Thank You for Attending our Curriculum Night!
Our Curriculum Night was so well attended that we ran out of chairs! We are so glad that so many of you were able to take time from your busy schedules to support our work in the classroom. For those who missed it, we will send handouts home. I have cut and pasted the handout from our meeting. Other handouts being sent home include a permission slip for our next field trip, a going out permission slip (for small trips to the library, pet store, and other places) and a Camp Surf form. We are happy to meet individually with any of our parents, particularly our new ones, who need more guidance. Thanks again for supporting your child's Montessori education!
Upper Elementary Curriculum Night 2017-2018
Practical Life
The hallmark of the Montessori philosophy centers around practical life. In primary, the first lessons a child is taught come from the practical life shelf. In upper elementary, the first assigned homework given to your child was in the area of practical life. This includes the following practical life skills necessary for school:
- Going to bed at an appropriate time
- Preparing a healthy and balanced lunch and snack
- Bringing a reusable water bottle to and from school
- Cleaning and organizing at home
- Recording daily work in planner and getting appropriate signatures
- Arriving at school on time and attending school when not ill
- Additional follow-up work and extensions to lessons in class may also be done at home, including weekly spelling and vocabulary work
- Dressing appropriately for weather conditions
- Taking care of plants and animals
- Time management, including setting goals and estimating time for completion.
Homework
Children must complete any unfinished classwork at home. This includes spelling, math facts, and weekly writing prompts, which all have firm deadlines. Any other homework will be assigned as needed throughout the year based on individual needs, current topics of study, and work completion during the day. Students are to record the time spent and homework completed at home and get a signature each week (each day should be initialed by parents).
Parent’s role in homework completion:
- Ask to see your child’s planner nightly and discuss completion of daily assignments
- Allow your child to endure the natural consequences that come with the choices they make
- Allow your child to do as much as they can possibly do by themselves. Step in only when necessary.
- Encourage your child to ask for help in school, when needed.
Human Tendencies
Dr. Montessori’s methods revolve around the human tendencies that she observed from years of research with various age groups of children. He discoveries have later been fully proven through neuroscience, a field that was not even in existence when she began her work. Dr. Montessori strived to work with each child from the inside out, capitalizing on the inherent desires and motivation of each child.
Cosmic Education, Writing, and Common Core
Writing has always been an integral part of the Montessori curriculum as it also is with our state standards. Cosmic Education was Montessori’s term for the connections between all subject areas that should be taught. For example, in the Montessori curriculum the history of math and language is included in math and language lessons to increase understanding. Science is also better understood when connected with history, math, and language. Writing skills have been proven to boost reading skills, while music lessons also aid development in math. Understanding art can assist in understanding the craft of writing while also providing a visual understanding of our history. We invite you to take a peek in your student’s math, language, and science journals as well as the final copies of their writing. You may also leave a sticky note of encouragement.
Hands-on Sensorial learning
Dr. Montessori discovered over a century ago how important using the hand is to build intelligence. Lessons are designed to use all senses to incorporate all learning styles. Children are encouraged to conduct follow-up work and explorations on their own.
Differentiation and Assessment
Montessori is known far and wide as both a gifted program and a program for special needs. It is able to accomplish both because of the emphasis on building independence, intrinsic motivation, which is better accomplished with a learner-centered, flexible teaching style. Because we have multiple age groups in the classroom, we can choose small group lessons groups by ability, while the three year age span gives ample time for growth, guided by a teacher who works to build social and academic skills within that time frame. At MEC, we use several assessments to ensure that each child is making adequate yearly progress according to the state standards. This includes reading, spelling, and math classroom assessments as well as Galileo testing, which is used to plan instruction and monitor lesson effectiveness and individual growth. Our emphasis is on individual growth rather than linear letter grades.
Freedom and responsibility
In the ages of 9-12, having natural consequences is an important preparation for life. Privileges, such as computer use, field trips, individual trips, outdoor environment, and freedoms in the classroom can be lost due to poor choices in time management, behavior, and attitude. Goings out are contingent upon consistent performance in the classroom.
Volunteering in the classroom
We encourage volunteering in many ways, both in and out of the classroom. Classroom Volunteers must pass a background check: please see the front office to fill out a volunteer packet. We need volunteers in the following areas: Material Making, library, intervention groups, typing instruction, class trips and community exploration, animal care, and fundraising. Please see handout regarding our big upper elementary trip to San Diego.
Classroom Tutoring
Mr. Larry and Ms. Liza will provide tutoring after school. Tutoring will begin in September on Tuesday and Thursday, is free of charge and is by invitation only.
Communication and important information
We value your input and communication both in person, over the phone, and via email. Ms. Liza’s class has all class emails saved on a class blog, for those who might lose an email. The majority of our communications will be sent electronically to save on paper and ensure that parents receive them directly. If you are not receiving our emails, please let us know, so we can ensure that your contact information is correctly added to our list.
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