A Montessori classroom may look confusing to some. You may see 30 children doing 30 different, individual projects, while three teachers, at various times, are roaming, observing, note-taking, or giving a lesson. Sometimes, I compare it to juggling, other times, to a dance. It depends upon the day.
So, how does a Montessori education work? How can a teacher manage a classroom of 30 individual learners going at their own pace and working on their own projects?
The answer is that a teacher can't do it. In a Montessori classroom, the adult teachers, the other children, the environment, and even each piece of work, play an important role in teaching the students. The environment itself is structured to encourage good choices, and minimize destructive impulses. The work is set on child-high shelves, displayed so that it is attractive for the children to use. The tables and chairs are comfortable and sturdy. Work can used on the floor or at tables, according to the children's comfort. Each lesson is as self-correcting as possible. When lessons are presented, we show children how to check their own work, which is preferable to asking the teacher if something is correct.. And let's not forget the other children! Each child, as they learn and master lessons, becomes a capable teacher for another child. Each child who has internalized the routines of the classroom, can pass on their wisdom to another child. We form a community with a common goal of the smooth running of the room.
Each student begins the year with a set of expectations: to take out work and put it away properly, to keep productively busy, and to follow the classroom rules and routines that benefit us all. These are the "musts" for every child of every age. Then, as we get to know the students, the expectations become differentiated by each individual's strengths and needs. In general, it goes like this:
Three-Year-Olds
Three-year-olds are beginning learners. They need to move, they need to have objects to hold, and touch, and explore. Their learning is the most self-directed and also the most concrete. We also want them to revisit work frequently, because by repetition, they master skills. A child who is pouring water should continue to use the water pouring until it can be done without spills, and the tray can be replaced upon the shelf without dropping it. A three-year-old's education is the epitome of "practice makes perfect"!
The sensorial area is also of special interest because it gives students a chance to explore concepts such as length and width and weight and sound with concrete materials that can be handled and explored. Which do you think means more to a child? A workbook with a picture of an elephant and a feather, featuring directions to circle the heaviest one? Or a way for a student to hold actual objects that demonstrate differences in weight?
Does this mean that three-year-olds do not learn letters and numbers? No, but they learn in very concrete ways. Before teaching the symbolic letters, we teach children to verbalize the different beginning sounds they hear in words. A student at this age will learn that his or her name starts with a /j/ sound before learning that the letter that makes that sound is called a "j". That same student will practice counting out 3 or 4 objects before recognizing the numerals "3" or "4".
As a teacher, I still make appointments to teach three-year-olds individual lessons, but I give much more leeway to them to choose what I will teach. If I choose, and they are not interested, it is wasted time for both them and myself. If they are interested, it is my signal that they will want to put effort into that lesson, which is the best use of classroom time. Since attention spans are short, I structure the lesson to go only slightly over the time when interest is lost, which means that I am constantly reading the signals from the student. This helps expand the child's attention span, without fatiguing the student, or ending the lesson on a negative note. We want our kiddos to love learning!
Four-Year-Olds
Four-year-olds come into the Montessori classroom with a few more expectations. This is the year in which we begin journaling on a daily basis. Usually, the student comes into the classroom and finds out the journal topic ("What's for journal?"), and they draw what they observe. Often, we have a model of an object, or a real object itself, when possible. The word on the board labels what they are drawing. There is usually a sentence about the subject as well. The expectations for the journal are different for each child. Some simply draw what they see, and dictate to the teacher their observation. Some draw, and then write their name. Some copy the label. Some copy the sentence. The level of what is accomplished is negotiated between the student and the teacher, and always geared to the student's abilities. Also, it always changes as each new level is mastered.
We also begin making monthly plan sheets for the four-year-old students. At the beginning of each month, I make a plan for which topics I want to cover with each individual student in every area of the classroom. Planning over the course of the month gives us lots of room for both the teacher and the student to make decisions about which lessons will be presented, and when. Usually, I will say to a student, "When you are finished with what you are doing, I have an appointment with you." I never want to pull a child away from work that he or she has chosen; I want to give the respect and time to finish what has been started. This is part of the juggling act. Catching a student as he or she is putting work away is ideal. For four-year-olds, there is still plenty of free choice work, and teacher-led lessons are usually offered as two or three choices ("Would you like to work with the movable alphabet or the triangle box?"). Of course, if a student consistently avoids a certain area of the classroom, the choices are narrowed to that area ("Would you like to work with the movable alphabet or the sandpaper letters?").
Five-Year-Olds
As five-year-olds begin their year, there is more emphasis on Kindergarten standards, balanced with the Montessori philosophy of self-directed and self-paced learning. This is addressed in our room by the weekly work list. Every week, the teacher composes a list of projects from each area of the classroom, that the five-year-old student is expected to complete by Friday. These lists are individualized for the student's particular needs and skills. Some of the projects are work that can be accomplished independently, and others are new lessons from the teacher. Each student is invited to manage his or her time so that he or she can complete the list, and have time left to work on other projects that attract the student's interest. The work list includes projects utilizing language, math, science, cultural lessons, geography, and penmanship.
Five-year-olds also continue to journal every day. Drawings have more detail, and words and sentences are now copied onto lined paper to encourage proper letter formation and spacing. Many also incorporate invented spelling to compose their own sentences, and then write the date. A daily reading log, using beginning readers, is incorporated into the child's work list.
A five-year-old completing the three-year cycle of Montessori education will have practiced the skills of self-direction, self-care, organization of work and time, as well as respect toward teachers, peers, and materials. These are the lessons above and beyond the practical life, sensorial, math, language, science, and geography work that a Montessori child can choose from each and every day.
These are just the guidelines, or a starting point, of what we would do with typical 3, 4, and 5-year-olds. The beauty of Montessori education is the acknowledgment that every child is unique. A 3-year-old may need to practice practical life skills, but function at a higher level in math skills. A 5-year-old may need to review and revisit language work that he or she would be expected to have mastered. We have the ability to keep a student progressing in each and every skill area, without the need for grouping, singling out, or giving them different lessons (everyone gets different lessons!). Even the same pieces of work can be tailored to different skill levels. A 3-year-old and 5-year-old may both use the movable alphabet, but in very different ways, reflecting their own unique knowledge and interest.