Administrator, Author at Sammamish Montessori

Congratulations to 7 SMS Alumni Honored as 2020 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists!

September 20, 2020 By Administrator

We wish to give special congratulations to the seven past Sammamish Montessori School students, now high school seniors, who have been named as semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Satyen Subramaniam (Interlake HS)

Suriyen Subramaniam (Interlake HS)

Estella Xu (Interlake HS)

Sravya Ganti (International Community School)

Kaushik Samarjit (Nikola Tesla STEM HS)

Archit Patankar (Nikola Tesla STEM HS)

Aran Punnimoorthy (Nikola Tesla STEM HS)

Since we began tracking in 2015, we are proud to note that 24 SMS alumni have earned National Merit Scholar semifinalist status.

We are so proud of all of our alumni students and excited to see their future academic achievements, successes and happiness in life. We love to hear from past students and their families so please keep in touch!

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According to the College Board, approximately 16,000 semifinalists across the nation had the highest scores on the PSAT taken by 1.8 million juniors this past year. To qualify, each student must submit an application that includes academic transcripts, an essay, and a letter of recommendation. Approximately 7,600 of those finalists are awarded Merit Scholarships, which, in total, are worth about $30 million.

National Merit Scholarship Program

Click here for more information about the National Merit Scholars program and all semifinalists in Washington State.

Montessori Education and its Cultural and Peace Curriculum

March 27, 2020 By Administrator

Montessori education is unique and groundbreaking in that it incorporates cultural and peace education. Over one hundred years ago, Dr. Maria Montessori wrote, “The child is both the hope and a promise for mankind.” Montessori children gain a world view from a young age. Children begin to realize that they are part of a larger community. Maria Montessori’s goal was to promote global understanding and international peace. This understanding begins with geography and cultural lessons.

Through geography lessons, children become aware of where they live in the world. Young children learn to identify the continents and many countries. Their world expands. Montessori cultural lessons expose children to different people and their cultures. These lessons include how people have adapted to different climates, their homes, clothing, food, and customs. Through continent and cultural studies, children learn about the interconnectedness of all life on earth. The journey continues in the Elementary curriculum with lessons in Cosmic Education.

In the 3 to 6 classroom, Montessori teachers use the continent maps and globes as well as atlases, pictures and books for their geography and cultural lessons. I remember when my son 3 years old and became fascinated with a book that his teacher had in her Montessori classroom. The book was called Children Just Like Me, by Anabel & Barnabas Kindersley. Each page featured a photograph of a child and what his life was like in his country, with pictures of his family, his school, and his favorite foods and games. This book and the Montessori maps inspired by my son’s interest in learning more about the world.

Montessori provides young children with a unique opportunity, the early exposure to the concept that children around the word are different but the same. A Montessori teacher is aware of the importance of having multicultural books and posters in the classroom. Cultural celebrations are a regular part of the Montessori classroom. Diwali, Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Eid, Ramadan, and other celebrations are honored. Teachers welcome parents to participate by volunteering to share some of their cultural traditions. Parents read books, teach some words in their language, or explain some of their traditions using objects or pictures. Other parents bring in traditional food to share. Parents also help to supervise special art projects. Children have the opportunity to try on traditional clothing and eat delicious snacks. These experiences for young children instill in them a respect and appreciation for differences.

Peace lessons teach these messages of respect and appreciation directly. The peace basket or the peace table is used by children to resolve conflicts. The peace basket that we use in our classroom contains a small ball, a flower, and a bell. The child holding the ball expresses his point of view. Using “I messages”, the child tells the other child how she feels. Next, the children pass the flower to each other, which signifies their willingness to make peace. Finally, they ring the bell to signify that the problem has been resolved. By listening to the viewpoint of another child, a child begins to develop empathy for others.

Children learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully on the playground as well. These conflict resolution skills foster independence and self-confidence in children. Important life skills and communication skills such as listening, empathy, problem-solving, negotiation and tolerance are being learned every day at recess. The role of the Montessori teacher on the playground is to observe and guide, just as it is in the classroom.

Here is an example of another peace lesson that I present in my classroom. The goal of the lesson is to reinforce the concept of appreciating differences in people. I begin by reading The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz. The children place their hands on the floor in front of them. We look around and notice the different skin tones. We talk about how all the children around the circle do not look the same, and that is a good thing! Next, I show felt cutouts of children with different skin colors. Each felt child has a gold sequin on their heart, which represents their love light. Then I read a story about how at first, the children were afraid of others that looked different from them, but they learned to appreciate their differences and were united by love.

