The Montessori Way

When my sister attended Peter & Jane, i always wondered why that word in the school song meant :

"We are the happy tiny tots of Peter and Jane,

We learn to sing and laugh and play, the Montessori way....."

Montessori Way??? apa tu?

Yesterday, I helped wipe shelves, tables and toys of one classroom because that class teacher was absent. To clean the shelves, i placed a few toy blocks on top of a small drawer-like object which was just an ordinary action to do, no?. Well, this is when i learnt that that wasn't the Montessori way. A teacher told me that an apparatus should not be stacked on top of another to show a form of respect for the apparatus used. I replied with a surprised "oh!". I thought about it for the rest of the day and decided to do some research on the Montessori way when i got back. 

From what i've gathered, the Montessori way of education emphasizes on the individualism of students. 

Montessori schools were started by a psychologist by the name of Montessori (duh!). It was based on her work with and observations of needy children. Compared to traditional schools which are more rigid in terms of routines, schedule, and rules, Montessori schools believe in allowing students to take their time to learn and explore on their own (sounds similar to home schooling). In Peter & Jane, there still is a schedule for different subjects for the students(about 30mins each). The difference compared to traditional schools is that the written work given to them can vary depending on how fast or slow a student learns. They are not given a fixed number of pages to do. The teacher will not allow students to move on to the other pages until the picture they've coloured on the previous page is neat and completed. In a class, some are still struggling to hold a pencil, some don't colour within the lines of a shape and some are already writing without having to use the eraser often.  

In traditional schools, students are required to sit quietly and listen in class without the freedom to move around and ask questions much. A Montessori teacher would require students to sit in a proper manner and pay attention to what is being taught, and then allow time for the children to move around, and talk. There was a day when the children were learning about magnets. They sat in a circle to watch the teacher explain how a magnet works. One magnet was taped to the top of a toy car and the other held by the teacher. To teach about the how magnets can repel one another, the teacher held the south tip of the magnet and faced it towards the north tip of the other magnet stuck to the car. To the amazement of the 5 year olds, the car moved forward and they each had a turn to try it. It seemed like a really fun way to learn. 

Another reason why i support this way of teaching is because of the term "work and play are the same- the Montessori way" on their t-shirts. They have time for the playground! Outdoor activities play an important role when it comes to Peter & Jane. It gives the children to explore their surroundings and environment often. Being under the hot sun, running around on grass, living a healthy lifestyle too in a way. Theme day last week was on the topic "Recycling, plants and fruits". It was interesting to see how involved they are, and also seeing how the parents play a big part in this. They brought fruits and veggies to class during snack time, wore costumes made up of newspaper, junk food wrappers, plastic fruits stuck on hats, and all sorts of amazing and creative outfits!!! Theme day is held once in every 2 months! So glad that i got to experience it. I wished i could have taken pictures of them all dressed up. 

Toys! Are essential for children. Albert Einstein meddled with a compass at the age of 5. What a 'toy'. Anyways, the one thing i've observed in the kindergarten is the type of toys they play with. In every class, they is a toy section. All of them are either blocks of various sizes or puzzles. The puzzles are those which the child has to fix and place them in a correct order or size for it to fit properly. This helps build their spatial intelligence. The child will have to figure out which shape goes where and why one doesn't seem to fit all. There aren't any toys which create random noises such as that hammer that gives a squeak sound everytime the ends get hit (phew!). In their toy box, there are no dolls as well. There was Mr. Potato! which gets the child to place the body parts correctly. Lego was definitely in there.