Apple is Montessori

View Montessori and the Mac Article

Alan Kay conceived of and designed the first laptop. He also coined and helped create object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface design (trust me that was important).
In this 1995 interview at a Congressional Hearing, Kay explains how the Apple user interface uses the same motivational, self-construction ideas found in Montessori classrooms.

We may have learned in the wake of Steve Jobs’s death that he was both brilliant and ruthless. One thing that is certain is that he knew a good, original idea when he saw one. I am not surprised that his innovations had Montessori ideals in them.

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This was originally written for a newsletter posting by Dundas Valley Montessori School’s Owner, Founder and Director, Tony Evans.

January 17, 2012. Uncategorized. No Comments.

Why Montessori for the Kindergarten year?

Why Montessori for the kindergarten year?

by Tim Seldin with Dr. Elizabeth Coe
This article originally appeared in Tomorrow’s Child magazine.

Every year at reenrollment time and in thousands of Montessori schools all over North America, parents of four-almost-five-year-olds are trying to decide whether or not they should keep their sons and daughters in Montessori for kindergarten or send them off to the local schools.

The advantages of using the local schools often seem obvious, while those of staying in Montessori are often not at all clear. When you can use the local schools for free, why would anyone want to invest thousands of dollars in another year’s tuition?

It is a fair question and it deserves a careful answer. Obviously there is no one right answer for every child. Often the decision depends on where each family places its priorities and how strongly parents sense that one school or another more closely fits in with their hopes and dreams for their children.

Naturally, to some degree the answer is also often connected to the question of family income as well, although we are often amazed at how often families with very modest means who place a high enough priority on their children’s education will scrape together the tuition needed to keep them in Montessori.

So here are a few answers to some of the questions parents often ask about Montessori for the kindergarten age child.

What would be the most important advantages of keeping my five-year-old in Montessori?

Montessori is an approach to working with children that is carefully based on what we’ve learned about children’s cognitive, neurological and emotional development from several decades of research. Although sometimes misunderstood, the Montessori approach has been acclaimed as the most developmentally appropriate model currently available by some of America’s top experts on early childhood and elementary education.
One important difference between what Montessori offers the five-year-old and what is offered by many of today’s kindergarten programs has to do with how it helps the young child to learn how to learn.

Over recent years educational research has increasingly shown that students in many schools don’t really understand most of what they are being taught. Howard Gardner, Harvard Psychologist and author of the best selling book The Unschooled Mind goes so far as to suggest that “Many schools have fallen into a pattern of giving kids exercises and drills that result in their getting answers on tests that look like understanding. Most students, from as young as those in kindergarten to students in some of the finest colleges in America do not understand what they’ve studied, in the most basic sense of the term. They lack the capacity to take knowledge learned in one setting and apply it appropriately in a different setting. Study after study has found that, by and large, even the best students in the best schools can’t do that.” (On Teaching For Understanding: A Conversation with Howard Gardner, by Ron Brandt, Educational Leadership Magazine, ASCD, 1994.)

Montessori is focused on teaching for understanding. In a primary classroom, three and four-

year-olds receive the benefit of two years of sensorial preparation for academic skills by working with the concrete Montessori learning materials. This concrete sensorial experience gradually allows the child to form a mental picture of concepts like how big is a thousand, how many hundreds make up a thousand, and what is really going on when we borrow or carry numbers in mathematical operations.

The value of the sensorial experiences that the younger children have had in Montessori has often been under-estimated by both parents and educators. Research is very clear that young children learn by observing and manipulating their environment, not through textbooks and workbook exercises. The Montessori materials give the child concrete sensorial impression of abstract concepts, such as long division, that become the foundation for a lifetime understanding.

Because Montessori teachers are well trained in child development, they normally know how to present information in developmentally appropriate ways.

In many, many American schools, children do exercises and fill in workbook pages with little understanding. There is a great deal of rote learning. Superficially, it may seem that these children are learning the material. However, all too often a few months down the road little of what they “learned” will be retained and it will be rare for the children to be able to use their knowledge and skills in new situations. Learning to be organized and learning to be focused is as important as any academic work. Doing worksheets quickly can be impressive to parents, but there is rarely any deep learning going on. More and more educational researchers are beginning to focus on whether students, whether young or adult, really understand or have simply memorized correct answers.

