I substituted in the Upper Elementary class at our children’s Montessori School for two days this week. Montessori classrooms are combined ages, with the Upper Elementary classroom being the equivalent of fourth, fifth and sixth grades. This is the first time I’ve substituted this year and it was nice seeing the students who were in the classroom last year and meeting the new students who started as rising students from last year.
I missed the students who had graduated but I had a surprise when I realized there was a class member who hadn’t been at the school for two years, but was back visiting old friends. This might have been disruptive in some classes, but these students have spent all of their school years learning how to work independently, or together without being disruptive. They know how to do time management and they can all work quietly in a room together. The returning student was on fall break, but she had brought work with her and worked along with her friends through the morning.
The next day when I returned to substitute I found two more friends who had graduated last year that came back to visit for a day. The class talked during circle time about what their new schools were like, how classes and work compared, were they liking the new school and had they made friends? Because many of the students will be transitioning to a new school for the first time in their lives in the coming year, this was a good conversation to have. The returning graduates had positive things to share about their experiences.
Work time began after morning circle and the students and visiting graduates all settled down to work. About an hour later one of the graduates, Natalie, said, “I’ve got Sanju on now!” The entire class jumped up and the teacher happily walked over to Natalie’s computer, where Sanju was there via Skype.
Sanju was a fellow student who’s family left to return to India this year. Everyone was interested in how she was doing in India, what school was like, how her brother had grown and how her parents were doing (they came online for a bit to say hello.) There were questions about what time it was and what the food was like and if she was coming for a visit any time soon. It was a very happy twenty-minutes spent catching up with a friend and her family.
Once the call was done the teacher thanked Natalie for coordinating with Sanju so everyone could say hello and then everyone returned to their tables and went back to work. I am so impressed with these students and the way in which they manage their time and day. I have so much respect for what our teachers do to instill good work habits in children from early on.
The Big Boy Update: After dinner out tonight my son and daughter had too much energy. I took them out front, telling them they had to stay on the sidewalk. They went around the corner to a patio area that was empty in the wet weather and my son spied a large tree with a wooden bench around the base. He told his sister, “we’re doing training exercises!” and then tried to karate kick the tree. He and she had a great time “training” until everyone else was done eating.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter ordered something different for dinner tonight. When offered choices at the Mexican restaurant, she chose a taco, rice and beans. Further, she decided on a soft taco. When her plate arrived I told her to ask when she was ready for the taco because she would need help. When she was ready she asked me and I got the taco off the plate and showed her how to hold it, letting her know you eat from the end. She ate a good bit of it and looked like a professional taco-eating three-year-old in the process.
Fitness Update: I ran a 5K race with three friends today. The first friend was my neighbor and running buddy. The second two were friends who have never run a 5K before and decided to train for a race. It was hard work for them. I remember how hard it was for me at the time, what with me believing it was impossible to run a 5K, much less anything as crazy as a marathon. They both did very well, running the whole race. Congratulations Linda and Jen!!
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