WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.790 Today on Blooming Curious, I am super excited to welcome Alex Peterson. 00:00:04.850 --> 00:00:08.329 Alex is a Montessori teacher dedicated to fostering a love 00:00:08.360 --> 00:00:10.209 of learning in young children. 00:00:10.899 --> 00:00:14.990 Under the handle Miss Nearing's Montessori, Alex creates engaging 00:00:14.999 --> 00:00:19.675 educational content on tiktok and Instagram, sharing creative teaching 00:00:19.675 --> 00:00:23.905 strategies, hands on activities, and insights into the Montessori approach. 00:00:24.325 --> 00:00:25.255 Through her content 00:00:25.285 --> 00:00:28.815 Alex connects with parents and educators, making learning 00:00:28.834 --> 00:00:31.245 accessible and fun for everyone. 00:00:31.714 --> 00:00:36.105 She holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education, and 00:00:36.105 --> 00:00:38.225 has a background in special education. 00:00:38.654 --> 00:00:43.394 She holds her AMS primary three to six certificate from the Montessori education 00:00:43.394 --> 00:00:46.115 center of the Rockies in beautiful 00:00:46.310 --> 00:00:47.830 Denver, Colorado. 00:00:48.180 --> 00:00:50.170 Welcome to Blooming Curious, Alex. 00:00:50.980 --> 00:00:52.430 Thank you for having me. 00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:53.850 It's such a pleasure. 00:00:54.040 --> 00:00:55.170 I am so excited. 00:00:55.260 --> 00:00:58.920 For anybody listening who doesn't know, I found Alex on Instagram 00:00:59.599 --> 00:01:01.689 and Alex is a prolific creator. 00:01:01.720 --> 00:01:06.919 And every day there's some very cheerful teaching going on about 00:01:06.919 --> 00:01:10.570 Montessori and what the children in her Montessori class are doing. 00:01:10.570 --> 00:01:13.800 So this is what drew me in and I just thought this is amazing. 00:01:13.800 --> 00:01:16.320 This is exactly what Blooming Curious is about. 00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:20.509 It's about curiosity and learning and children loving what they're doing. 00:01:20.509 --> 00:01:21.569 So I'm very excited. 00:01:22.240 --> 00:01:26.569 So Alex, for those of us that are unfamiliar and haven't got a clue or 00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:30.310 have never spent time in a Montessori classroom, explain to us what 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:35.580 Montessori education is and really how is it different from a traditional 00:01:35.690 --> 00:01:38.230 classroom or traditional teaching? 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:39.730 Sure. 00:01:39.740 --> 00:01:43.459 So, when you think of a traditional classroom, you typically think of a 00:01:43.800 --> 00:01:47.230 teacher who's kind of in charge of the learning and she plans lessons 00:01:47.230 --> 00:01:48.910 or he plans lessons each day. 00:01:49.230 --> 00:01:52.110 And every day you show up and there's a scheduled time block 00:01:52.110 --> 00:01:56.150 that you have a math activity or a language lesson or a science lesson. 00:01:56.690 --> 00:01:56.890 Or two. 00:02:00.070 --> 00:02:04.860 Today on Blooming Curious, I am super excited to welcome Alex Peterson. 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:08.400 Alex is a Montessori teacher dedicated to fostering a love 00:02:08.430 --> 00:02:10.280 of learning in young children. 00:02:10.970 --> 00:02:14.270 Under the handle Miss Nearing's Montessori, Alex creates 00:02:14.290 --> 00:02:16.290 engaging educational content. 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:20.725 on tiktok and Instagram, sharing creative teaching strategies, hands 00:02:20.725 --> 00:02:25.325 on activities, and insights into the Montessori approach through her content. 00:02:25.355 --> 00:02:28.885 Alex connects with parents and educators, making learning 00:02:28.904 --> 00:02:31.315 accessible and fun for everyone. 00:02:31.785 --> 00:02:36.175 She holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education, and 00:02:36.175 --> 00:02:38.295 has a background in special education. 00:02:38.725 --> 00:02:43.465 She holds her AMS primary three to six certificate from the Montessori education 00:02:43.465 --> 00:02:46.185 center of the Rockies in beautiful. 00:02:46.380 --> 00:02:47.900 Denver, Colorado. 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:50.240 Welcome to Blooming Curious, Alex. 00:02:51.050 --> 00:02:52.500 Thank you for having me. 00:02:52.870 --> 00:02:53.920 It's such a pleasure. 00:02:54.110 --> 00:02:55.240 I am so excited. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:59.710 Um, for anybody listening who doesn't know, I found Alex on Instagram 00:03:00.390 --> 00:03:02.479 and Alex is a prolific creator. 00:03:02.510 --> 00:03:05.250 And every day there's some very cheerful. 00:03:06.040 --> 00:03:09.510 Teaching going on about the Montessori and what the children 00:03:09.530 --> 00:03:11.460 in her Montessori class are doing. 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:14.690 So this is what drew me in and I just thought this is amazing. 00:03:14.690 --> 00:03:17.210 This is exactly what Blooming Curious is about. 00:03:17.210 --> 00:03:21.400 It's about curiosity and learning and children loving what they're doing. 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:22.459 So I'm very excited. 00:03:23.130 --> 00:03:27.459 So Alex, for those of us that are unfamiliar and haven't got a clue or 00:03:27.459 --> 00:03:31.200 have never spent time in a Montessori classroom, explain to us what 00:03:31.260 --> 00:03:37.330 Montessori education is and really how is it different from a traditional 00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:40.070 classroom or a traditional teaching? 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:41.570 Sure. 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:45.299 So, when you think of a traditional classroom, you typically think of a 00:03:45.640 --> 00:03:49.070 teacher who's kind of in charge of the learning and she plans lessons 00:03:49.070 --> 00:03:50.750 or he plans lessons each day. 00:03:51.070 --> 00:03:53.950 And every day you show up and there's a scheduled time block 00:03:53.950 --> 00:03:57.990 that you have a math activity or a language lesson or a science lesson. 00:03:58.450 --> 00:04:04.510 And, um, back in the early, like, early 1800s, a woman named Maria Montessori Um, 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:08.450 spent some time, uh, she was a scientist in Italy, actually, and she was one of 00:04:08.470 --> 00:04:10.790 the first women scientists ever in Italy. 00:04:11.100 --> 00:04:15.579 And because of that, she was actually placed in a, like what they referred 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:18.410 to at the time as like a mental asylum to work with children who 00:04:18.410 --> 00:04:20.079 are essentially outcasts of society. 00:04:20.080 --> 00:04:23.109 They did not fit the general mold of the traditional education 00:04:23.109 --> 00:04:25.130 system in Italy at the time. 00:04:25.510 --> 00:04:29.220 And during her time there, she observed that when children were able to work 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.930 with tactile materials and spend time. 00:04:32.365 --> 00:04:38.245 playing games and learning through games and play and going at their own pace and 00:04:38.245 --> 00:04:40.295 choosing what they get to do each day. 00:04:40.585 --> 00:04:44.905 They were more likely to learn because they were in charge of their learning. 00:04:45.265 --> 00:04:50.144 So through a very long period of time of her observation, she was able to develop 00:04:50.144 --> 00:04:55.515 this huge method where the children are essentially the leaders of the classroom. 00:04:55.665 --> 00:04:57.785 And so that method is carried on today. 00:04:57.785 --> 00:04:58.425 She has. 00:04:59.445 --> 00:05:02.915 completely taken over the education world all over the world. 00:05:02.955 --> 00:05:06.985 These schools popped up from Italy, and then they just exploded. 00:05:07.015 --> 00:05:10.005 So they've all made it in almost every continent at this point. 00:05:10.515 --> 00:05:14.874 And essentially it is the complete opposite of a traditional school. 00:05:14.874 --> 00:05:18.505 So you take everything you've ever learned in a traditional school, throw it all out 00:05:18.505 --> 00:05:20.625 the window and completely level it down. 00:05:20.915 --> 00:05:25.045 Which is what I had to do because I did get my degree in Um, traditional 00:05:25.045 --> 00:05:26.675 education before I entered Montessori. 00:05:26.715 --> 00:05:30.455 So I literally threw everything away that I knew and started all the way over. 00:05:30.835 --> 00:05:36.105 And when you think of how a traditional school day is run, when the children 00:05:36.185 --> 00:05:41.445 enter in a Montessori classroom, they go immediately right to what they want to do. 00:05:41.645 --> 00:05:45.655 Right away when they walk in the door and it's what they want to do essentially 00:05:45.655 --> 00:05:50.645 with freedom within limits all day long with me acting as a simple guide. 00:05:50.665 --> 00:05:53.685 So we actually are not even called teachers in the Montessori world. 00:05:53.685 --> 00:05:54.575 They call us guides. 00:05:54.575 --> 00:05:58.524 And my job is to simply connect the child to the materials in the 00:05:58.525 --> 00:06:02.235 room based on who they are as a person and what I observe in them. 00:06:02.810 --> 00:06:04.530 And I just guide them in their learning. 00:06:04.580 --> 00:06:06.400 They are the, they are the bosses. 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:07.390 They're in charge. 00:06:07.750 --> 00:06:10.260 I just kind of find the things that meet the needs of where 00:06:10.260 --> 00:06:11.380 they're at in their life. 00:06:11.440 --> 00:06:15.330 And I, I kind of step by step, bring them around through a 00:06:15.330 --> 00:06:16.870 full curriculum in the room. 00:06:19.679 --> 00:06:20.399 Okay. 00:06:20.910 --> 00:06:21.709 So now. 00:06:21.925 --> 00:06:25.025 The first question I'm having is I'm thinking about what teachers are 00:06:25.025 --> 00:06:28.655 thinking in a traditional setting or parents who send kids to traditional 00:06:28.865 --> 00:06:33.635 settings, and they're thinking, well, how do they meet curriculum outcomes? 00:06:33.654 --> 00:06:38.334 If kids are just playing and doing their own thing, and you're there 00:06:38.334 --> 00:06:42.085 as a guide, helping them with the materials, for example, how are 00:06:42.085 --> 00:06:44.055 you going to meet the outcomes? 00:06:44.055 --> 00:06:48.690 Because Montessori, I think, goes, Well, I guess it depends on the location or 00:06:48.710 --> 00:06:53.080 the school, but they do go right through to the end of high school, don't they? 00:06:53.630 --> 00:06:54.910 Mine actually does, yes. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:56.830 So we have all the way up through high school in mine. 00:06:58.049 --> 00:07:01.999 So how would, how would you explain that to parents or other teachers? 00:07:02.009 --> 00:07:05.999 Is, how do you then meet your curriculum outcomes, um, if kids 00:07:05.999 --> 00:07:08.440 are just free ranging, so to speak? 00:07:08.440 --> 00:07:10.710 So some people might think, well, that's just free range learning. 00:07:12.289 --> 00:07:16.099 Yeah, we often get the, uh, the stigma that we're just like a bunch of 00:07:16.469 --> 00:07:20.250 essentially hippies, you know, that just kind of let our kids do whatever we want. 00:07:20.289 --> 00:07:24.320 But, um, the heavy hitting point is that there are, there is freedom 00:07:24.320 --> 00:07:28.330 and the children really are free to do whatever they want within 00:07:28.330 --> 00:07:30.549 a very strict series of limits. 00:07:30.950 --> 00:07:34.649 And the room itself provides a deep range of limits. 00:07:35.115 --> 00:07:39.045 Whether it's just simply where things go on the shelf and how you return 00:07:39.045 --> 00:07:43.555 everything to the shelf Every shelf has an order and the order is sequential 00:07:43.555 --> 00:07:47.115 from top to bottom left to right and everything builds on itself in the shelf 00:07:47.505 --> 00:07:51.294 Um, my job is to ensure that they aren't goofing off and are actually doing 00:07:51.294 --> 00:07:54.975 what they should be doing So I need to have a deep understanding of just 00:07:55.005 --> 00:08:00.670 pedagogy in general and like academic standards in general um, and then The 00:08:00.670 --> 00:08:06.790 whole, the whole layout of the room is almost to trick the child into learning. 00:08:06.830 --> 00:08:11.960 So when you think of traditional education standards, my job is to give 00:08:11.960 --> 00:08:15.740 them those standards and teach them in a way where they almost don't realize. 00:08:16.340 --> 00:08:20.925 that they're learning because we are just having fun, whether we're playing a game 00:08:21.065 --> 00:08:24.485 and we're learning letters, whether I'm coloring with them and we're learning 00:08:24.485 --> 00:08:28.805 numbers, there's just a series of ways that I can present a lesson to a child 00:08:28.805 --> 00:08:32.484 just to make sure that I'm keeping them on track and exactly where they should be. 00:08:32.835 --> 00:08:36.055 We follow all the state standards in my, in my state personally, 00:08:36.055 --> 00:08:39.674 which align standards almost across the globe, like universally. 00:08:40.044 --> 00:08:45.405 Um, and all of the materials in every classroom always start about a 00:08:45.405 --> 00:08:48.974 half year lower than what the child would be when they enter the room. 00:08:48.974 --> 00:08:51.815 So we have materials that that could potentially meet the needs 00:08:51.815 --> 00:08:53.345 of a two and a half year old child. 00:08:53.795 --> 00:08:57.485 And then the lot like the upper end of a room like mine would 00:08:57.485 --> 00:08:59.195 go all the way to first grade. 00:08:59.590 --> 00:09:04.610 So it's awesome that a child can go as far as they want or as slow as they want. 00:09:04.910 --> 00:09:08.190 And we keep them on track, but at the pace that kind of meets them 00:09:08.380 --> 00:09:10.159 the best, if that makes sense. 00:09:10.550 --> 00:09:12.530 And then we fill in the gaps where necessary. 00:09:12.530 --> 00:09:16.869 So if I notice that a child is only doing anything in the 00:09:16.870 --> 00:09:18.840 math for two days straight. 00:09:18.920 --> 00:09:22.130 I'm going to guide them into language on that third day to make sure that 00:09:22.130 --> 00:09:23.440 they're meeting the language area. 00:09:23.750 --> 00:09:26.500 And then maybe we'll head towards geography that fourth day so that by 00:09:26.520 --> 00:09:31.099 the full whole five day week, they will have hit every subject area by the 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:32.699 time they walk out the door on Friday. 00:09:33.295 --> 00:09:33.425 If that makes sense. 00:09:34.695 --> 00:09:35.215 Okay. 00:09:35.515 --> 00:09:41.525 So the other thing I want to then ask is, um, do children ever do whole group 00:09:41.525 --> 00:09:45.815 or do you ever do whole group lessons like a math session, for example, or a 00:09:45.815 --> 00:09:50.445 phonics session to the whole class, or, or is it just following the individual 00:09:50.475 --> 00:09:53.485 children as they're going through their learning at their own pace? 00:09:54.495 --> 00:09:58.035 Developmentally, the, the child before about the age of six. 00:09:58.875 --> 00:10:02.525 If you really look at who they are as a person, that's when you start hearing 00:10:02.525 --> 00:10:06.365 like, that's mine, like, and they don't like to share, so they care a lot 00:10:06.365 --> 00:10:08.655 about how the world pertains to them. 00:10:08.985 --> 00:10:12.734 So I'm going to structure the majority of my lessons, just me one 00:10:12.734 --> 00:10:15.255 on one with an individual child. 00:10:15.694 --> 00:10:19.125 As they get older, they start Clipping a plane of development and 00:10:19.125 --> 00:10:23.165 then they start caring about the whole, how can we collectively come 00:10:23.165 --> 00:10:24.775 to a conclusion about something? 00:10:24.775 --> 00:10:26.085 How can we work together? 00:10:26.525 --> 00:10:29.935 So when that, when I get a, like a late five year old, early six year 00:10:29.935 --> 00:10:34.364 old child in the room, I will start teaching lessons to those children as 00:10:34.365 --> 00:10:39.865 a small group, but I will never do a massive phonics lesson to the whole. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:44.460 The whole group of kids, just because a six year old child is genuinely very 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.400 different than a three year old child, and they're, they have different needs. 00:10:47.830 --> 00:10:50.500 We do do a group time in the middle of the day. 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:55.870 Um, we just do calendar, and we check the weather, and we sing songs. 00:10:55.870 --> 00:11:00.270 If there's a concert coming up, we might practice songs for the concert coming up. 00:11:00.670 --> 00:11:04.285 Um, but when it comes to the academic lessons, There's really not a whole 00:11:04.285 --> 00:11:05.695 lot that we do in a whole group. 00:11:06.055 --> 00:11:09.325 Right now we're actually studying the continent of North America and we have a 00:11:09.325 --> 00:11:12.615 grandma who, um, is from Mexico actually. 00:11:12.615 --> 00:11:15.885 She was born and raised in Mexico and she made Mexican, like this Mexican 00:11:15.885 --> 00:11:17.835 dessert for us and she brought us in toys. 00:11:18.825 --> 00:11:22.665 So we had this whole group lesson about what it was like to grow up in Mexico. 00:11:22.665 --> 00:11:25.125 And so sometimes when it's a cultural thing and we can learn about 00:11:25.125 --> 00:11:29.385 the culture that's beneficial to anyone of any age group everywhere. 00:11:29.625 --> 00:11:32.565 And so those kind of things I love to do whole group because it's. 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:35.960 It's very cool to just experience that as a community, but when it 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.650 comes to like math lessons and language lessons and geography and 00:11:38.660 --> 00:11:41.459 art and all that stuff, typically it's going to be more one on one. 00:11:42.040 --> 00:11:42.560 Okay. 00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:43.439 That's interesting. 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:49.359 And so I know that the Montessori is also, and you've just mentioned it, 00:11:51.119 --> 00:11:55.690 Montessori places this very big emphasis on preparing the environment and you 00:11:55.690 --> 00:11:58.450 were talking a lot about your materials. 00:11:58.880 --> 00:12:05.435 So what is the design that goes into the classroom and How does that then 00:12:06.355 --> 00:12:08.185 contribute to the child's learning? 00:12:09.325 --> 00:12:12.975 If you ever set foot in a Montessori classroom, you'll notice that there 00:12:12.975 --> 00:12:17.965 is literally nothing, even on the walls, placed above the child's height. 00:12:18.790 --> 00:12:23.520 picture frame, every table, every chair, everything is going to be 00:12:23.520 --> 00:12:27.859 sitting lower or at the child's height, except for maybe two chairs in the 00:12:27.859 --> 00:12:29.929 room that I can sit in to observe. 00:12:30.319 --> 00:12:35.029 Um, so even when the child walks in the door, it's their home and they already 00:12:35.030 --> 00:12:37.125 feel like Everything is at their height. 00:12:37.125 --> 00:12:38.805 They never have to reach for anything. 00:12:38.805 --> 00:12:42.835 They never have to go out of their way to go into this crazy 00:12:42.835 --> 00:12:44.395 location to find something. 00:12:44.745 --> 00:12:48.515 And everything on the shelves are always fully prepared for them. 00:12:48.525 --> 00:12:52.104 So let's say it's an art lesson and they're going to need glue and scissors. 00:12:52.524 --> 00:12:55.964 The tray is going to be already prepared with glue and scissors and 00:12:55.985 --> 00:12:57.555 the paper they might need to glue it. 00:12:57.895 --> 00:13:00.175 So they're never going to need to come and find me. 00:13:00.550 --> 00:13:04.110 To help like have me go search out a glue stick that I've hidden way at the 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:08.849 top of a cupboard way up high So they know that when they go to choose to 00:13:08.849 --> 00:13:12.570 do something in the room, it's already ready for them It's ready to go. 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:16.619 There is no need to ask a teacher to intervene which gives them this deep 00:13:16.619 --> 00:13:21.725 sense of like independence and I can Do it and she trusts that I can do 00:13:21.725 --> 00:13:25.715 it, which puts this huge weight on the child to do it correctly like that. 00:13:25.715 --> 00:13:26.675 I am trusting them. 00:13:26.735 --> 00:13:28.175 They know I'm trusting them. 00:13:28.445 --> 00:13:31.025 I'm trusting 'em with a pair of scissors to use it correctly. 00:13:31.025 --> 00:13:31.115 Mm-hmm. 00:13:31.115 --> 00:13:32.885 That's a pretty big deal to a 3-year-old. 00:13:33.185 --> 00:13:36.605 So when when you have the weight of that responsibility, you're gonna find that. 00:13:37.215 --> 00:13:41.125 That just in and of that, they're going to want to use the material correctly 00:13:41.125 --> 00:13:43.775 or they're going to lose it, you know, I'm not going to put out scissors if 00:13:43.775 --> 00:13:45.065 they're going to cut their friend's hair. 00:13:45.835 --> 00:13:46.355 Simple as that. 00:13:46.495 --> 00:13:48.195 So there's like, you know, freedom within limits. 00:13:48.295 --> 00:13:49.405 They can have the scissors. 00:13:49.724 --> 00:13:52.695 You just can't go in the corner and cut your friend's hair or you can't cut. 00:13:53.050 --> 00:13:55.060 You know, the plants apart or whatever it is. 00:13:55.550 --> 00:13:57.800 Um, we also use a lot of natural materials. 00:13:57.830 --> 00:14:00.340 So you'll, you'll notice there's a lot of wood and a lot of 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:02.560 glass and very minimal plastic. 00:14:02.920 --> 00:14:06.269 Um, which is kind of where the whole like beige thing comes in. 00:14:06.410 --> 00:14:07.610 I don't know if you've ever heard that stigma. 00:14:08.260 --> 00:14:11.269 There's a lot of color, but it's not a lot of plastic color. 00:14:11.649 --> 00:14:15.299 Um, and so when you're working with glass or ceramics or 00:14:15.319 --> 00:14:18.560 anything breakable, especially with like a three year old child. 00:14:19.310 --> 00:14:22.230 If it drops, it's going to shatter. 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:23.840 It's not a plastic sippy cup. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:26.510 If you're running and you're not being careful and you're carrying 00:14:26.510 --> 00:14:30.440 a glass vase and you slip and fall because you made the choice to run. 00:14:30.825 --> 00:14:32.725 It's going to shatter all over the floor. 00:14:32.745 --> 00:14:33.455 And guess what? 00:14:33.495 --> 00:14:37.145 Every child is now turning their head to look at the child who's dropped 00:14:37.145 --> 00:14:41.255 the vase which can be kind of an embarrassing experience for that child. 00:14:41.265 --> 00:14:44.815 But it's also self correcting in that it makes them not want to 00:14:44.815 --> 00:14:48.294 run the next time or not want to carry the thing with one hand. 00:14:48.294 --> 00:14:49.575 And next time they're going to use two. 00:14:50.335 --> 00:14:53.835 So there's just a lot of like little things that I can put into the room 00:14:54.205 --> 00:14:58.375 where Where it's that thing doing all the correcting and so it's not just me 00:14:58.375 --> 00:15:02.205 nagging them like you need to use walking feet like instead of me saying that. 00:15:02.780 --> 00:15:05.930 They just know to use walking feet because they're carrying something 00:15:05.930 --> 00:15:07.510 that could shatter when they drop it. 00:15:07.810 --> 00:15:10.420 And it's really cool to watch like a three year old child. 00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:13.460 After that, every three year old child is going to shatter something. 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:14.150 It's inevitable. 00:15:14.150 --> 00:15:15.120 We do break glass. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:15.740 It happens. 00:15:16.319 --> 00:15:19.370 But after about a month and a half into the school year, after all 00:15:19.370 --> 00:15:24.670 the glass has kind of broken and we all fell to the floor, it is 00:15:24.930 --> 00:15:26.680 the coolest thing in the world. 