In a nut shell, what would be the most important short-term disadvantage of sending my five-year-old to the local schools?

When a child transfers from Montessori to a new kindergarten, she spends the first few months adjusting to a new class, a new teacher, and a whole new system with different expectations. This, along with the fact that most kindergartens have a much lower set of expectations for five-year-olds than most Montessori programs, severely cuts into the learning that could occur during this crucial year of their lives.

In a few cases, kindergarten Montessori children may not look as if they are not as advanced as a child in a very academically accelerated program, but what they do know they usually know very well. Their understanding of the decimal system, place value, mathematical operations, and similar information is usually very sound. With reinforcement as they grow older, it becomes internalized and a permanent part of who they are. When they leave Montessori before they have had the time to internalize these early concrete experiences, their early learning often evaporates because it is neither reinforced nor commonly understood.
In a class with such a wide age range of children, won’t my five-year-old spend the year taking care of younger children instead of doing his or her own work?

The five year olds in Montessori classes often help the younger children with their work, actually teaching lessons or correcting errors.
Anyone who has ever had to teach a skill to someone else may recall that the very process of explaining a new concept or helping someone practice a new skill leads the teacher to learn as

much, if not more, than the pupil. This is supported by research. When one child tutors another, the tutor normally learns more from the experience than the person being tutored. Experiences that facilitate development of independence and autonomy are often very limited in traditional schools.
Isn’t it Better for Kids to Go To School With the Children From Their Neighborhood?

Once upon a time people bought a home and raised their family in the same neighborhood. There was a real sense of community. Today, the average family will move two or three times before their children go off to college. Many public schools expect a turnover of more than 20% of their population a year as families move in and out of the area. The relationships that once bound families living in the same neighborhood together into a community have grown weak in many parts of the country. In many Montessori schools, families who live in different neighborhoods but who share similar values have come together to create and enjoy the extended community of their school. Children growing up in Montessori schools over the last fifty years often speak of how closely knit their friendships were with their school mates and their families.

Since most children will eventually have to go to the neighborhood schools, wouldn’t it be better for them to make the transition in kindergarten rather than in first grade?

The American Montessori Society tells of one father who wrote, “We considered the school years ahead. We realized a child usually does his best if he has good learning habits, a sound basis in numbers and math, and the ability to read. We realized that he has had an excellent two-year start in his Montessori school. If he were to transfer now to kindergarten, he would probably go no farther than he is now, whereas if he stays in Montessori, he will reap the benefits of his past work under the enthusiastic guidance of teachers who will share his joy in learning.”

Many families are aware that by the end of the kindergarten year, Montessori students will often have developed academic skills that may be beyond those of children enrolled in most American kindergarten programs. However, parents should remember that academic progress is not our ultimate goal. Our real hope is that the children will have an incredible sense of self-confidence, enthusiasm for learning, and will feel closely bonded to their teachers and classmates. We want much more than competency in the basic skills; we want to them to honestly enjoy school and feel good about themselves as students.

Once children have developed a high degree of self-confidence, independence, and enthusiasm for the learning process, they normally can adapt to all sorts of new situations. While there is wonderful and exciting reasoning to carefully consider keeping a child in Montessori through elementary school and beyond, by the time they are first grade they will typically be able to go off to their new school with not only a vibrant curiosity and excitement about making new friends and learning new things.

If I keep my child in Montessori for kindergarten, won’t he/she be bored in a traditional first grade program?

Montessori children by the end of age five are normally curious, self-confident learners who look forward to going to school. They are normally engaged, enthusiastic learners who honestly want to learn and ask excellent questions.

What teacher wouldn’t give her left arm for a room filled with children like that? Well, truthfully over the years we’ve found some who consider these children “disruptive.”
Disruptive, you ask. A polite, independent Montessori child, disruptive?
Well, first off, let’s remember that Montessori children are real human beings, and not all children who attended Montessori fit the idealized description. However, enough do that the generalization is often fairly accurate.

Montessori children by age six have spent three or four years in a school where they were treated with honesty and respect. While there were clear expectations and ground rules, within that framework their opinions and questions were taken quite seriously. Unfortunately, there are still some teachers and schools where children who ask questions are seen as challenging authority. You can imagine an independent Montessori child asking his new teacher, But why do I have to ask each time I need to use the bathroom? or Why do I have to stop my work right now?

