Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Promoting Independence from Teachers: Montessori Students Working Together

This year long series looks at the experiences of teachers, parents, students, and Montessori education itself, as we follow a student through his first year at a Montessori Preschool. The Montessori Insights and Reflections of a Preschool Student’s First Year is a collection of useful stories, tips, and information that has arisen from one real student's Montessori journey, viewed through the eyes of his Montessori Teacher, Bree Von Nes.

NAMC montessori students working together promoting independence
Another Step Toward Independence
Another milestone occurred during snack time today in our Montessori preschool classroom. Since the start of school, Jordan has needed help finding his lunch bag, unzipping it and opening his containers. Despite our constant efforts to encourage Jordan to be independent, he falls apart when he is not confident in doing something on his own and refuses to even make the effort.

Promoting Independence from Teachers: Montessori Students Working Together

About a week ago, I decided to try something different … I paired Jordan with one of the five-year-old students and explained that before he asks a teacher for help, he needs to first request help from his ‘big buddy’. Doing so has enabled me and the other teacher to remove ourselves from the situation, but still be close by to give Jordan the support that he feels he needs. After a few classes of having his classmate help him, Jordan finally began to show readiness to do it on his own.

Today, Jordan took great delight in doing everything on his own at snack time. First he got his snack out of the cubby area all by himself. Then, he washed his hands, opened his containers, and prepared his snack. When he was done his snack he tidied his crumbs with a small broom and dustpan until every last crumb was picked up. To top it off, he then assisted a younger child with pouring her own glass of water and asked her if she wanted him to carry it to her table. It is so rewarding to see Jordan becoming more independent and I love that he is working hard to not only help himself, but also his classmates. He is becoming so much more confident and takes great pride in helping others … such an amazing transformation!
As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Have questions or comments? Let us know what you thought about this article!

We appreciate feedback and love to discuss with our readers further.

NAMC Blog Inquiries Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Search the NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog

Are you interested in reading back through NAMC's blog articles from years gone by, or for more information on a specific topic?

Browse a select list of our most popular categories below; by clicking on one, you will see every article posted under that topic since 2007. You may also use the lower archive menu to select a year and month, displaying all blog posts in the chosen time frame.

If you are seeking a range of information on a certain topic or idea, try this search box for site-wide keyword results.

Choose From a List of Popular Article Topics

NAMC Montessori Series

Montessori Philosophy and Methodology

Montessori Classroom Management

The School Year

Montessori Materials

Montessori Curriculum

Montessori Infant/Toddler (0–3) Program

Montessori Early Childhood (3–6) Program

Montessori Elementary (6–12) Programs

What is Montessori?

Search Archives for Montessori Blog Posts by Date


Thank you to the NAMC Montessori community!

NAMC has been providing quality Montessori distance training and curriculum development to Montessorians around the globe for more than 25 years. Since beginning in 1996, we have grown to build a fantastic community of students, graduates, and schools in over 160 countries. We are grateful for your continued support and dedication to furthering the reach and success of the Montessori method.