00:15:27.035 --> 00:15:31.325 To watch the most rowdy three year old child choose to walk slowly 00:15:31.535 --> 00:15:32.965 while they carry something breakable. 00:15:32.985 --> 00:15:36.185 It's like the coolest thing to watch and most people don't even believe that 00:15:36.185 --> 00:15:38.455 it's possible, but it's really cool. 00:15:38.735 --> 00:15:42.955 So just in and of itself, like how the room is laid out, like I will structure 00:15:42.964 --> 00:15:47.125 the shelves, so I like prevent a racetrack in the room, so they have to walk 00:15:47.725 --> 00:15:49.285 or they're going to run into a shelf. 00:15:49.775 --> 00:15:54.725 I make sure that I structure like the way that the sunlight hits certain 00:15:54.725 --> 00:15:58.334 tables so that it's not blinding the child so they choose to work over there. 00:15:58.334 --> 00:16:02.184 There's just like a ridiculous amount of floor plan that will go into 00:16:02.185 --> 00:16:06.444 how I lay out the room and where I put the materials also matter. 00:16:07.010 --> 00:16:08.130 It's it's pretty cool. 00:16:08.640 --> 00:16:09.870 It sounds really cool. 00:16:09.880 --> 00:16:14.350 So it sounds also to me like your biggest job as a teacher 00:16:15.170 --> 00:16:17.280 is actually your pre teaching. 00:16:17.479 --> 00:16:21.010 It's your it's your planning of how of the materials you're going to 00:16:21.010 --> 00:16:24.269 use, how you're going to display them, where you're going to put them. 00:16:25.009 --> 00:16:26.530 Uh, and you obviously. 00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:29.510 Thinking about your curriculum and your materials that you're 00:16:29.510 --> 00:16:33.180 using or that are accessible to children linked to the curriculum. 00:16:33.180 --> 00:16:38.900 So it sounds to me that it's just flipped from a traditional classroom setting. 00:16:38.920 --> 00:16:42.670 Although teachers in traditional settings also obviously have to plan, 00:16:43.610 --> 00:16:45.850 also obviously have to plan and prepare. 00:16:47.310 --> 00:16:51.690 But there's also a big emphasis on the actual teaching in the moment, you know, 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:55.190 you've got your big class teaching, your group teaching and all that kind of stuff. 00:16:56.260 --> 00:17:00.149 But I think there's more emphasis by what I can pick up here from you is 00:17:00.150 --> 00:17:04.629 your pre teaching, your, your planning behind because your environment plays 00:17:04.649 --> 00:17:07.089 such a massive role in the teaching. 00:17:07.530 --> 00:17:09.700 So that's super, super interesting. 00:17:10.190 --> 00:17:12.880 And also what I liked what you've just said is that. 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:19.360 In the good old days before the invention of plastic kids actually ate off 00:17:19.360 --> 00:17:23.380 the same plates and drank out of the same cups and glasses as adults did. 00:17:24.040 --> 00:17:28.030 And there wasn't this thing of, you have to have a sippy cup and a plastic 00:17:28.030 --> 00:17:29.560 plate and all this kind of thing. 00:17:29.950 --> 00:17:35.790 So I think it actually is a respect for the child and also it teaches the child. 00:17:36.295 --> 00:17:41.225 Responsibility, because they've got the same responsibility in taking care of 00:17:41.225 --> 00:17:43.845 things and using things as an adult has. 00:17:45.254 --> 00:17:46.145 So I think that that 00:17:46.185 --> 00:17:49.225 is really powerful, to be honest. 00:17:49.235 --> 00:17:53.005 Yeah, we also, we have a whole curriculum area, actually, that's 00:17:53.115 --> 00:17:55.455 just called care of the environment. 00:17:56.064 --> 00:17:59.704 And it is just that, like sweeping, mopping, washing the tables, 00:17:59.724 --> 00:18:03.954 washing the floors, watering the plants, dusting the shelves. 00:18:03.954 --> 00:18:06.995 There is just an entire shelf that exists in my room. 00:18:07.504 --> 00:18:09.544 So that they can take care of the space they live in. 00:18:10.085 --> 00:18:15.044 Like we have mops, I have brooms, I have watering cans, like anything that could 00:18:15.044 --> 00:18:20.595 be cleaned, they have the ability to clean it so they know that this space is theirs 00:18:20.595 --> 00:18:22.645 and it's theirs also to take care of. 00:18:23.284 --> 00:18:26.215 It's not just my job, it's our job as a community. 00:18:26.215 --> 00:18:30.185 We do laundry, we do the dishes, like it's their job to take care of 00:18:30.185 --> 00:18:32.095 everything just as much as it is my job. 00:18:33.375 --> 00:18:37.015 So how do you organize eating and food times then? 00:18:37.015 --> 00:18:38.865 Do children still bring their own food in? 00:18:38.865 --> 00:18:42.935 And then do you, I saw on one of your, one of your videos on Instagram, 00:18:42.935 --> 00:18:46.865 actually, you were talking about how you actually sit with your 00:18:46.875 --> 00:18:48.824 children and eat in the classroom. 00:18:48.825 --> 00:18:52.055 So you eat at the tables where you're learning and they've obviously 00:18:52.055 --> 00:18:55.605 bringing in food from home, but you're talking about doing the dishes. 00:18:55.615 --> 00:18:57.325 So you're talking about if you. 00:18:57.835 --> 00:19:02.315 Did something, were you preparing a food, for example, as part of a lesson that 00:19:02.315 --> 00:19:04.705 kids clean up that after themselves? 00:19:05.985 --> 00:19:09.685 Yeah, so there's multiple food aspects. 00:19:11.164 --> 00:19:12.155 Kids love food. 00:19:13.175 --> 00:19:13.484 Don't forget, 00:19:13.525 --> 00:19:16.894 Montessori is Italian, so of course, I mean, Italian and food 00:19:16.965 --> 00:19:18.545 automatically goes together, right? 00:19:18.565 --> 00:19:20.675 You wouldn't be able to separate the two at all. 00:19:20.675 --> 00:19:20.705 I've 00:19:20.705 --> 00:19:22.545 actually never put that together before. 00:19:22.615 --> 00:19:23.575 That is so true. 00:19:23.645 --> 00:19:28.324 Um, so we actually have a whole curriculum that's just dedicated 00:19:28.324 --> 00:19:29.554 to learning how to prepare food. 00:19:29.554 --> 00:19:30.695 We call it food preparation. 00:19:30.695 --> 00:19:33.924 So it's just a sequence of activities that the children can learn, like 00:19:33.924 --> 00:19:38.054 banana cutting, apple cutting, slicing, peeling, what you name it. 00:19:38.225 --> 00:19:39.254 The sky's the limit. 00:19:39.264 --> 00:19:40.564 I've made pizza with the kids. 00:19:40.595 --> 00:19:45.095 We've made muffins, smoothies, oatmeal, like the sky is essentially the limit. 00:19:45.620 --> 00:19:47.460 I did eggs, hard boiled eggs. 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:50.450 Like it just depends on the allergies in the class and what you can provide. 00:19:50.520 --> 00:19:51.840 Right now I'm able to do peanuts. 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:53.930 So they're learning how to crack peanuts because we do not have a 00:19:53.930 --> 00:19:57.140 single peanut allergy in the whole school this year, which is so cool. 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:57.659 That is 00:19:57.680 --> 00:19:58.310 lucky. 00:19:58.680 --> 00:19:59.689 I've been able to do that before. 00:19:59.689 --> 00:20:02.059 So this is my first time ever learning, having them learn how 00:20:02.060 --> 00:20:03.279 to like crack open a peanut. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:04.040 It's awesome. 00:20:04.490 --> 00:20:07.390 Um, so they have that and that's available to them and that 00:20:07.390 --> 00:20:08.990 changes as the year goes on. 00:20:08.990 --> 00:20:10.400 I, I'll switch out the trays. 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:13.000 It'll get increasingly harder, more multi steps. 00:20:13.699 --> 00:20:16.350 They're responsible for cleaning all of that afterwards as well. 00:20:16.830 --> 00:20:21.479 We also have a, um, a grant from the United States government that provides 00:20:21.479 --> 00:20:23.729 us with like fresh fruit and vegetables. 00:20:24.590 --> 00:20:29.050 every week Um, so whatever is seasonal, the whole goal is that 00:20:29.050 --> 00:20:32.530 the kids, they want the children to try new fruits and veggies. 00:20:32.530 --> 00:20:35.879 So we try to follow the seasonal pattern of what's in season right now. 00:20:36.419 --> 00:20:38.459 Um, and that's what we eat for snack. 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:41.939 And so they're able to eat snack at any point in the morning or the 00:20:41.939 --> 00:20:44.059 afternoon, whenever their body is hungry. 00:20:44.059 --> 00:20:45.510 They can just choose to eat. 00:20:45.820 --> 00:20:49.610 There's like a designated table in my classroom that's It's the only circle 00:20:49.610 --> 00:20:53.510 table in my room and it only has two chairs and there's one waiting chair. 00:20:53.510 --> 00:20:56.440 So only two friends can actually be eating at a time. 00:20:56.830 --> 00:21:00.300 But if the snack table is open or if the waiting chair is open, they are free. 00:21:00.300 --> 00:21:02.780 If their stomach is growling, they can just stand up from 00:21:02.780 --> 00:21:04.250 what they're doing and go eat. 00:21:04.280 --> 00:21:06.309 So there is not like a structured, like. 00:21:06.810 --> 00:21:10.279 Everybody gets their snack from their backpack and we all sit down and eat it. 00:21:10.290 --> 00:21:11.969 But they can definitely bring their own snack. 00:21:11.969 --> 00:21:15.989 And a lot of children do choose to bring extra food if they're like hungry or going 00:21:15.989 --> 00:21:17.870 through a growing spurt or whatever it is. 00:21:18.409 --> 00:21:19.999 Um, so they can eat snack whenever. 00:21:19.999 --> 00:21:23.169 They can also do food prep whenever in the morning or the afternoon. 00:21:23.629 --> 00:21:25.109 And then when it comes time for lunch. 00:21:25.439 --> 00:21:31.159 We do have, like, actual adult sized ceramic plates, juice cups, and then, 00:21:31.159 --> 00:21:35.050 like, bowls and forks and spoons and knives that you would see in a home, just, 00:21:35.169 --> 00:21:40.470 like, literally I bought them at Walmart, so they are as natural and real and 00:21:40.470 --> 00:21:42.479 authentic to a home as they would come. 00:21:42.899 --> 00:21:45.909 They're responsible for setting their own table spot up at lunch. 00:21:45.909 --> 00:21:48.409 They get a placemat that they have to lay down below it. 00:21:48.419 --> 00:21:51.739 They learn where the fork goes, the knife and the spoon, how the plate sits on the 00:21:51.820 --> 00:21:53.549 placemat, where the cup and the bowl go. 00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:56.370 Um, then they can serve themselves lunch. 00:21:56.379 --> 00:22:00.459 If they do choose to eat lunch, at my school at least, they can have 00:22:00.459 --> 00:22:01.689 like the school provided lunch. 00:22:01.689 --> 00:22:04.610 We have a full time cook and an assistant cook and they make. 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:08.100 An assortment of also lovely things for the school. 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.670 Um, so they can choose the hot lunch option or they can bring their own lunch 00:22:11.730 --> 00:22:15.420 if they do not like the hot lunch option, but they're ha still having school lunch. 00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:19.350 They can get a pb and j as the substitute out for the protein. 00:22:19.830 --> 00:22:22.800 So it's a pretty healthy mixture of who brings their own lunch. 00:22:22.800 --> 00:22:25.200 Who eats hot lunch and who chooses the p, d and J? 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.460 It's almost like, like 33% split across the board right now for this. 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:32.250 For this specific group of kids, every year is different. 00:22:32.570 --> 00:22:35.670 And then we do eat at those tables that we've been working on all morning. 00:22:35.670 --> 00:22:37.580 So we sit down, we eat there. 00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:41.599 At the end of lunch, when it's time to be dismissed from lunch, they are 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:43.519 responsible for cleaning everything. 00:22:43.520 --> 00:22:46.870 So their placemat needs to go back into the laundry bin, because we're going 00:22:46.870 --> 00:22:48.200 to do laundry at the end of the day. 00:22:48.509 --> 00:22:51.690 I do have a washer and dryer that are in my classroom, so we do 00:22:51.690 --> 00:22:52.990 laundry at the end of the day. 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.200 It's a job, so two children are assigned to learn. 00:22:56.270 --> 00:22:56.815 Oh 00:22:56.815 --> 00:22:57.904 my gosh. 00:22:57.904 --> 00:23:01.590 Load the soap up, put the laundry in, start the washer and dryer. 00:23:01.590 --> 00:23:02.870 Man, are they experts at that. 00:23:02.870 --> 00:23:04.669 They love doing the washer and dryer. 00:23:04.669 --> 00:23:05.449 They're so good at it. 00:23:05.899 --> 00:23:11.520 Um, for like legal reasons, even though we wash our dishes in dish 00:23:11.550 --> 00:23:16.139 buckets with soap and like water, like a rinse bucket, they're still not 00:23:16.209 --> 00:23:18.519 legally clean because they're children. 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:22.340 So we do have to load them up and actually send them to the kitchen 00:23:22.340 --> 00:23:25.890 where the kitchen like actually runs them through the dishwasher. 00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:28.750 More of a process over product thing. 00:23:28.800 --> 00:23:30.240 They do incredible at it. 00:23:30.630 --> 00:23:33.730 It's just not, it's not legally correct, which is fine. 00:23:34.190 --> 00:23:39.490 And then once the kitchen actually washes them legally, they'll send them back down. 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:45.439 And another job at the end of our day is to actually unload the dish cart. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:49.560 So put all the dishes back on the dish cabinet for the, like the following day. 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:54.620 Um, so yeah, it's really cool to like watch how the routine of like. 00:23:55.145 --> 00:23:59.155 I can totally step back and I do not help them clean up from lunch one bit. 00:23:59.155 --> 00:24:01.525 And even my little two and a half year old that I have this year 00:24:02.015 --> 00:24:03.545 can do everything all by herself. 00:24:03.604 --> 00:24:05.524 They are rock stars at it by now. 00:24:07.410 --> 00:24:11.120 And you know, this just comes back to the thing that I always say is 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:13.150 that we do not trust children enough. 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:19.060 We don't give them enough credit because they are actually really, really capable. 00:24:19.310 --> 00:24:20.779 It does my head in. 00:24:20.789 --> 00:24:24.930 I cannot tell you how infuriating I find it when I see a parent carrying a 00:24:24.930 --> 00:24:26.810 child's backpack because I'm thinking. 00:24:27.425 --> 00:24:30.254 What message are you giving your child? 00:24:30.254 --> 00:24:33.794 You're telling your child that they're not capable of carrying their own backpack. 00:24:33.804 --> 00:24:35.264 You can't do that, sweetie. 00:24:35.324 --> 00:24:37.124 You're not, you're not strong enough. 00:24:37.124 --> 00:24:38.034 You're not capable enough. 00:24:38.034 --> 00:24:39.054 It drives me insane. 00:24:40.215 --> 00:24:42.295 Or even carrying them into school. 00:24:42.335 --> 00:24:45.744 I have always been interested by when a parent carries the kid into school. 00:24:46.135 --> 00:24:50.074 You've now made the choice for the child to enter the building. 00:24:50.215 --> 00:24:51.625 That's the one I've always been interested in. 00:24:51.695 --> 00:24:52.405 Let them walk. 00:24:52.425 --> 00:24:54.475 Let them choose to enter the building. 00:24:54.475 --> 00:24:55.715 It's their, it's their school. 00:24:55.735 --> 00:24:58.024 Let them choose to, like, you let them choose. 00:24:58.025 --> 00:24:59.884 I 00:25:00.265 --> 00:25:06.700 find it just so great, so amazing that In your school, and I'm sure 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:09.440 it's probably in every Montessori school would be the same, right? 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:15.350 Well, you'd hope so anyway, that you really do give children that 00:25:15.350 --> 00:25:17.629 credit, that they are capable beings. 00:25:17.629 --> 00:25:19.779 They're capable of chopping up their food. 00:25:19.780 --> 00:25:21.149 They're capable of cleaning up. 00:25:21.149 --> 00:25:25.259 They're capable of looking after themselves or following a routine. 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:29.149 And you really are instilling the sense of independence and this can 00:25:29.149 --> 00:25:33.029 do attitude in them, which I think a lot of children at some point. 00:25:33.350 --> 00:25:36.080 I always get frustrated because sometimes you have a feeling that 00:25:36.080 --> 00:25:39.879 they think that it's your job to just top them up, that they don't have any 00:25:39.879 --> 00:25:42.259 responsibility in their own learning. 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:48.970 And so I think this kind of strategy and this methodology is really 00:25:48.970 --> 00:25:53.850 important in giving children that message that you are a capable being. 00:25:54.110 --> 00:25:59.369 We respect you and we, and we believe in you that you are capable 00:25:59.369 --> 00:26:00.879 of doing these things on your own. 00:26:00.899 --> 00:26:02.989 And I think that is an amazing message. 00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:07.370 And I think that more schools need to do that. 00:26:07.679 --> 00:26:13.709 And I love so much how you, how the kids set tables and sit and eat at tables. 00:26:13.719 --> 00:26:16.800 That is just so amazing because I don't know how much input 00:26:16.800 --> 00:26:17.959 you have with the families. 00:26:17.959 --> 00:26:21.669 But one of the things that I've seen and you read a lot about now 00:26:21.669 --> 00:26:24.489 is that kids don't sit together and eat as a family anymore. 00:26:24.879 --> 00:26:27.139 That whole family time's disappearing. 00:26:27.649 --> 00:26:30.600 So at least then they don't get that at home, which is 00:26:30.600 --> 00:26:32.269 incredibly sad if they're not. 00:26:32.919 --> 00:26:36.969 At least they get it at school and they learn that, you know, this is how you 00:26:36.969 --> 00:26:41.739 sit properly, this is how you have, you know, your cutlery, where it goes. 00:26:41.749 --> 00:26:46.729 This, I think those are really important things and that we're losing. 00:26:47.290 --> 00:26:51.809 But I think with ways of what you guys are doing in Montessori, and I 00:26:51.810 --> 00:26:53.629 wish that all schools would do that. 00:26:54.080 --> 00:26:57.639 I think you give that back to children, which I think is so special. 00:26:57.840 --> 00:26:58.610 I really do. 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:00.370 That is so special. 00:27:00.399 --> 00:27:04.230 And I say that as a mum as well, you know, that's always been something 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:06.820 really important in our family, is that. 00:27:07.870 --> 00:27:12.200 We have always, always, always sat at the table and had dinner together. 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:15.520 There are times like maybe on a Friday night when the kids were 00:27:15.520 --> 00:27:19.190 younger, we'd have family movie night and we'd have a pizza or whatever, 00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:23.129 um, in front of the television, but that is a very rare occurrence. 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:26.410 But I think that sitting together as a family at a dinner 00:27:26.410 --> 00:27:28.480 table is really important. 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:31.620 And I think that's also important in a school setting. 00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:36.570 Um, and I think that beats any day having kids just sit on the floor. 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:39.990 Opening their lunch boxes and eating their lunch, because I think that's 00:27:39.990 --> 00:27:44.659 just pretty gross, but I understand that that's also a space thing and 00:27:44.659 --> 00:27:47.300 they aren't, the setup isn't, I guess. 00:27:48.409 --> 00:27:50.530 in some schools like you guys have it there. 00:27:51.719 --> 00:27:54.770 I want to talk to you because you've mentioned a few times you have things, 00:27:54.840 --> 00:27:58.429 uh, children from you said two and a half year old right through to six year old. 00:27:58.439 --> 00:28:03.619 How does, how your mixed age classrooms, how do they function 00:28:03.639 --> 00:28:05.209 and, and what have you seen? 00:28:05.219 --> 00:28:10.840 How does that benefit all age children having being in that mixed age? 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.250 environment 00:28:12.990 --> 00:28:13.100 I 00:28:13.100 --> 00:28:18.250 think my biggest argument for mixed age classrooms is like a workplace. 00:28:18.449 --> 00:28:22.679 No workplaces are just straight everybody's the same age. 00:28:22.679 --> 00:28:24.040 They're all multi age. 00:28:24.330 --> 00:28:27.629 We can all learn something from somebody younger than us, somebody the same 00:28:27.629 --> 00:28:29.409 age as us, and somebody older than us. 00:28:30.520 --> 00:28:34.824 And, I will never forget my very first observation in a Montessori 00:28:34.824 --> 00:28:38.814 environment watching multi age kids because it's so easy to pick out 00:28:38.814 --> 00:28:41.465 the older ones and the younger ones, not just based on their size alone, 00:28:41.465 --> 00:28:43.245 but you can see it and who they are. 00:28:43.605 --> 00:28:46.675 And the older ones just become this like matriarch or 00:28:46.675 --> 00:28:48.454 patriarch of the, of the room. 00:28:48.844 --> 00:28:52.185 And if they have been in that room for the full time, like when they 00:28:52.185 --> 00:28:54.854 started as a three year old, then they were there as a four year old 00:28:54.854 --> 00:28:58.635 and a five year old, and then they turn six, the rules never change. 00:28:58.745 --> 00:29:00.065 I never change. 00:29:00.104 --> 00:29:01.384 The room hasn't changed. 00:29:01.425 --> 00:29:03.395 Like they are experts. 00:29:03.405 --> 00:29:04.994 Like they've got it down pat. 00:29:05.014 --> 00:29:08.335 You are hardly recorrecting them minimally, of course, because 00:29:08.335 --> 00:29:09.485 there's always the goofing off. 00:29:09.485 --> 00:29:12.115 But for the most part, they've got it down. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:13.920 And they just become a helper. 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:18.950 So they go out of their way to make sure that the little ones are seen and heard 00:29:18.950 --> 00:29:23.370 and helped and understood and doing the right thing and staying on track. 00:29:23.370 --> 00:29:26.240 And sometimes they'll like show them a lesson because they're so proud of 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:27.819 something they've already mastered. 00:29:27.820 --> 00:29:30.619 That's not like way below their age level now. 00:29:31.569 --> 00:29:35.750 And some of the best friendships I've personally witnessed in children. 00:29:36.129 --> 00:29:38.840 Are a six year old child and like a three or four year old 00:29:38.840 --> 00:29:40.219 child, specifically in the girls. 00:29:40.219 --> 00:29:41.300 I see it a lot with the girls. 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:45.629 Man, are those six year old girls just like angelic to the three year olds? 00:29:46.409 --> 00:29:50.120 And it's always fascinating when I have a three year old who's just really 00:29:50.120 --> 00:29:54.030 struggling being at school, whether they start the year and they're crying and they 00:29:54.030 --> 00:29:56.500 have separation anxiety or whatever it is. 00:29:56.840 --> 00:30:00.169 When they become a six year old and they've moved past a separation and 00:30:00.169 --> 00:30:01.659 they come in the door, no problem. 00:30:01.659 --> 00:30:03.620 And it's an easy peasy transition. 