After the lesson, children work with the felt children or related art activities. Children trace a template of a person and color it with skin tone crayons. Or, a teacher traces around a child’s hand then asks her to color the outline with the color that most closely matches their skin tone.

Another extension is the Love Light necklace lesson. Children make a felt heart necklace for a friend. In the center of the heart, the child glues a gold sequin that represents their love light. This activity incorporates the practical life skills of beading and sewing.

The resource that I used for these peace lessons is Honoring the Light in the Child, Activities to Nurture Peaceful Living Skills in Young Children, by Sonnie McFarland. She credits Maria Montessori with being a pioneer in peace education. McFarland says,

Dr. Maria Montessori was one of the first educators to recognize the connection between seeing and responding to the intrinsic beauty and love with children and their ability to manifest their greatest potential and talents. She created an education model based on this realization. (McFarland, p. 3)

McFarland field tested the peace lessons outlined in her book at the Montessori School of Denver. She recognized the importance of presenting these lessons to very young children. McFarland states,

“To educate for lasting peace, we must begin at birth. Children come into this world with pure love or light in their hearts. When this love is recognized and consistently reflected back to them, they are able to develop their fullest potential and become responsible citizens of the world.” (McFarland, p.5)

That is why my favorite quote from Dr. Maria Montessori is, “The child is both the hope and a promise for mankind.” This message is timely today. As it has been in recent years. This message gives me hope. It solidifies my commitment to Montessori education. It makes me realize that Montessori teachers, working with the very youngest children, have one of the most important jobs on earth!

by Carolyn Kerr

Carolyn Kerr is a Montessori Teacher at Sammamish Montessori School and has been teaching in Room 5 since 2013. Carolyn has over 20 years of teaching experience in public schools, private schools and Montessori schools. She holds an AMS (American Montessori Society) Credential for Early Childhood Education and a Washington State Elementary Teaching Certificate. She has a BA and Bachelor of Education from University of Toronto in Canada. Carolyn loves to take long walks with her husband John and dog Bella and loves spending quality time with her own Montessori children, Matthew and Ben.

Source: https://www.montessoriservices.com/honoring-the-light-of-the-child-book-cd

Offering Daily In-Person Classes for the 2020-2021 SY – Covid-19 Operating Plan

February 26, 2020 By Administrator

Our first day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. We will be offering daily in-person instruction. As a licensed early childhood program, we are encouraged by the state of Washington to remain open and offer in-person classes given the importance of early learning and considering all of the strict health and safety protocols licensed programs already are accustomed to managing. At this stage of your child’s life, social-emotional development and language acquisition is vital to well-being and health. An in-person classroom setting that is managed safely will provide children with these crucial developmental experiences.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for in-person instruction for Pre-K and Kindergarten. There is evidence regarding COVID-19 in children and adolescents, including the role they may play in the transmission of the infection. The current data indicate that children 10 and younger are less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease resulting from COVID-19 infection and while more research is being done, preliminary findings suggest that children may be less likely to become infected and to spread infection. For more information please see: American Academy of Pediatrics COVID-19 and Return to School.

As a private school, we do not face many of the operational challenges as do public schools: the difficulty to safely manage larger class sizes, mixing children on a school bus, mixing in hallways and common areas of a school building, and regular mixing of middle and high school students as they change classrooms teachers through the day to attend different subjects. For these reasons, some school districts have chosen a remote learning model this fall, while many private schools, particularly those providing early education, are able to safely remain open.

Since May 2020, we have been offering in-person classes and following our COVID-19 Operating Plan. We are able to operate safely by managing smaller numbers of students within our self-contained and spacious classrooms. We keep children grouped together with the same teachers, and prevent students from mixing with other classes within the school building and on the playground. All of our classrooms have external doors so that students can enter and exit directly into/out of their classroom so we strongly advise that families arrive on time and use our drop off and pick up will be conducted curbside by each classroom’s own teacher.

All of these additional health and safety measures we have put in place limit the risk of a possible school-wide transmission as each classroom will be operating independently. We will continue to operate this way in the fall, and we are paying close attention to the health and safety recommendations from public health and following the guidance from Department of Child Youth and Families who license our school.

What happens if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19? If we have a confirmed case of COVID-19, we will work closely with Public Health to determine the length of closure (2-14 days) and to determine whether it is safe to operate unaffected classrooms based on the specifics of the situation.

