they will run out. In the elementary years some materials had an "answer key" we could check against. Other times we would use a calculator or dictionary. Sometimes we would have another student or the teacher check our work.

The montessori history materials are fabulous. I specifically remember the timelines, some 4 or more feet long. We would spread them out on the floor and then put cards on top to label years, events, eras, civilizations, inventions etc. We read about history a lot, from both fiction and nonfiction sources. There were historical maps to copy/trace and color. And on top of that we would ask questions and get into discussions with each other and with the adults. We were taught to use reference books in kindergarten and could go look something up if we wanted to know more.

Montessori teachers create big notebooks called albums during their training. These albums contain notes on how and when to give certain presentations. Here's a link to an online album for the preschool years. http://eiu.edu/~cfsjy/mts/_link.htm Seeing how the materials are presented and the theory behind it might help you understand better.
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kushali View Post
The montessori history materials are fabulous. I specifically remember the timelines, some 4 or more feet long. We would spread them out on the floor and then put cards on top to label years, events, eras, civilizations, inventions etc. We read about history a lot, from both fiction and nonfiction sources. There were historical maps to copy/trace and color. And on top of that we would ask questions and get into discussions with each other and with the adults. We were taught to use reference books in kindergarten and could go look something up if we wanted to know more.
Kushali, Thanks for your response. I appreciate your giving a better understanding of things especially in regards to how history is taught. I suppose I was considering only the materials, and wondering in what way one can learn history through manipulatives because that is all that I have come to understood from M, is the use of manuplatives, but did not realize there is such an extensive use of reading materials, as well. How wonderful to learn to research (in a way other than the computer) at such an early age, and what a very valuable tool for life, to learn how to find your own answers to questions.

That is great that you read history from both fiction and nonfiction books, in which, by that I take it you mean by also reading materials such as legends, and myths, etc.. Can you tell me how history is taught, if it is taught in a timeline from the past to the present and do you spend long lengths of time delving into each time period? I understand how math and reading is different from ps by use of manipulatives, but how is history taught differently? Do you feel you got a good grasp of history from the content that was covered looking back now as an adult? I am also interested in the classical approach to history because of the indepth study and the way it flows from one period to the next after much consideration of each timespan, and am hoping to find something similar in M, or at least something vastly different to the ps approach where one only reads excerpts from classical literary writings instead of the actual writings themselves, for example. I am hoping their later approaches to teaching history, and instilling a love for reading classical literature (or the preparation of), in kind, are just as exciting as their preschool curriculum seems to be.

Thanks ever so much, again, for your response!
 
#4 ·
At Christmas I was surprised to find that 2 of DH's cousins have sent / are sending their children to M schools.

One cousin has 4 year old twins and is very satisfied with the program. She reported that some of the kids are doing amazing educationally and the parents had to work to find programs to keep the kids going - in traditional private schools.

The other cousin has 2 tween girls who did M when they were toddlers/pre-K. She says she wished her older daughter would have been pushed more, around age 5 she spent a lot of time working with her friend and the mom felt they weren't working as much as socializing. She felt M wasn't the right fit for her older daugher's personality, but thought M was great for her 2nd daughter.

I sent in our application for my 3 year old and we tour our local school near the end of the month.
 
#5 ·
My dd is in 4th grade, so 9.5yo, and has been in M since 3yo. She is doing beautifully in some stuff, and I think could use a push now and then in other subjects. Math, for example, isn't something she's gravitated toward, though she is certainly on target. Geography - weird. She gets it in the BIG sense, but doesn't know a state from a continent sometimes. In reading and language, though, she's waaay ahead. I think this would be true in any school, but has been exagerated in M. Her teachers this year are aware of her weak subjects and are helping to get her up to speed or beyond. She's come a long way, in Math this year. And for X-mas she got a few new games that are geography oriented, so hopefully she's going to be just fine. Overall, the way it works is this:

the directress/director asks a small group (or a large group on occasion) to join them for a lesson. They pull aside a spcific 'work' and show the children how to use it, and what it tells them. They put it into context. It's fun work, esp. in the 3-6yo class (prek, prek, k), but still it is considered WORK because there is direct application to the 'real' world, even if it is quite abstract (ie: islands and bays).

I think there is NO perfect school, even hs'ing isn't PERFECT. So we do the best we can. If you were to use the same materials at home w/out the lessons, she'd play with them and EVENTUALLY figure them out, but she wouldn't make the same level of progress that she would inside a M classroom.

hth!
 
#6 ·
My 4 yo is in his first year at M, but I have read extensively and have also had a chance to explore the materials and talk to teachers at the different levels, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of the overall picture.

