Quinn & school at 3 1/2 years
A few photos and notes about Quinn and school. He continues to love going, and has made a very strong attachment to his teachers and one little boy in particular, Anders. Mike and I observed a couple weeks ago, and it was fun to see him so independently move from one activity to the next. Here are some recent photos of him in his classroom.
Here he is putting wooden letters next to objects to make words. Notice he has confused the letter "F" and "T". I watched the teacher correct this with him later.
Working with Miss Callie, his teacher. All Montessori work that is done on the floor is done on one of these little white rugs.
He goes to find another "work".
Finding a table
Quinn and his buddy Anders work together sometimes on similar activities.
Quinn gets a formal "lesson" from his main teacher, Miss Therese. He must stand and watch the order in which she's doing it, and once the lesson is over, he is allowed to choose this activity on his own in the future. Without a lesson, you are not allowed to use a particular activity.
Every child is doing something different, and at different levels, dependent on their age and ability. The classrom has 3, 4, and 5 year olds. You stay with the same teacher and classroom for 3 years. The 5 year olds stay all day, and the younger kids leave at lunch time.
Chair scrubbing!
Map/Geography work (kindergartener)
Higher level math work
She's washing the dishes... :)
Napkin Folding
Washing the windows
Quinn looks over his choices, and decides what he wants to do. Recently he decided to wear slippers inside the classroom. Initially he didn't want to.
A simple pouring exercise with beans.
Another pouring exercise with water
Making shapes. After he was finished, his teacher had him name them, and it was cute to hear him use words like parallelogram and rhombus.
Quinn decides he's ready for snack. He pours his drink, and then sits and eats his snack. The children eat when they're ready, not all at the same time. They are responsible for getting a placemat, and cleaning up the table with a sponge when they're finished. I think Maya and Madeline need to start attending Montessori!
Making more words
Celebrating Chinese New Year, which is why everyone is in red. There was a dragon parade, and then each child sampled a chinese cookie.
Montessori materials are all "real" glass, china, knives, metal, tools, etc. Children are taught to respect and handle things carefully. These materials are changed every couple of months.
The End!
Here he is putting wooden letters next to objects to make words. Notice he has confused the letter "F" and "T". I watched the teacher correct this with him later.
Working with Miss Callie, his teacher. All Montessori work that is done on the floor is done on one of these little white rugs.
He goes to find another "work".
Finding a table
Quinn and his buddy Anders work together sometimes on similar activities.
Quinn gets a formal "lesson" from his main teacher, Miss Therese. He must stand and watch the order in which she's doing it, and once the lesson is over, he is allowed to choose this activity on his own in the future. Without a lesson, you are not allowed to use a particular activity.
Every child is doing something different, and at different levels, dependent on their age and ability. The classrom has 3, 4, and 5 year olds. You stay with the same teacher and classroom for 3 years. The 5 year olds stay all day, and the younger kids leave at lunch time.
Chair scrubbing!
Map/Geography work (kindergartener)
Higher level math work
She's washing the dishes... :)
Napkin Folding
Washing the windows
Quinn looks over his choices, and decides what he wants to do. Recently he decided to wear slippers inside the classroom. Initially he didn't want to.
A simple pouring exercise with beans.
Another pouring exercise with water
Making shapes. After he was finished, his teacher had him name them, and it was cute to hear him use words like parallelogram and rhombus.
Quinn decides he's ready for snack. He pours his drink, and then sits and eats his snack. The children eat when they're ready, not all at the same time. They are responsible for getting a placemat, and cleaning up the table with a sponge when they're finished. I think Maya and Madeline need to start attending Montessori!
Making more words
Celebrating Chinese New Year, which is why everyone is in red. There was a dragon parade, and then each child sampled a chinese cookie.
Montessori materials are all "real" glass, china, knives, metal, tools, etc. Children are taught to respect and handle things carefully. These materials are changed every couple of months.
The End!
posted by Pam & Mike at 6:43 AM
5 Comments:
What an awesome classroom!! Q is so lucky to have that opportunity. We have nothing like that around here!
What wonderful photos! Taken together they tell a story and give a clear idea of what a school day is like. They would make a great commercial for the school.
Great pictures, Pam! What a wonderful school it is! I was very interested in Quinn forming words to go with the objects (CVC words we call them in first grade). What a smart boy! Bill and I had to look up "rhombus," since we had forgotten the term. I will want to visit school when we see you in April.
Love, Grandma Nan
Yes!! This was just what the school looked like that I visited today. Although, it was only 4yos in one room >> the 3 and 5 yos were in separate rooms. It really does look wonderful, the children all seemed to be doing so well and were so independent.
But the cost.
OH THE COST!!!
For three children to go to Montessori - all at the same time - we can kiss goodbye our plan of having our house completely paid off in the next 15 years. Unless, we both work full time and that defeats the purpose of me staying home with the kids. Such a conundrum!!
Pam - great job of showing the Montessori preschool day! My Daughter is also in a Montessori school, she started at age 3, and is now in Kindergarten (with the same teacher). She loves it! I love it! Seeing your son reminds me of her first year there too!
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