00:30:04.070 --> 00:30:08.149 they start to see those little three year olds who do struggle and they're 00:30:08.149 --> 00:30:13.080 immediately their buddy because they like see the past version of themselves in that 00:30:13.080 --> 00:30:16.949 child and they know how to help them and they know what they need because that's 00:30:16.949 --> 00:30:20.739 what they needed when they were their age and it is just man is it like the most 00:30:20.749 --> 00:30:25.710 beautiful thing there's like hardly ever any problems i have lots of siblings in 00:30:25.710 --> 00:30:28.500 the room so i'll have the older sibling and the younger sibling because of the 00:30:28.530 --> 00:30:34.139 multi ages and for the most part it's It is just, it is the coolest thing. 00:30:34.149 --> 00:30:37.810 It's so cool because they just know that what a three year old needs 00:30:37.810 --> 00:30:39.029 is not what a six year old needs. 00:30:39.029 --> 00:30:41.039 And everybody just knows and they understand that. 00:30:41.489 --> 00:30:43.669 And it's, it's really cool to watch. 00:30:44.889 --> 00:30:51.620 And listen, Alex, I just had a thought, um, so do those children stay with you 00:30:51.649 --> 00:30:55.820 until they're six and then they move on to another classroom or another teacher? 00:30:56.399 --> 00:30:59.429 So some of those kids could be with you for three years. 00:31:01.620 --> 00:31:04.020 And so in terms of your materials and stuff. 00:31:04.445 --> 00:31:08.795 I guess then the materials would be, some of them would be for younger 00:31:08.825 --> 00:31:11.235 age children and some of them would be for older age children. 00:31:11.235 --> 00:31:13.175 I think you probably mentioned that, possibly you've touched 00:31:13.175 --> 00:31:14.685 on that before earlier. 00:31:15.155 --> 00:31:21.024 Um, so when they're younger, they could still have access to all the materials. 00:31:21.335 --> 00:31:23.124 So are they repeating things? 00:31:23.875 --> 00:31:28.015 You know, I'm just thinking from someone who's not a Montessori person might say. 00:31:28.290 --> 00:31:32.440 Would they get bored being in the same environment for three years doing the 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:34.360 same things with the same materials? 00:31:34.950 --> 00:31:36.040 How does that work? 00:31:36.040 --> 00:31:37.600 Just explain that maybe. 00:31:39.060 --> 00:31:42.410 So for me personally, I can't really speak to other Montessori teachers, 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:45.350 but what I've personally done to just make sure that that isn't a problem 00:31:45.670 --> 00:31:47.880 is how you cycle the shelves out. 00:31:48.280 --> 00:31:52.160 So there are some staple like core materials that are not going anywhere. 00:31:52.169 --> 00:31:55.755 Like I, I know that like when you think of Montessori or at least Hopefully when 00:31:55.755 --> 00:31:58.505 you do think of Montessori, you think of the little pink tower that Maria 00:31:58.505 --> 00:32:01.715 designed, and hopefully that's a picture that you've seen and are familiar with. 00:32:02.135 --> 00:32:04.064 That's part of a sensorial curriculum. 00:32:04.065 --> 00:32:05.305 That's the name of the curriculum. 00:32:05.664 --> 00:32:08.834 That curriculum and those like three or four shelves that I have, 00:32:08.885 --> 00:32:10.105 they're never going to change. 00:32:10.135 --> 00:32:14.895 They were designed and built by Maria herself, and they are very deeply 00:32:14.895 --> 00:32:18.445 rooted in like a million different, you can do language and geography 00:32:18.445 --> 00:32:21.545 and art and all sorts of other stuff with just those shelves alone. 00:32:21.545 --> 00:32:25.135 And there's many different ways to dive into just one material on that shelf. 00:32:25.635 --> 00:32:29.735 Language, there's a couple staple core materials in the language area, 00:32:30.015 --> 00:32:33.064 like how we teach initial letter presentations and then the movable. 00:32:33.655 --> 00:32:36.195 alphabet And there's just a couple things that are never, 00:32:36.195 --> 00:32:37.455 ever going to leave the room. 00:32:37.935 --> 00:32:40.385 And then the math curriculum is pretty locked down. 00:32:40.395 --> 00:32:42.735 Like, there are just some things and some shelves that will 00:32:42.745 --> 00:32:44.434 never, ever get rearranged. 00:32:44.835 --> 00:32:50.700 But the geography and the art and the fine motor and the cultural and the, um, Like 00:32:50.910 --> 00:32:56.450 seasonal materials, they're all going to change and they change every three years. 00:32:56.460 --> 00:32:59.400 So something like, for instance, North America, which is what we are. 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:01.670 We've been learning for all of September and most of 00:33:01.970 --> 00:33:03.290 actually all of October as well. 00:33:03.290 --> 00:33:06.360 It's going away in a couple weeks that won't come back 00:33:06.370 --> 00:33:07.719 out for another three years. 00:33:08.060 --> 00:33:11.990 Which is a, there is stuff on that shelf that will meet a three year 00:33:11.990 --> 00:33:16.569 old's needs and a six year old's needs on the entire shelf of North America. 00:33:16.570 --> 00:33:19.079 And then we're going to move on and we're going to study South America. 00:33:19.459 --> 00:33:22.729 And South America has not been out for three years, so none of the children 00:33:22.730 --> 00:33:25.679 in this room have encountered South America yet, if that makes sense. 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:29.980 And I just put out solar system, and the solar system shelf has 00:33:29.980 --> 00:33:31.080 not been out for three years. 00:33:31.090 --> 00:33:35.050 So I try to keep everything on a three year cycle, so that at some 00:33:35.050 --> 00:33:38.655 point throughout the children's lives in their time in my room, 00:33:38.735 --> 00:33:39.585 they're going to get everything 00:33:39.585 --> 00:33:40.767 if that makes sense. 00:33:40.767 --> 00:33:42.915 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense. 00:33:43.735 --> 00:33:47.765 So, What are some common misconceptions about Montessori 00:33:47.765 --> 00:33:49.675 education that you often encounter? 00:33:51.415 --> 00:33:51.755 Um, 00:33:51.755 --> 00:33:53.595 I think one of the biggest ones we've already touched 00:33:53.595 --> 00:33:55.134 on is just the free for all. 00:33:55.584 --> 00:33:59.395 And I literally think, and there are genuinely people out there, I think, who 00:33:59.435 --> 00:34:02.925 think that the children just walk in the door and it's just It's absolute chaos for 00:34:02.925 --> 00:34:07.115 eight hours a day, and then I send them home, which is just so far from the truth. 00:34:07.525 --> 00:34:11.765 Um, and the other, the other one you've already touched on of just how, like, how 00:34:11.765 --> 00:34:15.834 on earth are we able to even meet academic standards if they are a free for all? 00:34:15.834 --> 00:34:16.954 Like, how does that work? 00:34:17.335 --> 00:34:20.795 Um, not really so much of a misconception, but just something that is really 00:34:20.795 --> 00:34:25.245 hard for people to wrap their minds around is how it's possible for me 00:34:25.545 --> 00:34:28.955 to sit down with a child one on one. 00:34:29.250 --> 00:34:31.870 And just let the other 23 kids go free. 00:34:32.180 --> 00:34:35.440 That's a really hard concept for people to wrap their minds around. 00:34:35.450 --> 00:34:38.660 They don't quite understand how it's possible to fully remove 00:34:38.670 --> 00:34:40.120 myself from the situation. 00:34:40.509 --> 00:34:43.240 That is something you just genuinely have to see in action. 00:34:43.240 --> 00:34:44.160 It is almost near. 00:34:44.160 --> 00:34:46.489 I've tried to explain it in a million different ways in a 00:34:46.489 --> 00:34:47.779 million different videos online. 00:34:48.170 --> 00:34:51.860 And I just think it's something if you, if that is where you're stuck on. 00:34:52.515 --> 00:34:56.025 Go observe a Montessori classroom and watch her or him just sit 00:34:56.025 --> 00:34:59.365 down and pull themselves away from everything and watch the kids just 00:34:59.365 --> 00:35:01.114 keep going as if nothing is going on. 00:35:01.115 --> 00:35:02.495 It's totally normal to them. 00:35:03.095 --> 00:35:05.294 Um, and then I think the other misconception is just 00:35:05.295 --> 00:35:06.545 based on the fact that. 00:35:07.185 --> 00:35:12.725 Maria was asked to patent her method and she ultimately chose not to. 00:35:13.255 --> 00:35:18.175 So essentially, there is no quote right way and wrong way to do things. 00:35:18.755 --> 00:35:22.815 So you are going to find, um, some Montessori schools aren't 00:35:23.045 --> 00:35:25.415 necessarily Montessori schools. 00:35:26.385 --> 00:35:29.775 Essentially, anybody can take the name Montessori, slap it on the side of a 00:35:29.775 --> 00:35:33.415 building, put wooden materials out on the shelf and say, look, you're Montessori. 00:35:33.425 --> 00:35:34.515 Yes, it worries me, yeah. 00:35:34.615 --> 00:35:34.985 Yeah. 00:35:35.674 --> 00:35:38.615 Um, so there's just some vetting that might need to happen if. 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:42.470 If you are, if it is someone who's genuinely looking at either teaching 00:35:42.470 --> 00:35:45.850 in one or just sending their children to one, there's a lot of back, like, 00:35:45.850 --> 00:35:48.880 behind the scenes work that might need to happen on that end, just to 00:35:48.880 --> 00:35:52.080 make sure you're actually choosing one that is something that if Maria 00:35:52.080 --> 00:35:53.669 was still alive, she would approve of. 00:35:55.275 --> 00:35:56.655 So yeah, those would be my big ones. 00:35:57.355 --> 00:36:02.125 I think I would be wary of that because I've seen it even where I, I live, you 00:36:02.125 --> 00:36:05.845 know, you'd see a building come up and it's a new, it's a new childcare center 00:36:05.845 --> 00:36:09.065 and then they'd have Montessori on the side and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know 00:36:09.065 --> 00:36:13.544 if you really are Montessori, you know, and I think you're right for parents. 00:36:14.020 --> 00:36:17.720 And you've just touched on this now because I was going to say to you, what 00:36:17.720 --> 00:36:22.040 advice would you give parents and teachers who are considering Montessori education? 00:36:22.040 --> 00:36:24.769 I guess one of the things that you would consider is to check out whether they 00:36:24.790 --> 00:36:29.840 truly are aligned with Montessori values and whether they really have the actual 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:34.809 Montessori materials, because I know Montessori has very specific materials 00:36:34.899 --> 00:36:36.579 in terms of teaching various things. 00:36:36.580 --> 00:36:41.305 It's You know, whereas in other schools or non Montessori you can basically use 00:36:41.335 --> 00:36:46.115 anything, but Montessori is very strict on the type of materials that they use. 00:36:46.235 --> 00:36:48.085 Uh, I think I'm right on that, right? 00:36:49.035 --> 00:36:49.664 Tell me if I'm wrong. 00:36:50.155 --> 00:36:53.615 Um, if you, 00:36:55.624 --> 00:36:57.154 oh, what was I was going to say now? 00:36:57.234 --> 00:37:02.675 Um, uh, Montessori, thank God for editing. 00:37:02.675 --> 00:37:09.135 Um, I can't remember my train, I, I, I stopped my own train of thought there. 00:37:09.935 --> 00:37:10.415 Um, 00:37:13.315 --> 00:37:17.425 Is there anything else, Alex, that you think is really important for people 00:37:17.425 --> 00:37:22.215 listening to this episode that they should really know about Montessori? 00:37:22.215 --> 00:37:24.244 That's something that, because I can see that you feel so 00:37:24.245 --> 00:37:25.915 passionate about Montessori. 00:37:26.554 --> 00:37:31.894 Is there anything that you want to say to people about Montessori that you 00:37:31.905 --> 00:37:35.365 think that they should know if they want to bring their kids there, if they 00:37:35.365 --> 00:37:38.215 want to teach in a Montessori school? 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:43.670 Anything, what else do you want to, this is your plug for Montessori, so to speak. 00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:45.180 I 00:37:45.180 --> 00:37:49.390 think my biggest takeaway that I, if anyone could take anything away, 00:37:49.390 --> 00:37:54.359 it's just to not be, don't be so close minded and, and be open minded. 00:37:54.720 --> 00:37:59.495 Um, there is a lot of like, Misconceptions and a lot of weird stigmas about 00:37:59.495 --> 00:38:03.925 it from, for whatever reason, and about a hundred of them are false. 00:38:04.305 --> 00:38:08.455 And, um, I learned that myself at one point or another, and I've 00:38:08.464 --> 00:38:12.554 witnessed other people realize, Oh, so this is what you do. 00:38:12.925 --> 00:38:16.485 And they're There is just so many misconceptions and a lot of them can go 00:38:16.485 --> 00:38:20.235 away by just scheduling an observation So if you do find a school in your 00:38:20.235 --> 00:38:25.464 area That is genuinely montessori and they are doing everything they can to 00:38:25.475 --> 00:38:29.285 uphold what maria would have thought Would have been true and right and 00:38:29.295 --> 00:38:34.455 just ask them call them up say hey I'm interested whether it's for being a 00:38:34.455 --> 00:38:36.335 teacher or sending your children there. 00:38:36.335 --> 00:38:40.125 Let them know what you're interested in and just ask for an observation. 00:38:40.645 --> 00:38:43.135 And almost every one of them will allow you to come in. 00:38:43.165 --> 00:38:46.475 They'll allow you to sit in a chair with a clipboard and a piece of paper, and they 00:38:46.475 --> 00:38:48.095 will just allow you to take it all in. 00:38:48.395 --> 00:38:51.944 And there is truly no better way to actually understand what on earth 00:38:51.985 --> 00:38:55.045 goes on in a Montessori classroom than just sitting in a chair. 00:38:55.495 --> 00:38:59.895 It was, I hold on to that very first observation I ever, I ever witnessed. 00:38:59.915 --> 00:39:01.345 I cling to that one. 00:39:01.345 --> 00:39:04.680 It was, One of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed, and if 00:39:04.680 --> 00:39:07.380 it wasn't for that I don't think I'd still, like, I'd be here today. 00:39:07.380 --> 00:39:12.379 So you would be shocked at what you'll see and what the children are capable of if 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:14.249 you just sit in a chair and take notes. 00:39:14.479 --> 00:39:15.400 It's wonderful. 00:39:15.910 --> 00:39:20.340 And Alex, is that moment, is that what made you want to be a Montessori teacher? 00:39:21.735 --> 00:39:25.255 Originally a traditional, I just say a traditional, you know, a non 00:39:25.725 --> 00:39:27.485 Montessori teacher, traditional teacher. 00:39:28.035 --> 00:39:30.865 You were originally, that's where you started, right? 00:39:30.945 --> 00:39:33.714 So what was it that made you change to Montessori? 00:39:34.395 --> 00:39:38.064 Um, so I was studied at a four year college to be a traditional. 00:39:38.755 --> 00:39:41.615 teacher And that's what I thought I was going to do my whole life. 00:39:41.615 --> 00:39:44.185 I thought I was going to be like a second or a third grade teacher. 00:39:44.185 --> 00:39:45.425 That sounded like the dream. 00:39:45.815 --> 00:39:50.254 Um, and in America, we get placed to student teach for like six to eight weeks 00:39:50.255 --> 00:39:55.144 or sometimes 12 weeks, depending on your major, um, right before you graduate. 00:39:55.145 --> 00:39:59.295 And so I got the letter for my student teaching placement and in the letter, 00:39:59.315 --> 00:40:02.855 it said the name of the school and it just said kindergarten on it. 00:40:03.735 --> 00:40:05.755 And I was like, okay, sweet. 00:40:05.855 --> 00:40:06.575 This is great. 00:40:06.595 --> 00:40:09.885 But I did not go to college in the same town I was from. 00:40:10.385 --> 00:40:13.495 And so I mentioned it to a friend who was born and raised in that town. 00:40:13.505 --> 00:40:15.645 And I said, Hey, this is the school I got placed at. 00:40:15.645 --> 00:40:16.755 What do you know about it? 00:40:17.155 --> 00:40:20.464 And I just remember the look on their face and they were like, Oh, you know, 00:40:20.465 --> 00:40:21.814 that's a Montessori school, right? 00:40:21.854 --> 00:40:23.335 Like I'll never forget the look on his face. 00:40:23.415 --> 00:40:25.145 And I was like, Oh no. 00:40:25.185 --> 00:40:25.805 And I was. 00:40:26.105 --> 00:40:30.835 furious like in that moment I was so mad that my traditional college 00:40:30.845 --> 00:40:34.155 would place me to student teach in a Montessori school without telling me 00:40:34.165 --> 00:40:39.390 and without preparing me for it and I was to this day I was the only The only 00:40:39.390 --> 00:40:44.410 one that I know of that they place like to student teach there, which baffles 00:40:44.420 --> 00:40:47.699 me to this day, somehow providential. 00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:52.130 Yeah, and I just sent an email to my teacher that was my cooperating teacher 00:40:52.130 --> 00:40:55.985 and I expressed my concern and I said, Hey, like, I'm not really a mom, like I 00:40:55.985 --> 00:40:57.555 know nothing about the montessori method. 00:40:58.015 --> 00:40:59.925 I'm so sorry that I got placed with you. 00:41:00.205 --> 00:41:02.615 What do you want me to do to make sure I'm prepared? 00:41:03.084 --> 00:41:06.935 And she was so kind and she just emailed back and was like, Oh my gosh, no worries. 00:41:06.965 --> 00:41:08.334 Like come in and observe. 00:41:08.334 --> 00:41:13.665 Like, so I observed in December before my January term started and she actually 00:41:13.755 --> 00:41:16.025 had me observe for three straight hours. 00:41:16.025 --> 00:41:19.515 They get to work for three straight hours in the morning and normal 00:41:19.515 --> 00:41:21.665 observations for anybody else would be probably about an hour. 00:41:21.695 --> 00:41:27.590 But, um, I sat in that chair And I can think of three kids off the top 00:41:27.590 --> 00:41:31.100 of my head who I was just in shock. 00:41:31.220 --> 00:41:35.970 They were like three and they were not once did she even say like she 00:41:35.970 --> 00:41:39.460 didn't, she didn't talk to them because they were functioning so. 00:41:40.025 --> 00:41:40.995 independently. 00:41:41.815 --> 00:41:42.995 for three straight hours. 00:41:43.005 --> 00:41:44.085 They did not need help. 00:41:44.495 --> 00:41:45.795 They did not need guidance. 00:41:45.995 --> 00:41:47.695 They did not need redirection. 00:41:47.845 --> 00:41:49.955 They just knew exactly what to do and they did it. 00:41:50.175 --> 00:41:51.975 And it was unreal. 00:41:52.055 --> 00:41:53.895 I can see those kids to this day. 00:41:53.895 --> 00:41:58.105 It was, I'm pretty sure I teared up in that moment because I had 00:41:58.105 --> 00:41:59.475 never seen anything like it before. 00:41:59.495 --> 00:42:02.985 And I had just done a practicum in like a third grade classroom where I still 00:42:02.985 --> 00:42:06.780 had third graders that would come up to me and be like, So what do I do next? 00:42:07.070 --> 00:42:10.460 Like they just couldn't problem solve of like what came next and I 00:42:10.470 --> 00:42:13.490 watched this three year old child know exactly what to do next and 00:42:13.490 --> 00:42:15.590 then do it and it was mind blowing. 00:42:17.360 --> 00:42:19.860 Oh my gosh, I missed out Alex. 00:42:19.860 --> 00:42:22.810 I really want to go to the Montessori school. 00:42:26.290 --> 00:42:27.630 Oh, it sounds so wonderful. 00:42:28.090 --> 00:42:31.370 Uh, listen, Alex, before we go, um, it's been amazing. 00:42:31.380 --> 00:42:34.430 It's been just so, so wonderful and enlightening to listen to you. 00:42:34.460 --> 00:42:37.860 And it's also just made me feel really sad that I don't have a 00:42:37.910 --> 00:42:42.170 Montessori, um, education and I don't have a Montessori training. 00:42:43.260 --> 00:42:46.920 Because I think it would have just been lovely to teach in a Montessori school. 00:42:47.560 --> 00:42:49.420 Tell people where they can find you. 00:42:49.460 --> 00:42:53.170 Uh, what do you tell people where they can find you? 00:42:53.200 --> 00:42:59.429 Because I also know that you offer things in terms of Montessori training to people. 00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:00.270 Is that correct? 00:43:00.629 --> 00:43:03.670 So tell people where they can get hold of you and how you can help them. 00:43:04.895 --> 00:43:07.765 Sure, my handle's just missnearingsmontessori. 00:43:07.765 --> 00:43:09.495 It's on TikTok and on Instagram. 00:43:09.515 --> 00:43:11.845 It's also a website, so the same website. 00:43:12.225 --> 00:43:16.904 If there are any questions or any concerns or any problems that you see and you 00:43:16.915 --> 00:43:20.784 just want a couple minutes spent with me walking you through something, there is 00:43:20.785 --> 00:43:25.240 a link on that website for just like, A little time with me on a zoom call just 00:43:25.250 --> 00:43:29.680 asking or answering questions or working through a frustration It i've worked 00:43:29.680 --> 00:43:32.829 with a whole bunch of people who either are montessori teachers and they're 00:43:32.839 --> 00:43:35.910 struggling with something or who want to send their kids to montessori and 00:43:35.910 --> 00:43:40.589 want to know how to prepare them or just struggle or have kids in the montessori 00:43:40.589 --> 00:43:46.130 school and are struggling with them and there's all sorts of walks of life and 00:43:46.160 --> 00:43:49.410 so it's really cool to be able to walk through all of those with everyone. 00:43:49.450 --> 00:43:50.290 But yeah. 00:43:51.699 --> 00:43:53.270 That's amazing and we will put, 00:43:53.320 --> 00:43:59.029 I will put links to all your, to your website and your Instagram handle. 00:43:59.030 --> 00:43:59.699 I'll put all that. 00:43:59.990 --> 00:44:03.030 in the show notes for anybody listening, so you don't have to worry about that. 00:44:03.450 --> 00:44:06.770 Alex, thanks so much for being here today and sharing your vast 00:44:06.830 --> 00:44:09.580 knowledge about Montessori and your passion with everybody. 00:44:09.610 --> 00:44:14.630 It's so much appreciated and so welcome as well at this time where 00:44:14.670 --> 00:44:18.319 I think there's so much going on in education and people are concerned. 00:44:18.700 --> 00:44:23.415 So I think Montessori is an Just fabulous way to address anybody's problems. 00:44:23.425 --> 00:44:26.955 So I just love the idea of Montessori and thank you so much for sharing 00:44:26.955 --> 00:44:28.345 your passion with us today. 00:44:29.024 --> 00:44:30.004 Thank you for having me. 00:44:30.005 --> 00:44:30.575 I really loved this. 00:44:31.905 --> 00:44:32.545 Anytime. 00:44:32.565 --> 00:44:35.504 And I'm really looking forward to maybe in the future we'll have you on again. 00:44:35.504 --> 00:44:36.105 Who knows? 00:44:39.274 --> 00:44:41.265 So I'm just going to stop the recording. 00:44:41.426 --> 00:44:41.625 Or two. 00:44:44.806 --> 00:44:49.596 Today on Blooming Curious, I am super excited to welcome Alex Peterson. 00:44:49.656 --> 00:44:53.136 Alex is a Montessori teacher dedicated to fostering a love 00:44:53.165 --> 00:44:55.015 of learning in young children. 00:44:55.705 --> 00:44:59.006 Under the handle Miss Nearing's Montessori, Alex creates 00:44:59.026 --> 00:45:01.026 engaging educational content. 00:45:01.066 --> 00:45:05.461 on tiktok and Instagram, sharing creative teaching strategies, hands 00:45:05.461 --> 00:45:10.060 on activities, and insights into the Montessori approach through her content. 00:45:10.091 --> 00:45:13.620 Alex connects with parents and educators, making learning 00:45:13.640 --> 00:45:16.051 accessible and fun for everyone. 00:45:16.520 --> 00:45:20.910 She holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education, and 00:45:20.910 --> 00:45:23.031 has a background in special education. 00:45:23.461 --> 00:45:28.201 She holds her AMS primary three to six certificate from the Montessori education 00:45:28.201 --> 00:45:30.921 center of the Rockies in beautiful. 00:45:31.116 --> 00:45:32.636 Denver, Colorado. 00:45:32.986 --> 00:45:34.975 Welcome to Blooming Curious, Alex. 00:45:35.785 --> 00:45:37.236 Thank you for having me. 00:45:37.606 --> 00:45:38.656 It's such a pleasure. 00:45:38.846 --> 00:45:39.975 I am so excited. 00:45:40.015 --> 00:45:44.446 Um, for anybody listening who doesn't know, I found Alex on Instagram 00:45:45.125 --> 00:45:47.215 and Alex is a prolific creator. 00:45:47.245 --> 00:45:49.986 And every day there's some very cheerful. 00:45:50.776 --> 00:45:54.245 Teaching going on about the Montessori and what the children 00:45:54.265 --> 00:45:56.196 in her Montessori class are doing. 