The Loft Proposal Meeting and Plans

Today was the big day for my little group who wants a loft back in the classroom! Today was the day they got to meet with the boss to make their case. I wish I could show you their pictures. One boy dressed with a tie and had a messenger bag as his "work bag," complete with special folder for his notes. He also brought two purple flowers to give to my boss. The other two children were also carrying themselves as important people. The youngest of the crew admitted to being nervous about meeting with her, but felt ready.

They couldn't wait for 9 o'clock to arrive. I finally had to set the timer on my phone and hand it to them to keep them occupied for the final 15 minutes. I printed each one of them their own copy of their proposal. At 9 o'clock on the nose, we went upstairs to her office. 

She was meeting with another staff member at that point, so we patiently waited in the entrance area. When she was ready a few minutes later, she gathered them in the board room. They had formal introductions with handshakes, and the meeting commenced. Each one was taking their own notes (mostly scribbles, of course) and had a chance to speak.

I had to return to my classroom, as there were 17 other children present today. A half hour later, my threesome returned, with a drawn plan from which they were to create their own model.

They sought out materials in the classroom that could help them. Yesterday, they were trying to "build" it out of the golden beads and bead bars. I think the gold color reminded them of the color of the original loft. You can see the red counters next to the picture. They were using the dots to outline the shape on the table, so that they could draw it.

I think it is time to dig out some of the other art materials, so that they can create a true three-dimensional representation of the loft they wish to build.

Part of the meeting also consisted of lessons in taking turns while speaking, allowing others to share their opinions, and brainstorming in a group. All of these are amazing lessons. Remember, these children are only 4 and 5 years old.

I'm very proud of my kids and can't wait to see where this whole project goes!

The Loft Proposal

I have so many stories from my classroom that I want to share and I am so far behind! But this one had to take precedence, as it was one of the greatest experiences, yet.

At our old facility, from which we moved in the summer of 2011, I had inherited the room that had the loft. I was so excited when I saw that classroom on my interview tour. I remember telling my parents that I would love to have that room, but wouldn't hold my breath. I was ecstatic. I loved using it. I would get a birds' eye view as I observed the children moving around the classroom. Children used it when they didn't feel well, or just wanted to get away for a bit. We were devastated when we couldn't bring it to the new facility with us. 

Here is a picture of it after we had moved everything else out of the building:

Many of my students last year had been in that old building, and of course would ask for it. They were sad, but gradually accepted that it was gone. One of them was actually proud because his father had taken it to be reused elsewhere. This year, I am down to just a handful of kids who were in that building. Today, out of the blue, one of those boys asked me why we didn't have the loft.

"Well," I replied, "When we had to move here, [the boss] said we couldn't have it anymore for many reasons. Besides, where would we put it?"

He looked at me with a deadpan expression and said, "So, get rid of the SmartBoard!"

I swear I didn't put him up to this, as I know many of my readers know how I feel about the SmartBoard. And ironically enough, had the loft actually come with us, that's precisely where it was designated to go had the giant SB not arrived. Oh yeah, here is the monster-sized thing:

This is actually a picture from BEFORE the giant arm came out from the top, that is used as the projector. But, I digress...

Anyway, so I told him if he was really concerned about it, he could go ahead and talk to The Boss about it. He recruited one of his younger friends to go with them. The office staff later told me that they came in very serious and demanded to see The Boss (only using her proper name). With hands on his hips, he told her that we needed our loft back and wanted to know what to do. She asked them to draw a picture and to leave it for her later. They returned to the room to let me know.

I happened to have this picture on my computer still, so I opened up the file so that they could see it to draw it. He then used it as a talking point as he gathered other students around him. He told them how every part of it worked, all of the shelves and tables and what-not that had been around it, and how wonderful it had been. He also started listing reasons why we should get it backed and called it his "Business Meeting."

So, I offered to transcribe their reasons and tried to play Devil's Advocate as I came up with more questions for them to solve. When we were done, I typed it up. We printed it out. The little group signed it and then delivered it to The Boss for her to peruse. She told them that she would look it over and then meet with them later. They are determined to meet with her at 9 am, so I hope she does!