Is there an option for remote learning? While our focus is primarily on in-person instruction as the best way for children at this age to learn, we will be sending out a survey to help us quantify the number of families who are interested in using and financially supporting a remote learning option using our SMS Google Classroom.

Is Before School/After School and Clubroom being offered? We have temporarily suspended these additional services, however we are assessing the needs of currently enrolled students and may be able to offer a modified version of our after school program. We anticipate being able to offer these services again in their normal form in the future when Public Health allows the mixing of students.

Will you still offer STEAM classes? Students interested in joining our STEAM/Montessori combination will attend full days as a standalone class taught by Ms. Kimble and Mrs. Ward.

Please reach out to us with any questions. More information about the first day of school will be emailed to all enrolled families in the next few weeks.

Best regards,

Janet Villella and Hilary Prentice

janet@sammamishmontessori.com

hilary@sammamishmontessori.com

What is Process Art and Why Is It Important?

February 1, 2020 By Administrator

Young children love to draw and create, but often get frustrated by their inability to produce something that resembles the vision in their head. Their art becomes representational – a line stands in for an animal, a winding trail across the page reflects the movements of their subject, as though the artwork is a story in motion rather than a snapshot in time. Often the work morphs into something else entirely requiring the attention of an engaged listener to unravel the complexities of what has turned a blank page into something quite extraordinary. What you have just witnessed is the creation of a piece of “Process Art”.

Process art is exactly what you think – it’s all about the process and not the finished product. It doesn’t have to resemble anything you’ve ever seen before. Eyes don’t have to appear in pairs, or the colors constrained inside meandering lines. In fact, it doesn’t have to be recognizable at all. This type of art thrives without boundaries and its only requirement is that the artist is enjoying the creative process.

Process art is developmentally appropriate for preschoolers and kindergarteners who have yet to acquire the fine motor skills and self-awareness to represent objects accurately. At this stage, children enjoy experimenting with art media and found objects to better understand what they are and what they can do. These open-ended activities inspire curiosity and encourage sensory exploration. Research is clear: creativity flourishes when it is pursued for its own enjoyment.

This type of art is also rich in concrete, developmentally appropriate skills:

coordination and fine motor control
spacial reasoning
sensory exploration
cognitive development through planning, comparison and problem-solving
social and emotional maturation through increased focus, collaboration with others and feeling pride and success.

How can you encourage process art at home with your child?

Provide time and opportunities to create at home by offering a variety of tools and materials such as colored paper, recyclables, scissors, glue, tape, paint, yarn, crayons, clay etc.
Forget about getting it right! The freedom to make mistakes, express themselves and take risks are the priorities. Refrain from assigning meaning to the art which robs the child of the opportunity to evaluate his or her own work.
Let the work be child-driven without a finished form in mind. Exploration and discovery guide this artform with originality and free thinking, not imitation, being the goal.

Let your child play, learn, experiment, grow. Sit back. Your kid has got this!

Article by Virginia Ward, STEAM Teacher at Sammamish Montessori School, BA. Ed./Special Ed., BA Anthropology, MPA.
Virginia brings decades of experience teaching in countries all over the globe, harnesses her degrees in Primary and Special Education and Anthropology, and taps into her amazing creativity, humor and excitement for life to help STEAM students to explore arts, science, math and more.

Mrs. Ward and students collaborating on a sculpture with free form stick, moss, beads, thread, etc.

Ms. Baltzer helping with bubble art.

Color mixing and exploration with marbles.

Collectively creating a sculpture.

Imagining a castle.

Color mixing paint.

A collaborative weaving and found materials hanging sculpture.

Making art with found natural objects.

Felting and sewing collaborative textile art.

Collaborating on a hanging multimedia sculpture.

Related articles and resources about the importance of creativity and art for young children:

How Process-Focused Art Experiences Support Preschoolers

Benefits of Arts for Kids

The Importance of “Open-Ended” Art in Child Development

100 Invitations to Build – found materials to spark creativity

Resource Library for Parents – Health/Nutrition/Safety/Child Development Information and Links

January 30, 2020 By Administrator

Staying healthy and safe is such a vital part of a child’s development. Below are some resources to help parents connect with information and resources that will help them to keep their child healthy, safe, and ready to learn:

Yale University Covid-19 Study

American Academy of Pediatrics: Covid-19 Transmission and Children: The Child is Not To Blame