So the honest answer is that it depends on the teacher and school.

From an academic viewpoint, Montessori children will generally be doing very well by the end of kindergarten, although, once again, that is not our ultimate objective. The program offers them enriched lessons in math, reading, language, and a wide range of lessons in science, geography and other cultural areas. If they are ready, they will normally develop excellent skills and become quite “culturally literate.”

When one of these children enters a traditional first grade, they may have already mastered the skills that their new school considered first grade curriculum. Some Montessori children are still more advanced. Once upon a time in America, elementary schools had only one course of study for every child at each grade level, and the only option for children who were academically gifted was to skip them ahead one or two grade levels. This created all sorts of resentments, jealousies among students, and social stresses on children who socially and physically still belonged with their own age group. However, as Dr. Montessori’s educational strategies have been incorporated to a greater or lesser extent by more and more school systems, it is becoming more common to find elementary schools that are willing and able to adapt their curriculum to meet the needs of individual students who are ready for accelerated work.

The key concept in Montessori is the child’s interest and readiness for advanced work. If a child is not developmentally ready to go on, she is not left behind or made to feel like a failure. Our goal is not to ensure that our children develop at a predetermined rate, but to ensure that whatever they do, they do well. Most Montessori children master a tremendous amount of information and skills. Even in the rare case where one of our children may not have made as much progress as we would have wished, he will usually be moving along steadily at his own pace and will feel good about himself as a learner.

Dr. Elizabeth Coe is the Past President of the American Montessori Society and Director of the Houston Montessori Teacher Education Center in Houston, Texas.

Tim Seldin is the President of the Montessori Foundation and Chair of the International Montessori Council.

January 4, 2012. Uncategorized. No Comments.

Toddler Friends…

November 17, 2011. Uncategorized, Classroom life. No Comments.

French at Westside - Quel Avantage!

“Can I have some more fromage s’il vous plait?”
“Hey! That’s my travail.”
“How do you say antelope in Francais?”
“Do you want to do “Qu’est-ce que Lindsay porte” with me?”

Yes, bilingualism is alive and well here at Westside. This is the kind of “frenglish” that has become the norm for our Casa community. The children may think nothing of it, in fact that’s the idea, but we still cheer a little inside with every new word, and every appropriate response. We know what we are doing here is working.

At Westside we have set ourselves apart from other schools. French is not an “elective” or a “specialty class” or just a person in the class who says everything in French. It is part of our school’s culture. It is not uncommon to here two Anglophone staff speaking in French to each other, or a non French Speaking staff member tuning in and making sense of a French conversation with a child so that communication between all staff and children is seamless and consistent. Despite the fact that we have 1 official Francophone in the school, our daily operations depend almost equally as much on French as on English.

We also create our own materials. In true Montessori style we feed off the children and adapt the materials to their interests and needs. After the children have been shown the work they have access to it as they do any piece of work, which means they can take the responsibility for their own language learning. What better way to master a language than to teach and practice with their friends, all while having fun.

For the children the benefits are exponential. As Erica Westly writes in an article for Scientific American Mind “In recent years, scientists have found that being raised bilingual facilitates in children certain aptitudes such as mental flexibility, abstract thinking and working memory which is associated with both reading and math skills…they found that the region of the inferior frontal cortex, which involves both language and abstract thinking, showed more activity in bilingual children.” How should bilingualism be integrated? Well according to her article “Researchers have found that the best way to become bilingual is to start young and practice everyday. ‘Being exposed to a multilingual environment is ideal.’ ” That’s good news for us!

What is great about our approach to second language learning is that it is not about reaching benchmarks in proficiency, it is about igniting a curiosity and promoting learning of all kinds. Every child has different aptitudes and develops different interests so whether or not they develop the interest to continue mastering French, they will have undoubtedly reaped the cognitive advantages, ability to adapt and an openness to other cultures. Quel avantage!

To read the full article “The Bilingual Advantage” go to:
http://tamia.ca/Blog/Entries/2011/8/11_The_Bilingual_Advantage.html
and click on the link to the original article.

-Nadia and Natasha

November 16, 2011. Classroom life. No Comments.