00:45:56.196 --> 00:45:59.426 So this is what drew me in and I just thought this is amazing. 00:45:59.426 --> 00:46:01.946 This is exactly what Blooming Curious is about. 00:46:01.946 --> 00:46:06.136 It's about curiosity and learning and children loving what they're doing. 00:46:06.136 --> 00:46:07.195 So I'm very excited. 00:46:07.866 --> 00:46:12.195 So Alex, for those of us that are unfamiliar and haven't got a clue or 00:46:12.195 --> 00:46:15.935 have never spent time in a Montessori classroom, explain to us what 00:46:15.995 --> 00:46:22.066 Montessori education is and really how is it different from a traditional 00:46:22.176 --> 00:46:24.806 classroom or a traditional teaching? 00:46:25.776 --> 00:46:26.306 Sure. 00:46:26.316 --> 00:46:30.035 So, when you think of a traditional classroom, you typically think of a 00:46:30.375 --> 00:46:33.806 teacher who's kind of in charge of the learning and she plans lessons 00:46:33.806 --> 00:46:35.486 or he plans lessons each day. 00:46:35.806 --> 00:46:38.685 And every day you show up and there's a scheduled time block 00:46:38.685 --> 00:46:42.725 that you have a math activity or a language lesson or a science lesson. 00:46:43.185 --> 00:46:49.245 And, um, back in the early, like, early 1800s, a woman named Maria Montessori Um, 00:46:49.256 --> 00:46:53.185 spent some time, uh, she was a scientist in Italy, actually, and she was one of 00:46:53.205 --> 00:46:55.526 the first women scientists ever in Italy. 00:46:55.836 --> 00:47:00.315 And because of that, she was actually placed in a, like what they referred 00:47:00.316 --> 00:47:03.145 to at the time as like a mental asylum to work with children who 00:47:03.145 --> 00:47:04.815 are essentially outcasts of society. 00:47:04.816 --> 00:47:07.845 They did not fit the general mold of the traditional education 00:47:07.845 --> 00:47:09.866 system in Italy at the time. 00:47:10.245 --> 00:47:13.955 And during her time there, she observed that when children were able to work 00:47:13.975 --> 00:47:16.665 with tactile materials and spend time. 00:47:17.100 --> 00:47:22.981 playing games and learning through games and play and going at their own pace and 00:47:22.981 --> 00:47:25.031 choosing what they get to do each day. 00:47:25.321 --> 00:47:29.640 They were more likely to learn because they were in charge of their learning. 00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.880 So through a very long period of time of her observation, she was able to develop 00:47:34.880 --> 00:47:40.250 this huge method where the children are essentially the leaders of the classroom. 00:47:40.401 --> 00:47:42.520 And so that method is carried on today. 00:47:42.520 --> 00:47:43.160 She has. 00:47:44.180 --> 00:47:47.651 completely taken over the education world all over the world. 00:47:47.691 --> 00:47:51.721 These schools popped up from Italy, and then they just exploded. 00:47:51.750 --> 00:47:54.741 So they've all made it in almost every continent at this point. 00:47:55.250 --> 00:47:59.610 And essentially it is the complete opposite of a traditional school. 00:47:59.610 --> 00:48:03.241 So you take everything you've ever learned in a traditional school, throw it all out 00:48:03.241 --> 00:48:05.361 the window and completely level it down. 00:48:05.651 --> 00:48:09.781 Which is what I had to do because I did get my degree in Um, traditional 00:48:09.781 --> 00:48:11.410 education before I entered Montessori. 00:48:11.451 --> 00:48:15.191 So I literally threw everything away that I knew and started all the way over. 00:48:15.571 --> 00:48:20.841 And when you think of how a traditional school day is run, when the children 00:48:20.921 --> 00:48:26.180 enter in a Montessori classroom, they go immediately right to what they want to do. 00:48:26.381 --> 00:48:30.390 Right away when they walk in the door and it's what they want to do essentially 00:48:30.390 --> 00:48:35.381 with freedom within limits all day long with me acting as a simple guide. 00:48:35.401 --> 00:48:38.421 So we actually are not even called teachers in the Montessori world. 00:48:38.421 --> 00:48:39.310 They call us guides. 00:48:39.310 --> 00:48:43.260 And my job is to simply connect the child to the materials in the 00:48:43.261 --> 00:48:46.971 room based on who they are as a person and what I observe in them. 00:48:47.546 --> 00:48:49.265 And I just guide them in their learning. 00:48:49.316 --> 00:48:51.136 They are the, they are the bosses. 00:48:51.136 --> 00:48:52.125 They're in charge. 00:48:52.486 --> 00:48:54.995 I just kind of find the things that meet the needs of where 00:48:54.995 --> 00:48:56.116 they're at in their life. 00:48:56.176 --> 00:49:00.066 And I, I kind of step by step, bring them around through a 00:49:00.066 --> 00:49:01.606 full curriculum in the room. 00:49:04.415 --> 00:49:05.135 Okay. 00:49:05.645 --> 00:49:06.445 So now. 00:49:06.661 --> 00:49:09.761 The first question I'm having is I'm thinking about what teachers are 00:49:09.761 --> 00:49:13.390 thinking in a traditional setting or parents who send kids to traditional 00:49:13.600 --> 00:49:18.371 settings, and they're thinking, well, how do they meet curriculum outcomes? 00:49:18.390 --> 00:49:23.070 If kids are just playing and doing their own thing, and you're there 00:49:23.070 --> 00:49:26.821 as a guide, helping them with the materials, for example, how are 00:49:26.821 --> 00:49:28.790 you going to meet the outcomes? 00:49:28.790 --> 00:49:33.426 Because Montessori, I think, goes, Well, I guess it depends on the location or 00:49:33.446 --> 00:49:37.816 the school, but they do go right through to the end of high school, don't they? 00:49:38.366 --> 00:49:39.645 Mine actually does, yes. 00:49:39.776 --> 00:49:41.566 So we have all the way up through high school in mine. 00:49:42.785 --> 00:49:46.736 So how would, how would you explain that to parents or other teachers? 00:49:46.745 --> 00:49:50.735 Is, how do you then meet your curriculum outcomes, um, if kids 00:49:50.736 --> 00:49:53.176 are just free ranging, so to speak? 00:49:53.176 --> 00:49:55.446 So some people might think, well, that's just free range learning. 00:49:57.026 --> 00:50:00.836 Yeah, we often get the, uh, the stigma that we're just like a bunch of 00:50:01.205 --> 00:50:04.986 essentially hippies, you know, that just kind of let our kids do whatever we want. 00:50:05.026 --> 00:50:09.055 But, um, the heavy hitting point is that there are, there is freedom 00:50:09.055 --> 00:50:13.066 and the children really are free to do whatever they want within 00:50:13.066 --> 00:50:15.285 a very strict series of limits. 00:50:15.685 --> 00:50:19.385 And the room itself provides a deep range of limits. 00:50:19.850 --> 00:50:23.781 Whether it's just simply where things go on the shelf and how you return 00:50:23.781 --> 00:50:28.290 everything to the shelf Every shelf has an order and the order is sequential 00:50:28.290 --> 00:50:31.850 from top to bottom left to right and everything builds on itself in the shelf 00:50:32.241 --> 00:50:36.030 Um, my job is to ensure that they aren't goofing off and are actually doing 00:50:36.031 --> 00:50:39.711 what they should be doing So I need to have a deep understanding of just 00:50:39.741 --> 00:50:45.406 pedagogy in general and like academic standards in general um, and then The 00:50:45.406 --> 00:50:51.526 whole, the whole layout of the room is almost to trick the child into learning. 00:50:51.566 --> 00:50:56.696 So when you think of traditional education standards, my job is to give 00:50:56.696 --> 00:51:00.475 them those standards and teach them in a way where they almost don't realize. 00:51:01.076 --> 00:51:05.661 that they're learning because we are just having fun, whether we're playing a game 00:51:05.801 --> 00:51:09.221 and we're learning letters, whether I'm coloring with them and we're learning 00:51:09.221 --> 00:51:13.540 numbers, there's just a series of ways that I can present a lesson to a child 00:51:13.540 --> 00:51:17.220 just to make sure that I'm keeping them on track and exactly where they should be. 00:51:17.571 --> 00:51:20.790 We follow all the state standards in my, in my state personally, 00:51:20.790 --> 00:51:24.410 which align standards almost across the globe, like universally. 00:51:24.781 --> 00:51:30.140 Um, and all of the materials in every classroom always start about a 00:51:30.140 --> 00:51:33.710 half year lower than what the child would be when they enter the room. 00:51:33.710 --> 00:51:36.551 So we have materials that that could potentially meet the needs 00:51:36.551 --> 00:51:38.080 of a two and a half year old child. 00:51:38.531 --> 00:51:42.221 And then the lot like the upper end of a room like mine would 00:51:42.221 --> 00:51:43.930 go all the way to first grade. 00:51:44.326 --> 00:51:49.346 So it's awesome that a child can go as far as they want or as slow as they want. 00:51:49.645 --> 00:51:52.926 And we keep them on track, but at the pace that kind of meets them 00:51:53.116 --> 00:51:54.895 the best, if that makes sense. 00:51:55.286 --> 00:51:57.265 And then we fill in the gaps where necessary. 00:51:57.265 --> 00:52:01.605 So if I notice that a child is only doing anything in the 00:52:01.606 --> 00:52:03.576 math for two days straight. 00:52:03.656 --> 00:52:06.866 I'm going to guide them into language on that third day to make sure that 00:52:06.866 --> 00:52:08.176 they're meeting the language area. 00:52:08.486 --> 00:52:11.236 And then maybe we'll head towards geography that fourth day so that by 00:52:11.256 --> 00:52:15.835 the full whole five day week, they will have hit every subject area by the 00:52:15.836 --> 00:52:17.435 time they walk out the door on Friday. 00:52:18.031 --> 00:52:18.161 If that makes sense. 00:52:19.430 --> 00:52:19.951 Okay. 00:52:20.250 --> 00:52:26.261 So the other thing I want to then ask is, um, do children ever do whole group 00:52:26.261 --> 00:52:30.551 or do you ever do whole group lessons like a math session, for example, or a 00:52:30.551 --> 00:52:35.180 phonics session to the whole class, or, or is it just following the individual 00:52:35.211 --> 00:52:38.221 children as they're going through their learning at their own pace? 00:52:39.231 --> 00:52:42.770 Developmentally, the, the child before about the age of six. 00:52:43.611 --> 00:52:47.261 If you really look at who they are as a person, that's when you start hearing 00:52:47.261 --> 00:52:51.100 like, that's mine, like, and they don't like to share, so they care a lot 00:52:51.100 --> 00:52:53.390 about how the world pertains to them. 00:52:53.721 --> 00:52:57.470 So I'm going to structure the majority of my lessons, just me one 00:52:57.470 --> 00:52:59.991 on one with an individual child. 00:53:00.430 --> 00:53:03.861 As they get older, they start Clipping a plane of development and 00:53:03.861 --> 00:53:07.901 then they start caring about the whole, how can we collectively come 00:53:07.901 --> 00:53:09.511 to a conclusion about something? 00:53:09.511 --> 00:53:10.821 How can we work together? 00:53:11.261 --> 00:53:14.671 So when that, when I get a, like a late five year old, early six year 00:53:14.671 --> 00:53:19.100 old child in the room, I will start teaching lessons to those children as 00:53:19.100 --> 00:53:24.600 a small group, but I will never do a massive phonics lesson to the whole. 00:53:25.216 --> 00:53:29.196 The whole group of kids, just because a six year old child is genuinely very 00:53:29.196 --> 00:53:32.136 different than a three year old child, and they're, they have different needs. 00:53:32.566 --> 00:53:35.236 We do do a group time in the middle of the day. 00:53:35.606 --> 00:53:40.606 Um, we just do calendar, and we check the weather, and we sing songs. 00:53:40.606 --> 00:53:45.006 If there's a concert coming up, we might practice songs for the concert coming up. 00:53:45.406 --> 00:53:49.020 Um, but when it comes to the academic lessons, There's really not a whole 00:53:49.020 --> 00:53:50.430 lot that we do in a whole group. 00:53:50.790 --> 00:53:54.060 Right now we're actually studying the continent of North America and we have a 00:53:54.060 --> 00:53:57.350 grandma who, um, is from Mexico actually. 00:53:57.350 --> 00:54:00.621 She was born and raised in Mexico and she made Mexican, like this Mexican 00:54:00.621 --> 00:54:02.571 dessert for us and she brought us in toys. 00:54:03.560 --> 00:54:07.401 So we had this whole group lesson about what it was like to grow up in Mexico. 00:54:07.401 --> 00:54:09.861 And so sometimes when it's a cultural thing and we can learn about 00:54:09.861 --> 00:54:14.121 the culture that's beneficial to anyone of any age group everywhere. 00:54:14.361 --> 00:54:17.301 And so those kind of things I love to do whole group because it's. 00:54:17.316 --> 00:54:20.696 It's very cool to just experience that as a community, but when it 00:54:20.696 --> 00:54:23.386 comes to like math lessons and language lessons and geography and 00:54:23.395 --> 00:54:26.195 art and all that stuff, typically it's going to be more one on one. 00:54:26.776 --> 00:54:27.296 Okay. 00:54:27.296 --> 00:54:28.175 That's interesting. 00:54:28.216 --> 00:54:34.095 And so I know that the Montessori is also, and you've just mentioned it, 00:54:35.855 --> 00:54:40.426 Montessori places this very big emphasis on preparing the environment and you 00:54:40.426 --> 00:54:43.185 were talking a lot about your materials. 00:54:43.616 --> 00:54:50.171 So what is the design that goes into the classroom and How does that then 00:54:51.091 --> 00:54:52.921 contribute to the child's learning? 00:54:54.060 --> 00:54:57.711 If you ever set foot in a Montessori classroom, you'll notice that there 00:54:57.711 --> 00:55:02.701 is literally nothing, even on the walls, placed above the child's height. 00:55:03.526 --> 00:55:08.256 picture frame, every table, every chair, everything is going to be 00:55:08.256 --> 00:55:12.595 sitting lower or at the child's height, except for maybe two chairs in the 00:55:12.595 --> 00:55:14.665 room that I can sit in to observe. 00:55:15.055 --> 00:55:19.765 Um, so even when the child walks in the door, it's their home and they already 00:55:19.765 --> 00:55:21.861 feel like Everything is at their height. 00:55:21.861 --> 00:55:23.540 They never have to reach for anything. 00:55:23.540 --> 00:55:27.571 They never have to go out of their way to go into this crazy 00:55:27.571 --> 00:55:29.131 location to find something. 00:55:29.481 --> 00:55:33.250 And everything on the shelves are always fully prepared for them. 00:55:33.261 --> 00:55:36.840 So let's say it's an art lesson and they're going to need glue and scissors. 00:55:37.260 --> 00:55:40.700 The tray is going to be already prepared with glue and scissors and 00:55:40.720 --> 00:55:42.290 the paper they might need to glue it. 00:55:42.631 --> 00:55:44.911 So they're never going to need to come and find me. 00:55:45.286 --> 00:55:48.846 To help like have me go search out a glue stick that I've hidden way at the 00:55:48.856 --> 00:55:53.585 top of a cupboard way up high So they know that when they go to choose to 00:55:53.585 --> 00:55:57.305 do something in the room, it's already ready for them It's ready to go. 00:55:57.426 --> 00:56:01.355 There is no need to ask a teacher to intervene which gives them this deep 00:56:01.355 --> 00:56:06.461 sense of like independence and I can Do it and she trusts that I can do 00:56:06.461 --> 00:56:10.451 it, which puts this huge weight on the child to do it correctly like that. 00:56:10.451 --> 00:56:11.411 I am trusting them. 00:56:11.471 --> 00:56:12.911 They know I'm trusting them. 00:56:13.181 --> 00:56:15.761 I'm trusting 'em with a pair of scissors to use it correctly. 00:56:15.761 --> 00:56:15.850 Mm-hmm. 00:56:15.850 --> 00:56:17.621 That's a pretty big deal to a 3-year-old. 00:56:17.921 --> 00:56:21.341 So when when you have the weight of that responsibility, you're gonna find that. 00:56:21.951 --> 00:56:25.861 That just in and of that, they're going to want to use the material correctly 00:56:25.861 --> 00:56:28.511 or they're going to lose it, you know, I'm not going to put out scissors if 00:56:28.511 --> 00:56:29.801 they're going to cut their friend's hair. 00:56:30.571 --> 00:56:31.091 Simple as that. 00:56:31.231 --> 00:56:32.930 So there's like, you know, freedom within limits. 00:56:33.031 --> 00:56:34.140 They can have the scissors. 00:56:34.460 --> 00:56:37.430 You just can't go in the corner and cut your friend's hair or you can't cut. 00:56:37.786 --> 00:56:39.796 You know, the plants apart or whatever it is. 00:56:40.286 --> 00:56:42.536 Um, we also use a lot of natural materials. 00:56:42.566 --> 00:56:45.076 So you'll, you'll notice there's a lot of wood and a lot of 00:56:45.086 --> 00:56:47.296 glass and very minimal plastic. 00:56:47.656 --> 00:56:51.005 Um, which is kind of where the whole like beige thing comes in. 00:56:51.145 --> 00:56:52.345 I don't know if you've ever heard that stigma. 00:56:52.995 --> 00:56:56.005 There's a lot of color, but it's not a lot of plastic color. 00:56:56.385 --> 00:57:00.035 Um, and so when you're working with glass or ceramics or 00:57:00.055 --> 00:57:03.296 anything breakable, especially with like a three year old child. 00:57:04.046 --> 00:57:06.966 If it drops, it's going to shatter. 00:57:06.986 --> 00:57:08.576 It's not a plastic sippy cup. 00:57:08.576 --> 00:57:11.246 If you're running and you're not being careful and you're carrying 00:57:11.246 --> 00:57:15.176 a glass vase and you slip and fall because you made the choice to run. 00:57:15.560 --> 00:57:17.461 It's going to shatter all over the floor. 00:57:17.481 --> 00:57:18.191 And guess what? 00:57:18.231 --> 00:57:21.881 Every child is now turning their head to look at the child who's dropped 00:57:21.881 --> 00:57:25.991 the vase which can be kind of an embarrassing experience for that child. 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:29.551 But it's also self correcting in that it makes them not want to 00:57:29.551 --> 00:57:33.030 run the next time or not want to carry the thing with one hand. 00:57:33.030 --> 00:57:34.310 And next time they're going to use two. 00:57:35.071 --> 00:57:38.571 So there's just a lot of like little things that I can put into the room 00:57:38.941 --> 00:57:43.111 where Where it's that thing doing all the correcting and so it's not just me 00:57:43.111 --> 00:57:46.941 nagging them like you need to use walking feet like instead of me saying that. 00:57:47.515 --> 00:57:50.665 They just know to use walking feet because they're carrying something 00:57:50.665 --> 00:57:52.245 that could shatter when they drop it. 00:57:52.546 --> 00:57:55.156 And it's really cool to watch like a three year old child. 00:57:55.196 --> 00:57:58.196 After that, every three year old child is going to shatter something. 00:57:58.196 --> 00:57:58.886 It's inevitable. 00:57:58.886 --> 00:57:59.856 We do break glass. 00:57:59.856 --> 00:58:00.475 It happens. 00:58:01.055 --> 00:58:04.106 But after about a month and a half into the school year, after all 00:58:04.106 --> 00:58:09.406 the glass has kind of broken and we all fell to the floor, it is 00:58:09.665 --> 00:58:11.415 the coolest thing in the world. 00:58:11.770 --> 00:58:16.060 To watch the most rowdy three year old child choose to walk slowly 00:58:16.270 --> 00:58:17.701 while they carry something breakable. 00:58:17.721 --> 00:58:20.921 It's like the coolest thing to watch and most people don't even believe that 00:58:20.921 --> 00:58:23.191 it's possible, but it's really cool. 00:58:23.470 --> 00:58:27.691 So just in and of itself, like how the room is laid out, like I will structure 00:58:27.700 --> 00:58:31.861 the shelves, so I like prevent a racetrack in the room, so they have to walk. 00:58:32.461 --> 00:58:34.020 or they're going to run into a shelf. 00:58:34.510 --> 00:58:39.461 I make sure that I structure like the way that the sunlight hits certain 00:58:39.461 --> 00:58:43.070 tables so that it's not blinding the child so they choose to work over there. 00:58:43.070 --> 00:58:46.920 There's just like a ridiculous amount of floor plan that will go into 00:58:46.921 --> 00:58:51.180 how I lay out the room and where I put the materials also matter. 00:58:51.745 --> 00:58:52.866 It's it's pretty cool. 00:58:53.375 --> 00:58:54.606 It sounds really cool. 00:58:54.616 --> 00:58:59.086 So it sounds also to me like your biggest job as a teacher 00:58:59.906 --> 00:59:02.015 is actually your pre teaching. 00:59:02.215 --> 00:59:05.745 It's your it's your planning of how of the materials you're going to 00:59:05.745 --> 00:59:09.005 use, how you're going to display them, where you're going to put them. 00:59:09.745 --> 00:59:11.266 Uh, and you obviously. 00:59:11.446 --> 00:59:14.246 Thinking about your curriculum and your materials that you're 00:59:14.246 --> 00:59:17.915 using or that are accessible to children linked to the curriculum. 00:59:17.915 --> 00:59:23.636 So it sounds to me that it's just flipped from a traditional classroom setting. 00:59:23.656 --> 00:59:27.406 Although teachers in traditional settings also obviously have to plan, 00:59:28.346 --> 00:59:30.586 also obviously have to plan and prepare. 00:59:32.046 --> 00:59:36.426 But there's also a big emphasis on the actual teaching in the moment, you know, 00:59:36.455 --> 00:59:39.926 you've got your big class teaching, your group teaching and all that kind of stuff. 00:59:40.996 --> 00:59:44.885 But I think there's more emphasis by what I can pick up here from you is 00:59:44.886 --> 00:59:49.365 your pre teaching, your, your planning behind because your environment plays 00:59:49.385 --> 00:59:51.826 such a massive role in the teaching. 00:59:52.265 --> 00:59:54.435 So that's super, super interesting. 00:59:54.926 --> 00:59:57.616 And also what I liked what you've just said is that. 00:59:57.975 --> 01:00:04.096 In the good old days before the invention of plastic kids actually ate off 01:00:04.096 --> 01:00:08.116 the same plates and drank out of the same cups and glasses as adults did. 01:00:08.776 --> 01:00:12.765 And there wasn't this thing of, you have to have a sippy cup and a plastic 01:00:12.765 --> 01:00:14.296 plate and all this kind of thing. 01:00:14.685 --> 01:00:20.526 So I think it actually is a respect for the child and also it teaches the child. 01:00:21.031 --> 01:00:25.961 Responsibility, because they've got the same responsibility in taking care of 01:00:25.961 --> 01:00:28.580 things and using things as an adult has. 01:00:29.991 --> 01:00:30.881 So I think that that 01:00:30.921 --> 01:00:33.961 is really powerful, to be honest. 01:00:33.970 --> 01:00:37.741 Yeah, we also, we have a whole curriculum area, actually, that's 01:00:37.850 --> 01:00:40.191 just called care of the environment. 01:00:40.800 --> 01:00:44.440 And it is just that, like sweeping, mopping, washing the tables, 01:00:44.460 --> 01:00:48.690 washing the floors, watering the plants, dusting the shelves. 01:00:48.690 --> 01:00:51.731 There is just an entire shelf that exists in my room. 01:00:52.241 --> 01:00:54.281 So that they can take care of the space they live in. 01:00:54.821 --> 01:00:59.781 Like we have mops, I have brooms, I have watering cans, like anything that could 01:00:59.781 --> 01:01:05.330 be cleaned, they have the ability to clean it so they know that this space is theirs 01:01:05.330 --> 01:01:07.381 and it's theirs also to take care of. 01:01:08.020 --> 01:01:10.951 It's not just my job, it's our job as a community. 01:01:10.951 --> 01:01:14.921 We do laundry, we do the dishes, like it's their job to take care of 01:01:14.921 --> 01:01:16.830 everything just as much as it is my job. 01:01:18.111 --> 01:01:21.750 So how do you organize eating and food times then? 01:01:21.750 --> 01:01:23.600 Do children still bring their own food in? 01:01:23.600 --> 01:01:27.671 And then do you, I saw on one of your, one of your videos on Instagram, 01:01:27.671 --> 01:01:31.600 actually, you were talking about how you actually sit with your 01:01:31.611 --> 01:01:33.560 children and eat in the classroom. 01:01:33.560 --> 01:01:36.790 So you eat at the tables where you're learning and they've obviously 01:01:36.790 --> 01:01:40.341 bringing in food from home, but you're talking about doing the dishes. 01:01:40.350 --> 01:01:42.060 So you're talking about if you. 01:01:42.571 --> 01:01:47.051 Did something, were you preparing a food, for example, as part of a lesson that 01:01:47.051 --> 01:01:49.441 kids clean up that after themselves? 01:01:50.720 --> 01:01:54.421 Yeah, so there's multiple food aspects. 01:01:55.900 --> 01:01:56.890 Kids love food. 01:01:57.911 --> 01:01:58.220 Don't forget, 01:01:58.261 --> 01:02:01.630 Montessori is Italian, so of course, I mean, Italian and food 01:02:01.701 --> 01:02:03.281 automatically goes together, right? 