Re-opening During Covid-19

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As North Carolina has moved to reopen daycares, camps, and schools we are working busily to make sure that Peace Rose can reopen safely. We are closely following recommendations from the state of North Carolina, the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and the NC Department of Non Public Education. We are also watching what the NC Department of Public Instruction recommends for public schools and following the recommendations that are applicable to our school.

Beginning June 8th our summer camps re-opened at limited capacity with strict protocols for cleaning, masking, and social distancing. As we look to the fall we are planning to reopen with Plan A guidelines on August 10th. We have shared with the Peace Rose community our detailed plans for how we are operating safely and look forward to adjusting our procedures as our understanding of Covid-19 continues to shift and as we see what works for our community.

We are currently using these resources to help guide our plans and decisions:

Supporting Montessori at Home

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Montessori is much more than the materials in the classroom, it is a method, a pedagogy, an approach to interacting with children and supporting their growth. While we believe strongly that the classroom environment is an invaluable teacher, there are also many ways that Montessori can be supported at home.

  • A defining principle of Montessori is the importance of fostering independence in children. In a Montessori classroom we have the space and time to cultivate independence in their self care, in their interactions with peers, and in their work. We recognize that it is sometimes easier to cultivate independence in the structure of a school setting than it is at home, but there are ways that parents can bring these same principles into the home.

  • Here are some ways to bring independence into your home environment:

    • Independence in self care: a Montessori child is capable of amazing self care when given the space and opportunity to practice and execute their skills. Allow them to choose their clothes, dress themselves, and clean themselves. 

    • Independence in their work: An important part of the Montessori method is emphasizing organization and order. Students choose one work at a time, keep their material contained on a mat in an organized way, and return it to the shelf before choosing another work. We know this can seem like a challenge at home, where often play rooms are chaotic and parents are roped into cleaning at the end of the day. However, we can assure you that your child is used to this routine at school and you can absolutely incorporate it into your home routine! 

    • Independence in play: Sometimes at home children capitalize on their parents attention with demands of time and energy. When you’re home with your child for extended periods of time and breaks from school, this can be draining! In a Montessori environment children receive lessons from teachers but the majority of their work is done independently. They are capable of happily entertaining themselves, even if that isn’t their preference when you are present! 

  • Studies have shown that the single biggest indicator of long term success is whether a child was read to or with daily above their comprehension level. Incorporate reading into your daily family routine! For the young child, this looks like a parent choosing a few books each night to read together. As your child gains phonemic awareness this will begin to include pointing out letters and words they recognize in books you read together, and eventually your child reading leveled readers to you. As your child begins to read we encourage families to both have the child read to the parent and for the parent to read to the child above the comprehension level of what they could read independently. Reading “above the comprehension level” is an important way to increase vocabulary and strengthen their comprehension and listening skills. After you read together have a conversation about the book and what they gleaned from the story! 

  • In a Montessori classroom we begin our language curriculum with phonics. This means that instead of teaching the name of a letter we teach the sound that the letter makes. When you are reading with your child make sure you are encouraging them to think about the letter sounds and helping them to practice saying them properly (here is a guide). 

  • There are many ways you can incorporate math, language, science, and geography into your daily home life that aren’t worksheets or flash cards. Cooking with your child is a beautiful way to support math lessons at home, having children measure and combine ingredients can easily become a lesson in fractions and addition!

  • Emphasize life skills! An important tenet of Montessori is “Practical Life”, works whose direct aim is to develop skills that will be useful to a child’s everyday life such as utensil use, sewing, strengthening pencil grip, chopping, sorting, washing, etc. All of these can easily be supported at home by having child help in the kitchen, make art, and help around the house. 

  • Chores! In a Montessori classroom students have responsibilities and tasks to help keep our classroom beautiful and functional. Each one of the students is capable of age appropriate chores. Offer your child chores that they can do “as a member of the family”, not in exchange for a reward. (Here is a guide for age appropriate chores) 

  • A beloved Montessori math activity is called “fetching” where the teacher asks the child to retrieve a specific number from the Golden Bead Materials. The concept of fetching easily translates to the home, and challenges the student as they work to retain your prompt while they walk across a space and retrieve what you asked. For instance, stand in your kitchen and ask your child to walk to the play room (or area of your house where their toys are) and retrieve 6 dinosaurs, three lizards, and a gorilla (obviously substitute these for toys you know you have and your child can find). Start with a simple combination (two dinosaurs and a shark) and then make your requests more complicated. This tests their working memory, whether they can hold a thought in their mind while they walk through distractions.

