Year End Preparation for Montessori Teachers and Schools

The end of the school year is drawing near and it is never too soon to start preparing at your Montessori school. Here are some ideas to help you and your Montessori students prepare now to have a smooth and seamless transition into summer.

Be aware of what will be required of you by your Montessori school and supervisor. When will your final student progress reports be distributed and what will you need to do to prepare? Is your Montessori school required to administer standardized tests or an end of the year test? Plan your schedule accordingly and communicate/prepare your students well in advance.

Year End Preparation for Montessori Teachers and Schools

Will your Montessori students be completing a culminating project for work they have been doing? For instance, I have worked in Montessori classrooms where students kept portfolios of their work and this portfolio went with them to the next classroom. Other examples include creating and performing plays based on literature that is being covered by your Montessori students, science fairs, etc.

Are there a lot of completed works and projects in your Montessori classroom that could start going home with students now? This may be a great time to schedule a student fair or open house to showcase your Montessori students’ hard work to schoolmates and parents. Begin sending completed work home gradually, once this has taken place, instead of leaving it to the last days of the school year.

Are your students going to visit a new Montessori classroom that they will be moving to in September? Will students from other Montessori classrooms be visiting yours as future students? Allow plenty of time to coordinate these orientation visits with other teachers.

Younger Montessori students might need more emotional preparation for leaving your classroom or simply for transitioning into summer.

Have discussions about what is happening and what to expect throughout the summer months and at the beginning of the new school year. Read books about summer and moving to new classrooms.

Is there an end of the year picnic or graduation ceremony for which you or your Montessori classroom will need to prepare? Involving them in the planning, preparation and execution of these events provides numerous practical life activities and opportunities for Montessori community building.

What are your Montessori school’s expectations for cleaning and preparing a classroom for summer closure? Are there things you can do now? Develop a plan for a “spring clean” the last week or two of the school year and involve your Montessori students in the process. (Do only what is appropriate and approved by your supervisor.) For example, dusting, tidying and covering material shelves keeps the learning material protected during summer closure, and ready for the new Montessori school year.

Do you and your students have personal items at school that no longer need to be there? Are there items of school property that can go into storage?

Most importantly, remember to relax and have fun. You have spent the entire year developing relationships and sharing achievements with your Montessori students; remember to cherish and appreciate those relationships and achievements now.

Elissa — NAMC Graduate

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 Monday, May 3, 2010.