Homework or Work of the Home?

Photo by Amara Photography

“I like a teacher that gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ”

— Lily Tomlin

For most of us, homework doesn’t enter our thoughts until the mid-elementary years and is typically thought of as worksheets and assignments given by the child’s teacher. That’s where we are different. Traditional homework emphasizes the repetition of rote behaviors rather than the development of understanding. These assignments limit the possibility for exploration, substituting the mere completion of a task for the joy of discovery and personal understanding.

Montessori schools, on the other hand, think of homework, or rather the work of the home, as an opportunity for real purposeful work, decision making, and an opportunity for the child to show choices about their learning. To that end, the work should be of interest and meaningful. At the Children’s House level that takes the form of self care in washing and dressing, caring for the environment by wiping up spills, putting things away, setting the table, etc. They can help care for pets and learn vocabulary at the grocery store. It means leaving plenty of time in their day to explore the natural world and make decisions about their free play.

At the Elementary level they can learn to knit, sew, build a bookcase with an adult, learn photography or learn a new song to teach the class. It could mean finding a newspaper article to discuss with your family, play Scrabble, or write poetry and stories. It can take the form of comparison shopping, keeping statistics of when you go to bed or helping with the family budget. They can plan a family vacation, play on a sports team, learn an instrument. The list is endless! (An actual list exists! Ask your elementary guide or the front office for one).

Our Upper School children experience homework by preparing writing assignments to read aloud to their class, reading and writing responses to seminar topics, completing math assignments that they will then present to their classmates and teacher, and practicing their Spanish. The focus here is on real, purposeful work. This homework is intended to wrestle with ideas and to think deeply about questions that matter.

-Kari

Earth Day with a U.S. Senator

Imagine my surprise in late April when I received a call from U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s office requesting a visit to our school on Earth Day! How exciting for our school! While our Board Chair, Frank Grossman and our building’s architect, Dave Ely, pointed out the features of our energy efficient building, I was excited to share with her the beauty of our classrooms and the Montessori work going on within.

As she walked through each classroom I had a chance to share tidbits of information about our programs. In Lower Elementary, where the children were at gathering, one child shared her version of energy efficiency telling the Senator how much better it would be to grow our food locally so that the “raisin wouldn’t have to use all that energy traveling to New Hampshire”. Another child presented her with a knitted potholder. The Adolescent students asked her well articulated questions on her energy bill and why she chose to become a Senator. They presented her with products from Sunny Orchard, their small business, as a nod to her work as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The visit was a wonderful opportunity for our children and school.

-Kari

Why Start at Age 3?

What is the ideal age to begin Montessori school? Age 2.9 to 3! The young child's ability to effortlessly absorb information from his environment is only possible during this window of time. Dr. Montessori observed that during these early months, which she called sensitive periods, a child's entire being is molded: his intelligence itself is being formed! 

The child from age birth to six years old passes through three significant sensitive periods; those for order, movement and language.

SUPPORTING A YOUNG CHILD'S NEED FOR ORDER

During the sensitive period for order, a young child needs her environment to be predictable and orderly. If her life has a rhythm and her routine is maintained, she begins to trust the environment. If her needs for food, sleep and bodily comfort are predictably met as they arise, she uses this satisfaction as the basis to feel secure and to explore her world. The three year-old is at the height of sensitivity to ritualistic order; she still needs routines and yet can begin to create her own order. This is the perfect time to model that activities have a beginning, a middle and an end. 

COORDINATION OF MOVEMENT

The sensitive period for movement is the time the child develops his coordination and fine and gross motor skills. Allowing your child safe yet challenging movement without interference develops this skill and his self confidence. It's time to jump, hop, skip, and climb, to carry heavy things, to balance objects on a tray. He needs to use a scissors, to pick up tiny objects and to refine his eye/hand coordination allowing his hand to truly become an instrument of his mind.

THE PRIME TIME FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

During the sensitive period for language, the child can hear the individual sounds in words as she learns vocabulary— an ideal time to begin learning the sounds of letters. During this time she will expand her vocabulary immensely. She wants huge words and funny words and rhyming word and words in songs. Our Montessori environments, rich in vocabulary, meet her word hunger perfectly.

When the children's environment is based on and organized around the sensitive periods, the children work with an enthusiasm and sustained interest that is truly amazing. Their development is strong and steady.

