a montessori journal the$t hread$ february 2013...a montessori journal february 2013 2 the 5 traits...

A Montessori Journal February 2013

The$Thread$

from Meghan

10994 Arrow Point Drive Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 MontessoriCountrySchool.org

“education is not what the teacher

gives; education is a natural process

spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by

listening to words but by experiences upon

the environment”

Maria Montessori Education for a New World

A publication of Montessori Country School

n: a line or string that links together actual items, episodes, or thoughts, collectively,

and carries the theme along with it

I was in the lower elementary class this morning and observed a lesson with several first year students. They were exploring the difference between concrete and abstract nouns. You can bring a book or a pencil to the work rug, but can you bring sadness or hope to the rug? Some nouns are impossible to touch, see, or even quantify. The children could act out sadness or define hope, but they couldn’t carry it around the room. When we talk about what we learn at school, there are concrete and abstract nouns to describe outcomes. This issue of the Thread focuses on the abstract. We have categorized some of the abstract concepts into five categories that we refer to as the 5 Traits. The traits are: collaboration, self-advocacy, problem-solving, attachment, and balance.

The teachers have looked at the classroom and described the ways in which several of the 5 Traits are taught, encouraged, and supported. From preprimary to upper elementary, we intentionally plan around these skills. In addition, Cheryl writes about supporting your child in the trait of maintaining close connections over time. The fifth Trait, balance, grows slowly and with much experimentation. Encourage your child to try various hobbies and avocations in order that they have balance as an adult. We all need activities for relaxation and rejuvenation. You will be your child’s best model for this trait.


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The 5 Traits

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Usually, if parents are asked what they want most for their children, we will say that we want them to be happy and fulfilled. We want our children to have healthy relationships and meaningful work. We want them to have a rich life with intriguing interests. And while we are telling the truth when we answer that way, we sometimes have a hard time keeping that goal foremost in our minds. From the apgar to the SAT, we test and evaluate our children constantly on a variety of skills and abilities that rarely include happiness or fulfillment. Instead, we worry about reading groups, or Suzuki books, or grades on a report card. Parenting choices can become a balancing act between what we truly want for our children and the competing ideas of how we can help them reach those goals.

There is no doubt that it is important that we provide our children with the tools to read and write, compute and analyze. But they are not paramount. We also need to provide our children with the tools to navigate the transitions and relationships encountered throughout life. We can think of these tools as 5 traits: collaboration, self-advocacy, balance, attachment, and problem-solving. When we plan our lessons for math, language, practical life, geography, or the cultural curriculum, we have specific skills or understandings in mind. But when we create the culture of the classroom, the ground rules, we are keeping the 5 traits in mind. As you observe in the classroom or imagine your child in his or her activities outside of the home, consider if the 5 traits are being practiced and honed.

If we stress brilliance at the expense of connectedness, happiness will be left behind.

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Our Mission

Montessori Country School is committed to the Montessori method of education in supporting children to achieve self-discipline, self-mastery, and a life-long love of learning. We endeavor to honor individuality, nurture enthusiasm, and encourage independence in a carefully prepared environment where children learn with love, compassion, and respect.

collaboration, self-advocacy, balance, attachment, problem-solving


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Maintaining Relationships Over Time Cheryl Dauber

I have a “best friend” who I met when we were three. We are very different people and years go by with no contact. Yet, when we talk, it is as if no time has passed. Friendships like this rare, but as I teach in the classroom, I see such friendships developing. Montessori kids are open to people in a safe, respectful, and nurturing environment with the freedom to socialize naturally over a wide variety of situations. Peer support and relationship building are essential elements to a smoothly functioning Montessori classroom.

Our first friends are important. In a multi-age classroom, these friendships play different roles in young lives. The youngest student sees older friends as mentors, guides, and role models. They strive to achieve such grand goals as they grow – anticipating their roles as leaders. They can depend on the older students to support them in their learning.

“Older” students were the youngest not long ago. They clearly remember the leaders from when they were the youngest in the class and now have the opportunity to assist in a younger person’s development. This honorable position is taken seriously, not because a teacher tells them to, but because they understand the importance of this role and its impact on both the oldest and youngest student. They are problem solvers; they are resourceful and eager to use their skills to build supportive relationships.