Here is what they had to say:

REASONS WHY WE NEED THE LOFT

1. It was very quiet up there.
2. We have tables and knee tables, but we need more room to work with more people.
3. You can put knee tables under the loft.
4. If it is too sunny and you forgot your sunglasses, you can work in the shade under the loft.
5. When it is so hot, you can get cooler under there.
6. It was so quiet up there, that you didn't need to come down to turn off the lights to tell people to be quiet.
7. It was so nice up there. You could see everything in the room and see all the people. You could pick your work without having to walk around. You could look, see what the work was, and then pick it out to take back to the loft. You didn't have to walk and walk and walk and make your legs tired.
8. The bench was up there. You could take a book and just turn the pages. No one interrupted you like down here.
9. I think it would be nice and quiet and not disturbing like down here.
10. The loft was so relaxing.

 HOW WOULD YOU GET THE LOFT? 

"How big is the box?"

WHO IS GOING TO BUILD THIS?

[The custodian.]

HOW WILL YOU PAY FOR THE LOFT?

• Doing jobs, like cleaning works. 

• Collect all of the money at my home.

• Chiropractic job

• Go to all the classrooms to clean all of the works. ("You guys realize that we're going to have to be at school for a long time to get all of that cleaning done, right? We may have to sleep here!")

WHERE WOULD THE LOFT GO?

~~Take down the SmartBoard.  It doesn't work, anyway, so we don't need it.

~~We can move the language shelves, put up the loft, and then put the shelves back under the loft.

~~We cannot block the bathroom, the exit door and the door you come in.

So, there you have it. I'm particularly fond of the sunglasses reason, myself.

Trying to get a loft into the classroom is going to be a difficult task. There are so many factors that must be taken into consideration, such as space, cost, and insurance with liability. We may be able to come up with some kind of a compromise. And honestly, my classroom isn't really loud this year. I think they just are in love with being able to turn off the lights to ask everyone to use quieter voices. ;-)

I love these guys.

I will keep you posted! 

Reflections on the first month of school - Meet & Greet and phasing in

I had hoped to write this post at the official end of September, but life got in the way.

We have had four weeks of school. The children come back in stages, starting after Labor Day. The first Tuesday is a sort of "Meet & Greet," where the new children come in for a half hour with a parent. They get to find their cubby, bring in their supplies, and start to explore the classroom with my assistant. I answer the parent's questions, and ask a few of my own. My three big questions? 1-Is your child potty-trained? 2-Does your child go to After School Care or Parent Pick-Up? 3- Does your child have any food allergies? The rest I can usually figure out for myself.

Parents are often so overwhelmed with their child starting at a new school, that they often are stumped for questions. I talk about the general flow of the school day and some of the materials in the classroom. I start to talk about a lot of Montessori philosophy, that explains why we do the things that we do. I know that a lot of it is foreign to the generalized idea of what preschool is all about. I observe how the child is interacting with the environment upon his first experience in it. I also pay close attention to how the child interacts with his parents. A lot of information can be gleaned in this initial half hour, even if I am talking to the parent.

On Wednesday, just the K's come in. This year I have six. Two girls and four boys. One is already 6. Three more will be 6 very shortly. The other two turned 5 over the summer. This is a bigger range in age and ability than I have had in a while in my K's, but that is okay. This year, they got to pick out their journal notebook and folder and go to the school library to choose books for our classroom shelves.

Our Wednesdays are always half days in the classroom. Everyone goes home at lunchtime. Those who stay at school either go to After School Care, or to an enrichment class, which is for an extra fee. We have offered classes such as yoga, karate, Drama Kids, violin, sports camp, and more. These start up in mid-September, and about a third of the children participate.

Thursday is the day the the Extended Day 4's join the class. It is also our first full day of school. I have 14 Extended Day children this year, so 8 4's. They also had the opportunity to pick out their journals and folders.

Friday is the day that the half-day 4's join us. Many of them were in the classroom the previous year, so they already have a good idea what is going on. You always have a few new ones, as well. These 4's are the ones who still nap in the afternoon or who are brand new to Montessori. They have the option of moving up to full day later in the year. I only have one who is a half day 4 year-old, and he still hasn't yet turned 4.

Monday is when "returning" 3's join the class. These are the children who attended our toddler program. That means they are at least familiar with the classroom environment and have seen our faces while walking through the hallway.

