Montessori: The Elementary Years

- I try to find different
ways to light the fire.

For some children, it may be
taking something that they say

and reflecting it back to them

and then saying, how can we find out more?

What do we need to do? For
other children, it may be

striking their imagination

by putting something in their hands

and saying, you know, we've
gotta find out more about this.

It's me guiding what
happens in the classroom

and knowing when to step out of the way.

- A multi-age classroom is
actually a beautiful thing.

Elementary one is six to nine,
elementary two is nine to 12,

and it is a community

- Because there's multi-age grouping.

You come into a program,
you spend three years there

with children within
a three year age span,

and you can go at the
pacing you're ready for.

- There's an individual
plan for every child.

When you master something
in a Montessori curriculum,

you can just move to the next level.

The child doesn't move on
until the child is ready

to move on and has a deep understanding.

- Teacher's gonna individualize
where each child is,

but you're also gonna
learn from each other.

It's not always the older
children teaching the younger.

It's the student who has gained a skill is

going to help another student.

- Even though we do follow a
curriculum, I have the luxury

of watching a child, figuring
out what they connect with

and where they might be struggling,

and giving it to them as many
different ways as I need to,

and giving them the time
that they need to practice

until it comes together for them.

- One of the cornerstones of
Montessori is that we want

to allow children

and young adults to be as
independent as they can.

In a traditional environment,
children are waiting

to hear from the teacher
where to go to get something.

May they go to get
something. Is this allowed?

Is this not allowed?

The teacher can move throughout
and children can get up,

and there's freedom of movement.

There's the ability to
repeat tasks if needed,

and the teacher's there to support.

- Ultimately, we want the
children to be responsible

for their own learning.

- One of the outcomes that I
have observed in Montessori

children is this idea
of critical thinking.

They've got a problem, they
throw out lots of guesses of

what the answer might be.

They will think through
each one of those guesses

and analyze it.

Then they'll eventually get to an answer.

They may not necessarily
always get the right answer,

but they know the process

and they don't see learning as a chore.

They certain see learning as as something

that is really exciting.

- Montessori education includes

specialized learning materials.

They are really very important
to the learning process

because children in the elementary age,

they learn with their hands.

They have to be engaged

- Without telling.

We allow the child to
use materials to discover

and unfold a truth,
whether it's understanding

how numbers work together,
understanding the history

of the universe, understanding

how a culture approaches something,

and they get to discover it,

and then we say, wow, what
do you think about that?

- All the education in
the world doesn't matter

unless a child has that
sense of self and identity

and has that ability to understand

that kindness changes everything,

and that through that
they can change the world.

- It really develops the foundation for

what Maria Montessori saw as

a civilized human being moving forward

through their learning, which is lifelong.

- When my sixth graders rock out the

door, I know they're ready.

They're ready. Intellectually,
they are ready emotionally,

they're ready socially
to navigate the next part

of their education.