Montessori Around the World - Beijing

As you all know Montessori schools have been around for a very long time - a great testament not only a great testament to Mari Montessori, but also to the method itself. It shows that the method is not only solid, but also adaptable to the many changes which have happened since her first school opened in 1906.

These days you can find Montessori schools just about anywhere, ranging in size, shape, and number of years that students can study there. One thing that is constant with all the schools, though, is the enthusiasm of the staff and the energy and happiness of the children who attend these schools.

One thing I like to do is visit some of the sites of the schools to see what is happening there and look for new ideas. One of my favourite sites and, indeed a very impressive school, is The Children's House Montessori Kindergarten. They have some wonderful programs and an interesting variety of teachers, including one Malaysian, with a variety of backgrounds.

Even the website for the school is full of energy and just about bounces off the screen. Please take a few minutes to visit it and see what is happening at the Beijing school. One word of warning, though, make sure the volume on your computer is turned on - but not too high! The address for the site is http://www.montessoribeijing.com/ens/

Enjoy!

Important message about this blog!

As many of us are new to blogging it's important to remember that it is not a professional website. It is purely a site for all of us involved with Taska LMC to be able to enjoy.

Please feel free to post your thoughts, comments, suggestions, stories, photos and even videos. Good typing skills are not necessary. Neither is perfect English. The most important thing is for people to feel excited enough about the site to want to participate. It's also a great way for friends of the school to keep in touch.

As we get more and more information on the site you may find that some postings are no longer on the screen where you thought they would be. If this is the case, for example with the videos, you may need to go to the bottom of the screen and search through the old blogs. It's just a matter of practice and you will soon get used to it.

Enjoy the site and happy blogging!

Famous Montessorians

The Montessori Method has been around now for over one hundred years. Here is a list of some famous people who have attended Montessori schools in the past. The list may both surprise and inspire you. If you happen to know of any others to add to the list, please let us know.

We are trying to generate a list of famous Montessori students, parents, and supporters. Our list (borrowed from an online source) is below. Do you have any to add?Below is a list of many familiar people who were Montessori educated:

Sergey Brin & Larry Page, Founders of Google

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (deceased), editor, former first lady (John F. Kennedy) Sean 'P.Diddy' (formerly known as Puffy) Combs, RAP mega-star

Anne Frank, famous diarist from world war II

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for Literature

Jeff Bezos, financial analyst, founder, AMAZON.COM

Prince William and Prince Harry, English royal family

T. Berry Brazelton, noted pediatrician and author

Julia Child, famous chef, star of many TV cooking shows and author of numerous cookbooks Kami Cotler, actress (youngest child on long-running series The Waltons)

Melissa and Sarah Gilbert, actors

Famous people who chose Montessori schools for their own children:

Stephen J. Cannell, TV writer-producer-director (The Rockford Files and many others)

Patty Duke Austin, actress

Cher Bono, singer-actress

John Bradshaw, psychologist and author

Yul Brynner (dec.), actor

Marcy Carcy, TV producer

Bill & Hillary Clinton, former president/senator, NY

Michael Douglas, actor

Shari Lewis (dec.), puppeteer

Yo Yo Ma, cellist

Others with a Montessori Connection:

Alexander Graham Bell (dec.), noted inventor, and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Education Assocation in 1913. They also provided financial support directly to Dr. Montessori and helped establish the first Montessori class in Canada and one of the first in the United States.

Mister Rogers, children's TV personality, strong supporter of Montessori education

Thomas Edison, noted scientist and inventor, helped found a Montessori school

President Wilson's daughter trained as a Montessori teacher. There was a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during Wilson's presidency

Jean Piaget (dec.), noted Swiss psychologist, made his first observations of children in a Montessori school. He was also head of the Swiss Montessori Society for many years.
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Maria Montessori:A Brief History