Washington State Department of Health: https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/IllnessandDisease/Flu/MaterialsandResources#health

https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data.aspx

Centers For Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) – Flu Vaccine: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/family/flu-guide-for-parents-2018.pdf

CDC- Travel Advisories: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/china#travel-notices

CDC – Child Development Screening: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/screening.html

Nutrition.gov information center for children: https://www.nutrition.gov/subject/life-stages/children

ParentHelp 123 WA state food services, benefits programs, and resources: http://www.parenthelp123.org/child-development/child-development-screening-public

American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry: http://www.aapd.org/advocacy/dentalhome/

American Dental Association – Find a Dentist: https://findadentist.ada.org

KidsHealth – Finding a Pediatrician: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/find-ped.html

American Academy of Pediatrics Health/Safety Resources: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx

Preschool-age Growth & Development Milestones (Physical Skills, Social Skills, Cognitive Skills) – https://www.healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/preschool/pages/default.aspxP

Grade school-age Growth & Development – https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/default.aspx

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Resources (children over 3 years of age):

https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/special-education/program-improvement/technical-assistance/child-find

https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/testing/state-testing-overview/washington-kindergarten-inventory-developing-skills-wakids/wakids-whole-child-assessment

Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) Resources (children under 3 years of age): https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/child-development-supports/esit

Washington Communities for Children (WCFC): https://www.washingtoncfc.org/

Carseat/Booster Seat Safety: https://sammamishmontessori.com/use-the-right-kind-of-car-seat-or-booster-seat-and-use-it-correctly/

Fostering Healthy Family Relationships: https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/healthy-home/7-ways-improve-family-communication/

Potty-training Tips: https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/potty-training/tips/potty-training-tips/

Bed-Wetting: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/enuresis.html

Thank you for keeping your child home if he/she has:

A fever of 100ºF or greater
Diarrhea (3 or more watery stools within the last 24 hours or any bloody stool).
Vomiting (2 or more times in past 24 hours)
An earache
A headache
Signs of irritability or confusion
A sore throat
A rash
Fatigue that limits participation in daily activities
Communicable diseases in the contagious stage (see Parent Handbook).

To avoid spreading illness to other students or teachers, a child who is ill will be taken to the First Aid area in the office and kept separate from other children while parents are called and asked to come to pick up. If your child is sent home because of illness, please keep him/her home at least the following day to rest and recover and to avoid spreading illness to others at the school. A child must be fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications in order to return to school.

And, remember to keep yourself healthy by getting plenty of rest, eating nutritious foods, washing your hands frequently, modeling how to cover your cough/sneeze etc. Healthy parents are important too!

Thank you.

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If you find another resource you believe would be good to share, please suggest it by emailing hilary@sammamishmontessori.com. Thank you! Together we can all stay healthier and help support our children’s development.

Seeking Infant-Toddler MACTE Credentialed Teacher

January 30, 2020 By Administrator

The Sammamish Montessori School is a dynamic and multicultural school, providing Montessori education to a diverse student body in the Redmond area for 40 years.

We are seeking an experienced Infant-Toddler MACTE credentialed Montessori teacher to join our Prep Program teaching team.

Applicant must be confident, friendly and organized and who is able to collaborate effectively with colleagues, loves children and is able to multitask. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required. Duties and responsibilities include curriculum and lesson planning, record keeping and developing and maintaining relationships with student families.

Our school and campus is spacious and beautiful. Classrooms are well organized and fully equipped with teaching materials and supplies. Our school has a small gym, library, large playground areas and offers foreign language and music led by specialist teachers.

Our administration and teaching staff are professional and supportive. A competitive salary will be determined according to experience and education. Benefits for staff who meet the hours requirements include medical and dental and 401(k). PTO, disability, professional development support and paid classroom preparation time also provided. Janitorial service provided nightly.

Conveniently located at the end of SR520 in Redmond, WA near the Microsoft campus. Established in 1977, our school is family owned and operated.

Please send a cover letter and resume to Janet Villella, Director janet@sammamishmontessori.com.

Seeking Montessori 3 to 6 Teacher or Intern

January 15, 2020 By Administrator

The Sammamish Montessori School is a dynamic and multicultural school, providing Montessori education to a diverse student body in the Redmond area for 40 years.

SMS is currently seeking a MACTE certified 3-6 Montessori Teacher or intern.

Conveniently located at the end of SR520 in Redmond, WA near the Microsoft campus. Established in 1977, our school is family owned and operated.

