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The Montessori Adolescent: A Brief Overview

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I just completed writing a guest blog post for RadicalParenting.com , a website dedicated to the teenager.  Written by teenagers, for teenagers this website is a wonderful resource for parents and teenagers alike.  I got to write about one of my favorite topics, Montessori and focus it on the Third Plane of development: Adolescence.  Here is just a snippet from the post:

I would like to share a little bit about the Montessori method of education and how it applies to teenagers.  Children can start their experience with Montessori as early as birth, start attending a “school” setting as early as 18 months and continue with it until they graduation from high school.  Montessori schools typically do not accept children past the age of 4.   A growing number of Montessori schools offer a Toddler Community for children 18 months until they transition into Children’s House at about age 3.  In Children’s House the children are 3-6 years old.  Lower Elementary is for 6-9 year olds, and Upper Elementary is for 9-12 year olds.   The Adolescent Community begins at age 12 or 7th grade.

A few general Montessori facts:

  • The Montessori Method was developed from Maria Montessori’s (the first Italian female medical doctor) observations of children at the turn of the nineteenth century: what gave them joy, peace, and knowledge.
  • Each “level” has aims of increasing the level of independence to ultimately a sense of interdependence (with family, friends, society, and various communities)
  • There are “threads” that are started in the Toddler Community that are continued all the way up to the Adolescent Community: Care of Self, Care of Others (Grace and Courtesy), and Care of Environment.
  • The children are shown how to work with the materials in small groups (3-5) or individually and then choose this work independently.
  • Montessori Lessons are connected to the world in a concrete way.  For example a 2 year old will start learning to pour water by pouring water from pitcher to pitcher (small pitchers for small fingers). A four year old will learn math by using concrete and scientifically designed materials to get the experience of quantity and the four basic operations.  An elementary child will do research on a subject of their choosing, design a field trip with a small group of kids (including mapping out transportation) and meet with an expert on the topic they have researched.  Then present this research to others.
  • All Montessori classrooms are designed with the child in mind: appropriately sized furniture, attractive materials, and independent access to facilities like sinks and toilets.  Each classroom will look different depending upon the age group.

 

 

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The post The Montessori Adolescent: A Brief Overview appeared first on The Parent Journey: parent coach | parent coaching | parenting coach.


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