Inquiring Minds Need to Know: The Montessori Way - House Nine Style

The first question people ask after finding out that I'm a teacher is, "What grade do you teach?" After finding out that I teach Kindergarten and 1st grade at a Montessori school, they say, "I've heard that in Montessori schools the kids just run around and do what they want".  EH--WRONG! The Montessori philosophy was developed by an Italian physician and educator named Maria Montessori.  In essence, she decided that children learn best by doing.  They need hands-on materials, real experiences with nature, the power to make choices, and a wholesome curriculum.  The curriculum not only focuses on the academic portion of learning, but also developing social skills, motor skills, self-help skills, and leadership skills.  Also, it's a very natural setting, so it teaches a lot of home making skills (sweeping, folding, washing, pouring, etc).  In this way, the classrooms are called "houses".  That is where "House Nine" comes from, it is my room number.  While students are not allowed to run around the classroom freely, they do have some freedom of choice within limits. (While I will not be sharing the complete history of Montessori on my page, I will provide some links if you are interested in learning more.

The next question I get is, "Why do you teach two grade levels?" Well, it's because I teach Montessori! The idea is that students come into a classroom on various levels with different experiences.  In this way, there is a range of ages and abilities.  Also, the children are with the same teacher for two years, so it creates a stronger relationship with students and the teacher(s).

Lastly, another question everyone asks:  Do you like it?

Yes! I teach at a public Montessori school, so we follow all of the guidelines of a NC public school.  The Kindergarten and 1st grade Common Core curricula are VERY different, so it certainly has some cons.  The students I have had become very independent and I teach them all of my ways so that when new students come in, I will have little helpers! So, the kindergarteners I had last year will be my first graders.  They know all of the rules and how things work, so they will be able to help the new kids on the block (I will share more on classroom management later).  What I enjoy most about the Montessori curriculum is that it affords me the opportunity to really play a role in developing my students' character.  They not only learn from how I behave, but I get to teach them how to have a peaceful conversation, how to help one another, how to love one another, and how to behave in social settings.  The most rewarding experiences for me is 1) When a kid finally accomplishes something they have worked hard at and 2) When I see them doing something right when they don't know I'm looking.  I have a huge responsibility and I count it an honor and privilege that God has entrusted me to teach young children!

Disclaimer:   I am not an expert, in fact, I do not have any formal training in the Montessori curriculum! My knowledge of the curriculum comes from experience, informal training, and observation.

Want to learn more?
 http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori/Montessori-Classrooms

 http://www.montessori.edu/FAQ.html