Please send a cover letter and resume to Janet Villella, Director janet@sammamishmontessori.com.

How Montessori Education Encourages Independent Thinking

December 1, 2019 By Administrator

Learning to think is not the same thing as learning to memorize. Thinking requires infinitely more effort and involves much more brain activity than reciting something back. Thinking involves inquiry, innovation, creativity, analysis, synthesis, problem solving, persistence, self-confidence, self-motivation, independence and even courage. That is why the emphasis in a Montessori classroom is on children learning rather than teachers teaching. We strive to foster independence and joyful discovery that naturally leads to greater learning and retention.

The world is changing in such a way that more than ever the children of today will need to be able to think for themselves. Rote learning will simply not prepare children for the complexity and fast paced change that tomorrow is sure to bring. We need them to be able to think for themselves.

The entire structure of the Montessori system from the curriculum, to the way the classroom is set up, to the specific ways in which the teacher interacts with children, is designed to prompt and encourage children to think for themselves, to discover, to make mistakes and learn from their own mistakes. The teacher in a Montessori classroom is as much a guide as a teacher, keenly observing each child’s interests, and abilities and prepared and ready to introduce the next series of lessons when a child shows he or she is ready to move onto the next level. Montessori materials are themselves designed to allow a child to recognize when something is not correct, and to correct it themselves.

Within a typical Montessori preschool/kindergarten classroom there well over a hundred different developmentally appropriate learning activities; each one presenting abstract ideas in concrete form. The depth and breadth of the curriculum allows the Montessori teacher to adapt to address the unique needs of the children in his/her class. The Montessori teacher further enhances the environment by bringing in a variety of additional lessons to pique the curiosity of the students in his/her particular class. Learning is individualized so that it fits the pace as well as the interests of each student.

Because there is not a rigid one-size-fits-all lesson plan for each day as there is in a traditional school setting, the Montessori teacher is allowed the freedom to meet the particular needs of his/her students. The emphasis is always on keeping alive the spark of curiosity, supporting and encouraging independence and nurturing each child’s inherent desire to learn. In this way we work every day to support our students on their journey to think for themselves.

You may be interested in reading the following articles and viewing the below TED talk on the topic of independent thinking and preserving and fostering the creativity every child is born with:

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/raising-independent-thinker/

http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/encouraging-independence-in-children.html

http://www.montessorianswers.com/difference-between-montessori-and-traditional.html

Discovering a natural way to learn | Karin Ann | TEDxHongKongED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVgattQId64

Practical Life – A Foundation For Academic Growth

November 1, 2019 By Administrator

Why Practical Life activities?

Amit has just started school and his parents watch their little boy endearingly as he attacks real-life chores with serious determination. They are so proud to see him carefully spooning dried beans from one dish to another and concentrating hard to pick up the beans he has spilled. However, Emma’s parents watching their five year old following the steps to sew on a button are impatient to see some “real work” being carried out like reading, math or spelling. Even the best-informed Montessori parent may wonder whether the practical life activities may be using up time better spent on academic pursuits. Of course, Emma’s day is not spent solely on practical life activities but this is the area of focus to her parents.

We need to understand why these practical life exercises are so important in the primary Montessori classroom (ages 3-6) and how they relate to the child’s overall development. We should realize that mastery of the task itself is not the primary goal of these exercises.

Practical life activities may well be the most important work in the 3 – 6 classroom.

These activities lead a child to make intelligent choices and become physically and then mentally independent and responsible. The child learns to concentrate, control muscles, move and act with care, focus, analyze logical steps and complete a cycle of activity. This is the foundation for mental and physical work in all other areas, not just in early childhood but also throughout life.

Practical Life activities hone concentration and fine motor skills.

Children follow a sequence of prescribed directions, which include choosing the work on the shelf, finding a space at a table, following steps to complete the task, cleaning up and replacing the work exactly where it belongs on the shelf so it is ready for the next person. It is the small muscle coordination, motor sequencing, inner discipline leading to good social skills and work habits and ultimately self-esteem, which are so important and directly prepare for and support development in math, reading and writing.

Every child instinctively strives to grow and develop skills to the limit of his/her ability. A child’s love of the routines found in practical life activities, stems from a strong biological need to gain coordination. That need is especially strong between the ages of three and six years. At this age, the mind still runs faster than the abilities of the body. An older child may remember the steps needed to thread the needle, knot the thread, choose the button and piece of fabric and sew the button from front to back and then back to front without going around the edge of the button, but this knowledge may not yet match his/her developing physical ability. In this carefully prepared and stimulating environment children can respond to their inner need to work on a wide variety of skills until their physical abilities can keep up with their hands. Children are developing eye-hand coordination, upper body strength, balance and spatial perception. It is no coincidence that these are the basic prerequisites to successfully learn to read and write.