January 6, 1906, Maria Montessori, Casa de Bambini, Children's House, San Lorenzo, Italy
Michael Strong writes of Montessori, of learning in a stream of exploration flowing onward from childhood
On January 6, 1906, Maria Montessori opened up the first Casa de Bambini, Children's House, in San Lorenzo, Italy. This January 7th [2006] marks the 100th year anniversary of Montessori education.
Maria Montessori was the first woman to attend medical school in Italy. In 1896 she became Italy's first female physician and she soon began working with "feeble-minded" children. She came to believe that their problem was educational rather than medical, and began a process of studying innovative pedagogies and observing how actual children go about learning on their own. By means of the methods she was developing, she worked with a cohort of "idiots" and enabled them to pass the standard elementary school test in Italy at the time; this achievement was regarded as "miraculous."
In her words, "While everyone was admiring the progress of my idiots, I was searching for the reasons that could keep the happy, healthy children of the common schools on so low a plane that they could be equaled in intelligence by my unfortunate pupils!" She thus came to focus on the development of new pedagogical methods, and offered to implement her methods in the public schools of Italy, but permission was denied. She then obtained an opportunity to open up a pre-school in a rough ghetto on the outskirts of Rome:
"It was January 6th (1907), when the first school was opened for small, normal children of between three and six years of age. I cannot say on my methods, for these did not yet exist. But in the school that was opened my method was shortly to come into being. On that day there was nothing to be seen but about fifty wretchedly poor children, rough and shy in manner, many of them crying, almost all the children of illiterate parents, who had been entrusted to my care"... "They were tearful, frightened children, so shy that it was impossible to get them to speak; their faces were expressionless, with bewildered eyes as though they had never seen anything in their lives."... "It would be interesting to know the original circumstances that enabled these children to undergo such an extraordinary transformation, or rather, that brought about the appearance of new children, whose souls revealed themselves with such radiance as to spread a light through the whole world."
Soon the results she was obtaining made her an international celebrity. She was invited to the U.S. to speak at Carnegie Hall in 1913 by Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell and soon there were hundreds of Montessori schools opening up in the United States.
It is in our bones to believe that "If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door." As of 1913, it certainly appeared as if Maria Montessori had created a new and better kind of education, and the world was beating a path to her door.
Then in 1914, William Heard Kilpatrick, a disciple of John Dewey, a professor of education at Columbia Teachers College, and the leading expert in education in America, published The Montessori System Examined. Kilpatrick presented a scathing critique of Maria Montessori and her system from a Deweyan perspective through which he persuaded Americans that the strange woman doctor from Italy had created an unscientific approach completely at odds with contemporary pedagogy. The nascent Montessori movement collapsed in the U.S., with only a handful of schools surviving into the 1920s.
Meanwhile Mussolini was pushing Italy towards fascism, and Montessori's methods that liberated children were becoming increasingly unwelcome there as well. In the 1930s she moved to India, where she stayed until the late 1940s. After restarting the Montessori movement in Europe, she died in 1952.
Nancy McCormick Rambusch is credited with re-launching the Montessori movement in the U.S. in 1958. By 1964, Time reported that there were hundreds of Montessori schools in the U.S. That first cohort started as pre-schools, but by the 1970s some of them had begun to develop elementary programs. By the 1980s a few had begun to create Montessori middle schools; from 1994 onwards I've been involved in the movement to create Montessori secondary education. Now there are thousands of Montessori pre-schools around the world, hundreds of Montessori elementary programs, dozens of middle school programs, and a handful of high school programs.
For me, the essence of Montessori's genius was to create an integrated system in which children learn to take responsibility for their own learning in the context of a prepared environment. Often people naively assume that Montessori education is similar to the controversial "Open Classroom" movement of the 1970s or various educational programs in which students are allowed to do as they please. In fact, Montessori education works because the classroom learning materials are carefully designed, the Montessori guide has been carefully trained in how to manage such an environment, and the students are gently trained to become successful autodidacts. A functioning Montessori classroom is actually a very sophisticated organism which really must be seen to be believed: Imagine a room full of four year olds, quietly and intently focused on learning, with an adult off to the side perhaps giving one child a new lesson.
Montessori education results in adolescents who are happy, confidant, bright, well-educated, who love learning and who are eager to initiate projects. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the Google Founders, credit Montessori for much of their success, as does Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com. When I was about to open up a Montessori middle school program in Palo Alto, a group of 6th grade girls came up to me in the middle of the summer, prior to the start of school, to discuss with me, politely and appropriately, which Algebra textbook was best. For those of you who are familiar with adolescents, how many do you know who would have the seriousness of purpose, courage, and interest, to approach an adult authority figure on their own initiative in order to discuss optimizing their curriculum?
At one point while a Silicon Valley executive visited the middle school classroom after it had opened and asked "How do you do this? This is exactly what I want my employees to do!" The adolescents were quietly and intently focused on learning, with no authority needed to tell them what to do. Our average middle school student without a learning disability finished 8th grade with SAT scores higher than those of the average private school senior; some of our students were among the most mathematically advanced of any students in Silicon Valley.
Maria Montessori did create a better mousetrap, a much better one. Here I won't elaborate on why it hasn't been more widely adopted, though for an introduction to the subject I'll point you to "Renewing the Promise of Montessori Education."
On our website this month we have a short articles by Ariel Miller, a Montessori middle school student at the Oneness Family School in Chevy Chase, Maryland. I had the opportunity to hear this young woman give a speech in front of an audience of several hundred Montessorians from around the world, and was impressed by her articulateness and poise as well as the content. The organization highlighted this month is The Montessori Foundation, an excellent resource for those interested in Montessori education, and our featured book is by the Director of The Montessori Foundation, Tim Seldin, How to Raise an Amazing Child: The Montessori Way.
To a world in which all children have an opportunity to be amazing by means of developing their intrinsic genius,
Michael Strong CEO & Chief Visionary OfficerFLOW, Inc.
Please contact us at "contact *-at-* flowidealism.org" with ideas, insights, and inspiration. And remember that FLOW is a non-profit organization that promotes economic freedom and broadly distributed prosperity. You can support FLOW through your financial contributions among other means.
P.S. And, not surprisingly, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, is a fan of Montessori education, because the "quietly and intently focused on learning" feature mentioned above is, of course, a "flow" experience. Montessori schools allow children to learn and grow up habitually in a state of flow.
Michael Strong, is the co-founder of FLOW, with John Mackey of Whole Foods.
http://www.flowproject.org
FLOW is an entrepreneur of meaning, advancing an idealistic worldview through a community that supports new ways of seeing, being, doing, and belonging, which embody the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. Our goal is to liberate the entrepreneurial spirit for good, to create sustainable peace, prosperity, happiness, and wellbeing for all in the next fifty years.
http://www.montessori.org
http://explorersfoundation.org/glyphery/369.htmlJanuary 15, 2007