The second-year students in this scenario move freely between the ages, participating sometimes as mentors, other times as students, following their internal desires while absorbing what is going on around them. It is a gloriously productive year. They are channeling newly acquired skills into producing amazing products and, it appears, effortlessly.

The teachers at MCS play an important role as we see your children and you as our extended family. Knowing a student for three years is an amazing bonding experience. Teachers and staff advocate for your child throughout their days at school and we provide guidance, structure, and love to make learning fun and nourishing. As children leave the Montessori classroom, they leave with the knowledge that teachers are guides in learning. Our alums attest to the comfort they feel approaching teachers to ask questions. Teachers are partners in their learning and students expect that there is mutual respect between the student and teacher. We remember our students and families of the past and, for the most part, the students remember us. Former students pop in regularly to say hi and look around and we are genuinely flattered and gratified to see them! This never changes and we never tire of the visits. I am frequently moved to tears to see my students growing into these amazing young adults.

“Older students are to be admired and respected, younger to be watched and mentored.” This cycle plays out throughout the rest of their lives, and the Montessori environment fosters this nurturing scenario in a powerful way. When my MCS-alum daughter entered public school as a first grader, she expected the older children on the bus to help her on the first day of school. She sat next to older children. When she was the older child on the bus, she watched out for the younger riders.

Friendships naturally ebb and flow and while differences emerge, memories are not forgotten. My “best friend” and I lead very different lives, yet there is a seemingly unbreakable bond. To maintain friendships, mutual respect must be recognized and honored. When this is difficult to achieve, for whatever reason, the friendship “takes a break.” Knowing the rhythm of a relationship is reassuring when differences occur. The Montessori philosophy teaches students to interact with nurturing respect with people of all ages, honoring our strengths. The multi-age class, multi-generational staff, and extended family feeling are special. We strive to give children the tools to interact and befriend a wide variety of people throughout their lifetimes.


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Preprimary

Amy Parkhurst

“Owen Help?” Two beautiful words I overheard today that illustrated just how these traits are supported in the Preprimary classroom.

The scenario: Gus is sitting on the carpet, totally focused on a puzzle he is putting together. Owen sees the puzzle that he dearly loves, and lunges for it. Gus grabs Owen’s hands and yells “DON’T TOUCH MY WORK.” The two boys are frozen for a moment, hands locked together, jaws clenched, fierce determination in their eyes. I take a step toward them, ready to intervene, and Owen looks into his friend’s eyes and asks “Owen help?” Gus relaxes his grip in Owen’s hand, smiles, and says “Sure.” I breathe a sigh of relief, and they work together on the puzzle for quite a bit of the morning.

Many things happened before we arrived at this sweet moment. First, the boys needed to feel comfortable in their

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environment. In the Preprimary room, we allow children the time, love, and respect they need for the huge task of separating from their parents. This might take days, weeks, or even all year. The goal is that the child will feel that this room belongs to him, is his special place, and he is safe and loved.

Next the boys needed the language to express their needs. When a child of 18 months starts school, he may only have a few words. We create a language-rich environment that includes, books, singing, rhyming, and conversation. When a child is frustrated, we give her the words to describe the feeling, “You are upset because you want the ball, you are really frustrated.” In the Preprimary class, we give the child phrases like, “Don’t touch my work” and “May I join you?” to give her the feeling of empowerment, planting the seed of self-advocacy. These boys were able to resolve conflict and solve the problem on their own partly because they have seen and heard this language spoken and modeled by adults in the classroom. Frequently when a

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struggle ensues, we will say, “It looks like your friend would like to join you, is that okay?” Much to my delight, nine times out of ten, the answer is “yes.”

The Preprimary child starts out the year unaware of the other students in the room. Parallel play is happening until about age two, depending on the child. Nothing is more magical than watching the social changes unfold as the year progresses. These children are natural collaborators. If a child spills marbles on the floor, three children will help to pick them up. A block tower is built and rebuilt by a group of students every day. Owen and Gus worked to put this puzzle together, take it apart, put it together again, sort the pieces, and eventually clean it up and put it away as a team. We support this happening by not interrupting the progress, by allowing the children to use the materials in their own way, and by giving them the freedom to move inside and out of the classroom as they need to. Collaboration happens when the children are outside figuring out how to get the wagon through the narrow tree path, it happens when we are making a

“The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such

experiences ‘work’.” Maria Montessori

Collaboration, Self-advocacy, and Problem-solving in the classroom


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circle at group time for ring around the rosy, it happens more and more as the year goes on, and the children do it with ease and joy.