The Second Year of a New Classroom - Casa North

There were days last year when Casa North first opened where I felt like I was in Munchkin land. This feeling would only grow when I was told, “Melanie, you’re bigger than a cow AND an elephant.” Picture it, one adult, with 8 children all 3 years and under. I won’t deny that there were some challenges. There were also many amazing moments. Those children who had begun their time at Westside in Yonina’s class astounded me with their abilities to dress themselves, select their own work and return it when finished (although in the fall months I had to play the game of hunt the activities on a daily basis, since they were not necessarily returned to the correct spot). Those children who were new to Montessori seemed to catch onto the daily routine and classroom expectations quickly. We became a little like a family, especially over lunches (which in the beginning were usually silent, as the children couldn’t do two things at a time, such as eat and carry on a conversation).

Over the year as more children joined the class and the social and communication skills that we worked on daily began to take root, lunches became more dynamic, we shared stories about our daily lives and got to know one another better. During our Montessori work cycle there were even the occasional moments of silence, a sure sign to a Montessori teacher that good work and complete focus is going on.

Still, by the end of the year I wondered how solid was the foundation I had been laying all year long?

I got my answer this September, as the Casa North crew filtered in on the first day of school. Like old friends they chatted with one another, catching up on what each one had been doing for the summer, and then, what to my wondering eyes did they do? They each strolled over to the shelves and without hesitation they each selected an activity.
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It was almost as though they couldn’t wait to get back to work! That was the moment I knew I had laid a good, solid foundation. It has been so incredible to see the older children assisting the younger ones with zippers and snaps, observing the growing peer interdependence, as they come to recognize each other’s strengths and skills.

Another amazing milestone has been seeing Casa North students lead Westside to our Friday’s at the park, something which would have been impossible a year ago (I have even noticed a few of the older Casa South students react in surprise when they notice who is in the lead). Our little family has grown to include 14 children along with Natasha who brings sunny smiles as well as French into our little family environment. I no longer feel like a visitor in Munckinland, in fact there are many moments when my presence does not seem to be felt by the class at all. I am truly a Guide to these children on their journey through life, accessible when needed. Exactly where I want to be!

- Melanie

November 3, 2011. Classroom life. No Comments.

A Little taste of Cirque for the Children at Westside

When approached by one of our parents and asked if we would be interested in having one of the Cirque du Soleil artists from the Totem show do our own special little performance in the park do you think we said no??? Obviously we jumped at this opportunity and anxiously awaited the phone call. Now having 45 children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years ‘on call’ for the performance was a bit of a challenge but we were definitely up for it! The call came and I ran into the school to let the teachers know that they could head over to the park.
Nakotah Larance was discovered by Cirque du Soleil through a video posted on YouTube by his father. He began hoop dancing at the tender age of four. Now he was giving a special show to the children at Westside, many of them the age he was when he began.

The Totem show explores the evolution of the human species going back and forth through time and space, exploring the dawn of creation, humanity’s amphibian origins and “its ultimate desire to fly,” unfolding on a stage “evoking a giant turtle” — undoubtedly inspired by the Iroquois creation myth, among several other tales that depict a world propped up by a giant tortoise.

If you did have the chance to catch it you may have heard one of the children from Westside Montessori in the audience shouting “Nakota! Nakota!” Nakota, you were a hit here at Westside and also an inspiration. Thanks for coming to share your talent with us. And Adria, thanks for making it happen!

November 1, 2011. Field Trips. No Comments.

Halloween at Westside

“Happy Halloween!”

October 31, 2011. Uncategorized. No Comments.

“She Can’t Even Write Her Name”

“You’re right, with a pencil, she is not yet writing her name. She writes it regularly with the Large Moveable Alphabet and has recently taken an interest in writing some letters on the chalkboard. It is a process; it will come”.

When I studied to become a Montessori Teacher, I was instilled with the idea of having faith in the children, faith that they will educate themselves, given the right “keys” at the right times. That is what I learned to do, present the children with the materials at the right time, when they are in the Sensitive Period. Sensitive Periods are like “Windows of Opportunity”, a time when new stimuli or skills can simply be absorbed by the child, rather than taught or drilled. My job is to observe the children and offer those keys as needed. I do not teach per se, I rather assist the children in gaining mastery of the environment prepared especially for them. I demonstrate the correct process in using the Montessori materials; the presentations are brief and efficient. I give just enough information to intrigue them so that they will later return to investigate and explore. This is when the true learning takes place, when the children work and work, repeating the activity until they master a new skill or concept.

