These past two days our group has spent the mornings at 3 Mariposas Montessori meeting the teachers and staff and observing children in the Primary classroom (for ages ~3 to 6) and El Nido (The Nest, for babies and toddlers) in order to get a feel for the expectations and rhythm in these spaces.
We have a total of 9 student participants this year – 8 undergraduate, 1 graduate; 8 Elementary Education and Reading, 1 Exceptional Education. Three of the participants have some experience with the Montessori method, which is founded on principles and practices quite unique from the traditional US public school setting.
For the majority of our group this tool-specific and child-led environment, which places the teacher in a ‘guide’ rather than ‘leader’ role, is unfamiliar and, oftentimes, uncomfortable for educators. Sarah Ludwig-Ross, the school founder and director, provided a good list of classroom settings, actions, and processes for us to focus on and search for in order to make the most of these two days of observations. I was quite appreciative of these guidelines as I feel that, just as 'to study' is not an innate skill, 'to observe' is not as obvious an action as it sounds. With some direction we can get much more out of classroom observations than we might by simply being there without some hints on what we are seeing.
And now (I imagine) the participants will be itching to engage the 3MM children after two days of silent observation followed by a weekend of team building activities!
It has been so wonderful to see familiar faces at 3MM and to meet Ed; the face behind the hundreds of email exchanges I have had over the past months, who has helped plan every meal, taxi ride, and detail of our 2015 program.
I am constantly in awe of the amazing 3MM crew that Sarah draws. And inspired by all the improvements and additions that she has accomplished with the support of the many donors and volunteers who love the school. Ambitious, humble, energetic people of all ages, from all over the world, seek out 3MM ready to activate their individual creativity and get their hands dirty (if necessary!). It is a blessing and an honor to be welcomed into this organization…which is full of heart, drive, and appreciation…and to have the opportunity to share the experience with our brave Buffalo State teacher education students.