Independence and the Montessori Child

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

— Maria Montessori

You may already know that Montessori educators value and encourage independence in even their youngest students.  Why is it so important?  We believe that nurturing this valuable character trait is both empowering and necessary.  

Benefits of Cultivating Independence

In short, giving a child the gift of independence lets them know we value them and know they’re capable.  Children can grow up feeling empowered and safe in their abilities to make sound choices.  When we trust them, they learn to trust themselves, ultimately becoming happy and productive members of their communities.

Of course, this looks different at different ages.  Children birth to age six want to do things by themselves, while elementary aged children want to think for themselves.  Adolescents seek both physical and social independence while they tread the waters between childhood and adulthood.  It’s important to remind ourselves of these developmental stages, both as teachers and parents.

What Independence Means at School

In the earliest years at school, children focus on what we refer to as practical life skills.  This may include learning to prepare simple snacks, putting on their own shoes or coats, or caring for classroom plants and animals.  Children are given endless opportunities to practice these skills.

Another facet of independence at a Montessori school involves choice within limits.  Children are able to decide what work they are interested in.  Teachers carefully prepare the classroom environment so that all choices are safe and desirable, but within those boundaries the child is free to explore.

As children get older (the elementary years and beyond), they must meet certain academic expectations.  Teachers use a variety of tools to help students work independently while still meeting their goals, including work plans and time management strategies.  Research becomes of great interest at this time, and children are given ample opportunity to deeply explore topics they choose.

How Parents Can Support This Work at Home

How can families continue the cultivation of independence in the home?  It all starts with a shift in the way we view our children’s capabilities.  They are often able to do much more than we realize, and with a little bit of modeling they tend to eagerly accept a challenge.  After all, our children want to do what we do, and if we give them the proper tools and support, they can begin practicing.

The chart below highlights some of the possibilities.  Think of this as an inspiring guide that highlights what children of various ages are typically capable of.  Giving our children tasks such as these builds their confidence while helping them learn how to be contributing members of a community - in this case, their family.

Looking Forward

One of the easiest ways to encourage independence in our children is to be more aware in the moment.  Though it can be a challenge to slow down and let them move at their pace (like when they insist on zipping up their own coat while we’re rushing out the door to get to work), it’s going to benefit them in the long run.  Building a little extra time into our schedules can help!  Some little changes we can make to embed this value into our days:

• Send your child to put their shoes on 10 minutes before you’d like to leave.
• Leave child-friendly cleaning supplies within reach.
• Put pre-portioned or easy-to-prepare snacks on low shelves.
• Turn spills and messes into opportunities.
• Let your child (eek!) pick out their own clothes. For younger children especially, some weather appropriate guidance is just fine.  Enjoy the creative fashion statements that ensue.

Montessori reminds us that supporting independence is a conquest that does not end, though it most definitely evolves.

“Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest, and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting on one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.”

— Maria Montessori

Losing our Grip

Last week we posted the following article (Losing our Grip http://bit.ly/2ghoMsv) on our facebook page. The article discussed the increasing number of children in kindergarten without the fine motor skills needed to manipulate scissors, hold pencils, etc. The New York Times reported in February that public schools in New York City saw a 30 percent increase in the number of students referred to occupational therapy, with the number jumping 20 percent in three years in Chicago and 30 percent over five years in Los Angeles.

Why is this?  The article points to three causes:

1. Our culture has increased pressure on parents to involve young children in organized activities. More organized activities does not equal more body awareness. There is less time for free play and opportunities for children to manipulate their environments to understand spatial concepts. As we Montessorians know, young children learn by doing, not by being told what to do.
2. Parental Fear. Some parents are afraid to let their children engage in physical play or use tools such as scissors. Today’s children spend less time outside, where they have more opportunities to explore how their bodies move through space, learn balance and figure out how to handle tools and toys in relation to one another. Playgrounds have changed tremendously over the years. The equipment that supported sensory integration, such as merry go rounds and monkey bars, are no longer present. 
3. Technology. The “educational” tablet has replaced the activities which support fine motor skills such as playdoh and coloring. 

Montessori Children’s House classrooms offer ample opportunities for fine and gross motor development. With the absence of technology in our programs, the children are free to work towards developing their hands and bodies and in turn their minds for the academic work to come. Many people are surprised to learn that fine motor skills are a robust predictor of academic achievement. Read more about that here.

-Kari

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