For Parents / General
Introduction to Montessori Videos
Videos Introducing Montessori
Many parents come to us with basic questions about Montessori. What is it? How is it different from other forms of education? What do children get out of a Montessori education? We offer answers to these questions both as text and as videos for those who find videos more compatible with their learning style.

Some people are sceptical about the Montessori method, seeing it more as playtime rather than a time for learning. In fact, learning through play can be a very effective way of learning.

Here is an article from the Montessori Foundation discussion forum explaining how playing is an extremely important part of a child's learning process.

"PLAY is an integral part of the learning process -- The National Kindergarten AllianceFor the purposes of this paper play does not refer to organized teacher-directed sports, scripted activities, theatre, nor electronic games.Play is one of the most significant means by which children learn. Through spontaneous activity they create roles that emulate adult behavior children think, create, imagine, communicate, make choices, solve problems, take risks, build physical skills and take on a variety of roles as they interact socially. Play is intrinsically motivating and offers children the freedom to explore an activity unfettered by adult parameters of measured outcomes, testing and accountability.Play supports learning, promotes language and social development and enhances creativity in children and adults. Children who learn healthy play skills feel capable, have successes, make friends and learn nonviolent ways to interact with others.Playing is fundamental to how children learn. If our society is to be serious about preparing our youth for their eventual roles in the increasingly complex adult world, then education needs to be serious about making sure that our children PLAY -- Ronald MahAccording to the survey of the National Kindergarten Alliance ( 2002-2004), early childhood educators across the nation are concerned that the pressures of academic requirements and formal assessments are crowding out children's play in school. From the thousands of responses NKA received, it is evident that active learning experiences through play are being replaced by scripted lessons and structured academics. Play, particularly in preschool and kindergarten, needs to be an integral part of the educational process. Children learn more efficiently and effectively through play than one can imagine.The first seven years is a sacrosanct period for leaving the child alone and allowing him or her to "just play." The period from four to seven years of age is the time in which children develop a metaphoric, symbolic language structure upon which later operational and creative thinking is based; that early academic training disrupts the development of this language structure -- Joseph Chilton PearceGiven time and open-ended materials in a safe, supportive environment, play allows children to explore their world and discover their unique place in that world. In the school setting teachers and administrators should be obligated to provide time each day for both outdoor and indoor play.Rationale for PlayNeurological. A newborn brain is made up of 100 billion neurons making about 1,000 trillion connections. (Wolfe, 2001) Children investigate their environment through their physical senses. The neurons are stimulated, integrated and connected across the hemispheres of the brain through a network of dendrites. Scientific studies of the brain have shown that essential neurological pathways occur in an environment free of stress, fatigue, and anxiety.Informal play settings allow children to practice language skills involving vocabulary, syntax and grammar. English language learners particularly benefit from language exchanges during play. These language skills later assist with reading, writing and math development.All the processes involved in play such as repeating actions, making connections, extending skills, combining materials and taking risks provide the essential electrical impulses to help make connections and interconnections between neural networks, thus extending children's capabilities as learners, thinkers and communicators.Play integrates the brain's regulatory systems and contributes to the unity of mind and personality through the development of self-systems (self-esteems, self-worth, self-image and self-competence) -- Elizabeth Wood and Jane AttfieldPhysical. Play is an integral part of the growth of a healthy child. It fosters opportunities to develop large and small motor skills as well as coordination, balance and muscle tone. Active movement provides an outlet for children to release energy and challenges their developing physical bodies. The ancient Greeks recognized the value of play in the developmental and growth period of childhood. Experts in today's world of education also believe that play is essential.Social. Educators know children learn best in situations that are non-threatening, flexible and fun. Self-selected play joins children of like interests in situations where they can engage in self-directed conversations.Creating opportunities for play can lower stress and help prevent violence by offering safe and acceptable situations for interaction. In the early childhood classroom most students engage in age-appropriate conversation with their peers. Shared interests encourage them to pay attention to others, ask questions, offer help, make suggestions and provide feedback.Making friends is a skill that is difficult to learn after childhood -- Lawrence E. ShapiroEarly friendships and relationships lay the groundwork for developing lifelong skills for building healthy social connections among families, on the athletic field and in the workplace and the community.Intellectual. Children benefit greatly when they are engaged in interactive play and are free to share their knowledge with other children. Curriculum is more effective when presented with materials that are open-ended can be easily manipulated. Through spontaneous and creative play with a minimum of teacher intervention children are free to grow and manifest their understanding of concepts.Through play children categorize and generalize new experiences, test and revise conceptual understanding, solve problems, engage in mental planning, think symbolically and test hypotheses -- Jaclyn L. Cooper and Martha Taylor DeversEmotional. During play children are able to control situations that are not theirs in the real world. By exploring possibilities in play situations children display confidence and competence as they plan and make decisions. Play provides a place where children can act out feelings about difficult emotional events they may