01:02:03.301 --> 01:02:05.411 You wouldn't be able to separate the two at all. 01:02:05.411 --> 01:02:05.441 I've 01:02:05.441 --> 01:02:07.281 actually never put that together before. 01:02:07.350 --> 01:02:08.310 That is so true. 01:02:08.381 --> 01:02:13.060 Um, so we actually have a whole curriculum that's just dedicated 01:02:13.060 --> 01:02:14.290 to learning how to prepare food. 01:02:14.290 --> 01:02:15.430 We call it food preparation. 01:02:15.430 --> 01:02:18.660 So it's just a sequence of activities that the children can learn, like 01:02:18.660 --> 01:02:22.790 banana cutting, apple cutting, slicing, peeling, what you name it. 01:02:22.961 --> 01:02:23.991 The sky's the limit. 01:02:24.000 --> 01:02:25.300 I've made pizza with the kids. 01:02:25.331 --> 01:02:29.831 We've made muffins, smoothies, oatmeal, like the sky is essentially the limit. 01:02:30.356 --> 01:02:32.196 I did eggs, hard boiled eggs. 01:02:32.196 --> 01:02:35.185 Like it just depends on the allergies in the class and what you can provide. 01:02:35.256 --> 01:02:36.576 Right now I'm able to do peanuts. 01:02:36.616 --> 01:02:38.666 So they're learning how to crack peanuts because we do not have a 01:02:38.666 --> 01:02:41.876 single peanut allergy in the whole school this year, which is so cool. 01:02:41.876 --> 01:02:42.395 That is 01:02:42.416 --> 01:02:43.046 lucky. 01:02:43.416 --> 01:02:44.425 I've been able to do that before. 01:02:44.425 --> 01:02:46.795 So this is my first time ever learning, having them learn how 01:02:46.796 --> 01:02:48.015 to like crack open a peanut. 01:02:48.095 --> 01:02:48.776 It's awesome. 01:02:49.225 --> 01:02:52.126 Um, so they have that and that's available to them and that 01:02:52.126 --> 01:02:53.725 changes as the year goes on. 01:02:53.725 --> 01:02:55.136 I, I'll switch out the trays. 01:02:55.136 --> 01:02:57.736 It'll get increasingly harder, more multi steps. 01:02:58.435 --> 01:03:01.086 They're responsible for cleaning all of that afterwards as well. 01:03:01.566 --> 01:03:06.215 We also have a, um, a grant from the United States government that provides 01:03:06.215 --> 01:03:08.465 us with like fresh fruit and vegetables. 01:03:09.326 --> 01:03:13.786 every week Um, so whatever is seasonal, the whole goal is that 01:03:13.786 --> 01:03:17.265 the kids, they want the children to try new fruits and veggies. 01:03:17.265 --> 01:03:20.616 So we try to follow the seasonal pattern of what's in season right now. 01:03:21.156 --> 01:03:23.195 Um, and that's what we eat for snack. 01:03:23.255 --> 01:03:26.675 And so they're able to eat snack at any point in the morning or the 01:03:26.675 --> 01:03:28.795 afternoon, whenever their body is hungry. 01:03:28.795 --> 01:03:30.246 They can just choose to eat. 01:03:30.555 --> 01:03:34.346 There's like a designated table in my classroom that's It's the only circle 01:03:34.346 --> 01:03:38.246 table in my room and it only has two chairs and there's one waiting chair. 01:03:38.246 --> 01:03:41.176 So only two friends can actually be eating at a time. 01:03:41.566 --> 01:03:45.036 But if the snack table is open or if the waiting chair is open, they are free. 01:03:45.036 --> 01:03:47.516 If their stomach is growling, they can just stand up from 01:03:47.516 --> 01:03:48.986 what they're doing and go eat. 01:03:49.016 --> 01:03:51.045 So there is not like a structured, like. 01:03:51.546 --> 01:03:55.015 Everybody gets their snack from their backpack and we all sit down and eat it. 01:03:55.026 --> 01:03:56.705 But they can definitely bring their own snack. 01:03:56.705 --> 01:04:00.725 And a lot of children do choose to bring extra food if they're like hungry or going 01:04:00.725 --> 01:04:02.606 through a growing spurt or whatever it is. 01:04:03.145 --> 01:04:04.735 Um, so they can eat snack whenever. 01:04:04.735 --> 01:04:07.906 They can also do food prep whenever in the morning or the afternoon. 01:04:08.365 --> 01:04:09.845 And then when it comes time for lunch. 01:04:10.175 --> 01:04:15.895 We do have, like, actual adult sized ceramic plates, juice cups, and then, 01:04:15.895 --> 01:04:19.786 like, bowls and forks and spoons and knives that you would see in a home, just, 01:04:19.905 --> 01:04:25.206 like, literally I bought them at Walmart, so they are as natural and real and 01:04:25.206 --> 01:04:27.215 authentic to a home as they would come. 01:04:27.635 --> 01:04:30.645 They're responsible for setting their own table spot up at lunch. 01:04:30.645 --> 01:04:33.145 They get a placemat that they have to lay down below it. 01:04:33.156 --> 01:04:36.475 They learn where the fork goes, the knife and the spoon, how the plate sits on the 01:04:36.555 --> 01:04:38.285 placemat, where the cup and the bowl go. 01:04:38.706 --> 01:04:41.106 Um, then they can serve themselves lunch. 01:04:41.115 --> 01:04:45.195 If they do choose to eat lunch, at my school at least, they can have 01:04:45.195 --> 01:04:46.425 like the school provided lunch. 01:04:46.425 --> 01:04:49.345 We have a full time cook and an assistant cook and they make. 01:04:49.416 --> 01:04:52.836 An assortment of also lovely things for the school. 01:04:53.196 --> 01:04:56.406 Um, so they can choose the hot lunch option or they can bring their own lunch 01:04:56.466 --> 01:05:00.156 if they do not like the hot lunch option, but they're ha still having school lunch. 01:05:00.486 --> 01:05:04.086 They can get a pb and j as the substitute out for the protein. 01:05:04.566 --> 01:05:07.536 So it's a pretty healthy mixture of who brings their own lunch. 01:05:07.536 --> 01:05:09.935 Who eats hot lunch and who chooses the p, d and J? 01:05:09.935 --> 01:05:14.196 It's almost like, like 33% split across the board right now for this. 01:05:14.395 --> 01:05:16.986 For this specific group of kids, every year is different. 01:05:17.305 --> 01:05:20.406 And then we do eat at those tables that we've been working on all morning. 01:05:20.406 --> 01:05:22.316 So we sit down, we eat there. 01:05:22.386 --> 01:05:26.335 At the end of lunch, when it's time to be dismissed from lunch, they are 01:05:26.335 --> 01:05:28.255 responsible for cleaning everything. 01:05:28.256 --> 01:05:31.606 So their placemat needs to go back into the laundry bin, because we're going 01:05:31.606 --> 01:05:32.935 to do laundry at the end of the day. 01:05:33.245 --> 01:05:36.426 I do have a washer and dryer that are in my classroom, so we do 01:05:36.426 --> 01:05:37.725 laundry at the end of the day. 01:05:37.975 --> 01:05:40.935 It's a job, so two children are assigned to learn. 01:05:41.006 --> 01:05:41.551 Oh 01:05:41.551 --> 01:05:42.640 my gosh. 01:05:42.640 --> 01:05:46.326 Load the soap up, put the laundry in, start the washer and dryer. 01:05:46.326 --> 01:05:47.606 Man, are they experts at that. 01:05:47.606 --> 01:05:49.406 They love doing the washer and dryer. 01:05:49.406 --> 01:05:50.185 They're so good at it. 01:05:50.635 --> 01:05:56.256 Um, for like legal reasons, even though we wash our dishes in dish 01:05:56.286 --> 01:06:00.875 buckets with soap and like water, like a rinse bucket, they're still not 01:06:00.945 --> 01:06:03.255 legally clean because they're children. 01:06:03.755 --> 01:06:07.076 So we do have to load them up and actually send them to the kitchen 01:06:07.076 --> 01:06:10.626 where the kitchen like actually runs them through the dishwasher. 01:06:11.656 --> 01:06:13.486 More of a process over product thing. 01:06:13.536 --> 01:06:14.975 They do incredible at it. 01:06:15.366 --> 01:06:18.466 It's just not, it's not legally correct, which is fine. 01:06:18.926 --> 01:06:24.226 And then once the kitchen actually washes them legally, they'll send them back down. 01:06:25.156 --> 01:06:30.175 And another job at the end of our day is to actually unload the dish cart. 01:06:30.176 --> 01:06:34.296 So put all the dishes back on the dish cabinet for the, like the following day. 01:06:34.725 --> 01:06:39.356 Um, so yeah, it's really cool to like watch how the routine of like. 01:06:39.881 --> 01:06:43.890 I can totally step back and I do not help them clean up from lunch one bit. 01:06:43.890 --> 01:06:46.261 And even my little two and a half year old that I have this year 01:06:46.751 --> 01:06:48.281 can do everything all by herself. 01:06:48.340 --> 01:06:50.260 They are rock stars at it by now. 01:06:52.145 --> 01:06:55.856 And you know, this just comes back to the thing that I always say is 01:06:55.876 --> 01:06:57.886 that we do not trust children enough. 01:06:57.935 --> 01:07:03.796 We don't give them enough credit because they are actually really, really capable. 01:07:04.046 --> 01:07:05.515 It does my head in. 01:07:05.525 --> 01:07:09.666 I cannot tell you how infuriating I find it when I see a parent carrying a 01:07:09.666 --> 01:07:11.546 child's backpack because I'm thinking. 01:07:12.161 --> 01:07:14.991 What message are you giving your child? 01:07:14.991 --> 01:07:18.531 You're telling your child that they're not capable of carrying their own backpack. 01:07:18.540 --> 01:07:20.000 You can't do that, sweetie. 01:07:20.060 --> 01:07:21.860 You're not, you're not strong enough. 01:07:21.860 --> 01:07:22.770 You're not capable enough. 01:07:22.770 --> 01:07:23.790 It drives me insane. 01:07:24.951 --> 01:07:27.031 Or even carrying them into school. 01:07:27.071 --> 01:07:30.480 I have always been interested by when a parent carries the kid into school. 01:07:30.871 --> 01:07:34.810 You've now made the choice for the child to enter the building. 01:07:34.951 --> 01:07:36.361 That's the one I've always been interested in. 01:07:36.430 --> 01:07:37.140 Let them walk. 01:07:37.161 --> 01:07:39.211 Let them choose to enter the building. 01:07:39.211 --> 01:07:40.451 It's their, it's their school. 01:07:40.470 --> 01:07:42.760 Let them choose to, like, you let them choose. 01:07:42.761 --> 01:07:44.620 I 01:07:45.001 --> 01:07:51.435 find it just so great, so amazing that In your school, and I'm sure 01:07:51.435 --> 01:07:54.176 it's probably in every Montessori school would be the same, right? 01:07:54.196 --> 01:08:00.086 Well, you'd hope so anyway, that you really do give children that 01:08:00.086 --> 01:08:02.366 credit, that they are capable beings. 01:08:02.366 --> 01:08:04.515 They're capable of chopping up their food. 01:08:04.515 --> 01:08:05.885 They're capable of cleaning up. 01:08:05.885 --> 01:08:09.995 They're capable of looking after themselves or following a routine. 01:08:10.035 --> 01:08:13.885 And you really are instilling the sense of independence and this can 01:08:13.885 --> 01:08:17.765 do attitude in them, which I think a lot of children at some point. 01:08:18.085 --> 01:08:20.816 I always get frustrated because sometimes you have a feeling that 01:08:20.816 --> 01:08:24.616 they think that it's your job to just top them up, that they don't have any 01:08:24.616 --> 01:08:26.995 responsibility in their own learning. 01:08:27.345 --> 01:08:33.706 And so I think this kind of strategy and this methodology is really 01:08:33.706 --> 01:08:38.585 important in giving children that message that you are a capable being. 01:08:38.845 --> 01:08:44.105 We respect you and we, and we believe in you that you are capable 01:08:44.105 --> 01:08:45.616 of doing these things on your own. 01:08:45.635 --> 01:08:47.725 And I think that is an amazing message. 01:08:47.755 --> 01:08:52.106 And I think that more schools need to do that. 01:08:52.415 --> 01:08:58.446 And I love so much how you, how the kids set tables and sit and eat at tables. 01:08:58.456 --> 01:09:01.536 That is just so amazing because I don't know how much input 01:09:01.536 --> 01:09:02.696 you have with the families. 01:09:02.696 --> 01:09:06.405 But one of the things that I've seen and you read a lot about now 01:09:06.406 --> 01:09:09.225 is that kids don't sit together and eat as a family anymore. 01:09:09.616 --> 01:09:11.876 That whole family time's disappearing. 01:09:12.385 --> 01:09:15.335 So at least then they don't get that at home, which is 01:09:15.335 --> 01:09:17.005 incredibly sad if they're not. 01:09:17.656 --> 01:09:21.706 At least they get it at school and they learn that, you know, this is how you 01:09:21.706 --> 01:09:26.475 sit properly, this is how you have, you know, your cutlery, where it goes. 01:09:26.486 --> 01:09:31.465 This, I think those are really important things and that we're losing. 01:09:32.026 --> 01:09:36.545 But I think with ways of what you guys are doing in Montessori, and I 01:09:36.546 --> 01:09:38.366 wish that all schools would do that. 01:09:38.816 --> 01:09:42.376 I think you give that back to children, which I think is so special. 01:09:42.576 --> 01:09:43.345 I really do. 01:09:43.946 --> 01:09:45.106 That is so special. 01:09:45.135 --> 01:09:48.966 And I say that as a mum as well, you know, that's always been something 01:09:48.966 --> 01:09:51.555 really important in our family, is that. 01:09:52.606 --> 01:09:56.936 We have always, always, always sat at the table and had dinner together. 01:09:57.716 --> 01:10:00.255 There are times like maybe on a Friday night when the kids were 01:10:00.255 --> 01:10:03.925 younger, we'd have family movie night and we'd have a pizza or whatever, 01:10:04.535 --> 01:10:07.865 um, in front of the television, but that is a very rare occurrence. 01:10:08.456 --> 01:10:11.146 But I think that sitting together as a family at a dinner 01:10:11.146 --> 01:10:13.216 table is really important. 01:10:13.656 --> 01:10:16.356 And I think that's also important in a school setting. 01:10:16.856 --> 01:10:21.306 Um, and I think that beats any day having kids just sit on the floor. 01:10:21.966 --> 01:10:24.726 Opening their lunch boxes and eating their lunch, because I think that's 01:10:24.726 --> 01:10:29.396 just pretty gross, but I understand that that's also a space thing and 01:10:29.396 --> 01:10:32.036 they aren't, the setup isn't, I guess. 01:10:33.146 --> 01:10:35.266 in some schools like you guys have it there. 01:10:36.456 --> 01:10:39.505 I want to talk to you because you've mentioned a few times you have things, 01:10:39.576 --> 01:10:43.165 uh, children from you said two and a half year old right through to six year old. 01:10:43.175 --> 01:10:48.355 How does, how your mixed age classrooms, how do they function 01:10:48.376 --> 01:10:49.946 and, and what have you seen? 01:10:49.955 --> 01:10:55.576 How does that benefit all age children having being in that mixed age? 01:10:56.175 --> 01:10:56.986 environment 01:10:57.726 --> 01:10:57.836 I 01:10:57.836 --> 01:11:02.986 think my biggest argument for mixed age classrooms is like a workplace. 01:11:03.186 --> 01:11:07.415 No workplaces are just straight everybody's the same age. 01:11:07.415 --> 01:11:08.776 They're all multi age. 01:11:09.066 --> 01:11:12.365 We can all learn something from somebody younger than us, somebody the same 01:11:12.365 --> 01:11:14.146 age as us, and somebody older than us. 01:11:15.255 --> 01:11:19.561 And, I will never forget my very first observation in a Montessori 01:11:19.561 --> 01:11:23.550 environment watching multi age kids because it's so easy to pick out 01:11:23.550 --> 01:11:26.201 the older ones and the younger ones, not just based on their size alone, 01:11:26.201 --> 01:11:27.981 but you can see it and who they are. 01:11:28.341 --> 01:11:31.411 And the older ones just become this like matriarch or 01:11:31.411 --> 01:11:33.190 patriarch of the, of the room. 01:11:33.581 --> 01:11:36.921 And if they have been in that room for the full time, like when they 01:11:36.921 --> 01:11:39.590 started as a three year old, then they were there as a four year old 01:11:39.590 --> 01:11:43.371 and a five year old, and then they turn six, the rules never change. 01:11:43.481 --> 01:11:44.800 I never change. 01:11:44.840 --> 01:11:46.120 The room hasn't changed. 01:11:46.161 --> 01:11:48.130 Like they are experts. 01:11:48.141 --> 01:11:49.730 Like they've got it down pat. 01:11:49.751 --> 01:11:53.071 You are hardly recorrecting them minimally, of course, because 01:11:53.071 --> 01:11:54.221 there's always the goofing off. 01:11:54.221 --> 01:11:56.851 But for the most part, they've got it down. 01:11:57.216 --> 01:11:58.656 And they just become a helper. 01:11:58.675 --> 01:12:03.686 So they go out of their way to make sure that the little ones are seen and heard 01:12:03.686 --> 01:12:08.106 and helped and understood and doing the right thing and staying on track. 01:12:08.106 --> 01:12:10.976 And sometimes they'll like show them a lesson because they're so proud of 01:12:10.976 --> 01:12:12.555 something they've already mastered. 01:12:12.556 --> 01:12:15.355 That's not like way below their age level now. 01:12:16.305 --> 01:12:20.486 And some of the best friendships I've personally witnessed in children. 01:12:20.866 --> 01:12:23.576 Are a six year old child and like a three or four year old 01:12:23.576 --> 01:12:24.956 child, specifically in the girls. 01:12:24.956 --> 01:12:26.036 I see it a lot with the girls. 01:12:26.245 --> 01:12:30.366 Man, are those six year old girls just like angelic to the three year olds? 01:12:31.146 --> 01:12:34.856 And it's always fascinating when I have a three year old who's just really 01:12:34.856 --> 01:12:38.766 struggling being at school, whether they start the year and they're crying and they 01:12:38.766 --> 01:12:41.236 have separation anxiety or whatever it is. 01:12:41.576 --> 01:12:44.906 When they become a six year old and they've moved past a separation and 01:12:44.906 --> 01:12:46.396 they come in the door, no problem. 01:12:46.396 --> 01:12:48.356 And it's an easy peasy transition. 01:12:48.806 --> 01:12:52.885 they start to see those little three year olds who do struggle and they're 01:12:52.885 --> 01:12:57.816 immediately their buddy because they like see the past version of themselves in that 01:12:57.816 --> 01:13:01.685 child and they know how to help them and they know what they need because that's 01:13:01.685 --> 01:13:05.475 what they needed when they were their age and it is just man is it like the most 01:13:05.485 --> 01:13:10.446 beautiful thing there's like hardly ever any problems i have lots of siblings in 01:13:10.446 --> 01:13:13.236 the room so i'll have the older sibling and the younger sibling because of the 01:13:13.266 --> 01:13:18.876 multi ages and for the most part it's It is just, it is the coolest thing. 01:13:18.885 --> 01:13:22.546 It's so cool because they just know that what a three year old needs 01:13:22.546 --> 01:13:23.766 is not what a six year old needs. 01:13:23.766 --> 01:13:25.775 And everybody just knows and they understand that. 01:13:26.225 --> 01:13:28.405 And it's, it's really cool to watch. 01:13:29.626 --> 01:13:36.356 And listen, Alex, I just had a thought, um, so do those children stay with you 01:13:36.385 --> 01:13:40.556 until they're six and then they move on to another classroom or another teacher? 01:13:41.135 --> 01:13:44.165 So some of those kids could be with you for three years. 01:13:46.356 --> 01:13:48.755 And so in terms of your materials and stuff. 01:13:49.181 --> 01:13:53.531 I guess then the materials would be, some of them would be for younger 01:13:53.561 --> 01:13:55.971 age children and some of them would be for older age children. 01:13:55.971 --> 01:13:57.911 I think you probably mentioned that, possibly you've touched 01:13:57.911 --> 01:13:59.421 on that before earlier. 01:13:59.891 --> 01:14:05.760 Um, so when they're younger, they could still have access to all the materials. 01:14:06.071 --> 01:14:07.860 So are they repeating things? 01:14:08.611 --> 01:14:12.751 You know, I'm just thinking from someone who's not a Montessori person might say. 01:14:13.026 --> 01:14:17.175 Would they get bored being in the same environment for three years doing the 01:14:17.175 --> 01:14:19.096 same things with the same materials? 01:14:19.686 --> 01:14:20.776 How does that work? 01:14:20.776 --> 01:14:22.335 Just explain that maybe. 01:14:23.796 --> 01:14:27.146 So for me personally, I can't really speak to other Montessori teachers, 01:14:27.156 --> 01:14:30.086 but what I've personally done to just make sure that that isn't a problem 01:14:30.406 --> 01:14:32.616 is how you cycle the shelves out. 01:14:33.016 --> 01:14:36.896 So there are some staple like core materials that are not going anywhere. 01:14:36.905 --> 01:14:40.491 Like I, I know that like when you think of Montessori or at least Hopefully when 01:14:40.491 --> 01:14:43.241 you do think of Montessori, you think of the little pink tower that Maria 01:14:43.241 --> 01:14:46.451 designed, and hopefully that's a picture that you've seen and are familiar with. 01:14:46.871 --> 01:14:48.800 That's part of a sensorial curriculum. 01:14:48.801 --> 01:14:50.041 That's the name of the curriculum. 01:14:50.400 --> 01:14:53.570 That curriculum and those like three or four shelves that I have, 01:14:53.621 --> 01:14:54.841 they're never going to change. 01:14:54.871 --> 01:14:59.631 They were designed and built by Maria herself, and they are very deeply 01:14:59.631 --> 01:15:03.181 rooted in like a million different, you can do language and geography 01:15:03.181 --> 01:15:06.281 and art and all sorts of other stuff with just those shelves alone. 01:15:06.281 --> 01:15:09.871 And there's many different ways to dive into just one material on that shelf. 01:15:10.371 --> 01:15:14.471 Language, there's a couple staple core materials in the language area, 01:15:14.751 --> 01:15:17.800 like how we teach initial letter presentations and then the movable. 01:15:18.391 --> 01:15:20.931 alphabet And there's just a couple things that are never, 01:15:20.931 --> 01:15:22.191 ever going to leave the room. 01:15:22.671 --> 01:15:25.121 And then the math curriculum is pretty locked down. 01:15:25.131 --> 01:15:27.471 Like, there are just some things and some shelves that will 01:15:27.481 --> 01:15:29.170 never, ever get rearranged. 01:15:29.571 --> 01:15:35.436 But the geography and the art and the fine motor and the cultural and the, um, Like 01:15:35.646 --> 01:15:41.186 seasonal materials, they're all going to change and they change every three years. 01:15:41.196 --> 01:15:44.136 So something like, for instance, North America, which is what we are. 01:15:44.166 --> 01:15:46.406 We've been learning for all of September and most of 01:15:46.706 --> 01:15:48.026 actually all of October as well. 01:15:48.026 --> 01:15:51.096 It's going away in a couple weeks that won't come back 01:15:51.106 --> 01:15:52.455 out for another three years. 01:15:52.796 --> 01:15:56.726 Which is a, there is stuff on that shelf that will meet a three year 01:15:56.726 --> 01:16:01.305 old's needs and a six year old's needs on the entire shelf of North America. 01:16:01.306 --> 01:16:03.815 And then we're going to move on and we're going to study South America. 01:16:04.195 --> 01:16:07.465 And South America has not been out for three years, so none of the children 01:16:07.466 --> 01:16:10.415 in this room have encountered South America yet, if that makes sense. 01:16:10.876 --> 01:16:14.716 And I just put out solar system, and the solar system shelf has 01:16:14.716 --> 01:16:15.816 not been out for three years. 01:16:15.826 --> 01:16:19.786 So I try to keep everything on a three year cycle, so that at some 01:16:19.786 --> 01:16:23.391 point throughout the children's lives in their time in my room, 01:16:23.471 --> 01:16:24.321 they're going to get everything 01:16:24.321 --> 01:16:25.503 if that makes sense. 01:16:25.503 --> 01:16:27.651 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense. 01:16:28.471 --> 01:16:32.501 So, What are some common misconceptions about Montessori 01:16:32.501 --> 01:16:34.411 education that you often encounter? 01:16:36.151 --> 01:16:36.491 Um, 01:16:36.491 --> 01:16:38.331 I think one of the biggest ones we've already touched 01:16:38.331 --> 01:16:39.870 on is just the free for all. 01:16:40.320 --> 01:16:44.131 And I literally think, and there are genuinely people out there, I think, who 01:16:44.171 --> 01:16:47.661 think that the children just walk in the door and it's just It's absolute chaos for 01:16:47.661 --> 01:16:51.851 eight hours a day, and then I send them home, which is just so far from the truth. 01:16:52.261 --> 01:16:56.501 Um, and the other, the other one you've already touched on of just how, like, how 01:16:56.501 --> 01:17:00.570 on earth are we able to even meet academic standards if they are a free for all? 01:17:00.570 --> 01:17:01.690 Like, how does that work? 01:17:02.071 --> 01:17:05.531 Um, not really so much of a misconception, but just something that is really 01:17:05.531 --> 01:17:09.981 hard for people to wrap their minds around is how it's possible for me 01:17:10.281 --> 01:17:13.691 to sit down with a child one on one. 01:17:13.986 --> 01:17:16.606 And just let the other 23 kids go free. 01:17:16.916 --> 01:17:20.176 That's a really hard concept for people to wrap their minds around. 