The preprimary teacher is a witness to so many beginnings and firsts. If we can allow each child to grow and develop at his own speed, and gently guide when needed, the natural drive to grow into these traits will blossom. I am seeing more and more interactions like Gus’s and Owen’s as the year moves along, and it melts my heart every time. It is with awe that I am able to stand back and watch these little ones begin to use the skills that will carry them through life.

Primary

Sovandara Chhin

As children transition from parallel play to cooperative play, skills in collaborating, self-advocating and problem-solving are imperative to holistic human development—it is a life skill. These skills do not develop in isolation of one another, but rather are knitted together in everyday situations. Every day children are confronted with learning how to make choices, how to use their words to get their needs and desires met, how to effectively communicate their thoughts and feelings, and how to peaceably resolve conflicts with their friends. The school environment is

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deliberately designed so that children are empowered in these types of

situations to do and say the right

thing.

Throughout the day, the children are given ample opportunities to make choices. Choices empower children to take control of their life, to make mistakes, and to find the support they need in the environment. In the Primary class, there is only one of each material. If a desired material is being used, they have to wait until the material is available and back on the shelf. And if they so choose, if the work is a two-person work, they can gently ask to join. Turn-taking is inherently learned as they develop their patience and appreciation of one another. Children learn how to make choices at such a young age so that when they are faced with tougher choices as they get older, they will know how to make better choices.

The Sensorial materials have a natural gravitational pull towards collaborative work. There are often two to four children working together to build a “tower” or a “maze.” They have to negotiate turn-taking, and usage of materials. They have to figure out a structural arrangement that is balanced and beautiful. Age is no barrier in this work. We see a three, four, and five year old all working together to meet a desired outcome. Sensorial materials are a gateway to bring children together to share ideas and gain strength from each other.

Outdoor play is another vital opportunity for children to practice utilizing their pro-social skills. The natural landscape of the MCS playground offers choices for children who need heart-pounding, energetic free play; or who seek some quiet, observant time to themselves. Children

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are encouraged to learn from their peers, support each other, and be flexible and adaptable in their play.

The three traits of collaboration, self-advocacy, and problem-solving are supported in a Primary Classroom through the materials, environmental design, and the relationship children have with each other. These traits are skills children need to learn how to navigate this vast world they live in. The ultimate goal in a Montessori environment is for them to be pro-active and responsible citizens. If we want this world to be a more peaceful place, it begins with the empowerment of children.

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Lower Elementary

Shawn Kreider

As a child enters the lower elementary classroom, they begin a journey layered with opportunities for collaboration, self-advocacy, and problem-solving. The supportive environment of the classroom enables a child to have the opportunity to grow socially and academically as they work each day with their peers and the Montessori materials.


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Collaboration The ability to work well with others to produce or create something. Understanding interdependence and using good psycho-social skills.

Self-Advocacy Recognizing when we need help and asking for it. Representing one’s point of view in a relationship.

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Balance Knowing what activities bring us pleasure and making time for them.

Attachment The ability to maintain relationships over a long period of time. An understanding that relationships can change and evolve.

Problem-solve Recognizing obstacles and working to find solutions. This includes time and money management.

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The children begin their day problem solving what work goals to complete for the day. They use their work contract to help them make choices of work and write down the work they plan to complete in their journal. Children have a limited time frame, the 3-hour morning work cycle and the afternoon work cycle, to complete their journaled work for the day. They must manage their time and negotiate daily choices in order to complete their work. As children balance their daily work, they also must look at past days to see what work they've completed and what must still be journaled. Freedom of movement within the Montessori classroom gives children the opportunity to work with friends as work partners. Children work to determine if that friend is a supportive work partner. They may choose different friends for different work. Some decide that they’re better playmates than work partners. Throughout the day children problem-solve the path to completing their journaled work and staying connected to their friends.

Collaboration abounds as children negotiate how to work within the constraints of a limited number of materials. Some choose to work with partners in collaborative teams. Children are often drawn to a partner when researching a treasured topic, later presenting their research to the class. We end our school day working together to care for our room, preparing it for the next workday. The social environment of the classroom encourages partners to support each other with collaborative learning.