For history, M starts with world history and then narrows things down as children get older. It is taught in a storytelling pattern. In the primary class, the directress will tell the story of the creation of the world, and how the first humans, lived, etc. It very much uses the oral tradition of story telling to pass on a culture/history. This is done to peak the students' interests. They will then have materials available to research and learn more about various aspects of the "story," according to class and individual interests. As the year progresses, the story continues, and gets more detailed, and they learn more.

As for the independent nature of learning, students are able to choose their work on a daily basis, but there is still a directress monitoring progress. There are still assignments/projects that must be completed. If a student is not managing their time correctly, a directress may offer more direction and less freedom. They are also keeping track of which skills have been mastered.

I know the conference we had with ds's teacher was very thorough. She talked in details about which skills he had mastered, and which were still in progress. We covered social, developmental, and academic issues. I think any "gaps" that come up will be noticed and dealt with better in M than they would in a traditional setting.

Also, ds's class also has circle time where they sing songs and read stories. The directress presents lessons. They have a "person of the week" who may bring in a family member to share something with the class. The students aren't just left alone with the materials all day.
 
#7 ·
dd2 (age 6) is in her fourth year of Montessori in an amazing 3-6class, and is on the waiting list for two local M elementary schools. She is just starting to read, write, and do "real" math in her classroom, but we are not worried as her older sister (DD1, age 14) was also a "late bloomer" and wasn't doing that kind of work until about 71/2. DD1 attended M school until age 12, and then transferred to our local public middle school. She was way ahead in organization, concentration, social skills and peaceful problem solving, language, science, and geography/history, and behind in math by about a year. She "caught up" in about half a school year in math with lunchtime tutoring. We were not suprised at all as she never self-selected any work in math and had to contract with her elementary teacher in Montessori to do certain math "works" 3 times a week--but she never really loved it the way some of her classmates did, doing all the binomial and trinomial work for days at a time. This was fine with us as we wanted her earliest schooling to be really fun so that she would always love learning, and she did learn how to find out answers to HER questions at Montessori.

Interestingly, the medical school where I am working at has changed it's entire curriculum this year to be problem solving based in a small group setting (as opposed to the old lecture, read, and temporarily memorze stuff for two years so you can pass Step 1 of the boards, then go work in the hospital for 2 years and REALLY learn due to hands-on patient contact supplemented with hours of your own research in the library after evening rounds) and the students seem really happy and enthusiastic (as opposed to students under the old system constantly fretting about what will be on the test and grade-grubbing). It feels VERY Montessori here now!
 
#9 ·
I think many of your questions have been answered quite well already but I thought I would chime in.
Interest in the materials is stimulated by watching the older children working with them during the first year. There are also preliminary exercises before the sandpaper letter lessons such as spoken language activities and sound games that prepare the child for sandpaper letters. The children teach many of the lessons to one another often going through the entire box. There are also extensions and games to be played. Eventually, we combine sandpaper cards and chalkboards or sandtrays to practice writing letters and numbers. Then, paper size gradually decreases from writing 2 or 3 letter words on wide strips to writing sentences on narrow strips. Reading progresses from the moveable alphabet to work with phonetic words, phonograms and puzzle words to work with reading classification and function of word (article, adj., etc). Please note, this is a very brief summation of the writing and reading program.
The child corrects his work with a "control of error". This Montessori fundamental is sometimes built in (as in spindle boxes), but also "the group" may be the control of error for some exercises especially the reading materials. The Directress does not correct mistakes immediately, but other children do! Also, the child is given the opportunity to correct his own. The Directress will make a note of the need for another presentation on the concept at another time. The child's fragile sense of self-confidence is protected by this act of respect. The child is also given the respect of having individual needs and interests. A Directress may make an attempt to entice interest in a shyed-away from subject area, but this work should never be compulsory. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
Contrary to having little outside guidance, the child is continually observed by the Directress for opportunities to make connections. She anticipates giving a certain presentation and prepares the environment to be ready when the moment is right. This is why Montessori changed "teacher" to "Guide" or "Directress". In her system of "auto-education", the child teaches himself. The Directress' goals are to connect the child to the environment by making it beautiful and complete, with materials just the right size for the child. There is the expectation that children naturally want to learn and grow, to repeat and perfect, to explore and manipulate. The Directress is trained to remove "obstacles to development". Throughout the three year span, the child becomes confident in his relationship with the Directress. The Directress knows the child's learning style, personal mannerisms and interests.
The key is finding the right match between the School Community and your family. You should definitely make an appointment to observe a few of the schools in your area, if there are any.
Good luck!
 
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