Empowered Learning

These last couple of weeks, a quote from Maria Montessori has been echoing through my head as I observe our little learners in their element: “The greatest sign of success for a teacher…is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.”

Lately, a few of our younger learners have been choosing a daily practice of forming letters and lines with grooved workbooks. These workbooks use pens with disappearing ink so that children can repeat the exercises to their heart’s content as they work towards mastery.

2 learners practice making letters and numbers with grooved workbooks

These children spent countless hours developing foundational skills before they felt compelled to practice such fine motor work. They strengthened the pincer grip muscles in their hands by grating chalk, working with perler beads, molding clay, peeling/juicing oranges, cutting paper, and building legos. To hold themself upright in a chair, they developed their core muscles by climbing trees, swinging, hanging upside down, digging holes, and building with heavy blocks. To develop their concentration they played (and played and played), engaging with countless activities of their own choosing for longer and longer blocks of time. By spending time in this emotionally healthy and supportive environment, they developed the confidence to initiate new and ever more challenging activities. Knowing that it’s safe to make mistakes as they learn and grow, they developed trust in themselves, the environment, and each other.

After these children spent a few weeks practicing with the workbooks, I introduced a Parts of the Stegosaurus Montessori Nomenclature Book into the environment. (Pro-tip: remote caddies make excellent organizers for this material:) These books build vocabulary and develop writing skills by helping children associate words with visual representations.

I set the material in the middle of one of our frequently used tables before everyone arrived for the day. An hour or so into the morning, one of the children who had been using the workbooks asked if I would show her how to make a book. I said I would be happy to as soon as I finished what I was doing. Children are always free to respectfully experiment with materials on their own, or they can wait for instruction if they’d like. Once I was ready, the child reminded me again that she would like my help and she’d recruited her friend to come along as well. I sat down with both of them and demonstrated how to fill out one of the pages. They seemed satisfied with that amount of instruction, and so I stepped back to observe from a distance. Before long, two more children joined them at the table and they all started talking about their process and helping each other along. At one point, a child seemed stuck on a letter and started looking around. I grabbed the grooved letter workbook and placed it on the table, open to the letter she was working on. I told her that she could use the workbook for help if she would like, and again stepped back to let them work.

2 learners work together on a Montessori nomenclature book

Children will ask for support in many different ways. Each child also responds best to different varieties of support. Because of the relationships that I have built with these children, I know how to recognize their cues. I also know how to best direct them towards the types of materials that will resonate with their unique learning styles and help them accomplish their goals. For this child, I knew that she sometimes hesitates to directly ask for help, so when she started to struggle and looked around, I recognized that as an invitation for support. I also knew that she had been practicing with the workbooks, and so I helped her link that tool with her efforts.

This group of children worked together on the project for 45 minutes. Their finished products varied dramatically and they all learned a huge amount from the experience.

4 learners of different ages and skill levels work together on their individual work

One completed page. Interesting to note that the learner chose capital H and E since those are easier to form than the lower case h and e.

By introducing materials in this way, children learn that the materials themselves are the manner in which they can teach themselves the skills they desire. They view me, the adult, as a means of linking them to the tools that they need at any given time and a source of support and guidance as necessary. This approach empowers children to utilize the tools in their environment to learn everything they need.

In “Teach Your Own,” John Holt describes 5 conditions that allowed a person to easily acquire a new skill: “ (1) It was her idea, her interest; she wanted to do it. (2) I was at all times ready to stop if she wanted to. She knew I would not, in my enthusiasm for teaching, push her into the confusion, panic, and shame into which eager or determined teachers so often push their students. (3) I accepted as legitimate and serious both her anxiety and her confusion. Even in the privacy of my own mind, I did not dismiss any of her fears or questions as silly. (4) I was ready to let her ask all the questions, to wait for her answers, and to let her use my answers as she wished. I did not test her understanding. I let her decide whether she understood, and if not, what to do about it, what question to ask next. (5) I was not going to use her to prove to her or myself or anyone else what a gifted teacher I was. If she wants to explore written music further, fine. If she wants to ask me for more help, that’s fine too—though even better if, as I suspect, she can do it without my help.