March 2012 Newsletter

“‘Normalized’ children, aided by their environment, show in their subsequent development those wonderful powers that we describe: spontaneous discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and sympathy for others.”
Dr. Maria Montessori

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Group Photos, Fri., 3/2/12, please be at school by 8:30am

Gardening Day, Sat., 3/3/12, 8am-noon

Rain Date for Group Photos, Thurs., 3/8/12

Workshop: “The Importance of the Three Year Cycle” exploring the Cardinals curriculum, Sat., 3/10/12, 9-11am, child care is available
Book Club, Sun., 3/11/12, 1-3pm “Tools of the Mind”

SCHOOL CLOSES AT NOON THURS. 3/15/12

SCHOOL CLOSED FRI., 3/16/12 (teachers go to the AMS conference)

Spring Begins, Tues., 3/20/12

CPR and 1st Aid, Thurs., 3/29/12, 6:30-9pm, only $25/person

It is better to travel well than to arrive. ~ Buddha
 

Time has taken a leap this year.  It leaped into my everyday thoughts as I anticipated and then celebrated my birthday and it leaped, as a theme, into my thoughts through the books I’ve been reading lately.

I turned 60 .. which surprised and stunned me because when in heaven’s name could that have happened?   For years I have referred to time as “the weird factor” just because it is so stunning.  It has a way of speeding up and slowing down depending on what’s happening, or on what stage of life you are currently living.

As a child it took forever for birthdays and holidays to arrive and now they are upon me so fast I’m barely done cleaning up from the last one.  Oddly enough, as things happen, I was lent a book by Mark Helprin called Winter’s Tale, a most enjoyable story told in indefinite time  .. which is somewhat disorienting.  Then I turned to one of my birthday present books, Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending which is a tale of memory as the main character looks back on his life.

Why do I bring this up?

I am just home from the AMI (Montessori) refresher course. There we discussed many aspects of engaging the human personality.  Within those discussions there was almost always a mention of the gift of time given to children in Montessori classrooms.  No hurrying from one thing to another, but rather the opportunity for repetition supporting the the child’s quest for understanding and perfecting of his work.  A lovely illustration of this was a video we were shown of a child in a toddler group (Infant Community) who was arranging flowers.  He stayed at his task for a really, really long time and was never interrupted.  He moved back and forth between the shelf  where the vases and doilies were kept, the sink where he got water, the basket of flowers from which to choose, and the table where he set the finished project.  It was pure pleasure to see it. (When I get the link to it, I will pass it on)  The time given to this child to do what he needed to do was a priceless gift.  He self corrected when he skipped a step, never getting frustrated or asking for help.  Standing back and observing, rather than correcting or offering help, allowed this young child the chance to follow his own ‘inner guide’.

Time is precious ..and to take one’s time is a gift.

There are so many ways to consider time with young children. It’s time to get up, time to eat, time to go, time to sleep, etc. Because young children live in the moment, and adults with their awareness of the past and future are often absent from the present, conflicts can easily arise.  Allowing time to prepare for these different responsibilities, getting up, eating, etc. is so helpful in gaining cooperation and building an awareness of time – which is, after all, quite an abstract concept for children who are in a more ‘concrete’ period.   In the classroom children are in their moment with an observant guide available to assist when needed.  The observations she makes are informed by her awareness of many things including the sensitive periods – each of which has its own time.

When we slow down to move and perceive life around us as they do we are likely to experience a calming.  It feels like a luxury these days.  The classroom guides have the dual role of being present for, and with, the children where they are in the moment meeting their immediate needs and, with awareness of what comes next, guiding them in ways that will support that next step.   It is a challenging task straddling what is with what’s to come.  In the Children’s House (3-6) children have the gift of time to blossom as individuals.  There is no time table, no one-size-fits-all.  The mixed age group provides the youngest in the group time for unhurried exploration of the prepared environment and the older a chance to model not only expertise, but also what time has in store.

In the Toddler Community (18 mo to 3 years) it is the same.  The older, more experienced children model their skills even as they strengthen them.  It is these strengthened skills they carry forward making the transition to Children’s House a smooth one.

It is there, in the Children’s House, that the journey through the 3 year cycle of what Dr. Montessori called the “conscious absorbent mind” brings the child to the end of the “first plane of development”.  He then arrives at elementary, ready, willing and able to enjoy the explorations of the 2nd plane child when there is greater capacity for abstraction.

Each experience, each year strengthens the foundation for what comes next.  Just as the three period lesson supports learning through Introduction (This is …) followed some time later with Association/Recognition (Show me…) followed by Recall (What is this?…), the work of the 3 year cycle of the Children’s House, anchored in reality, becomes the strong launching pad, so to speak, for the child to move into the 2nd plane where his wonder, reason and imagination will be sparked for further explorations into what’s possible.

So, time leaps and we must slow down allowing our children to move forward at their own individual pace. It is a gift of trust to them.