face.Adults reflect through discussion, literature, writing and meditation. Children reflect through concretely acting out past experiences or preparing for them -- Bruce, Hodder and StoughtonVygotsky believed that children involved in imaginative play will renounce what they want, and willingly subordinate themselves to rules in order to gain the pleasure of the play. He argues that in play they exercise their greatest self-control. ln a Vygotskian model, if we accept the distinction between 'play as such' and 'play in schools' we can see that in order for play to be valued it needs to be located securely within the curriculum structure and organizational framework. Clarifying the role of adults in this process is, therefore, essential -- Elizabeth Wood and Jane AttfieldThe Role of the TeacherThe teacher plays a vital role in the unfolding of human intelligence for every child in the classroom. The teacher should be an active observer and assessor of children as they interact with the environment in which they are playing and with their peers. It is of paramount importance for teachers to. Be aware of current research and resources that validate the essential nature and importance of play,. Designate a consistent time and space for creative and imaginative play,. Provide open-ended play materials,. Structure activities to facilitate children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development,. Withhold judgment of nonstandard answers or interpretations by the students.To this end the teacher provides guidance and stimulates play that is healthy and educational in nature.True Authentic AssessmentObserving play is a teacher's first level of assessment. It is the teacher's responsibility to be an active observer and assess children's interactions with the environment and with peers. The information the teacher collects can provide important data to be used for enrichment, remediation, and/or for sharing with parents.Stages of PlayPlay is spontaneous, observable, solitary or parallel, associative, symbolic, and cooperative. Positive unrestricted play can be a joyous activity that reaps many rewards.Children generally play by building on their previous experiences. They may engage in any of the different types of play at any time.When children are in a healthy environment, they progress through each stage at their own level of development.. Unoccupied Play. Children learn by observing others without interaction.. Onlookers. Children focus intently on watching others play. They may engage in conversation but do not otherwise participate.. Solitary or independent play. Children play by themselves with no interest in what others are doing even if they are physically close.. Parallel play. Children play alongside others with similar objects such as blocks; however, they do not play with each other but side by side separately.. Associative play. Children engage in the same play activity without an organized goal. They may share blocks or tools but do not build the same structure.. Cooperative Play. Children are organized, have a specific goal and have a sense of belonging to a group. It is the beginning of teamwork and doing projects where they work or play together.PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS:State standards describe what young children should know and learn. A strong play-based program can help children develop knowledge and skills. Keeping play as an integral part of the early education program is important not only to the children but to society as a whole.Educators should inform parents administrators and other decision makers of the value of non-structured play in support of healthy child development.The school play environment can have a tremendous impact upon the education of children. As some new schools are built with minimal playgrounds, what may appear to be wise budget decisions may actually rob children of vital opportunities to engage in non-structured social situations.Academic pressure has caused blocks, easels, and even dramatic play areas to be left unused or be totally eliminated in many classrooms. However, it is through make believe that children are able to manipulate their environment and create imaginary places of their own. In the real world adults control the experiences of children. In the children's world of play a stick becomes a horse, dolls become students in a classroom, and blocks become ships at sea or airplanes roaring through the sky.To support emergent literacy it is appropriate that the play environment include literary objects, e.g. typewriter or computer, cash registers, notepaper, markers, pencils, telephones, coins, mailboxes, classroom and library books. These materials spark children's imaginations and prompt a variety of responses to enrich their play experiences.There's no formula to ensure that children become happy and accomplished adults. But it seems clear that even as technology proliferates, simple unstructured play should be a priority, enriching children and their imaginations for the rest of their lives -- ClaudiKalbJust PlayingWhen I'm building the block room, please don't say I'm "just playing," for you see, I'm learning as I play about balance andshapes.When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, don't get the idea I'm "just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a mother or father someday.When you see me up to my elbows in paint, or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, please don't let me hear you say "He's just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I'm expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artistor an inventor someday.When you see me sitting in a chair "reading"to" an imaginary audience, please don't laugh and think I'm "just playing." You see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday.When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, don't pass it off as "just play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday.When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "plaything" at my school, please don't feel the time is wasted in "play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate. I may be in business some day.When you see me cooking or tasting foods, please don't think because I enjoy it, "it's just play. I'm learning to follow directions and see differences. I may be a chef someday.When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, please don't say I'm "just playing. I'm learning to how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.When you ask me what I've done at school today, and I say,"I've just played" Please don't misunderstand, for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. I'm preparing for tomorrow. Today, I am a child, and my work is play."Anita Wadley____________ ____

