I've observed in this school, and volunteered several times. During my initial observations, I was…read moreimpressed at the level of discipline in the classrooms; it was only the third week of the school year, and already the children's activities were humming along smoothly. I haven't been in a Montessori environment for a while because I've pursued other career choices, but I wanted to get back in touch with it so I set up observations at a couple of nearby schools, and after visiting this school I was happy to spend some time volunteering there as well. (I found schools near my house by using the yelp search feature, of course!)
The classrooms are located in the very large church hall of a Russian Orthodox church, and are each spacious and cheerful, with plenty of windows and bright decorations, and classical music playing in the background. There are also pianos (one grand and one upright), which are used for the weekly music class. There are 3 classrooms, and a fenced (locked) outside play area along the side of the church.
If you aren't familiar with the Montessori way, the children - in mixed-age classes from 2.5 to 5.5 years old - were working quietly and independently at child-sized tables and on mats on the floor, either alone or in pairs, using Montessori materials to explore and develop their practical life skills, sensorial processing, shapes (2-D and 3-D), letters & writing, numbers & addition, and other benchmark preschooler/kindergartner skills. Per provincial requirements, there are two teachers for 20 children, so if you have any experience of preschoolers you know that it takes true talent to channel their exuberant energy into focused activity like that with that many children in the same room.
As a "responsible adult" volunteer, I visited for 3-hour shifts in the downstairs classroom. I was also impressed when the children approached me and asked for assistance with their work and took pride in their roles as learners, not asking me to do things "for" them, but rather asking me to assist with specific issues so that they could complete their work on their own. They brought their work to me so show off their accomplishments with true pride. Several times, children approached me and took my hand, wanting me to walk with them as they looked around to choose another activity. This is a fabulous Montessori moment, in my opinion, and it showed me that these students are benefiting from a genuine Montessori approach.
This particular school also offers French, music, art and Mandarin, but I am qualified to judge only the first two (I am ... 'challenged" ... in the visual art department, and I don't speak Chinese, but I speak French and I studied music for many years): the children spoke to me using intelligible French phrases and understood simple directions the same as in English, and the music class included not only learning to sing a song with synchronized movements, but also a music appreciation exercise of listening to a short piece played on the piano, which I think is a great idea for this age group; the children sat thoughtfully and really listened to it all the way through.
P.S. If you care about such distinctions, this school is on the AMI side of things and is run in accordance with AMI principles and practices
October Challenge 31/31
