Today was one of our first days back into the classroom for an extended period, and I thought it would be a good day to give a little more info about how our time passes w when we’re in the classroom.
As in other Montessori classrooms, the kids have freedom of movement (as long as it is peaceful and respectful) and choice (as long as they’ve had a lesson on a work). Gianna is at an age where I do direct her towards choosing a language work and a counting work each day. There are at least 3 works out for her level in each area, so even within that restriction there is choice.
Some days, she happily goes to the work, finishes it quickly and without complaint, and then moves on. Today was not one of those days. Today she got two words into her moveable alphabet work and stopped. And laid down. And whined. And rolled all over the floor. And took a break to rock in the rocking chair. And walked over to interrupt her brother. And crawled over to see what Charlotte was doing. And told me it was tooooooo hard. And that she was tired. And that she needed to be excused. Etc., etc. etc..
And each time, it took all the willpower within me, to gently remind her to return to her work (moment of pure honesty- I wasn’t always super gentle with my reminders). It took more patience than I was expecting to expend that early in the morning to remind her that she was capable and intelligent, and that no, I was not going to do any of it for her. So I persevered, and eventually so did she. She decided to put her mind and heart into her work. And it was worth it. Because after she conquered the moveable alphabet, she turned her eyes over the language shelf and spied a work she has been capable of but avoiding for awhile- word cubes. And she read every single one. No problem. She was beyond proud of herself.
William had a delightful morning in the classroom. He really takes to the environment, and has gotten very good at making a choice, completing a work, and putting it away before he chooses another. Today at his request we took out the sandpaper letters. We’ve only ever done 4 sounds, and only ever at his prompting (which is rare), so I was surprised that he remembered a couple. Other than that lesson, he worked independently and needing little in the way of redirection.
Charlotte decided to opt out of her morning nap, much to my dismay, but it did give us all the chance to be in the space together for a prolonged length of time. And you know what? They all handled it beautifully. There was an expected amount of being distracted by the baby, but both William and Gianna went back to their own work after checking out what she was up to. Charlotte was very pleased by the long low shelf of interesting works and cruised along it exploring the items out for her. She even sat at the table with a puzzle for a few minutes (she by no means can actually do the puzzle, but she finds the chunky pieces fascinating).
After her language triumph, Gianna wanted to give Charlotte a lesson, so I allowed her to show her sister the object permanence box. It was a treat for everyone to see Charlotte captivated and engaged. Gianna was especially proud of being able to teach.
