Montessori 3-6 Perspectives: Community Celebration of Thanksgiving

In the US, the Thanksgiving holiday is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. There is background information on the American holiday in previous NAMC blogs, listed below.

In my first several years of teaching Montessori preschool, Thanksgiving celebrations focused on the original story involving the indigenous people of the US and the pilgrim settlers. Prior to Thanksgiving Day, I invited local Native Americans to our Montessori classroom to share their knowledge of those who originally lived in our region. Montessori parents and any visiting extended family members were also invited to these presentations.

Our special guests would bring replicas of the homes, show the lifestyle of the families, and also share many examples of their clothing, cooking utensils and pots, and common children’s games. My Montessori preschool students loved this experiential cultural study, and enjoyed participating in a very hands-on way.

That same week, our Montessori classroom hosted a Thanksgiving “feast”. Students prepared a dish together, such skillet corn bread, and parents were invited to bring supplemental dishes. Our Montessori students also created a variety of crafts such as napkin rings for their family table, placemats and turkey centerpieces. Each year we made a different version of a turkey using objects like pine cones, apples and one year, clear Christmas globe ornaments. Attaching colorful feathers was always a fun way to complete the project.

Over the years the focus naturally evolved into a Montessori community celebration. In the week before Thanksgiving, students brought different canned goods daily for donation to the local food pantry. We discussed what the children do when they are hungry. When I pointed out that not all children in our city had food readily available at home, our conversation turned to how fortunate we are to have enough food, and the importance of helping others less fortunate. Each day my Montessori students were so excited to see the donation containers fill. The highlight of the week was sorting all the cans and boxes for pickup. When the van arrived, it was a joy to see the happiness in those young faces.

Our Thanksgiving feast followed. Parents contributed several kinds of cleaned, raw vegetables and we created a vegetable turkey. Children took turns arranging various vegetables on the outline of a turkey covered with wax paper. They made a selection of Native American food - skillet corn bread, popcorn and there was always a basket of pumpkin muffins. The “veggie turkey” was a big hit, and nicely accommodated any vegetarian family guests. In keeping with our theme of giving thanks and helping others, we sang “Thanksgiving Day” by John Forster and Tom Chapin.

Those words and the beautiful voices of the children reflect the true meaning of the holiday:

Thanks for our health. Thanks for our hearth
And the bounty that grows from the ground.
With our loved ones near we bless the year.
That's brought us safely 'round.

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.

Related NAMC blogs:

• Celebrating Thanksgiving in the Montessori Classroom
• Montessori Harvest Festival
• Exploring the US History of Thanksgiving in the Montessori Classroom
• Thanksgiving in Canada Touches Many Areas of the Montessori Classroom

Other helpful resources:

• How Thanksgiving Works
• Thanksgiving Lessons Scholastic

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

NAMC thanks Maureen Northacker for this blog contribution.

Montessori 3-6: Parent Education Meetings

Every new school year brings parents who are new to the Montessori way. Many are eager to know more about what their children will be learning and doing in the Montessori classroom. Some have a general idea of what the Montessori program is about, others know only that they liked what they saw at their initial school visit.

In order for a Montessori school to build a strong, supportive parent and community base, it is important to provide a parent-friendly, informative Montessori parent education program. As parents develop their understanding of the Montessori philosophy and method, your Montessori community will strengthen and grow. I hope the ideas I share here will help you with your Montessori parent education programs.

I schedule one-hour meetings with prospective Montessori parents, which include a tour of the classroom and explanation of some of the materials and work habits children learn in the Montessori environment. Parents appreciate the opportunity to learn about the program and how the Montessori philosophy is interpreted at the school. Parents often find this kind of information lacking in many of their tours of other prospective schools.

Montessori parent education meetings can vary in format. Most schools like to schedule the meetings in early fall, when parent interest is at its highest. Some schools invite parents to evening sessions for about 1.5 hours each, several weeks in a row. Parents gather in their children's classroom and the Montessori teacher may cover a different curriculum area each week. Another approach is to have a different teacher cover a specific curriculum area. For example, if the five curriculum areas of the Montessori preschool environment are covered in one evening, each teacher repeats his/her specific curriculum presentation to five different groups of parents who rotate through the classrooms. Sometimes it works to have a Saturday morning session followed by a community-building luncheon.