There are so many ways that you can bring the philosophy of Montessori into your homes, and we encourage parents to use this resource guide as a way to Montessori your child!

The Environment as the Teacher

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One of the things that makes the Montessori classroom unique is the idea that the environment is the teacher, and the child is to be trusted to work independently within the environment. The role of the Montessori educator, often referred to as a guide, is to observe the child, adjusting the environment and offering lessons and concepts in response to their observations and the child’s interests. This method requires a fair amount of faith from both the educator and the parents in the child’s ability to seek out what they need for their growth and brain development.

Maria Montessori observed that a child often seeks repetition with a work until mastery. Mastery, of course, is subjective, and may mean something different to the child than it does to the educator observing from the outside.

We cannot always know what the child is seeking through repetition, what skill their brain is honing, what question is being answered. It is, therefore, our job to trust both the child to lead themselves to the materials they need and the environment to support them.

One of the most beautiful examples of trusting the child occurred in our Primary class this winter. We have a second year Primary student in our class who has, with singular focus and attention, been honed in on our geometric tangrams for the past year and a half. For those unfamiliar, wooden tangrams are a collection of painted geometric shapes, and they can be used to create designs and patterns. Without fail this child has chosen the tangrams every single school day since he joined the Primary classroom. Quietly and determinedly, alone and with friends, he would build elaborate two and three dimensional designs with the tangrams, sometimes working with them for the duration of work cycle (3 hours). 

As educators we love the tangrams because the child can use them to explore pattern, symmetry, geometric shapes, engineering, and design. Over time we observed the way that this child interacted with the tangrams evolve, becoming more sophisticated and orderly. As he got older and the order of the classroom was internalized he unconsciously became more organized with the work, keeping the tangrams on his mat, positioning his body on the floor next to the mat, taking care to build slowly and methodically. His designs also got more complex, from simple geometric patterns to designs that represented other things, like animals or mythical creatures. He began to story tell with the tangrams, creating elaborate scenes with many interconnected elements.

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We tell parents that the introduction of various academics is sort of like throwing noodles at a wall. You continue to offer, and then eventually, when they’re ready, it sticks. Our goals is never to push a child beyond where they are ready to go independently for fear of fast tracking necessary skill development or creating resentment towards the material. Instead we continually offer, and sometimes nudge, but generally respect the child’s pace. This child, deep in their tangrams, was open to some gentle nudging. He enjoyed integrating a Moveable Alphabet into his tangram design, allowing him to phonetically label his creations and write out the stories in his imagination. He kept pace with his peers in his math and language works, but you could tell that he wasn’t particularly motivated to do anything but the tangrams. 

Until one day, something flipped. He came in hungry for language. In a matter of two weeks he worked through half of our Waseca language cabinets, tearing through sound blends and phonograms with the same focus and voracity that he had previously only applied to tangrams. He will happily spend the entire three hour work cycle doing language works and then come back for more during our afternoon work period. He is proud, excited, and (most importantly) entirely self motivated. This leap forward in language has been entirely his own doing, something that could only be accomplished when he was ready.  

It is easy to look at a child allowed to do tangrams every day for two years and not understand why we haven’t pushed them off into “serious” works. Instead, this child’s parents showed faith in the Montessori process, faith in the environment, and faith in their child. What we as educators recognized is that this child needed something from the tangrams, there was a skill he was building in the repetition that was integral to his development. So much of the Montessori Primary classroom is focused on building pre-reading and pre-math skills in a way that doesn’t seem like work to the child. They develop order, organization, coordination, and concentration, hand strength, motor skills, and dexterity, all through doing works that capture their attention and focus by being interesting and developmentally challenging. Once they’ve done the work of collecting and assembling all the various puzzle pieces they are able make a huge leap forward. 

From the outside it can feel slow to watch them go through the process of gathering those necessary skills, and the adult’s inclination can be to rush them. Instead, we urge you to follow the child’s pace, trust that there is nothing in the environment that is not feeding them, and wait for the leap.