Authentic Montessori preschool is a three-year cycle designed to engage children from age 3 to 6 (preschool through kindergarten). The activities in the first year lay an important foundation for future learning. Over the following two years the activities and lessons build upon themselves at the child's own pace. Parents are often amazed when a child "explodes" into reading, writing, and math during the final year. It might look like magic, but it is really the culmination of the first two years in the Primary classroom. By starting at 3 and remaining in the classroom community for three years, Montessori children have an inspiring educational experience.

-Kari

Recess

A line of students filed out of the big metal door. You could hardly see our faces under our brightly colored raincoats. Boots squeaked and thudded. Rain pants rustled. Inside the door, the line was straight and organized, but as soon as we stepped outside, we were wild — children of the Earth.

Recess had begun.

A newly formed river of mud and rain in the woods. A slippery fallen tree acts as a bridge, or a castle, or a throne. Leaf crowns. Tiny rocks, twigs, and the sand pile make a tiny fortress. A moat is carved out of the dark brown mulch much to the chagrin of our teachers, and the rain quickly fills it in. Wet bark peeled off a dead tree, rocks, leaves, twigs, acorns, pine cones, a feather from home, and we built a fairy house. Capture the flag goes on in all weather. The wetness is an added challenge, an extra bit of fun. We liked to show off our grit.

We slipped and slid across the soaked playground. Our heels rubbed raw in our boots, but we didn’t care. Fingernails quickly filled with dirt and sand and wet bits of bark, but we didn’t care. Mud splashed in our faces and we wiped it away with muddier hands, but we didn’t care. Our fingers and noses were numb with the wet chill, but we didn’t care. Despite the “waterproof” rain gear we were wearing, we were soaked through, but we didn’t care.

We did care though, when the teachers began to call us inside. When the little bark castles had to be left for tomorrow — who knew if they would keep from collapsing without us watching over them? When the imaginary kingdom by the new river in the woods had to be abandoned for another day. When the capture the flag game had to end before anyone had scored. When the leaf crowns had to be taken off. Then we cared.

Up until two years ago, I attended a Montessori school. This meant I spent a lot of time outside. In elementary, we had recess every day, whether it was snowing or raining or sleeting. We had lessons out in the woods and took trips to the beaches and mountains. Unless the temperature was way below freezing or it was thundering and lightning, we were out in it.

Curiosity, love, and concern for the natural world has been a part of who I am from a very young age. Now that I am older, I read the biology textbooks, watch the powerpoints on ecology, take my dog for a walk after school every day, and I understand a little more of what is happening out there in the world. I get it. And I love getting it. Learning about life and nature gives me a sense of fulfillment that no other subject in school does. I compost and recycle at home. I am President of the Green Group at my high school, and I am happy to say that the school now recycles! When I’m out with my dog I'll pick up trash from the side of the road. I hike mountains with my dad, even in the snow. I love being outside.

Recess, but also every lesson and trip we took in the outdoors while I was in Montessori, was a very meaningful experience for me. It made me the person I am today. It instilled in me a curiosity and a passion that otherwise might not exist and for which I am very grateful. I’m seventeen years old now, but I will never stop playing outside. I will never stop loving the earth and I will never stop fighting for it. I will never stop asking questions and never stop wondering how the earth works. I will never stop — because of recess. Because of log kingdoms, leaf crowns, little sand fortresses, and muddy games of capture the flag.

-Alexandra Campbell, HMS '14

The Difference

To be curious, self-directed, and engaged; to be compassionate, collaborative, and think critically;  to be adaptable and problem solve—these so called "soft skills" are now seen as most necessary for our rapidly changing world. Montessori education focuses on all of these with the same amount of importance as academic skills. 

How do we do it?

IT STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF CHILDREN

Children come into this world wired to learn. They are naturally curious with an eagerness to explore, discover and figure things out for themselves. The Montessori classroom—based on years of scientific research—is a supportive environment rich with materials designed for children, cultivating their natural curiosity and joy of discovery with the guidance and encouragement of trained adults.

REAL LIFE HAPPENS HERE

Philosopher and educator John Dewey said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” From the very beginning of their Montessori experience, children learn to take care of their own needs (preparing snack, putting on their own shoes and jackets) and environment (sweeping up, watering plants). In doing so, they develop a level of physical and intellectual independence not often seen in young children. This daily experience of being trusted with real responsibility for meaningful tasks results in children with authentically earned self confidence. 

COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION ARE THE CULTURE

The youngest children start with lessons in “Grace and Courtesy”—lessons that teach them how to respect themselves, others, their classroom and the environment. As the children grow older, they learn to respect and understand the connectedness between all living and non-living things, leading to the adolescent’s profound awareness of the complex web of human existence.