From time to time, I hear a comment from parents who are concerned that their child is not yet reading or writing their name. I will focus on learning to write in a Montessori Casa classroom. Just over three years ago, WMS opened its doors. One of our first students was Cameron; he was almost three years old, two and three quarters, he would proudly tell you. Like most children his age, he wanted to do things for himself, so I showed him how to button buttons and zip zippers, he learned to wash windows and spoon beans, transferring them from one bowl to the next. These Practical Life materials helped him become more independent, while building up muscles in his little hands. The coordination of movement developed through the Practical Life activities provided him with a strong foundation for writing. He developed the stamina of his hand, the flexibility of his wrist and the development of his pincer grip for holding a writing instrument. His ability to concentrate and understand the work cycle grew. He became capable of independently choosing an activity and carrying it out to completion.

As the year went on, we played a lot of sound games, “I Spy” and some others; he needed to understand that words are made up of sounds before I showed him the letters, we never want to put the cart before the horse! We did some counting, worked on some numbers one to ten towards the end of his first year in Casa. He got into Sandpaper Letters as he approached three and a half and he loved to work with the puzzle maps, he had a ton of trips planned, all to tropical countries, I might add!

Year two, Cameron was 3 and three quarters and was well on his way through the Sandpaper Letters, he continued to strengthen his pincer grip through polishing, using the screwdriver and working with the Geometry Cabinet, amongst other activities. I showed him the Metal Insets, where he gained fluidity of wrist movement by tracing the shapes. He learned how to grip and guide the writing instrument and experienced the effects of pressure on the pencil. Part way through the year, well after his fourth birthday, I introduced him to the chalkboard work. He was now tracing the Sandpaper Letters and Numbers, then writing them on the chalkboard. The children begin to write on the chalkboard in Montessori, then they move on to blank paper and lastly, lined paper.

‘It is necessary to find out at what age the mechanisms for writing are ready to be fixed, they will then be fixed naturally and without effort; and they will also be a source of pleasure and provide an increase of vital energy.’ Maria Montessori, ‘The Formation of Man’

He continued to practise working with the Sandpaper Letters, writing on a chalkboard, the Metal Insets and was introduced to the Large Moveable Alphabet. He used the wooden Alphabet to build words, initially three letter phonetic words such as cat, dog, hat, etc…

My young student started his final year of Casa when he was almost five. He was writing with the Large Moveable Alphabet daily and beginning to sound out words. One day, while we were working with the Large Moveable Alphabet, he said, “Lizzie, I’m going to write my name”. He slowly sounded out his name and retrieved the letters needed, all on his own. He then wrote several of his classmates’ names, as well as the names of his family members. As he had been practicing his writing on a chalkboard and had begun to write on paper, I observed that he was ready for a new challenge, writing on paper.

This young boy was in his final year of the Casa program and writing like mad. Everyday he wrote his planned activities in his work journal, he wrote a project about the Bahamas and he wrote adventure stories. He graduated from Westside last June and has moved into his first year of lower elementary at a Montessori School. I recently ran into his new teacher and she commented on how lovely his handwriting is!

In summation, all learning is a process and we need to have complete faith in the children; we give them the keys and leave them to open the doors.

October 15, 2011. Uncategorized. No Comments.

Apple Picking We Go!

We could not have asked for a more perfect day for our apple picking trip! When we set out for a trip like apple picking from downtown Toronto, it means that we are going on a trek! (Cue the big yellow bus and the huge picnic lunch for RFRK because we are going to make a day of it!) Heading out from Richmond and Maud at 9:15am puts us at our destination, Avalon Orchard in Innisfil (yes, Innisfil!) at approximately 10:30. Luckily, we had just enough time for snack.

With our bellies full and our boots, on we begin our hike. The amazing thing about a day like today is that we take what we do at school each and every day and bring it out into the world. We put into use the skills the skills the children cultivate and develop and enable them to flourish. The children are given the tools they need and then off they go! In the orchard all you need are your walking feet…

a bag…

and a little bit of independence!

Needless to say, the children had a fantastic time; with the apple “eye to the sky” and their bags nice and full we all head back to gather together for lunch.