Over the years, I have developed a successful Montessori parent education program whereby the first sessions take place every other week during the first two months of school. These 45-minute sessions are scheduled in the very early evening. My Montessori assistant (along with a helper, if needed) provides child care in the gymnasium or outside for the students and siblings. We provide simple refreshments as many parents arrive straight from work. In each session I present Montessori Practical Life, Sensorial Development, Language, and Mathematics curriculum areas.

In January we schedule a new Montessori parent education series covering the cultural curriculum and specific areas of interest to parents, which often includes general parenting issues. Using Montessori philosophy as the foundation for these discussions, I explain how a trained Montessorian might handle various matters. For example: setting up the home for Montessori Practical Life activities using child-size utensils and tools, low shelves instead of toy boxes, etc. Each meeting covers the Montessori materials, and always includes Montessori techniques such as the three-period lesson, how to roll a mat, how to carry the materials and other nuggets of information to help Montessori parents understand the routines and actions that occur in their children's Montessori classroom.

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.

Related NAMC Blogs:

• Montessori Parent/Teacher Communication and Collaboration: An Education for Life
• Montessori Philosophy, Part I: Communicating with Parents
• Montessori Philosophy, Part II: Parent-Teacher Conference – Teacher Role
• Montessori Philosophy, Part III: Parent-Teacher Conference – Parent Role
• Montessori Practical Life at Home
• Montessori At Home: The Prepared Environment

The NAMC 3-6 manuals are rich with activities that span the entire three-year curriculum, including the 3-6 Classroom Guide containing tools and techniques for classroom management.

NAMC’s Classroom Guides provide tips, tools and techniques for effective parent communication throughout the year. Order your copy today!

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

NAMC thanks Maureen Northacker for this blog contribution.

Montessori 3–6: Orientation of New Students at Start of School

Part 3 of 3 - Parent Involvement

In the first two parts of this series, I explained the value of the phase-in process for both the children and the teacher. Montessori preschool students gradually process the new and exciting ways of the Montessori approach to a school experience. They learn the grace and courtesy lessons at a pace that prevents them from feeling overwhelmed by too long of classroom time or too many other children. The Montessori teacher focuses on the procedures needed to support each child’s entry into the program. The smaller class size facilitates the teacher in becoming acquainted with each new student in order to guide the new child appropriately as class times grow in length and the needs of a large group change the Montessori classroom dynamics.

Often the parents’ first orientation/observation of a Montessori classroom takes place in the spring when the class is established, and they are considering placing their children in a Montessori program for the coming school year. At that time students are generally close to normalization, the goal that is worked toward all year, when the children are working peacefully and purposefully after several months of being in the classroom. New Montessori parents may not realize that one of the key aspects of reaching that goal is the preparation done at the beginning of the school year. Phasing-in as an orientation tool is one critical technique in setting the tone for the rest of the school year.

It is imperative that parents be informed of the school's phase-in policy at the point of enrollment because the phase-in period involves a graduated attendance schedule that is different from the regular school day that evolves once the student orientation is complete. This process can require special childcare arrangements to accommodate the child's limited and changing school attendance schedule. Also critical to parent phase-in communication is an explanation of why a phase-in approach is so important for their child. Until parents begin to understand why the larger class sizes of a Montessori environment work to the benefit to all the children, they need to know that the Montessori teacher is utilizing a technique that helps the new child transition into such a classroom.

When parents first inquire about the school, I always include in my parent information/enrollment package a detailed explanation of how we structure phase-in orientation. About a month before school starts, I send the parents the schedule of when their child will start school and at what times. Sometimes, I may have an older sibling already in the classroom, and I make adjustments to help out those parents. At our parent orientation meetings in the week before school begins, the phase-in process is again discussed. Any questions that arise are addressed to reassure parents that their child's best interests are being served through the phase-in orientation process.

Related NAMC Blogs:

• Part 1 of 3 – Phase-In Orientation
• Part 2 of 3 - Summer Transition
• Montessori Leadership Corner: Building Montessori Communities
• Montessori Community: Parent Education - Beyond Orientation

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: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

NAMC thanks Maureen Northacker for this blog contribution.