01:17:20.186 --> 01:17:23.396 They don't quite understand how it's possible to fully remove 01:17:23.406 --> 01:17:24.856 myself from the situation. 01:17:25.245 --> 01:17:27.976 That is something you just genuinely have to see in action. 01:17:27.976 --> 01:17:28.896 It is almost near. 01:17:28.896 --> 01:17:31.225 I've tried to explain it in a million different ways in a 01:17:31.225 --> 01:17:32.515 million different videos online. 01:17:32.906 --> 01:17:36.596 And I just think it's something if you, if that is where you're stuck on. 01:17:37.251 --> 01:17:40.761 Go observe a Montessori classroom and watch her or him just sit 01:17:40.761 --> 01:17:44.101 down and pull themselves away from everything and watch the kids just 01:17:44.101 --> 01:17:45.850 keep going as if nothing is going on. 01:17:45.851 --> 01:17:47.231 It's totally normal to them. 01:17:47.831 --> 01:17:50.030 Um, and then I think the other misconception is just 01:17:50.031 --> 01:17:51.281 based on the fact that. 01:17:51.921 --> 01:17:57.461 Maria was asked to patent her method and she ultimately chose not to. 01:17:57.991 --> 01:18:02.911 So essentially, there is no quote right way and wrong way to do things. 01:18:03.491 --> 01:18:07.551 So you are going to find, um, some Montessori schools aren't 01:18:07.781 --> 01:18:10.151 necessarily Montessori schools. 01:18:11.121 --> 01:18:14.511 Essentially, anybody can take the name Montessori, slap it on the side of a 01:18:14.511 --> 01:18:18.151 building, put wooden materials out on the shelf and say, look, you're Montessori. 01:18:18.161 --> 01:18:19.251 Yes, it worries me, yeah. 01:18:19.351 --> 01:18:19.721 Yeah. 01:18:20.410 --> 01:18:23.351 Um, so there's just some vetting that might need to happen if. 01:18:23.956 --> 01:18:27.206 If you are, if it is someone who's genuinely looking at either teaching 01:18:27.206 --> 01:18:30.586 in one or just sending their children to one, there's a lot of back, like, 01:18:30.586 --> 01:18:33.616 behind the scenes work that might need to happen on that end, just to 01:18:33.616 --> 01:18:36.816 make sure you're actually choosing one that is something that if Maria 01:18:36.816 --> 01:18:38.405 was still alive, she would approve of. 01:18:40.011 --> 01:18:41.391 So yeah, those would be my big ones. 01:18:42.091 --> 01:18:46.861 I think I would be wary of that because I've seen it even where I, I live, you 01:18:46.861 --> 01:18:50.581 know, you'd see a building come up and it's a new, it's a new childcare center 01:18:50.581 --> 01:18:53.801 and then they'd have Montessori on the side and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know 01:18:53.801 --> 01:18:58.280 if you really are Montessori, you know, and I think you're right for parents. 01:18:58.756 --> 01:19:02.456 And you've just touched on this now because I was going to say to you, what 01:19:02.456 --> 01:19:06.776 advice would you give parents and teachers who are considering Montessori education? 01:19:06.776 --> 01:19:09.505 I guess one of the things that you would consider is to check out whether they 01:19:09.526 --> 01:19:14.576 truly are aligned with Montessori values and whether they really have the actual 01:19:14.576 --> 01:19:19.545 Montessori materials, because I know Montessori has very specific materials 01:19:19.635 --> 01:19:21.315 in terms of teaching various things. 01:19:21.316 --> 01:19:26.041 It's You know, whereas in other schools or non Montessori you can basically use 01:19:26.071 --> 01:19:30.851 anything, but Montessori is very strict on the type of materials that they use. 01:19:30.971 --> 01:19:32.821 Uh, I think I'm right on that, right? 01:19:33.771 --> 01:19:34.400 Tell me if I'm wrong. 01:19:34.891 --> 01:19:38.351 Um, if you, 01:19:40.360 --> 01:19:41.890 oh, what was I was going to say now? 01:19:41.970 --> 01:19:47.411 Um, uh, Montessori, thank God for editing. 01:19:47.411 --> 01:19:53.871 Um, I can't remember my train, I, I, I stopped my own train of thought there. 01:19:54.671 --> 01:19:55.151 Um, 01:19:58.051 --> 01:20:02.161 Is there anything else, Alex, that you think is really important for people 01:20:02.161 --> 01:20:06.951 listening to this episode that they should really know about Montessori? 01:20:06.951 --> 01:20:08.980 That's something that, because I can see that you feel so 01:20:08.981 --> 01:20:10.651 passionate about Montessori. 01:20:11.290 --> 01:20:16.630 Is there anything that you want to say to people about Montessori that you 01:20:16.641 --> 01:20:20.101 think that they should know if they want to bring their kids there, if they 01:20:20.101 --> 01:20:22.951 want to teach in a Montessori school? 01:20:23.616 --> 01:20:28.406 Anything, what else do you want to, this is your plug for Montessori, so to speak. 01:20:29.766 --> 01:20:29.916 I 01:20:29.916 --> 01:20:34.126 think my biggest takeaway that I, if anyone could take anything away, 01:20:34.126 --> 01:20:39.095 it's just to not be, don't be so close minded and, and be open minded. 01:20:39.456 --> 01:20:44.231 Um, there is a lot of like, Misconceptions and a lot of weird stigmas about 01:20:44.231 --> 01:20:48.661 it from, for whatever reason, and about a hundred of them are false. 01:20:49.041 --> 01:20:53.191 And, um, I learned that myself at one point or another, and I've 01:20:53.200 --> 01:20:57.290 witnessed other people realize, Oh, so this is what you do. 01:20:57.661 --> 01:21:01.221 And they're There is just so many misconceptions and a lot of them can go 01:21:01.221 --> 01:21:04.971 away by just scheduling an observation So if you do find a school in your 01:21:04.971 --> 01:21:10.200 area That is genuinely montessori and they are doing everything they can to 01:21:10.211 --> 01:21:14.021 uphold what maria would have thought Would have been true and right and 01:21:14.031 --> 01:21:19.191 just ask them call them up say hey I'm interested whether it's for being a 01:21:19.191 --> 01:21:21.071 teacher or sending your children there. 01:21:21.071 --> 01:21:24.861 Let them know what you're interested in and just ask for an observation. 01:21:25.381 --> 01:21:27.871 And almost every one of them will allow you to come in. 01:21:27.901 --> 01:21:31.211 They'll allow you to sit in a chair with a clipboard and a piece of paper, and they 01:21:31.211 --> 01:21:32.831 will just allow you to take it all in. 01:21:33.131 --> 01:21:36.680 And there is truly no better way to actually understand what on earth 01:21:36.721 --> 01:21:39.781 goes on in a Montessori classroom than just sitting in a chair. 01:21:40.231 --> 01:21:44.631 It was, I hold on to that very first observation I ever, I ever witnessed. 01:21:44.651 --> 01:21:46.081 I cling to that one. 01:21:46.081 --> 01:21:49.416 It was, One of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed, and if 01:21:49.416 --> 01:21:52.116 it wasn't for that I don't think I'd still, like, I'd be here today. 01:21:52.116 --> 01:21:57.115 So you would be shocked at what you'll see and what the children are capable of if 01:21:57.116 --> 01:21:58.985 you just sit in a chair and take notes. 01:21:59.215 --> 01:22:00.136 It's wonderful. 01:22:00.646 --> 01:22:05.076 And Alex, is that moment, is that what made you want to be a Montessori teacher? 01:22:06.471 --> 01:22:09.991 Originally a traditional, I just say a traditional, you know, a non 01:22:10.461 --> 01:22:12.221 Montessori teacher, traditional teacher. 01:22:12.771 --> 01:22:15.601 You were originally, that's where you started, right? 01:22:15.681 --> 01:22:18.450 So what was it that made you change to Montessori? 01:22:19.131 --> 01:22:22.800 Um, so I was studied at a four year college to be a traditional. 01:22:23.491 --> 01:22:26.351 teacher And that's what I thought I was going to do my whole life. 01:22:26.351 --> 01:22:28.921 I thought I was going to be like a second or a third grade teacher. 01:22:28.921 --> 01:22:30.161 That sounded like the dream. 01:22:30.551 --> 01:22:34.990 Um, and in America, we get placed to student teach for like six to eight weeks 01:22:34.991 --> 01:22:39.880 or sometimes 12 weeks, depending on your major, um, right before you graduate. 01:22:39.881 --> 01:22:44.031 And so I got the letter for my student teaching placement and in the letter, 01:22:44.051 --> 01:22:47.591 it said the name of the school and it just said kindergarten on it. 01:22:48.471 --> 01:22:50.491 And I was like, okay, sweet. 01:22:50.591 --> 01:22:51.311 This is great. 01:22:51.331 --> 01:22:54.621 But I did not go to college in the same town I was from. 01:22:55.121 --> 01:22:58.231 And so I mentioned it to a friend who was born and raised in that town. 01:22:58.241 --> 01:23:00.381 And I said, Hey, this is the school I got placed at. 01:23:00.381 --> 01:23:01.491 What do you know about it? 01:23:01.891 --> 01:23:05.200 And I just remember the look on their face and they were like, Oh, you know, 01:23:05.201 --> 01:23:06.550 that's a Montessori school, right? 01:23:06.590 --> 01:23:08.071 Like I'll never forget the look on his face. 01:23:08.151 --> 01:23:09.881 And I was like, Oh no. 01:23:09.921 --> 01:23:10.541 And I was. 01:23:10.841 --> 01:23:15.571 furious like in that moment I was so mad that my traditional college 01:23:15.581 --> 01:23:18.891 would place me to student teach in a Montessori school without telling me 01:23:18.901 --> 01:23:24.126 and without preparing me for it and I was to this day I was the only The only 01:23:24.126 --> 01:23:29.146 one that I know of that they place like to student teach there, which baffles 01:23:29.156 --> 01:23:32.435 me to this day, somehow providential. 01:23:32.616 --> 01:23:36.866 Yeah, and I just sent an email to my teacher that was my cooperating teacher 01:23:36.866 --> 01:23:40.721 and I expressed my concern and I said, Hey, like, I'm not really a mom, like I 01:23:40.721 --> 01:23:42.291 know nothing about the montessori method. 01:23:42.751 --> 01:23:44.661 I'm so sorry that I got placed with you. 01:23:44.941 --> 01:23:47.351 What do you want me to do to make sure I'm prepared? 01:23:47.820 --> 01:23:51.671 And she was so kind and she just emailed back and was like, Oh my gosh, no worries. 01:23:51.701 --> 01:23:53.070 Like come in and observe. 01:23:53.070 --> 01:23:58.401 Like, so I observed in December before my January term started and she actually 01:23:58.491 --> 01:24:00.761 had me observe for three straight hours. 01:24:00.761 --> 01:24:04.251 They get to work for three straight hours in the morning and normal 01:24:04.251 --> 01:24:06.401 observations for anybody else would be probably about an hour. 01:24:06.431 --> 01:24:12.326 But, um, I sat in that chair And I can think of three kids off the top 01:24:12.326 --> 01:24:15.836 of my head who I was just in shock. 01:24:15.956 --> 01:24:20.706 They were like three and they were not once did she even say like she 01:24:20.706 --> 01:24:24.196 didn't, she didn't talk to them because they were functioning so. 01:24:24.761 --> 01:24:25.731 independently. 01:24:26.551 --> 01:24:27.731 for three straight hours. 01:24:27.741 --> 01:24:28.821 They did not need help. 01:24:29.231 --> 01:24:30.531 They did not need guidance. 01:24:30.731 --> 01:24:32.431 They did not need redirection. 01:24:32.581 --> 01:24:34.691 They just knew exactly what to do and they did it. 01:24:34.911 --> 01:24:36.711 And it was unreal. 01:24:36.791 --> 01:24:38.631 I can see those kids to this day. 01:24:38.631 --> 01:24:42.841 It was, I'm pretty sure I teared up in that moment because I had 01:24:42.841 --> 01:24:44.211 never seen anything like it before. 01:24:44.231 --> 01:24:47.721 And I had just done a practicum in like a third grade classroom where I still 01:24:47.721 --> 01:24:51.516 had third graders that would come up to me and be like, So what do I do next? 01:24:51.806 --> 01:24:55.196 Like they just couldn't problem solve of like what came next and I 01:24:55.206 --> 01:24:58.226 watched this three year old child know exactly what to do next and 01:24:58.226 --> 01:25:00.326 then do it and it was mind blowing. 01:25:02.096 --> 01:25:04.596 Oh my gosh, I missed out Alex. 01:25:04.596 --> 01:25:07.546 I really want to go to the Montessori school. 01:25:11.026 --> 01:25:12.366 Oh, it sounds so wonderful. 01:25:12.826 --> 01:25:16.106 Uh, listen, Alex, before we go, um, it's been amazing. 01:25:16.116 --> 01:25:19.166 It's been just so, so wonderful and enlightening to listen to you. 01:25:19.196 --> 01:25:22.596 And it's also just made me feel really sad that I don't have a 01:25:22.646 --> 01:25:26.906 Montessori, um, education and I don't have a Montessori training. 01:25:27.996 --> 01:25:31.656 Because I think it would have just been lovely to teach in a Montessori school. 01:25:32.296 --> 01:25:34.156 Tell people where they can find you. 01:25:34.196 --> 01:25:37.906 Uh, what do you tell people where they can find you? 01:25:37.936 --> 01:25:44.165 Because I also know that you offer things in terms of Montessori training to people. 01:25:44.216 --> 01:25:45.006 Is that correct? 01:25:45.365 --> 01:25:48.406 So tell people where they can get hold of you and how you can help them. 01:25:49.631 --> 01:25:52.501 Sure, my handle's just missnearingsmontessori. 01:25:52.501 --> 01:25:54.231 It's on TikTok and on Instagram. 01:25:54.251 --> 01:25:56.581 It's also a website, so the same website. 01:25:56.961 --> 01:26:01.640 If there are any questions or any concerns or any problems that you see and you 01:26:01.651 --> 01:26:05.520 just want a couple minutes spent with me walking you through something, there is 01:26:05.521 --> 01:26:09.976 a link on that website for just like, A little time with me on a zoom call just 01:26:09.986 --> 01:26:14.416 asking or answering questions or working through a frustration It i've worked 01:26:14.416 --> 01:26:17.565 with a whole bunch of people who either are montessori teachers and they're 01:26:17.575 --> 01:26:20.646 struggling with something or who want to send their kids to montessori and 01:26:20.646 --> 01:26:25.325 want to know how to prepare them or just struggle or have kids in the montessori 01:26:25.325 --> 01:26:30.866 school and are struggling with them and there's all sorts of walks of life and 01:26:30.896 --> 01:26:34.146 so it's really cool to be able to walk through all of those with everyone. 01:26:34.186 --> 01:26:35.026 But yeah. 01:26:36.435 --> 01:26:38.006 That's amazing and we will put, 01:26:38.056 --> 01:26:43.765 I will put links to all your, to your website and your Instagram handle. 01:26:43.766 --> 01:26:44.435 I'll put all that. 01:26:44.726 --> 01:26:47.766 in the show notes for anybody listening, so you don't have to worry about that. 01:26:48.186 --> 01:26:51.506 Alex, thanks so much for being here today and sharing your vast 01:26:51.566 --> 01:26:54.316 knowledge about Montessori and your passion with everybody. 01:26:54.346 --> 01:26:59.366 It's so much appreciated and so welcome as well at this time where 01:26:59.406 --> 01:27:03.055 I think there's so much going on in education and people are concerned. 01:27:03.436 --> 01:27:08.151 So I think Montessori is an Just fabulous way to address anybody's problems. 01:27:08.161 --> 01:27:11.691 So I just love the idea of Montessori and thank you so much for sharing 01:27:11.691 --> 01:27:13.081 your passion with us today. 01:27:13.760 --> 01:27:14.740 Thank you for having me. 01:27:14.741 --> 01:27:15.311 I really loved this. 01:27:16.641 --> 01:27:17.281 Anytime. 01:27:17.301 --> 01:27:20.240 And I'm really looking forward to maybe in the future we'll have you on again. 01:27:20.240 --> 01:27:20.841 Who knows? 01:27:24.010 --> 01:27:26.001 So I'm just going to stop the recording. 01:27:26.081 --> 01:27:31.051 And,, back in the early, like, early 1800s, a woman named Maria Montessori 01:27:31.462 --> 01:27:35.392 spent some time, uh, she was a scientist in Italy, actually, and she was one of 01:27:35.411 --> 01:27:37.732 the first women scientists ever in Italy. 01:27:38.041 --> 01:27:42.521 And because of that, she was actually placed in a, like what they referred 01:27:42.522 --> 01:27:45.352 to at the time as like a mental asylum to work with children who 01:27:45.352 --> 01:27:47.021 are essentially outcasts of society. 01:27:47.022 --> 01:27:50.051 They did not fit the general mold of the traditional education 01:27:50.051 --> 01:27:52.071 system in Italy at the time. 01:27:52.451 --> 01:27:56.161 And during her time there, she observed that when children were able to work 01:27:56.182 --> 01:27:58.871 with tactile materials and spend time. 01:27:59.307 --> 01:28:05.187 playing games and learning through games and play and going at their own pace and 01:28:05.187 --> 01:28:07.236 choosing what they get to do each day. 01:28:07.526 --> 01:28:11.847 They were more likely to learn because they were in charge of their learning. 01:28:12.206 --> 01:28:17.086 So through a very long period of time of her observation, she was able to develop 01:28:17.086 --> 01:28:22.456 this huge method where the children are essentially the leaders of the classroom. 01:28:22.607 --> 01:28:24.727 And so that method is carried on today. 01:28:24.727 --> 01:28:29.857 She has completely taken over the education world all over the world. 01:28:29.897 --> 01:28:33.927 These schools popped up from Italy, and then they just exploded. 01:28:33.956 --> 01:28:36.946 So they've all made it in almost every continent at this point. 01:28:37.456 --> 01:28:41.816 And essentially it is the complete opposite of a traditional school. 01:28:41.816 --> 01:28:45.446 So you take everything you've ever learned in a traditional school, throw it all out 01:28:45.446 --> 01:28:47.567 the window and completely level it down. 01:28:47.857 --> 01:28:51.576 Which is what I had to do because I did get my degree in traditional 01:28:51.576 --> 01:28:53.206 education before I entered Montessori. 01:28:53.246 --> 01:28:56.986 So I literally threw everything away that I knew and started all the way over. 01:28:57.366 --> 01:29:02.636 And when you think of how a traditional school day is run, when the children 01:29:02.717 --> 01:29:07.976 enter in a Montessori classroom, they go immediately right to what they want to do. 01:29:08.177 --> 01:29:12.186 Right away when they walk in the door and it's what they want to do essentially 01:29:12.186 --> 01:29:17.177 with freedom within limits all day long with me acting as a simple guide. 01:29:17.196 --> 01:29:20.217 So we actually are not even called teachers in the Montessori world. 01:29:20.217 --> 01:29:21.106 They call us guides. 01:29:21.106 --> 01:29:25.056 And my job is to simply connect the child to the materials in the 01:29:25.056 --> 01:29:28.766 room based on who they are as a person and what I observe in them. 01:29:29.342 --> 01:29:31.061 And I just guide them in their learning. 01:29:31.111 --> 01:29:32.931 They are the, they are the bosses. 01:29:32.931 --> 01:29:33.922 They're in charge. 01:29:34.281 --> 01:29:36.791 I just kind of find the things that meet the needs of where 01:29:36.791 --> 01:29:37.911 they're at in their life. 01:29:37.971 --> 01:29:41.861 And I, I kind of step by step, bring them around through a 01:29:41.861 --> 01:29:43.401 full curriculum in the room. 01:29:44.211 --> 01:29:44.931 Okay. 01:29:45.441 --> 01:29:46.241 So now. 01:29:46.456 --> 01:29:49.556 The first question I'm having is I'm thinking about what teachers are 01:29:49.556 --> 01:29:53.186 thinking in a traditional setting or parents who send kids to traditional 01:29:53.396 --> 01:29:58.166 settings, and they're thinking, well, how do they meet curriculum outcomes? 01:29:58.186 --> 01:30:02.866 If kids are just playing and doing their own thing, and you're there 01:30:02.866 --> 01:30:06.616 as a guide, helping them with the materials, for example, how are 01:30:06.616 --> 01:30:08.586 you going to meet the outcomes? 01:30:08.586 --> 01:30:12.386 Because Montessori, I guess it depends on the location or the school, 01:30:12.386 --> 01:30:16.306 but they do go right through to the end of high school, don't they? 01:30:16.856 --> 01:30:18.136 Mine actually does, yes. 01:30:18.266 --> 01:30:20.056 So we have all the way up through high school in mine. 01:30:21.276 --> 01:30:25.226 So how would, how would you explain that to parents or other teachers? 01:30:25.236 --> 01:30:28.927 Is, how do you then meet your curriculum outcomes, if kids are 01:30:28.927 --> 01:30:31.317 just free ranging, so to speak? 01:30:31.317 --> 01:30:33.587 So some people might think, well, that's just free range learning. 01:30:35.167 --> 01:30:39.317 Yeah, we often get the, the stigma that we're just like a bunch of essentially 01:30:39.577 --> 01:30:42.327 hippies, you know, that just kind of let our kids do whatever we want. 01:30:42.367 --> 01:30:45.927 But, the heavy hitting point is that there is freedom and the children 01:30:45.927 --> 01:30:51.596 really are free to do whatever they want within a very strict series of limits. 01:30:51.997 --> 01:30:55.696 And the room itself provides a deep range of limits. 01:30:56.162 --> 01:31:00.092 Whether it's just simply where things go on the shelf and how you return 01:31:00.092 --> 01:31:04.602 everything to the shelf Every shelf has an order and the order is sequential 01:31:04.602 --> 01:31:08.162 from top to bottom left to right and everything builds on itself in the shelf 01:31:08.552 --> 01:31:12.341 Um, my job is to ensure that they aren't goofing off and are actually doing 01:31:12.342 --> 01:31:16.022 what they should be doing So I need to have a deep understanding of just 01:31:16.052 --> 01:31:21.257 pedagogy in general and like academic standards in general . And then the 01:31:21.257 --> 01:31:27.377 whole, the whole layout of the room is almost to trick the child into learning. 01:31:27.417 --> 01:31:33.047 So when you think of traditional education standards, my job is to give them those 01:31:33.047 --> 01:31:37.302 standards and teach them in a way where they almost don't realize that they're 01:31:37.342 --> 01:31:41.942 learning because we are just having fun, whether we're playing a game and we're 01:31:41.942 --> 01:31:45.592 learning letters, whether I'm coloring with them and we're learning numbers, 01:31:46.372 --> 01:31:49.582 there's just a series of ways that I can present a lesson to a child just 01:31:49.582 --> 01:31:53.071 to make sure that I'm keeping them on track and exactly where they should be. 01:31:53.422 --> 01:31:57.631 We follow all the state standards , in my state personally, which align standards 01:31:57.631 --> 01:31:59.851 almost across the globe, like universally. 01:32:00.221 --> 01:32:04.621 And all of the materials in every classroom always start about a 01:32:04.621 --> 01:32:08.191 half year lower than what the child would be when they enter the room. 01:32:08.191 --> 01:32:10.851 So we have materials that could potentially meet the needs of a 01:32:10.852 --> 01:32:12.212 two and a half year old child. 01:32:12.662 --> 01:32:16.352 And then the lot like the upper end of a room like mine would 01:32:16.352 --> 01:32:18.062 go all the way to first grade. 01:32:18.457 --> 01:32:23.477 So it's awesome that a child can go as far as they want or as slow as they want. 01:32:23.777 --> 01:32:27.057 And we keep them on track, but at the pace that kind of meets them 01:32:27.247 --> 01:32:29.026 the best, if that makes sense. 01:32:29.417 --> 01:32:31.397 And then we fill in the gaps where necessary. 01:32:31.397 --> 01:32:35.736 So if I notice that a child is only doing anything in the 01:32:35.737 --> 01:32:37.707 math for two days straight. 01:32:37.787 --> 01:32:40.997 I'm going to guide them into language on that third day to make sure that 01:32:40.997 --> 01:32:42.307 they're meeting the language area. 01:32:42.617 --> 01:32:45.367 And then maybe we'll head towards geography that fourth day so that by 01:32:45.387 --> 01:32:49.966 the full whole five day week, they will have hit every subject area by the 01:32:49.967 --> 01:32:51.566 time they walk out the door on Friday. 01:32:52.162 --> 01:32:52.292 If that makes sense. 01:32:53.562 --> 01:32:54.082 Okay. 01:32:54.382 --> 01:32:59.892 So the other thing I want to then ask is, do children ever do whole group 01:32:59.892 --> 01:33:04.182 or do you ever do whole group lessons like a math session, for example, or a 01:33:04.182 --> 01:33:08.182 phonics session to the whole class, or is it just following the individual 01:33:08.212 --> 01:33:11.222 children as they're going through their learning at their own pace? 01:33:12.232 --> 01:33:15.342 Developmentally, the child before about the age of six. 01:33:16.182 --> 01:33:19.832 If you really look at who they are as a person, that's when you start hearing 01:33:19.832 --> 01:33:23.672 like, that's mine, like, and they don't like to share, so they care a lot 01:33:23.672 --> 01:33:25.962 about how the world pertains to them. 01:33:26.292 --> 01:33:30.042 So I'm going to structure the majority of my lessons, just me one 01:33:30.042 --> 01:33:32.562 on one with an individual child. 