The Montessori Way - Playing to learn

While some people are a little sceptical about the Montessori method, seeing it more as playtime rather than a time for learning, there is, in fact, solid proof that learnng through play can be extremely sucessful. Here is an article from the Montessori Foundation discussion forum which may help in understanding the method a little better.

"PLAY is an integral part of the learning process -- The National Kindergarten AllianceFor the purposes of this paper play does not refer to organized teacher-directed sports, scripted activities, theatre, nor electronic games.Play is one of the most significant means by which children learn. Through spontaneous activity they create roles that emulate adult behavior children think, create, imagine, communicate, make choices, solve problems, take risks, build physical skills and take on a variety of roles as they interact socially.

Play is intrinsically motivating and offers children the freedom to explore an activity unfettered by adult parameters of measured outcomes, testing and accountability.Play supports learning, promotes language and social development and enhances creativity in children and adults. Children who learn healthy play skills feel capable, have successes, make friends and learn nonviolent ways to interact with others.Playing is fundamental to how children learn.

If our society is to be serious about preparing our youth for their eventual roles in the increasingly complex adult world, then education needs to be serious about making sure that our children PLAY -- Ronald MahAccording to the survey of the National Kindergarten Alliance ( 2002-2004), early childhood educators across the nation are concerned that the pressures of academic requirements and formal assessments are crowding out children's play in school. From the thousands of responses NKA received, it is evident that active learning experiences through play are being replaced by scripted lessons and structured academics.

Play, particularly in preschool and kindergarten, needs to be an integral part of the educational process. Children learn more efficiently and effectively through play than one can imagine.The first seven years is a sacrosanct period for leaving the child alone and allowing him or her to "just play." The period from four to seven years of age is the time in which children develop a metaphoric, symbolic language structure upon which later operational and creative thinking is based; that early academic training disrupts the development of this language structure -- Joseph Chilton PearceGiven time and open-ended materials in a safe, supportive environment, play allows children to explore their world and discover their unique place in that world.