Tuesday is the first day that all of the children are present for an entire day. This is also the big day of the crying. You may get a few tears on that Monday, but most of them are already used to leaving their parents. That Tuesday is always a hard one. But, the children get over it and engage in the classroom activities. Over time, the crying ceases completely. It just takes some time. I will post more on that later.

Within the following week, almost all of our specials have started for the school year. By October 1st, they are all in place. Everyone knows where everyone is going. Routines are established. The magic is well under way.

Other schools handle their first few days differently. I know my previous two schools did it differently. One had children come for a shortened day in small groups for two days. I believe there were four groups in all. For the next two days, the class was split in half, again for shorter days. And then they all came for their normal schedules. Another school had all of the children start their regular schedule on the very first day of school.

What does your school do? What have you seen work and not work?

Baskets, baskets, baskets

Today I have to haul all of those baskets to school. I didn't realize how many I had actually purchased this summer, until I put them all together. I had them at the top of my supply request list, but I never get them. So, I decided to find them on my own. I got pretty lucky, I think. These are my latest acquisitions...

A lady at the Public Market showed up for Saturdays through October. She sells larger baskets for about $1 apiece, and has a whole ginormous box of baskets of all sizes for 50 cents apiece.

My problem is that I don't like the baskets with handles. They do not neatly fit on my shelves. In fact, most of what I have left has handles, because they do not get used as frequently. I dug through this ginormous box and found several smaller ones with no handles. I am also in dire need of smaller baskets. Mine have actually held up pretty well over the years; I just want some more to better fit on the shelves and to be more visually appealing. I ended up with this box full for a mere $7. I want to go back some more.

And no, those wine bottles will not be going with me. Actually, I took this picture two weeks ago. They are already gone.

Earlier this summer, I was shopping at Savers. It is a similar concept to Goodwill in that you donate gently used items. They resell them and donate to a charity. I forget what they actually support. It has quickly become one of my favorite stores. ($7 Lands End slip-on shoes, but I digress.) On that trip, I got lucky with the baskets.

And then there was a trip to the local Goodwill...

And finally, I stopped in at Ben Franklin back home in Ohio. That store is deadly for Montessori teachers. They had all kinds of random baskets and trays and what-not from which to choose. I had to behave...

All of this for about $20. Not bad. This should give me a good head start when I go back. I could dream and hope that I have a whole slew of new baskets also waiting for me. I won't hold my breath....

The last day of summer vacation

I have to admit that I am a little sad today. It's the last day of summer vacation. Yes, tomorrow I have to get up at the crack of dawn to go into school. Okay, so somewhere between 6 and 6:30. I am *NOT* a morning person. I have just spent the past 2 1/2 months blissfully sleeping in until 9ish and not having to hurry to get anywhere. I shall miss it. A lot.

Don't get me wrong. I am excited to see the kids. I know that this year's group is going to keep me on my toes. One of my Ks learned how to do the Division Board last year, by observing one lesson I did with an older child. He hadn't even yet done the Hundred Board. He will also probably be reading chapter books. I love these kinds of challenges, because I am forced to get creative with the materials and learning opportunities.

Then there are the younger kids. One of them isn't quite yet 3 and doesn't speak. I know him and his family quite well. It will be fun to try to coax the words out of him. I know they're in there.

As I have mentioned off and on through the summer, and more via the Facebook page than anything else, I have found a lot of fun things this summer. I need to remember to post more of those over the next few days. I will also try to share with you the setting up of the classroom this week.

So, how did I spend my last day of freedom? I woke up with a sinus migraine, thanks to allergies. Medication and a fabulous Greek breakfast with lots of coffee helped to make some of that go away. Then, I went to the grocery store. I am determined to be better this year about bringing my own lunch and making healthier choices. Yes, I say this every single year. I mean it this time. Honest. :-P

I was happy to see that Gladware was on sale. I stocked up on a wide variety of sizes and purchased a bunch of food for the week. The plan was to wash all of the dishes and start packing up some yummies within them. I have gotten some of that done. I just have to wait for them to finish drying.

Oh yeah, I also found some nifty baking supplies. This cake pop/donut hole maker and mini cupcake maker were both on clearance. I think they will be fun to use with the kids.