As children negotiate with one another to work with materials and stay connected to friends, conflict

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can occur. Children are supported to self-advocate with the use of our conflict resolution model. The model teaches the child to say what happened, how it made them feel, and what they need from the other child involved in the conflict. When we teach this model we give support by initially helping to guide the mediation. Once a child has gained sufficient experience they gain the power to solve conflicts without adult support. Children begin to recognize who owns a problem and how they make a problem larger or smaller, depending on the way they react. They learn to hold onto themselves and their personal power through the use of the conflict resolution tools. For some children, this social development is the cornerstone of the work that they have in the classroom.

As I observe children working in the classroom, I see their day as a process of collaboration, problem-solving, and self-advocacy. Their experience in the environment lends itself to this process. It may start when a child comes up against work that challenges them to the point of needing support. Often, this child will come to me for that support. With this step, they’ve worked to solve a problem and advocate for themselves. I’ll look for a peer who can support them in collaboration. This supportive partner now begins problem-solving how to support their partner. Once I start the process, I see it repeat, often without my intervention, as children see their peers as supportive work partners. As Maria Montessori said, “Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.”


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Upper Elementary

Eileen Safford

One of the hallmarks of Senior Elementary students is the increasing importance of peer relationships. The hard work of the Junior Classroom is put to work in new ways that allow the developing children to demonstrate their competency and capabilities. Their ever-increasing abstract thinking and self-reflection makes group projects with their peers particularly important for this age.

The recent group work on the Ancient Egyptian Timeline is a good example of how problem-solving, collaboration, and self-advocacy are important for this age group. Students were given the task of creating a timeline to show the development of culture in Ancient Egypt. Working in groups of four, students had to first agree on many things. Most groups started with what information should be included? What important event marked the beginning of Egyptian culture? When did it end? What people, events, and discoveries should be included?

Once they started to brainstorm ideas, they quickly realized that they needed to divide up the work, not just content, but who would do what? Because the students know each other

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so well and have had so much experience throughout their Montessori education with collaboration, they quickly organized themselves, without asking a teacher for help. Some groups divided up the work by having each person responsible for researching, writing and drawing a portion of the timeline. Others divided up the work by tasks. Everyone did research, but then they assigned jobs by ability and desire. Students advocated for themselves if they wanted a particular job, by pointing out their qualifications for the task. When conflicts arose, the students solved them with discussion, or once, by “Rock/Paper/Scissors.”

Collaboration was key for this project. Not only did the students need to figure out what they wanted to do and how to divide up the work, but they also had to schedule time to work on the project, while balancing time spent on other work. Sometimes groups chose to work in the locker room so they wouldn’t disturb students who were concentrating quietly on other work, holding each other accountable to stay on task.

Each timeline took longer than expected as the students found the research intriguing. Each thing they found seemed to lead to more research. Displayed around the classroom, all of the timelines were unique and impressive. During parent/student conferences, it was wonderful to hear students explain to their parents, with genuine pride, what they learned through the project.

Eventually, the time came to take down the timelines and figure out what to do with them. Each student put so much of him/herself into the project that they needed to figure out what to do with the timelines. Again,

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problem-solving, collaboration, and self-advocacy came into play. Each group came up with their own solutions to the problem, without being told what to do. One group agreed to cut the timeline into pieces. Another decided to donate the timeline to the classroom archives. Another group decided to take pictures of the timeline for each participant. Another group combined the idea of taking pictures and donating. Everyone was satisfied with the group’s decision.

Projects like this are extremely valuable to children of the upper elementary age. The content that they learn is interesting and important. The research and study skills learned and practiced are necessary. But the social experience and the interpersonal skills of this kind of experience help to build the kind of student and person of character that exemplify the Montessori student.

“An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of

man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of

young people to understand the times in which they live.”

Maria Montessori

10994 Arrow Point Drive Bainbridge Island, WA 981

A Montessori Journal February, 2013

“Our aim is not only to make the child understand, and still less to force him to

memorize, but to so touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his innermost core.”

Maria Montessori

Montessori Country School

a montessori journal the$t hread$ february 2013...a montessori journal february 2013 2 the 5 traits...

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