The practical life exercises have precise and orderly movements and are divided into steps, which are completed in a certain sequence that follow a logical progression (essential skills for understanding mathematical concepts). The concentration and inner discipline required to carry out multi-step procedures on their own help to prepare children for all of the complex academic materials they will encounter as they progress through the Montessori curriculum.

One of the greatest driving forces in the maturation of young children is the overwhelming desire to be independent. “I can do it by myself” is a phrase we hear over and over again. These practical life exercises reinforce this sense of self-sufficiency. Children discover they can exert control over their environment and such control carries with it certain responsibilities. What a thrill they feel when they have mastered a useful activity. They feel privileged as they gain the skills to progress to more and more complex tasks as they feel it implies respect for their skill and good judgment.

We can be sure that children of all ages, having experienced a continuous flow of small successes as they accomplish the exercises of practical life, will not only have the skills in place to continue with even more complex tasks, but will be happier, more confident and well-rounded individuals. They will be ready to progress through their school life with pride and the self-esteem to accept challenges, both practical and academic, with optimism and self-confidence.

Pouring work develops concentration and hand-eye coordination.

About the Article’s Author: Joan Starling, Founder, Sammamish Montessori School serving preschool, kindergarten and elementary students in Redmond WA.

Joan established The Sammamish Montessori School in 1977. She began her long career in Montessori education more than four decades ago training under two Montessori trainers who were themselves studied directly under Dr. Maria Montessori. One of them, a wise and practical woman, Margaret Homfray, accompanied Dr. Montessori on trips during the 1930s to translate her lectures on her speaking tours. Joan has been a pioneer of Montessori education in the greater Seattle area, establishing what is now one of the oldest Montessori schools on Seattle’s Eastside and one of the largest Montessori schools in the state. Joan’s two daughters (Janet Villella Director and Hilary Prentice, Business Manager) now share the running of the school and are supported by a wonderful group of teachers, assistants and supporting staff from all over the world.

Developing and Supporting Your Child’s Independence

November 1, 2019 By Administrator

Developing your child’s independence and self-reliance is one of the most important things we can do for our children. While academic learning is important, it does not, and can not, take the place of the value of self-confidence, self-sufficiency, and the ability to make things happen for oneself. Independence and self-reliance form the foundation that supports all other learning as a key component of honing a child’s executive functioning skills. As Montessori teachers, our goal is to provide an organized environment where everything makes sense for the child, things have a specific place and function, and they can navigate and be successful independently within it. Everything from the room design and layout, furniture, Montessori materials, lessons, classroom and school rules, and teacher-child interactions are carefully planned and intended to support each child’s progression toward self-sufficiency and independence. There is much current research relating to the importance of executive functioning skills as a predictor of a child’s future success in life and encouraging independent learning is the way to support your child’s developing executive functioning.

Characteristics of an independent learner:

Curious
Self-motivated
Able to self-monitor/self-examine
Accountable/responsible
Critical thinker/problem solver
Comprehension/Understanding without specific instruction
Persistent
Able to manage their time effectively

As parents and as educators we have the responsibility to keep our children safe, to nurture them, and to love them. We must provide firm, consistent rules and boundaries, yet we must also allow children the ability to do as much for themselves as is developmentally appropriate. If we intervene and do for children what they are capable of doing themselves, we rob them of vital learning and make them feel as if they are not competent or capable. While the road to independence may not always be easy, over time, children rise to the level of the expectations we have of them.

To aid our collaborative effort as teachers and parents in promoting your child’s independence, we thought it would be a useful tool to have a shared set of benchmarks guiding our expectations of our students both at school and at home:

Developing & Supporting Your Child’s Independence

For more information relating to developing your child’s independence and executive functioning, you may also wish to read the articles listed below:

Sources and additional references:

Dr. Steve Hughes: Montessori and the Future of Education (video)

20 Tips for Parents from Preschool Teachers

Toddler Developmental Milestones

Developmental Milestones in babies and toddlers

Developmental Milestones: Separation & Independence (Age 5)

Developmental Milestone: Separation & Independence (Age 6-8)

Developing Independence in Children

Executive Functioning