THE GIFT OF UNINTERRUPTED TIME

Each child is free to choose her own work. A teacher will carefully observe—but not interrupt—a child’s work as long as it’s purposeful. When children are given the opportunity to engage in meaningful, interesting, self-directed work, they achieve a high level of focused concentration. Scientists refer to this as a “flow” state of prolonged, energized work that produces both calm satisfaction and a profound joy in learning. 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IS BUILT IN

Children stay with the same teacher for three years, building lasting relationships with the teachers and friendships with children of different ages. The multi-age classroom offers a dynamic social setting where children learn from each other, master skills, and become facilitators of learning for their classmates, creating experiences that build emotional intelligence not possible in traditional single-age classrooms.

NO ROWS OF DESKS

Anyone who has been around children knows: children need to move. Children can choose to work at tables, on the floor, or outside if their work takes them there, eliminating the fidgeting and boredom that often comes with being forced to sit still at a desk for extended periods of time. The youngest children develop their motor skills in the Montessori classroom by working with materials that focus on skills such as grasping, pouring, stacking, carrying and balancing. Appropriate physical skills are integrated into the curriculum at all levels because our goal is not only intellectual competence, but human competence. 

FREEDOM WITH RESPONSIBILITY

Montessori classrooms strike a balance of developmentally appropriate freedom with responsibility—you cannot successfully have one without the other. As a child grows, so do his choices and responsibilities, providing him with the necessary framework to succeed in ever-larger spheres. In their early elementary years children are planning out their activities for a week, and by their later elementary years they are conducting month-long independent research. By middle school students are running their own business. Is it any wonder that so many entrepreneurs credit their Montessori foundations with their success?

NO GOLD STARS

Techniques that focus on external rewards like grades or gold stars tend to take the joy out of learning by reducing it to a means to an end, rather than a journey of discovery. Programs like "No Child Left Behind" and "Race to the Top" forces conventional education to focus on tests and grades. It’s not that our students never experience a test, but our teachers are not encumbered by “teaching to the test.” We don’t measure competencies that way. Because students work independently and one-on-one with the teachers, assessment happens all day, everyday, through careful observation of each individual child. 

TIME IS THE VARIABLE. LEARNING IS THE CONSTANT.

The teachers present lessons when the child is ready for them, not necessarily when a national curriculum dictates that she’s ready. This allows each child to learn when she shows readiness and eagerness for a particular subject, which is when learning happens most effortlessly and deeply. Children move uninterrupted through the curriculum at their own pace, often exceeding the state's education requirements. This removes much of the frustration and boredom that can hinder positive learning experiences in conventional education, where time is the constant and, unfortunately, learning can be the variable.

FROM CONCRETE TO ABSTRACT

Developmental psychologists now confirm: an integrated, active, hands-on approach is the most engaging and effective way for children to develop skill and understanding. In contrast to classrooms where learning comes from texts, worksheets, and lectures, a Montessori classroom features materials specifically designed to make abstract concepts real. For example, a very young child works with strings of beads to sensorially experience “five” or “ten,” bending the strings into a square or cube—developing his mathematical mind and a foundation for increasingly abstract concepts later. Maria Montessori said “Never give more to the mind than you give to the hand,” and we’ve seen that knowledge built this way is not forgotten.

GRIT

Perseverence. Resilience. “Stick-to-it-tiveness.” Call it what you will, Montessori kids have it and researchers agree that kids who have it get along further in life. We understand that sometimes the most valuable thing that a teacher (or parent) can do to help a child is to back off a bit. To let children face some adversity on their own, to fall down and not be helped back up. We allow children to make mistakes, to learn from mistakes and hence, to learn what it takes to succeed. It only makes sense that children who learn to try and try again develop the crucial ability to overcome setbacks and in the process, develop true strength of character.

WE ASK THE BIG QUESTIONS

The world isn’t divided neatly into subjects, and neither are young minds. Starting in first grade, Montessori students are presented with “Great Lessons”—formal stories about the universe, time, humans, communications, and numbers. In addition to stoking the flames of curiosity and forming a context for exploration, children become adept at drawing inferences between subjects, critical thinking, and understanding the big picture—skills that are highly valued in today’s rapidly changing world.

EDUCATION FOR LIFE

We view education as helping each child reach his full potential. Montessori isn’t just a philosophy, nor is it based on a national common curriculum. Montessori is an education methodology based on the natural development of the human being and has proven successful for more than a century in tens of thousands of schools around the world. We teach the way children learn. We focus on all of it. That is the difference. Montessori is more than just school. It is education for life.

-Camille Campbell