The Benefit of Classroom Babies

Our first classroom baby (now a Primary student) and our most recent classroom baby, who joins her mother in the Toddler/Pre-Primary class!

Our first classroom baby (now a Primary student) and our most recent classroom baby, who joins her mother in the Toddler/Pre-Primary class!

Over the years we have been fortunate enough to have a number of “Classroom Babies” in our various classrooms at Peace Rose. These babies are the children of our educators, and their presence in our programs has been a benefit to all of our students (and to their mothers!). Here are some of the ways a baby can enrich a classroom environment:

  • Children have an innate desire to nurture. A baby in the classroom gives them a real subject for their caring and nurturing nature.

  • A classroom baby helps keep the tone of the classroom peaceful and calm. A baby thrives in a calm environment and the students are extremely motivated to help the baby, which gives them a natural incentive to keep the classroom peaceful, quiet, and calm.

  • Being around babies teaches empathy. Children are incredibly tuned in to the mood of the baby, and this focus helps them in turn to identify, label, and normalize their own emotions.

  • Babies are an incredible science lesson. Having a pregnant educator and then a growing infant allows students to witness first hand the miracle of mammalian development! In fact, our very first themed year, 2016, was “The Year of the Mammal” in honor of our first classroom baby. When we have a classroom baby our lessons about human growth and development become much more interesting and personal for our students.

  • Older students find a very receptive audience for reading aloud in a baby. Nothing is sweeter than a kindergarten student working their way through a leveled reader while a baby gazes on with rapt attention. Can you think of a more calm and patient audience for someone learning to read?

  • For elementary and adolescent students, babies provide a wonderful opportunity to talk about the responsibility of parenthood and the needs of a baby.

  • The presence of a baby makes for rich Practical Life lessons. Washing the baby, watching the baby eat and be changed, helping to dress the baby— so many opportunities!

  • A classroom baby allows each child to be the older child. For our only and youngest children a classroom baby allows them the experience of being the older child and often a sibling like tenderness develops between students and the classroom babies. The students love watching the babies grow and take pride in their development and accomplishments.

  • Being able to bring their infant to class with them, especially for nursing parents, is a wonderful benefit that we are happy to have been able to offer to our educators. In each case we have assessed the needs of the students, the needs of the parent, and the needs of their co-teachers. Every classroom, child, and parent preference is different but when bringing a baby into the classroom works for the whole community, it is a beautiful thing.

10 Traits of an Authentic Montessori School

There is no copyright on the word “Montessori”, meaning anyone can use it, and they do! However, not every program using the word “Montessori” is actually aligned with the vision and methodology of Dr. Maria Montessori.

What makes a Montessori school “authentic”?

1. Knowledgable and trained educators: An authentic Montessori classroom is led by a educator who is trained on the materials and methods of their age group. Dr. Montessori was very specific about how materials were meant to be used, and they are most effective when demonstrated properly to students. As our young school has grown we have always prioritized educator training, and we are proud to say that all of our classrooms are currently led by educators who have been trained or are in the process of training at their age level by a MACTE certified program. .

2. Mixed age classroom: One foundational tenet of Montessori is a mixed age group within each program. A mixed age classroom allows for peer to peer learning and leadership, giving each student the opportunity to receive guidance from their peers and, when it is their turn, lead.

3. A multi-hour work cycle: An uninterrupted work cycle is a critical component to student success. During work cycle students work independently, with educators, and with peers and are given the space and time to dive deeply into works that interest them and hold their attention. At Peace Rose all of our programs have a 2.5-3 hour work cycle.

4. A curriculum tailored to each child: In a multi-age group learning happens one on one or in small groups. Instead of everyone sitting together to do a lesson each child is moving through the curriculum at their own pace. This allows educators to equally support the students who race ahead, the students who are making steady progress, and the students who need more time with a material or concept. Each student is met where they are and guided through the curriculum by the educator.

5. A beautiful environment filled with Montessori materials: Maria Montessori developed a rich collection of materials that span from the infant age through elementary. An authentic Montessori program is based on these materials, beautifully displayed and cared for.

6. Self-directed learning: In a Montessori classroom, the teacher is the environment. A Montessori educator’s job is to observe, adjust the environment, and guide the student as needed. The student’s learning journey is theirs alone. We know that when they come to materials with joy and true curiosity, they thrive. Students in an authentic Montessori environment are intrinsically motivated to do challenging and meaningful work.

