Montessori Madness

My sweet pea, the first-grader, has been working on this school project for a few weeks.
Every so often I’d get an update from her:…..“Today, we got to make up our own insect…mine is the “buttercock,” half butterfly and half peacock”…….”I wrote a story about my insect”…………”I made my insect out of clay”…….and this went on, what I noticed was the excitement in her tone, what she was learning about the insects, the details she was including and the smile it brought to her face.
And then the day came when she could barely keep still, waiting patiently as my little man talked about his day until she can no longer stand it and says, “I have to tell you this….we are having an author’s café in my class, you get to come, I can dress up and we tell our stories and then serve you drinks and cookies, I’m really excited, can you come?”

So, we marked it down on her calendar and it was like leading up to a birthday….the day finally arrived and she puts on her best dress and says, do you think I’ll be okay in front of everyone? I nod.
My mum accompanies me to the Author’s café and we are greeted by three third-grade girls in the classroom and told to pick a seat. The teacher explains how the projects got started and thus turned into the Author’s café and then the students begin reading their stories about the insect that they created.
I was impressed by the creativity shown by these children, the details that were included and some made you laugh out loud, it was quite impressive and you could tell each child enjoyed the project, there was a spark in their eyes as they talked about their story and sitting there listening to these children made me appreciate my children’s school, appreciate the spirit that they are instilling into my child. It’s what I love about Montessori, they are creating independent, life long learners.

A few parents have created a committee to work on spreading the word of Montessori, there should be more public Montessori schools, we need to expand our school we have a growing population with less teachers and it is going to bubble – the school has over 500 students on the waiting list, which shows parents want more options and we should have more options than traditional public school settings. Our children continually are taught early on that they "CAN'T," when in all reality they CAN.
If you are unfamiliar with Montessori, here is a great video....take a peak



"We cannot create observers by saying 'observe,' but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses." - Maria Montessori