After that, I pretty much just worked on getting blogs ready and making sure some laundry is done. I have also been putting together the things I need to take in tomorrow. I don't know how I am going to maintain my book reviewing during the school year, but I am going to try!

I should have sat outside today. I just didn't have it in me with the high pollen counts and already irritated eyes from allergies. Maybe I will go for a walk tomorrow after working in the classroom. We shall see what the weather is like and how I am feeling after getting up at such an ungodly hour.

What do you do before school starts?

Montessori A to Z: E is for Environment

The child's classroom learning environment is essential in the child's education. The job of the guide is to arrange the environment in such a way as to facilitate the child's independent learning. Sometimes the task can seem a daunting one, as the building you are able to use does not seem conducive to Montessori learning. Other times you are lucky enough to be able to design a building to fit Montessori ideals. Whatever kind of building you have to start, remember that Maria started in the slums of Rome. If she can make that work, surely you can make yours work, as well.

Child-friendly environment


To make your classroom a child-friendly environment, you need child-sized furniture. Children need to be comfortable to learn, so provide tables and chairs at their level. When setting up activities on a shelf, make sure the highest shelf is still accessible to your smallest student. A child needs the confidence to be able to independently reach the materials, without risk of dropping from it being too high. Anything that the children are to be able to access should be within their reach. Having to ask a teacher to reach something eliminates that factor of independence.

Provide comfortable floor areas. If carpet is not an option, use a large area rug. Comfortable pillows or cushioned chairs in the reading corner encourage children to nestle with a book. Work rugs help to define the child's workspace on the floor, allowing for organization of materials as well as reassurance of ownership over that work at that time.

If sinks and toilets are too tall for a child to comfortably reach, provide a small stool or steps to enable the child to safely reach them.

Use the furniture in the classroom to provide natural walkways. Check the flow of the classroom. Do you have an elongated "runway"? Children who cannot yet control their bodies will feel invited to take off in flight. Put a plant or a small shelf or table in the path to curb those fast movements. Observe the flow of the children and tweak as necessary. You are trying to encourage careful movements.

Appropriate materials


Children should have access to the entire spectrum of the Montessori curriculum. How you allow children to explore it is going to depend on your own interpretation of the philosophy and training. Some believe that a child can take out any activity and the teacher needs to scale the lesson back appropriately. Others do not allow children to touch a work until he or she has had a lesson on it.

Montessori materials should make up the bulk of your works. Some areas, such as language, require a lot of teacher-created materials. Be sure that your creations fall into Montessori guidelines and that you can justify their presence in the room.

Aim for as much wood and natural items as you can find. Do not fear glass. Children need to learn to be careful with materials. Plastic simply bounces and does not break. No lesson is learned when that drops. But a fragile piece of glass can shatter. The child will use more care in the future. Wood is much more attractive than brightly colored plastic. Children will be more likely to be drawn to it.

Decorating the classroom


Use a soft palette when painting the classroom walls. Avoid hanging lots of brightly items. If you choose to decorate the walls, use artwork that is hung at the children's level. If you display the children's artwork, make sure it is matted on a background and rotate it. I sometimes like to add an educational poster, depending on our topics of study. For example, while doing the human body, I put up a poster of a child with the basic parts labeled. It hung on the classroom door, at the children's eye level. When they went into the hallway to do their full body tracings, they could label their body according to the poster.

Use plants for decoration. They also serve a practical purpose of teaching children how to care for them and for providing oxygen and purifying the air. They are absolutely beautiful and make for cozy surroundings.

Avoid cluttered areas. I am extremely guilty of allowing my own things to clutter and to start to take over other areas of the classroom. I make a concentrated effort to reduce that on a regular basis. If children have clutter in their area, they will not take care of their things.

Remember that less is more.

Outdoor environment


The ideal outdoor environment has plenty of space for children to run free and to safely exercise those gross motor skills. They should also have areas where they can care for plants and animals. Allow them to explore, to find natural items such as seeds. Take walks. Embrace the outdoors and bring it inside as much as possible. Conversely, do not fear taking materials outside, as well. Think back to those original photographs of Maria working in her Children's House. Many children are stretched out in the garden with a rug and work.

Remember that the classroom is not about you. It is about them. Give them ownership of the classroom. Teach them to maintain it by helping you clean and straighten. You are guiding them in how to care for it.