01:33:33.002 --> 01:33:36.432 As they get older, they start clipping a plane of development and 01:33:36.432 --> 01:33:40.472 then they start caring about the whole, how can we collectively come 01:33:40.472 --> 01:33:42.082 to a conclusion about something? 01:33:42.082 --> 01:33:43.392 How can we work together? 01:33:43.832 --> 01:33:47.772 So when that, when I get a, like a late five year old, early six year old child 01:33:47.772 --> 01:33:52.942 in the room, I will start teaching lessons to those children as a small group, but I 01:33:52.942 --> 01:33:56.552 will never do a massive phonics lesson to 01:33:56.602 --> 01:34:00.582 the whole group of kids, just because a six year old child is genuinely very 01:34:00.582 --> 01:34:03.522 different than a three year old child, and they're, they have different needs. 01:34:03.952 --> 01:34:06.622 We do do a group time in the middle of the day. 01:34:06.942 --> 01:34:11.542 We just do calendar, and we check the weather, and we sing songs. 01:34:11.542 --> 01:34:15.942 If there's a concert coming up, we might practice songs for the concert coming up. 01:34:16.302 --> 01:34:19.467 But when it comes to the academic lessons, There's really not a whole 01:34:19.467 --> 01:34:20.877 lot that we do in a whole group. 01:34:21.237 --> 01:34:24.447 Right now we're actually studying the continent of North America and we have 01:34:24.447 --> 01:34:26.807 a grandma who, is from Mexico actually. 01:34:26.807 --> 01:34:29.927 She was born and raised in Mexico and she made like this Mexican dessert 01:34:29.927 --> 01:34:31.517 for us and she brought us in toys. 01:34:32.507 --> 01:34:36.347 So we had this whole group lesson about what it was like to grow up in Mexico. 01:34:36.347 --> 01:34:38.807 And so sometimes when it's a cultural thing and we can learn about 01:34:38.807 --> 01:34:43.067 the culture that's beneficial to anyone of any age group everywhere. 01:34:43.307 --> 01:34:46.782 And so those kind of things I love to do whole group because it's very cool 01:34:46.782 --> 01:34:50.302 to just experience that as a community, but when it comes to like math lessons 01:34:50.302 --> 01:34:53.402 and language lessons and geography and art and all that stuff, typically 01:34:53.412 --> 01:34:54.692 it's going to be more one on one. 01:34:55.222 --> 01:34:56.102 That's interesting. 01:34:56.142 --> 01:35:01.862 And so I know that Montessori places this very big emphasis on 01:35:01.892 --> 01:35:06.232 preparing the environment and you were talking a lot about your materials. 01:35:06.662 --> 01:35:13.217 So what is the design that goes into the classroom and how does that then 01:35:14.137 --> 01:35:15.967 contribute to the child's learning? 01:35:17.107 --> 01:35:20.757 If you ever set foot in a Montessori classroom, you'll notice that there 01:35:20.757 --> 01:35:25.747 is literally nothing, even on the walls, placed above the child's height. 01:35:26.572 --> 01:35:31.302 picture frame, every table, every chair, everything is going to be 01:35:31.302 --> 01:35:35.642 sitting lower or at the child's height, except for maybe two chairs in the 01:35:35.642 --> 01:35:37.712 room that I can sit in to observe. 01:35:38.052 --> 01:35:42.512 So even when the child walks in the door, it's their home and they already 01:35:42.512 --> 01:35:44.607 feel like everything is at their height. 01:35:44.607 --> 01:35:46.287 They never have to reach for anything. 01:35:46.287 --> 01:35:50.317 They never have to go out of their way to go into this crazy 01:35:50.317 --> 01:35:51.877 location to find something. 01:35:52.227 --> 01:35:55.997 And everything on the shelves are always fully prepared for them. 01:35:56.007 --> 01:35:59.587 So let's say it's an art lesson and they're going to need glue and scissors. 01:36:00.007 --> 01:36:03.447 The tray is going to be already prepared with glue and scissors and 01:36:03.467 --> 01:36:05.037 the paper they might need to glue it. 01:36:05.377 --> 01:36:07.657 So they're never going to need to come and find me. 01:36:08.032 --> 01:36:11.592 To help like have me go search out a glue stick that I've hidden way at the 01:36:11.602 --> 01:36:16.332 top of a cupboard way up high So they know that when they go to choose to 01:36:16.332 --> 01:36:20.052 do something in the room, it's already ready for them It's ready to go. 01:36:20.172 --> 01:36:24.102 There is no need to ask a teacher to intervene which gives them this deep 01:36:24.102 --> 01:36:29.207 sense of like independence and I can do it and she trusts that I can do 01:36:29.207 --> 01:36:33.197 it, which puts this huge weight on the child to do it correctly like that. 01:36:33.197 --> 01:36:34.157 I am trusting them. 01:36:34.217 --> 01:36:35.657 They know I'm trusting them. 01:36:35.927 --> 01:36:38.507 I'm trusting 'em with a pair of scissors to use it correctly. 01:36:38.507 --> 01:36:40.277 . That's a pretty big deal to a 3-year-old. 01:36:40.577 --> 01:36:43.997 So when when you have the weight of that responsibility, you're gonna find that 01:36:44.607 --> 01:36:48.517 that just in and of that, they're going to want to use the material correctly 01:36:48.517 --> 01:36:51.167 or they're going to lose it, you know, I'm not going to put out scissors if 01:36:51.167 --> 01:36:52.457 they're going to cut their friend's hair. 01:36:53.227 --> 01:36:53.747 Simple as that. 01:36:53.887 --> 01:36:55.587 So there's like, you know, freedom within limits. 01:36:55.687 --> 01:36:56.797 They can have the scissors. 01:36:57.117 --> 01:37:00.582 You just can't go in the corner and cut your friend's hair or you can't cut you 01:37:00.582 --> 01:37:02.452 know, the plants apart or whatever it is. 01:37:02.892 --> 01:37:04.852 We also use a lot of natural materials. 01:37:04.882 --> 01:37:07.192 So you'll notice there's a lot of wood and a lot of glass 01:37:07.472 --> 01:37:09.092 and very minimal plastic. 01:37:09.412 --> 01:37:12.302 Which is kind of where the whole like beige thing comes in. 01:37:12.442 --> 01:37:13.642 I don't know if you've ever heard that stigma. 01:37:14.292 --> 01:37:17.302 There's a lot of color, but it's not a lot of plastic color. 01:37:17.652 --> 01:37:21.892 And so when you're working with glass or ceramics or anything breakable, 01:37:21.932 --> 01:37:27.742 especially with like a three year old child if it drops, it's going to shatter. 01:37:27.762 --> 01:37:29.352 It's not a plastic sippy cup. 01:37:29.352 --> 01:37:32.472 If you're running and you're not being careful and you're carrying a glass 01:37:32.472 --> 01:37:36.527 vase and you slip and fall because you made the choice to run, it's 01:37:36.527 --> 01:37:38.237 going to shatter all over the floor. 01:37:38.257 --> 01:37:38.967 And guess what? 01:37:39.007 --> 01:37:42.657 Every child is now turning their head to look at the child who's dropped 01:37:42.657 --> 01:37:46.767 the vase, which can be kind of an embarrassing experience for that child. 01:37:46.777 --> 01:37:50.327 But it's also self correcting in that it makes them not want to 01:37:50.327 --> 01:37:53.807 run the next time or not want to carry the thing with one hand. 01:37:53.807 --> 01:37:55.087 And next time they're going to use two. 01:37:55.847 --> 01:37:59.347 So there's just a lot of like little things that I can put into the room 01:37:59.717 --> 01:38:03.307 where it's that thing doing all the correcting and so it's not just me 01:38:03.307 --> 01:38:07.137 nagging them like you need to use walking feet like instead of me saying that, 01:38:07.712 --> 01:38:10.862 they just know to use walking feet because they're carrying something 01:38:10.862 --> 01:38:12.442 that could shatter when they drop it. 01:38:12.742 --> 01:38:15.352 And it's really cool to watch like a three year old child. 01:38:15.392 --> 01:38:18.392 After that, every three year old child is going to shatter something. 01:38:18.392 --> 01:38:19.082 It's inevitable. 01:38:19.082 --> 01:38:20.052 We do break glass. 01:38:20.052 --> 01:38:20.672 It happens. 01:38:21.252 --> 01:38:24.152 But after about a month and a half into the school year, after 01:38:24.152 --> 01:38:29.382 all the glass has kind of broken and we all fell to the floor, it 01:38:29.382 --> 01:38:31.612 is the coolest thing in the world 01:38:31.967 --> 01:38:36.257 to watch the most rowdy three year old child choose to walk slowly 01:38:36.467 --> 01:38:37.897 while they carry something breakable. 01:38:37.917 --> 01:38:41.117 It's like the coolest thing to watch and most people don't even believe that 01:38:41.117 --> 01:38:43.387 it's possible, but it's really cool. 01:38:43.667 --> 01:38:47.887 So just in and of itself, like how the room is laid out, like I will structure 01:38:47.897 --> 01:38:52.057 the shelves, so I like prevent a racetrack in the room, so they have to walk 01:38:52.657 --> 01:38:54.217 or they're going to run into a shelf. 01:38:54.707 --> 01:38:59.657 I make sure that I structure like the way that the sunlight hits certain 01:38:59.657 --> 01:39:03.267 tables so that it's not blinding the child so they choose to work over there. 01:39:03.267 --> 01:39:07.117 There's just like a ridiculous amount of floor plan that will go into 01:39:07.117 --> 01:39:11.377 how I lay out the room and where I put the materials also matter. 01:39:11.942 --> 01:39:13.062 It's it's pretty cool. 01:39:13.572 --> 01:39:14.802 It sounds really cool. 01:39:14.812 --> 01:39:19.282 So it sounds also to me like your biggest job as a teacher 01:39:20.102 --> 01:39:22.212 is actually your pre teaching. 01:39:22.412 --> 01:39:25.942 It's your it's your planning of how of the materials you're going to 01:39:25.942 --> 01:39:29.202 use, how you're going to display them, where you're going to put them. 01:39:29.942 --> 01:39:34.312 Uh, and you obviously thinking about your curriculum and your materials that 01:39:34.312 --> 01:39:38.112 you're using or that are accessible to children linked to the curriculum. 01:39:38.112 --> 01:39:43.832 So it sounds to me that it's just flipped from a traditional classroom setting. 01:39:43.852 --> 01:39:48.442 Although teachers in traditional settings also obviously have to plan and prepare. 01:39:49.902 --> 01:39:54.282 But there's also a big emphasis on the actual teaching in the moment, you know, 01:39:54.312 --> 01:39:57.782 you've got your big class teaching, your group teaching and all that kind of stuff. 01:39:58.852 --> 01:40:02.742 But I think there's more emphasis by what I can pick up here from you is 01:40:02.742 --> 01:40:07.222 your pre teaching, your, your planning behind because your environment plays 01:40:07.242 --> 01:40:09.682 such a massive role in the teaching. 01:40:10.122 --> 01:40:12.292 So that's super, super interesting. 01:40:12.782 --> 01:40:17.422 And also what I liked what you've just said is that in the good old days before 01:40:17.422 --> 01:40:23.602 the invention of plastic, kids actually ate off the same plates and drank out of 01:40:23.602 --> 01:40:25.972 the same cups and glasses as adults did. 01:40:26.632 --> 01:40:30.622 And there wasn't this thing of, you have to have a sippy cup and a plastic 01:40:30.622 --> 01:40:32.152 plate and all this kind of thing. 01:40:32.542 --> 01:40:38.382 So I think it actually is a respect for the child and also it teaches the child 01:40:38.887 --> 01:40:43.817 responsibility, because they've got the same responsibility in taking care of 01:40:43.817 --> 01:40:46.437 things and using things as an adult has. 01:40:47.847 --> 01:40:48.737 So I think that that 01:40:48.777 --> 01:40:51.817 is really powerful, to be honest. 01:40:51.827 --> 01:40:55.597 Yeah, we also, we have a whole curriculum area, actually, that's 01:40:55.707 --> 01:40:58.047 just called care of the environment. 01:40:58.657 --> 01:41:02.297 And it is just that, like sweeping, mopping, washing the tables, 01:41:02.317 --> 01:41:06.547 washing the floors, watering the plants, dusting the shelves. 01:41:06.547 --> 01:41:09.587 There is just an entire shelf that exists in my room 01:41:10.097 --> 01:41:12.137 so that they can take care of the space they live in. 01:41:12.677 --> 01:41:17.637 Like we have mops, I have brooms, I have watering cans, like anything that could 01:41:17.637 --> 01:41:23.187 be cleaned, they have the ability to clean it so they know that this space is theirs 01:41:23.187 --> 01:41:25.237 and it's theirs also to take care of. 01:41:25.877 --> 01:41:28.807 It's not just my job, it's our job as a community. 01:41:28.807 --> 01:41:32.777 We do laundry, we do the dishes, like it's their job to take care of 01:41:32.777 --> 01:41:34.687 everything just as much as it is my job. 01:41:35.967 --> 01:41:39.607 So how do you organize eating and food times then? 01:41:39.607 --> 01:41:41.457 Do children still bring their own food in? 01:41:41.457 --> 01:41:45.527 And then do you, I saw on one of your, one of your videos on Instagram, 01:41:45.527 --> 01:41:49.457 actually, you were talking about how you actually sit with your 01:41:49.467 --> 01:41:51.417 children and eat in the classroom. 01:41:51.417 --> 01:41:54.647 So you eat at the tables where you're learning and they've obviously 01:41:54.647 --> 01:41:58.197 bringing in food from home, but you're talking about doing the dishes. 01:41:58.207 --> 01:42:02.247 So you're talking about if you did something, were you preparing a food, 01:42:02.247 --> 01:42:06.547 for example, as part of a lesson that kids clean up themselves? 01:42:07.827 --> 01:42:11.527 Yeah, so there's multiple food aspects. 01:42:13.007 --> 01:42:13.997 Kids love food. 01:42:15.017 --> 01:42:15.327 Don't forget, 01:42:15.367 --> 01:42:18.737 Montessori is Italian, so of course, I mean, Italian and food 01:42:18.807 --> 01:42:20.387 automatically goes together, right? 01:42:20.407 --> 01:42:22.517 You wouldn't be able to separate the two at all. 01:42:22.517 --> 01:42:22.547 I've 01:42:22.547 --> 01:42:24.387 actually never put that together before. 01:42:24.457 --> 01:42:25.417 That is so true. 01:42:25.487 --> 01:42:30.167 Um, so we actually have a whole curriculum that's just dedicated 01:42:30.167 --> 01:42:31.397 to learning how to prepare food. 01:42:31.397 --> 01:42:32.537 We call it food preparation. 01:42:32.537 --> 01:42:35.767 So it's just a sequence of activities that the children can learn, like 01:42:35.767 --> 01:42:39.897 banana cutting, apple cutting, slicing, peeling, what you name it. 01:42:40.067 --> 01:42:41.097 The sky's the limit. 01:42:41.107 --> 01:42:42.407 I've made pizza with the kids. 01:42:42.437 --> 01:42:46.937 We've made muffins, smoothies, oatmeal, like the sky is essentially the limit. 01:42:47.462 --> 01:42:49.302 I did eggs, hard boiled eggs. 01:42:49.302 --> 01:42:52.292 Like it just depends on the allergies in the class and what you can provide. 01:42:52.362 --> 01:42:53.682 Right now I'm able to do peanuts. 01:42:53.722 --> 01:42:55.772 So they're learning how to crack peanuts because we do not have a 01:42:55.772 --> 01:42:58.982 single peanut allergy in the whole school this year, which is so cool. 01:42:58.982 --> 01:43:00.152 That is lucky. 01:43:00.522 --> 01:43:01.532 I've been able to do that before. 01:43:01.532 --> 01:43:03.902 So this is my first time ever learning, having them learn how 01:43:03.902 --> 01:43:05.122 to like crack open a peanut. 01:43:05.202 --> 01:43:05.882 It's awesome. 01:43:06.322 --> 01:43:10.362 So they have that and that's available to them and that changes as the year goes on. 01:43:10.362 --> 01:43:11.772 I, I'll switch out the trays. 01:43:11.772 --> 01:43:14.372 It'll get increasingly harder, more multi steps. 01:43:15.072 --> 01:43:17.722 They're responsible for cleaning all of that afterwards as well. 01:43:18.202 --> 01:43:22.702 We also have a, a grant from the United States government that provides us 01:43:22.702 --> 01:43:24.772 with like fresh fruit and vegetables 01:43:25.632 --> 01:43:30.092 every week um, so whatever is seasonal, the whole goal is that 01:43:30.092 --> 01:43:33.572 the kids, they want the children to try new fruits and veggies. 01:43:33.572 --> 01:43:36.562 So we try to follow the seasonal pattern of what's in season right 01:43:36.562 --> 01:43:39.122 now, and that's what we eat for snack. 01:43:39.182 --> 01:43:42.602 And so they're able to eat snack at any point in the morning or the 01:43:42.602 --> 01:43:44.722 afternoon, whenever their body is hungry. 01:43:44.722 --> 01:43:46.172 They can just choose to eat. 01:43:46.482 --> 01:43:50.272 There's like a designated table in my classroom that's It's the only circle 01:43:50.272 --> 01:43:54.172 table in my room and it only has two chairs and there's one waiting chair. 01:43:54.172 --> 01:43:57.102 So only two friends can actually be eating at a time. 01:43:57.492 --> 01:44:00.962 But if the snack table is open or if the waiting chair is open, they are free. 01:44:00.962 --> 01:44:03.442 If their stomach is growling, they can just stand up from 01:44:03.442 --> 01:44:04.912 what they're doing and go eat. 01:44:04.942 --> 01:44:09.022 So there is not like a structured, like everybody gets their snack from their 01:44:09.022 --> 01:44:10.942 backpack and we all sit down and eat it. 01:44:10.952 --> 01:44:12.632 But they can definitely bring their own snack. 01:44:12.632 --> 01:44:16.652 And a lot of children do choose to bring extra food if they're like hungry or going 01:44:16.652 --> 01:44:18.532 through a growing spurt or whatever it is. 01:44:19.072 --> 01:44:20.662 Um, so they can eat snack whenever. 01:44:20.662 --> 01:44:23.832 They can also do food prep whenever in the morning or the afternoon. 01:44:24.292 --> 01:44:25.772 And then when it comes time for lunch. 01:44:26.102 --> 01:44:31.822 We do have, like, actual adult sized ceramic plates, juice cups, and then, 01:44:31.822 --> 01:44:35.712 like, bowls and forks and spoons and knives that you would see in a home, just, 01:44:35.832 --> 01:44:41.132 like, literally I bought them at Walmart, so they are as natural and real and 01:44:41.132 --> 01:44:43.142 authentic to a home as they would come. 01:44:43.562 --> 01:44:46.572 They're responsible for setting their own table spot up at lunch. 01:44:46.572 --> 01:44:49.072 They get a placemat that they have to lay down below it. 01:44:49.082 --> 01:44:52.402 They learn where the fork goes, the knife and the spoon, how the plate sits on the 01:44:52.482 --> 01:44:54.212 placemat, where the cup and the bowl go. 01:44:54.632 --> 01:44:57.032 Um, then they can serve themselves lunch. 01:44:57.042 --> 01:45:01.122 If they do choose to eat lunch, at my school at least, they can have 01:45:01.122 --> 01:45:02.352 like the school provided lunch. 01:45:02.352 --> 01:45:06.302 We have a full time cook and an assistant cook and they make an assortment of 01:45:06.302 --> 01:45:08.762 also lovely things for the school. 01:45:09.072 --> 01:45:12.492 So they can choose the hot lunch option or they can bring their own lunch if they 01:45:12.492 --> 01:45:15.852 do not like the hot lunch option, but they're ha still having school lunch. 01:45:16.182 --> 01:45:19.782 They can get a pb and j as the substitute out for the protein. 01:45:20.262 --> 01:45:23.232 So it's a pretty healthy mixture of who brings their own lunch. 01:45:23.232 --> 01:45:25.632 Who eats hot lunch and who chooses the p, d and J? 01:45:25.632 --> 01:45:29.892 It's almost like, like 33% split across the board right now for this. 01:45:30.092 --> 01:45:32.682 For this specific group of kids, every year is different. 01:45:33.002 --> 01:45:36.102 And then we do eat at those tables that we've been working on all morning. 01:45:36.102 --> 01:45:38.012 So we sit down, we eat there. 01:45:38.082 --> 01:45:42.032 At the end of lunch, when it's time to be dismissed from lunch, they are 01:45:42.032 --> 01:45:43.952 responsible for cleaning everything. 01:45:43.952 --> 01:45:47.302 So their placemat needs to go back into the laundry bin, because we're going 01:45:47.302 --> 01:45:48.632 to do laundry at the end of the day. 01:45:48.942 --> 01:45:52.122 I do have a washer and dryer that are in my classroom, so we do 01:45:52.122 --> 01:45:53.422 laundry at the end of the day. 01:45:53.672 --> 01:45:56.632 It's a job, so two children are assigned to learn. 01:45:56.702 --> 01:45:58.337 Oh my gosh. 01:45:58.337 --> 01:46:02.022 Load the soap up, put the laundry in, start the washer and dryer. 01:46:02.022 --> 01:46:03.302 Man, are they experts at that. 01:46:03.302 --> 01:46:05.102 They love doing the washer and dryer. 01:46:05.102 --> 01:46:05.882 They're so good at it. 01:46:06.332 --> 01:46:11.722 For like legal reasons, even though we wash our dishes in dish buckets 01:46:11.782 --> 01:46:16.642 with soap and like water, like a rinse bucket, they're still not legally 01:46:16.642 --> 01:46:18.362 clean because they're children. 01:46:18.862 --> 01:46:22.182 So we do have to load them up and actually send them to the kitchen 01:46:22.182 --> 01:46:25.732 where the kitchen like actually runs them through the dishwasher. 01:46:26.762 --> 01:46:28.592 More of a process over product thing. 01:46:28.642 --> 01:46:30.082 They do incredible at it. 01:46:30.472 --> 01:46:33.572 It's just not, it's not legally correct, which is fine. 01:46:34.032 --> 01:46:39.332 And then once the kitchen actually washes them legally, they'll send them back down. 01:46:40.262 --> 01:46:45.282 And another job at the end of our day is to actually unload the dish cart. 01:46:45.282 --> 01:46:49.402 So put all the dishes back on the dish cabinet for the, like the following day. 01:46:49.832 --> 01:46:55.397 Um, so yeah, it's really cool to like watch how the routine of like I can 01:46:55.397 --> 01:46:58.997 totally step back and I do not help them clean up from lunch one bit. 01:46:58.997 --> 01:47:01.367 And even my little two and a half year old that I have this year 01:47:01.857 --> 01:47:03.387 can do everything all by herself. 01:47:03.447 --> 01:47:05.367 They are rock stars at it by now. 01:47:07.252 --> 01:47:10.962 And you know, this just comes back to the thing that I always say is 01:47:10.982 --> 01:47:12.992 that we do not trust children enough. 01:47:13.042 --> 01:47:18.902 We don't give them enough credit because they are actually really, really capable. 01:47:19.152 --> 01:47:20.622 It does my head in. 01:47:20.632 --> 01:47:24.772 I cannot tell you how infuriating I find it when I see a parent carrying a 01:47:24.772 --> 01:47:26.652 child's backpack because I'm thinking 01:47:27.267 --> 01:47:30.097 what message are you giving your child? 01:47:30.097 --> 01:47:33.637 You're telling your child that they're not capable of carrying their own backpack. 01:47:33.647 --> 01:47:35.107 You can't do that, sweetie. 01:47:35.167 --> 01:47:36.967 You're not, you're not strong enough. 01:47:36.967 --> 01:47:37.877 You're not capable enough. 01:47:37.877 --> 01:47:38.897 It drives me insane. 01:47:39.657 --> 01:47:41.737 Or even carrying them into school. 01:47:41.777 --> 01:47:45.187 I have always been interested by when a parent carries the kid into school. 01:47:45.577 --> 01:47:49.517 You've now made the choice for the child to enter the building. 01:47:49.657 --> 01:47:51.067 That's the one I've always been interested in. 01:47:51.137 --> 01:47:51.847 Let them walk. 01:47:51.867 --> 01:47:53.917 Let them choose to enter the building. 01:47:53.917 --> 01:47:54.647 It's their school. 01:47:54.667 --> 01:47:56.957 Let them choose to, like, you let them choose. 01:47:56.957 --> 01:48:05.632 I find it just so great, so amazing that In your school, and I'm sure 01:48:05.632 --> 01:48:08.372 it's probably in every Montessori school would be the same, right? 01:48:08.392 --> 01:48:14.282 Well, you'd hope so anyway, that you really do give children that 01:48:14.282 --> 01:48:16.562 credit, that they are capable beings. 01:48:16.562 --> 01:48:18.712 They're capable of chopping up their food. 01:48:18.712 --> 01:48:20.082 They're capable of cleaning up. 01:48:20.082 --> 01:48:24.192 They're capable of looking after themselves or following a routine. 01:48:24.232 --> 01:48:28.082 And you really are instilling the sense of independence and this can 01:48:28.082 --> 01:48:31.962 do attitude in them, which I think a lot of children at some point, 01:48:32.282 --> 01:48:35.012 I always get frustrated because sometimes you have a feeling that 01:48:35.012 --> 01:48:38.812 they think that it's your job to just top them up, that they don't have any 01:48:38.812 --> 01:48:41.192 responsibility in their own learning. 01:48:41.542 --> 01:48:47.902 And so I think this kind of strategy and this methodology is really 01:48:47.902 --> 01:48:52.782 important in giving children that message that you are a capable being. 