tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post6417884729836067740..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: Nine Months From NowTeacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-63231488960722910992009-09-21T09:28:03.037-07:002009-09-21T09:28:03.037-07:00Thanks Tom, that really helps. My best friend and...Thanks Tom, that really helps. My best friend and his wife just moved their 4 year old son to a Montessori from a Day School he had been attending. After just the first few weeks they like it a lot better and it got me curious. There are a few cooperative schools here in town and there is a Montessori around the corner from me, so I'm probably going to investigate both. I'm guessing that since my son is 17 months old now and will be two in April that I'd be looking at next fall to enroll him in a preschool program, so I need to get cracking. Thanks again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-24243961993285666992009-09-21T06:41:21.426-07:002009-09-21T06:41:21.426-07:00Montessori has come to mean a lot of different thi...Montessori has come to mean a lot of different things. Originally, this referred to schools that based their curriculum on the child development theories of Maria Montessori, but over the past 60+ years it's come to mean all kinds of things.<br /><br />Generally speaking, however, it's about education that is age-appropriate, child-directed, and with teachers who serve more as clinical observers, who strive to adapt the environment to suit the needs of individual kids. The classrooms tend to be characterized as relatively sedate with small class sizes.<br /><br />Many cooperative teachers employ Montessori methods in their classrooms, but cooperatives are characterized more by their inclusion of entire families in the school more than any one teaching/learning method. I've had parents request I incorporate techniques from Montessori, Waldorf, Regio Emilia and several other models and I always give it a shot. Some of them work for me, others don't.Teacher Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-16625355980343511732009-09-20T21:27:23.934-07:002009-09-20T21:27:23.934-07:00Watching the change over the school year is fun. ...Watching the change over the school year is fun. We come back after spring break and are shocked by how much taller and more mature the kids look. At the end of the school year, they have grown physically and socially and are quite different than they were when they started the year. <br />The short summer is a killer though because the new class seems so young and immature after the class that we just sent on. <br />I'm sure for parents this is ongoing and always surprising, but for the 10 months I have them there is so much change. It's amazing.Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly)https://www.blogger.com/profile/15754292671421221960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-54035241817737987792009-09-20T11:29:24.475-07:002009-09-20T11:29:24.475-07:00I notice this now at Gymboree, the kids don't ...I notice this now at Gymboree, the kids don't really play with each other, but around each other. I've probably had more balls or toys handed to me by other kids than my son.<br /><br />A side question for you, how does your school differ from a Montessori? There is a Montessori school around the corner from my house and was curious how that might compare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com