In the school setting teachers and administrators should be obligated to provide time each day for both outdoor and indoor play.Rationale for PlayNeurological. A newborn brain is made up of 100 billion neurons making about 1,000 trillion connections. (Wolfe, 2001) Children investigate their environment through their physical senses. The neurons are stimulated, integrated and connected across the hemispheres of the brain through a network of dendrites. Scientific studies of the brain have shown that essential neurological pathways occur in an environment free of stress, fatigue, and anxiety.

Informal play settings allow children to practice language skills involving vocabulary, syntax and grammar. English language learners particularly benefit from language exchanges during play. These language skills later assist with reading, writing and math development.All the processes involved in play such as repeating actions, making connections, extending skills, combining materials and taking risks provide the essential electrical impulses to help make connections and interconnections between neural networks, thus extending children's capabilities as learners, thinkers and communicators.Play integrates the brain's regulatory systems and contributes to the unity of mind and personality through the development of self-systems (self-esteems, self-worth, self-image and self-competence) -- Elizabeth Wood and Jane AttfieldPhysical.

Play is an integral part of the growth of a healthy child. It fosters opportunities to develop large and small motor skills as well as coordination, balance and muscle tone. Active movement provides an outlet for children to release energy and challenges their developing physical bodies. The ancient Greeks recognized the value of play in the developmental and growth period of childhood. Experts in today's world of education also believe that play is essential.

Social. Educators know children learn best in situations that are non-threatening, flexible and fun. Self-selected play joins children of like interests in situations where they can engage in self-directed conversations.Creating opportunities for play can lower stress and help prevent violence by offering safe and acceptable situations for interaction. In the early childhood classroom most students engage in age-appropriate conversation with their peers. Shared interests encourage them to pay attention to others, ask questions, offer help, make suggestions and provide feedback.

Making friends is a skill that is difficult to learn after childhood -- Lawrence E. ShapiroEarly friendships and relationships lay the groundwork for developing lifelong skills for building healthy social connections among families, on the athletic field and in the workplace and the community.Intellectual. Children benefit greatly when they are engaged in interactive play and are free to share their knowledge with other children. Curriculum is more effective when presented with materials that are open-ended can be easily manipulated.

Through spontaneous and creative play with a minimum of teacher intervention children are free to grow and manifest their understanding of concepts.Through play children categorize and generalize new experiences, test and revise conceptual understanding, solve problems, engage in mental planning, think symbolically and test hypotheses -- Jaclyn L. Cooper and Martha Taylor DeversEmotional. During play children are able to control situations that are not theirs in the real world. By exploring possibilities in play situations children display confidence and competence as they plan and make decisions.

Play provides a place where children can act out feelings about difficult emotional events they may face.Adults reflect through discussion, literature, writing and meditation. Children reflect through concretely acting out past experiences or preparing for them -- Bruce, Hodder and StoughtonVygotsky believed that children involved in imaginative play will renounce what they want, and willingly subordinate themselves to rules in order to gain the pleasure of the play. He argues that in play they exercise their greatest self-control. ln a Vygotskian model, if we accept the distinction between 'play as such' and 'play in schools' we can see that in order for play to be valued it needs to be located securely within the curriculum structure and organizational framework.

Clarifying the role of adults in this process is, therefore, essential -- Elizabeth Wood and Jane AttfieldThe Role of the TeacherThe teacher plays a vital role in the unfolding of human intelligence for every child in the classroom. The teacher should be an active observer and assessor of children as they interact with the environment in which they are playing and with their peers. It is of paramount importance for teachers to. Be aware of current research and resources that validate the essential nature and importance of play,. Designate a consistent time and space for creative and imaginative play,. Provide open-ended play materials,. Structure activities to facilitate children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development,. Withhold judgment of nonstandard answers or interpretations by the students.To this end the teacher provides guidance and stimulates play that is healthy and educational in nature.

