Montessori Classroom Ground Rules

As I said in a previous post, there is this huge misconception that Montessori means that the children are free to do whatever they choose and that the class is not structured.  This is not the case at all!  That would be complete chaos and how would anything get accomplished that way?!  It really comes down to those ground rules!

The Montessori Cult

Not! There is not a Montessori cult ( that I know of)! There are a LOT of people that strongly believe in the philosophy and some who may seem a little too enamored. I believe a big part of it is that finding out about the philosophy and experiencing it firsthand is like a light bulb coming on. It just makes sense to a lot of people and they want to share it.

Where Has the Concentration Gone?!

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, I find myself doing a lot of chin scratching and hair pulling. Ok, not really pulling my hair out but wanting too! I consider myself to be a pretty patient teacher and I'm often complimented on this by visitors, but I guess the end of the year is affecting me some too. Who are these children and what have they done with my focused, hardworking students?! Am I the only one going through this?

As we wade through the last few weeks (sorry if I'm being pessimistic; just being realistic) here is my "attack plan":
*keeping to our routine as much as possible
*reviewing ground rules at line time
*having a daily goal of a ground rule that our class needs to work on
*having shorter line times
*keeping them busy learning
*rotating out lessons, especially if they are not being used meaningfully

I know the concentration will come back and that we ALL need some R&R, so until then we'll just keep doing the best we can do.

-Upcoming: lessons ideas

Not a Member of the Montessori Cult and Not a Perfect Parent Either

Follow the child was Maria Montessori's mantra and while I firmly believe in it, I've had to add an addendum as a fairly new parent. Follow the child and your parenting instinct.