7. A rich cultural studies curriculum: Dr. Montessori believed that it was vital to raise citizens of the world. Throughout the year Montessori students will learn about cultures all over the world, focusing on what makes each of us unique and what unites us as humans. At Peace Rose we place a strong emphasis on the narratives of aboriginal cultures as we explore world history.

8. A calm and peaceful classroom: A Montessori classroom is filled with the buzz of focused, busy students. The educators fade into the background, quietly guiding and giving lessons. Students are deep in concentration, those that are up are moving through the classroom with purpose, looking for their next work.

9. An emphasis on independence: Beginning with the very youngest students, Montessori puts an emphasis on independence and self care. Cultivating independence awakens intrinsic motivation and self confidence, showing the child that they are capable. Many parts of the Montessori day revolve around giving children the space, opportunity, and support to accomplish tasks independently.

10. Accreditation: A surefire way to tell if a program is “authentic” Montessori is to inquire about their accreditation. In the United States there are a number of different accrediting agencies, though the most common are the American Montessori Society (AMS), the Association Montessori International (AMI), and the International Montessori Council (IMC). Peace Rose is a proud member school of the American Montessori Society.

The Montessori Third Year

The Montessori Kindergarten Year 
The Benefit of Completing the Cycle 

“I have found that in their development, the child passes through certain phases, each of which has its own particular needs. The characteristics of each are so different that the passages from one phase to the other has been described by certain psychologists as ‘rebirths’.” - Maria Montessori 

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With her theory of developmental planes, Maria Montessori believed that children reinvented themselves every 6 years. The Montessori theory and curriculum is based on these planes, grouping children by age into three year cycles that are designed to feed their specific developmental needs. 

The Montessori Primary years, ages 3-6, should be thought of as three pieces to a puzzle. Each year the child gains knowledge, skills, and experience that come together as a complete puzzle at the end of the kindergarten year. During the first year, children develop order, learn the systems of the classroom, and normalize to the environment. During the second year, they more deeply explore works they were introduced to their first year, they begin to guide their younger friends while at the same time still receiving guidance from their older friends. The third year, kindergarten, is the year of mastery. During the kindergarten year they become a leader and a mentor to their younger friends. Materials that they have explored during their previous two years gain new depth as they are able to take them from concrete to abstract. We encourage parents to think of the three years of each cycle as a house. The first year is the foundation, the second the walls, the third the roof. While the foundation is useful on its own, the house is not complete without the roof. 

The Importance of the Montessori Kindergarten Year

  • During the third year the lessons come together and become a permanent part of the young child’s understanding. Without this process of taking a concept from concrete to abstract, the student will gradually lose the ground they’ve gained with Montessori’s unique method. 

  • In their kindergarten year students become leaders in the classroom. They are given the responsibility of giving lessons, modeling appropriate behaviors, and helping with special classroom tasks reserved for kindergarten students. 

  • The process of giving a lesson that they have mastered independently is something that shows true competency and further cements that lesson in their mind. 

  • Kindergarten is a year of rapid academic and social growth. Their skill level dramatically increases when they are given the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge within the Montessori classroom. 

  • Montessori allows children to continue to learn and grow at their pace. For students who are advanced in the curriculum this allows them to continue to learn without the restrictions of waiting for peers to catch up. 

  • Students are held to the same moral and social standard regardless of where they are in the curriculum. 

  • The goal of Montessori is to develop students who truly understand a concept, so it does not rely on rote memorization or drills. Instead the curriculum builds on itself over the course of years so that the concepts are fully understood by the student. 

  • We set high expectations for all of our students, not a special few. All students are challenged at their level and held to high standards, which develops an internalised sense of self discipline and purpose. 

  • By the kindergarten year students have been in the same community for two years already. Your child will be challenged to reach their full potential in a familiar and safe environment instead of having to acclimate to a new style of learning. 

  • Your child has spent their first two years in the classroom looking up to and admiring the kindergarten students. Children eagerly await their opportunity to join the ranks of kindergarten students in the classroom. This year gives them the opportunity to shine, and leadership brings self esteem and intellectual confidence. 

  • We can always fill an open spot in the classroom, but we can never replace your child. Each student is an important part of the fabric of our class and what they bring to our community is unique.