True Authentic AssessmentObserving play is a teacher's first level of assessment. It is the teacher's responsibility to be an active observer and assess children's interactions with the environment and with peers. The information the teacher collects can provide important data to be used for enrichment, remediation, and/or for sharing with parents.Stages of PlayPlay is spontaneous, observable, solitary or parallel, associative, symbolic, and cooperative. Positive unrestricted play can be a joyous activity that reaps many rewards.Children generally play by building on their previous experiences. They may engage in any of the different types of play at any time.When children are in a healthy environment, they progress through each stage at their own level of development..

Unoccupied Play. Children learn by observing others without interaction.. Onlookers. Children focus intently on watching others play. They may engage in conversation but do not otherwise participate.. Solitary or independent play. Children play by themselves with no interest in what others are doing even if they are physically close.. Parallel play. Children play alongside others with similar objects such as blocks; however, they do not play with each other but side by side separately.. Associative play. Children engage in the same play activity without an organized goal. They may share blocks or tools but do not build the same structure.. Cooperative Play. Children are organized, have a specific goal and have a sense of belonging to a group. It is the beginning of teamwork and doing projects where they work or play together.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS:State standards describe what young children should know and learn. A strong play-based program can help children develop knowledge and skills. Keeping play as an integral part of the early education program is important not only to the children but to society as a whole.Educators should inform parents administrators and other decision makers of the value of non-structured play in support of healthy child development.The school play environment can have a tremendous impact upon the education of children. As some new schools are built with minimal playgrounds, what may appear to be wise budget decisions may actually rob children of vital opportunities to engage in non-structured social situations.Academic pressure has caused blocks, easels, and even dramatic play areas to be left unused or be totally eliminated in many classrooms. However, it is through make believe that children are able to manipulate their environment and create imaginary places of their own. In the real world adults control the experiences of children. In the children's world of play a stick becomes a horse, dolls become students in a classroom, and blocks become ships at sea or airplanes roaring through the sky.To support emergent literacy it is appropriate that the play environment include literary objects, e.g. typewriter or computer, cash registers, notepaper, markers, pencils, telephones, coins, mailboxes, classroom and library books. These materials spark children's imaginations and prompt a variety of responses to enrich their play experiences.There's no formula to ensure that children become happy and accomplished adults. But it seems clear that even as technology proliferates, simple unstructured play should be a priority, enriching children and their imaginations for the rest of their lives -- ClaudiKalbJust PlayingWhen I'm building the block room, please don't say I'm "just playing," for you see, I'm learning as I play about balance andshapes.When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, don't get the idea I'm "just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a mother or father someday.When you see me up to my elbows in paint, or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, please don't let me hear you say "He's just playing," for your see, I'm learning as I play. I'm expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artistor an inventor someday.When you see me sitting in a chair "reading"to" an imaginary audience, please don't laugh and think I'm "just playing." You see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday.When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, don't pass it off as "just play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday.When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "plaything" at my school, please don't feel the time is wasted in "play," for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate. I may be in business some day.When you see me cooking or tasting foods, please don't think because I enjoy it, "it's just play. I'm learning to follow directions and see differences. I may be a chef someday.When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, please don't say I'm "just playing. I'm learning to how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.When you ask me what I've done at school today, and I say,"I've just played" Please don't misunderstand, for you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. I'm preparing for tomorrow. Today, I am a child, and my work is play. "Anita Wadley____________ ____

Welcome to the Taska LMC blogsite

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Welcome to the Taska LMC Montessori Blogsite!

Welcome to the Taska LMC Montessori blogsite. We hope that you will not only enjoy reading the information on our site but also join in the fun by posting any comments or stories you may have about your experiences (and you children's, of course!) at LMC.

As students come and go, all to0 quickly it seems, we hope that this blogsite will also be used by former parents and students, not only as a way of keeping in touch with the school, but also as a means of letting us know how your children are getting along. As we progress with our blogsite, we also hope to be able to post photos of our daily classroom activites as well as our excursions. And, if technology allows it, videos of our end of year concerts. We also hope to be able to post useful links which may help not just our current parents, but also any prospective students who may be thinking of sending their children to our school.

Taska LMC is a happy, exciting school where children learn an amazing amount of knowledge in a wonderfully conducive atmosphere. It is also a place where children and teachers work together to open children's minds and allow them to work to their full potential. It is also a place where parents are actively encouraged to come and share the experience. A child's mind is a wonderful thing. With careful nurturing and a little guidance there are no limits to how far it can take them. Enjoy the blogsite and feel free to join in!

Lily Low,
Principal
Posted by Lily at 7:56 PM 0 comments
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