01:48:53.042 --> 01:48:57.862 We respect you and we believe in you that you are capable of 01:48:57.862 --> 01:48:59.252 doing these things on your own. 01:48:59.272 --> 01:49:01.362 And I think that is an amazing message. 01:49:01.392 --> 01:49:05.742 And I think that more schools need to do that. 01:49:06.052 --> 01:49:12.082 And I love so much how you, how the kids set tables and sit and eat at tables. 01:49:12.142 --> 01:49:16.432 I think those are really important things and that we're losing. 01:49:16.992 --> 01:49:20.112 But I think what you guys are doing in Montessori, and I wish 01:49:20.112 --> 01:49:21.622 that all schools would do that. 01:49:22.072 --> 01:49:25.632 I think you give that back to children, which I think is so special. 01:49:25.832 --> 01:49:26.602 I really do. 01:49:27.202 --> 01:49:28.362 That is so special. 01:49:28.392 --> 01:49:32.222 And I say that as a mum as well, you know, that's always been something 01:49:32.222 --> 01:49:36.222 really important in our family, I think that sitting together as a family 01:49:36.222 --> 01:49:38.802 at a dinner table is really important. 01:49:39.482 --> 01:49:42.412 I want to talk to you because you've mentioned a few times you have children 01:49:42.412 --> 01:49:45.432 from you said two and a half year old right through to six year old. 01:49:45.442 --> 01:49:51.442 How does, your mixed age classrooms, how do they function and what have you seen? 01:49:51.452 --> 01:49:57.542 How does that benefit all children being in that mixed age environment? 01:49:58.282 --> 01:50:03.542 I think my biggest argument for mixed age classrooms is like a workplace. 01:50:03.742 --> 01:50:07.972 No workplaces are just straight everybody's the same age. 01:50:07.972 --> 01:50:09.332 They're all multi age. 01:50:09.622 --> 01:50:12.922 We can all learn something from somebody younger than us, somebody the same 01:50:12.922 --> 01:50:14.702 age as us, and somebody older than us. 01:50:15.812 --> 01:50:20.117 And, I will never forget my very first observation in a Montessori 01:50:20.117 --> 01:50:24.107 environment watching multi age kids because it's so easy to pick out 01:50:24.107 --> 01:50:26.757 the older ones and the younger ones, not just based on their size alone, 01:50:26.757 --> 01:50:28.537 but you can see it and who they are. 01:50:28.897 --> 01:50:33.327 And the older ones just become this like matriarch or patriarch , of the room. 01:50:33.717 --> 01:50:37.057 And if they have been in that room for the full time, like when they 01:50:37.057 --> 01:50:39.727 started as a three year old, then they were there as a four year old 01:50:39.727 --> 01:50:43.507 and a five year old, and then they turn six, the rules never change. 01:50:43.617 --> 01:50:44.937 I never change. 01:50:44.977 --> 01:50:46.257 The room hasn't changed. 01:50:46.297 --> 01:50:48.267 Like they are experts. 01:50:48.277 --> 01:50:49.867 Like they've got it down pat. 01:50:49.887 --> 01:50:53.207 You are hardly recorrecting them minimally, of course, because 01:50:53.207 --> 01:50:54.357 there's always the goofing off. 01:50:54.357 --> 01:50:56.987 But for the most part, they've got it down. 01:50:57.352 --> 01:50:58.792 And they just become a helper. 01:50:58.812 --> 01:51:03.822 So they go out of their way to make sure that the little ones are seen and heard 01:51:03.822 --> 01:51:08.242 and helped and understood and doing the right thing and staying on track. 01:51:08.242 --> 01:51:11.112 And sometimes they'll like show them a lesson because they're so proud of 01:51:11.112 --> 01:51:12.692 something they've already mastered. 01:51:12.692 --> 01:51:15.492 That's not like way below their age level now. 01:51:16.442 --> 01:51:20.132 And some of the best friendships I've personally witnessed in 01:51:20.132 --> 01:51:23.712 children, are a six year old child and like a three or four year old 01:51:23.712 --> 01:51:25.092 child, specifically in the girls. 01:51:25.092 --> 01:51:26.172 I see it a lot with the girls. 01:51:26.382 --> 01:51:30.502 Man, are those six year old girls just like angelic to the three year olds? 01:51:31.282 --> 01:51:34.992 And it's always fascinating when I have a three year old who's just really 01:51:34.992 --> 01:51:38.902 struggling being at school, whether they start the year and they're crying and they 01:51:38.902 --> 01:51:41.372 have separation anxiety or whatever it is. 01:51:41.712 --> 01:51:45.042 When they become a six year old and they've moved past a separation and 01:51:45.042 --> 01:51:46.532 they come in the door, no problem. 01:51:46.532 --> 01:51:48.492 And it's an easy peasy transition. 01:51:48.942 --> 01:51:53.022 they start to see those little three year olds who do struggle and they're 01:51:53.022 --> 01:51:57.472 immediately their buddy because they like see the past version of themselves 01:51:57.562 --> 01:52:01.032 in that child and they know how to help them and they know what they need 01:52:01.412 --> 01:52:04.612 because that's what they needed when they were their age and it is just man 01:52:04.612 --> 01:52:09.342 is it like the most beautiful thing there's like hardly ever any problems. 01:52:09.362 --> 01:52:12.162 I have lots of siblings in the room so i'll have the older sibling and 01:52:12.162 --> 01:52:16.452 the younger sibling because of the multi ages and for the most part it's 01:52:16.822 --> 01:52:19.012 it is just, it is the coolest thing. 01:52:19.022 --> 01:52:22.682 It's so cool because they just know that what a three year old needs 01:52:22.682 --> 01:52:23.902 is not what a six year old needs. 01:52:23.902 --> 01:52:25.912 And everybody just knows and they understand that. 01:52:26.362 --> 01:52:28.542 And it's, it's really cool to watch. 01:52:29.762 --> 01:52:34.832 And listen, Alex, I just had a thought, so do those children stay with you until 01:52:34.832 --> 01:52:38.692 they're six and then they move on to another classroom or another teacher? 01:52:39.272 --> 01:52:42.302 So some of those kids could be with you for three years. 01:52:44.492 --> 01:52:46.892 And so in terms of your materials and stuff. 01:52:47.317 --> 01:52:51.667 I guess then the materials would be, some of them would be for younger 01:52:51.697 --> 01:52:54.107 age children and some of them would be for older age children. 01:52:54.107 --> 01:52:56.047 I think you probably mentioned that, possibly you've touched 01:52:56.047 --> 01:52:57.557 on that before earlier. 01:52:58.027 --> 01:53:02.877 So when they're younger, they could still have access to all the materials. 01:53:03.187 --> 01:53:04.977 So are they repeating things? 01:53:05.677 --> 01:53:09.507 I'm just thinking from someone who's not a Montessori person might say. 01:53:09.782 --> 01:53:13.932 Would they get bored being in the same environment for three years doing the 01:53:13.932 --> 01:53:15.852 same things with the same materials? 01:53:16.442 --> 01:53:17.532 How does that work? 01:53:17.532 --> 01:53:19.092 Just explain that maybe. 01:53:20.152 --> 01:53:23.502 So for me personally, I can't really speak to other Montessori teachers, 01:53:23.512 --> 01:53:26.442 but what I've personally done to just make sure that that isn't a problem 01:53:26.762 --> 01:53:28.972 is how you cycle the shelves out. 01:53:29.372 --> 01:53:33.252 So there are some staple like core materials that are not going anywhere. 01:53:33.262 --> 01:53:36.847 Like I, I know that like when you think of Montessori or at least hopefully when 01:53:36.847 --> 01:53:39.597 you do think of Montessori, you think of the little pink tower that Maria 01:53:39.597 --> 01:53:42.807 designed, and hopefully that's a picture that you've seen and are familiar with. 01:53:43.227 --> 01:53:45.157 That's part of a sensorial curriculum. 01:53:45.157 --> 01:53:46.397 That's the name of the curriculum. 01:53:46.757 --> 01:53:49.927 That curriculum and those like three or four shelves that I have, 01:53:49.977 --> 01:53:51.197 they're never going to change. 01:53:51.227 --> 01:53:55.987 They were designed and built by Maria herself, and they are very deeply 01:53:55.987 --> 01:53:59.537 rooted in like a million different, you can do language and geography 01:53:59.537 --> 01:54:02.637 and art and all sorts of other stuff with just those shelves alone. 01:54:02.637 --> 01:54:06.227 And there's many different ways to dive into just one material on that shelf. 01:54:06.727 --> 01:54:11.417 Language, there's a couple staple core materials in the language area, like how 01:54:11.417 --> 01:54:15.387 we teach initial letter presentations and then the movable alphabet and 01:54:15.417 --> 01:54:18.547 there's just a couple things that are never, ever going to leave the room. 01:54:19.027 --> 01:54:21.477 And then the math curriculum is pretty locked down. 01:54:21.487 --> 01:54:23.827 Like, there are just some things and some shelves that will 01:54:23.837 --> 01:54:25.527 never, ever get rearranged. 01:54:25.927 --> 01:54:31.077 But the geography and the art and the fine motor and the cultural and the, like 01:54:31.287 --> 01:54:36.827 seasonal materials, they're all going to change and they change every three years. 01:54:36.837 --> 01:54:39.397 So something like, for instance, North America, which is what 01:54:39.397 --> 01:54:41.637 we've been learning for all of September and most of 01:54:41.937 --> 01:54:43.257 actually all of October as well. 01:54:43.257 --> 01:54:46.327 It's going away in a couple weeks that won't come back 01:54:46.337 --> 01:54:47.687 out for another three years. 01:54:48.027 --> 01:54:51.957 Which is a, there is stuff on that shelf that will meet a three year 01:54:51.957 --> 01:54:56.537 old's needs and a six year old's needs on the entire shelf of North America. 01:54:56.537 --> 01:54:59.047 And then we're going to move on and we're going to study South America. 01:54:59.427 --> 01:55:02.697 And South America has not been out for three years, so none of the children 01:55:02.697 --> 01:55:05.647 in this room have encountered South America yet, if that makes sense. 01:55:06.107 --> 01:55:09.947 And I just put out solar system, and the solar system shelf has 01:55:09.947 --> 01:55:11.047 not been out for three years. 01:55:11.057 --> 01:55:15.017 So I try to keep everything on a three year cycle, so that at some 01:55:15.017 --> 01:55:18.622 point throughout the children's lives in their time in my room, 01:55:18.702 --> 01:55:19.552 they're going to get everything 01:55:19.552 --> 01:55:20.734 if that makes sense. 01:55:20.784 --> 01:55:21.974 That makes perfect sense. 01:55:22.794 --> 01:55:26.824 So, What are some common misconceptions about Montessori 01:55:26.824 --> 01:55:28.734 education that you often encounter? 01:55:30.424 --> 01:55:32.264 I think one of the biggest ones we've already touched 01:55:32.264 --> 01:55:33.804 on is just the free for all. 01:55:34.254 --> 01:55:38.064 And I literally think, and there are genuinely people out there, I think, who 01:55:38.104 --> 01:55:41.594 think that the children just walk in the door and it's just It's absolute chaos for 01:55:41.594 --> 01:55:45.784 eight hours a day, and then I send them home, which is just so far from the truth. 01:55:46.194 --> 01:55:49.754 And the other, the other one you've already touched on of just how, like, how 01:55:49.754 --> 01:55:53.824 on earth are we able to even meet academic standards if they are a free for all? 01:55:53.824 --> 01:55:54.944 Like, how does that work? 01:55:55.324 --> 01:55:58.784 Um, not really so much of a misconception, but just something that is really 01:55:58.784 --> 01:56:03.234 hard for people to wrap their minds around is how it's possible for me 01:56:03.534 --> 01:56:06.944 to sit down with a child one on one. 01:56:07.239 --> 01:56:09.859 And just let the other 23 kids go free. 01:56:10.169 --> 01:56:13.429 That's a really hard concept for people to wrap their minds around. 01:56:13.439 --> 01:56:16.649 They don't quite understand how it's possible to fully remove 01:56:16.659 --> 01:56:18.109 myself from the situation. 01:56:18.499 --> 01:56:21.229 That is something you just genuinely have to see in action. 01:56:21.229 --> 01:56:23.559 I've tried to explain it in a million different ways in a 01:56:23.559 --> 01:56:24.849 million different videos online. 01:56:25.239 --> 01:56:28.929 And I just think it's something if you, if that is where you're stuck on. 01:56:29.584 --> 01:56:33.094 Go observe a Montessori classroom and watch her or him just sit 01:56:33.094 --> 01:56:36.434 down and pull themselves away from everything and watch the kids just 01:56:36.434 --> 01:56:38.184 keep going as if nothing is going on. 01:56:38.184 --> 01:56:39.564 It's totally normal to them. 01:56:40.164 --> 01:56:42.104 Um, and then I think the other misconception is 01:56:42.104 --> 01:56:43.614 just based on the fact that 01:56:44.254 --> 01:56:49.794 Maria was asked to patent her method and she ultimately chose not to. 01:56:50.324 --> 01:56:55.244 So essentially, there is no quote right way and wrong way to do things. 01:56:55.824 --> 01:56:59.884 So you are going to find, um, some Montessori schools aren't 01:57:00.114 --> 01:57:02.484 necessarily Montessori schools. 01:57:03.454 --> 01:57:06.844 Essentially, anybody can take the name Montessori, slap it on the side of a 01:57:06.844 --> 01:57:10.484 building, put wooden materials out on the shelf and say, look, you're Montessori. 01:57:10.494 --> 01:57:11.584 Yes, it worries me, yeah. 01:57:11.684 --> 01:57:12.054 Yeah. 01:57:12.744 --> 01:57:16.264 Um, So there's just some vetting that might need to happen if it is someone 01:57:16.264 --> 01:57:19.224 who's genuinely looking at either teaching in one or just sending their 01:57:19.224 --> 01:57:22.484 children to one, there's a lot of back, like, behind the scenes work that 01:57:22.484 --> 01:57:25.634 might need to happen on that end, just to make sure you're actually choosing 01:57:25.644 --> 01:57:29.144 one that is something that if Maria was still alive, she would approve of. 01:57:29.144 --> 01:57:30.524 So yeah, those would be my big ones. 01:57:31.224 --> 01:57:34.514 I think I would be wary of that because I've seen it even where I 01:57:34.514 --> 01:57:38.304 live, you'd see a building come up and it's a new childcare center and 01:57:38.304 --> 01:57:41.294 then they'd have Montessori on the side and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't 01:57:41.294 --> 01:57:42.864 know if you really are Montessori. 01:57:43.344 --> 01:57:45.514 And I think you're right for parents, 01:57:45.989 --> 01:57:49.689 and you've just touched on this now because I was going to say to you, what 01:57:49.689 --> 01:57:54.009 advice would you give parents and teachers who are considering Montessori education, 01:57:54.009 --> 01:57:56.739 I guess one of the things that you would consider is to check out whether they 01:57:56.759 --> 01:58:01.809 truly are aligned with Montessori values and whether they really have the actual 01:58:01.809 --> 01:58:06.779 Montessori materials, because I know Montessori has very specific materials 01:58:06.869 --> 01:58:08.549 in terms of teaching various things. 01:58:08.549 --> 01:58:12.249 Whereas in other schools or non Montessori you can basically use 01:58:12.279 --> 01:58:17.059 anything, but Montessori is very strict on the type of materials that they use. 01:58:17.129 --> 01:58:20.859 Is there anything else, Alex, that you think is really important for 01:58:20.859 --> 01:58:25.329 people listening to this episode that they should really know about 01:58:25.369 --> 01:58:28.959 Montessori, because I can see that you feel so passionate about Montessori. 01:58:29.599 --> 01:58:34.249 Is there anything that you want to say to people about Montessori this is 01:58:34.249 --> 01:58:36.759 your plug for Montessori, so to speak. 01:58:38.119 --> 01:58:42.479 I think my biggest takeaway that I, if anyone could take anything away, 01:58:42.479 --> 01:58:47.449 it's just to not be, don't be so close minded and, and be open minded. 01:58:47.809 --> 01:58:52.184 There is a lot of like, misconceptions and a lot of weird stigmas about 01:58:52.184 --> 01:58:56.614 it from, for whatever reason, and about a hundred of them are false. 01:58:56.994 --> 01:59:00.414 And, I learned that myself at one point or another, and I've 01:59:00.424 --> 01:59:04.514 witnessed other people realize, Oh, so this is what you do. 01:59:04.884 --> 01:59:08.854 There is just so many misconceptions and a lot of them can go away by just scheduling 01:59:08.854 --> 01:59:13.634 an observation So if you do find a school in your area that is genuinely 01:59:13.634 --> 01:59:18.074 montessori and they are doing everything they can to uphold what Maria would have 01:59:18.094 --> 01:59:23.654 thought would have been true and right and just ask them call them up say hey 01:59:23.694 --> 01:59:27.534 I'm interested whether it's for being a teacher or sending your children there. 01:59:27.534 --> 01:59:31.324 Let them know what you're interested in and just ask for an observation. 01:59:31.844 --> 01:59:34.334 And almost every one of them will allow you to come in. 01:59:34.364 --> 01:59:37.674 They'll allow you to sit in a chair with a clipboard and a piece of paper, and they 01:59:37.674 --> 01:59:39.294 will just allow you to take it all in. 01:59:39.594 --> 01:59:43.144 And there is truly no better way to actually understand what on earth 01:59:43.184 --> 01:59:46.244 goes on in a Montessori classroom than just sitting in a chair. 01:59:46.644 --> 01:59:49.974 I hold on to that very first observation I ever witnessed. 01:59:49.994 --> 01:59:51.424 I cling to that one. 01:59:51.424 --> 01:59:54.649 It was, one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed, and 01:59:54.649 --> 01:59:57.069 if it wasn't for that I don't think I'd still, be here today. 01:59:57.069 --> 02:00:02.069 So you would be shocked at what you'll see and what the children are capable of if 02:00:02.069 --> 02:00:03.939 you just sit in a chair and take notes. 02:00:04.169 --> 02:00:05.089 It's wonderful. 02:00:05.599 --> 02:00:10.029 And Alex, is that moment, is that what made you want to be a Montessori teacher? 02:00:10.079 --> 02:00:14.259 So I was studied at a four year college to be a traditional teacher and that's 02:00:14.259 --> 02:00:17.109 what I thought I was going to do my whole life I thought I was going to be 02:00:17.109 --> 02:00:18.949 like a second or a third grade teacher. 02:00:18.949 --> 02:00:20.189 That sounded like the dream. 02:00:20.529 --> 02:00:24.789 And in America, we get placed to student teach for like six to eight weeks or 02:00:24.799 --> 02:00:28.719 sometimes 12 weeks, depending on your major,, right before you graduate. 02:00:28.719 --> 02:00:32.869 And so I got the letter for my student teaching placement and in the letter, 02:00:32.889 --> 02:00:36.429 it said the name of the school and it just said kindergarten on it. 02:00:37.309 --> 02:00:39.329 And I was like, okay, sweet. 02:00:39.429 --> 02:00:40.149 This is great. 02:00:40.169 --> 02:00:43.459 But I did not go to college in the same town I was from. 02:00:43.959 --> 02:00:47.069 And so I mentioned it to a friend who was born and raised in that town. 02:00:47.079 --> 02:00:49.219 And I said, Hey, this is the school I got placed at. 02:00:49.219 --> 02:00:50.329 What do you know about it? 02:00:50.729 --> 02:00:54.039 And I just remember the look on their face and they were like, Oh, you know, 02:00:54.039 --> 02:00:55.389 that's a Montessori school, right? 02:00:55.429 --> 02:00:56.909 Like I'll never forget the look on his face. 02:00:56.989 --> 02:00:58.719 And I was like, Oh no. 02:00:58.759 --> 02:00:59.379 And I was. 02:00:59.679 --> 02:01:04.939 furious like in that moment I was so mad that my traditional college would place 02:01:04.939 --> 02:01:08.759 me to student teach in a Montessori school without telling me and without preparing 02:01:08.769 --> 02:01:13.869 me for it and I was to this day I was the only one that I know of that they place 02:01:14.529 --> 02:01:20.559 like to student teach there, which baffles me to this day, somehow providential. 02:01:20.739 --> 02:01:24.609 Yeah, and I just sent an email to my teacher that was my cooperating 02:01:24.609 --> 02:01:27.804 teacher and I expressed my concern and I said, Hey, like, I know 02:01:27.804 --> 02:01:29.234 nothing about the montessori method. 02:01:29.694 --> 02:01:31.604 I'm so sorry that I got placed with you. 02:01:31.884 --> 02:01:34.294 What do you want me to do to make sure I'm prepared? 02:01:34.764 --> 02:01:38.614 And she was so kind and she just emailed back and was like, Oh my gosh, no worries. 02:01:38.644 --> 02:01:40.014 Like come in and observe. 02:01:40.014 --> 02:01:45.344 Like, so I observed in December before my January term started and she actually 02:01:45.434 --> 02:01:47.704 had me observe for three straight hours. 02:01:47.704 --> 02:01:51.194 They get to work for three straight hours in the morning and normal 02:01:51.194 --> 02:01:53.344 observations for anybody else would be probably about an hour. 02:01:53.374 --> 02:01:59.269 But, um, I sat in that chair And I can think of three kids off the top 02:01:59.269 --> 02:02:02.779 of my head who I was just in shock. 02:02:02.899 --> 02:02:07.719 They were like three and they were not once did she even say like she 02:02:07.719 --> 02:02:12.074 didn't talk to them because they were functioning so independently 02:02:12.894 --> 02:02:14.074 for three straight hours. 02:02:14.084 --> 02:02:15.164 They did not need help. 02:02:15.574 --> 02:02:16.874 They did not need guidance. 02:02:17.074 --> 02:02:18.774 They did not need redirection. 02:02:18.924 --> 02:02:21.034 They just knew exactly what to do and they did it. 02:02:21.254 --> 02:02:23.054 And it was unreal. 02:02:23.134 --> 02:02:24.974 I can see those kids to this day. 02:02:24.974 --> 02:02:29.184 It was, I'm pretty sure I teared up in that moment because I had 02:02:29.184 --> 02:02:30.554 never seen anything like it before. 02:02:30.574 --> 02:02:34.064 And I had just done a practicum in like a third grade classroom where I still 02:02:34.064 --> 02:02:37.859 had third graders that would come up to me and be like, So what do I do next? 02:02:38.149 --> 02:02:41.539 Like they just couldn't problem solve of like what came next and I 02:02:41.549 --> 02:02:44.569 watched this three year old child know exactly what to do next and 02:02:44.569 --> 02:02:46.669 then do it and it was mind blowing. 02:02:47.639 --> 02:02:50.139 Oh my gosh, I missed out Alex. 02:02:50.139 --> 02:02:53.089 I really want to go to the Montessori school. 02:02:53.089 --> 02:02:54.429 Oh, it sounds so wonderful. 02:02:54.889 --> 02:02:57.799 Uh, listen, Alex, before we go, it's been amazing. 02:02:57.809 --> 02:03:00.359 It's been just so wonderful and enlightening to listen to you. 02:03:00.389 --> 02:03:04.879 And it's also just made me feel really sad that I don't have a Montessori training. 02:03:05.969 --> 02:03:09.629 Because I think it would have just been lovely to teach in a Montessori school. 02:03:10.269 --> 02:03:12.129 Tell people where they can find you. 02:03:12.169 --> 02:03:18.399 Because I also know that you offer things in terms of Montessori training to people. 02:03:18.449 --> 02:03:19.239 Is that correct? 02:03:19.599 --> 02:03:22.639 So tell people where they can get hold of you and how you can help them. 02:03:23.864 --> 02:03:26.734 Sure, my handle's just missnearingsmontessori. 02:03:26.734 --> 02:03:28.464 It's on TikTok and on Instagram. 02:03:28.484 --> 02:03:30.814 It's also a website, so the same website. 02:03:31.194 --> 02:03:35.394 If there are any questions or any concerns or any problems that you see 02:03:35.394 --> 02:03:39.494 and you just want a couple minutes spent with me walking you through something, 02:03:39.494 --> 02:03:43.689 there is a link on that website for just like a little time with me on a zoom 02:03:43.689 --> 02:03:47.439 call just asking or answering questions or working through a frustration. 02:03:47.779 --> 02:03:51.329 i've worked with a whole bunch of people who either are montessori teachers and 02:03:51.329 --> 02:03:54.519 they're struggling with something or who want to send their kids to montessori and 02:03:54.519 --> 02:03:59.199 want to know how to prepare them or just struggle or have kids in the montessori 02:03:59.199 --> 02:04:04.739 school and are struggling with them and there's all sorts of walks of life and 02:04:04.769 --> 02:04:08.019 so it's really cool to be able to walk through all of those with everyone. 02:04:08.059 --> 02:04:12.749 I will put links to your website and your Instagram handle. 02:04:12.749 --> 02:04:13.419 I'll put all that. 02:04:13.709 --> 02:04:16.749 in the show notes for anybody listening, so you don't have to worry about that. 02:04:17.169 --> 02:04:21.179 Alex, thanks so much for being here today and sharing your vast knowledge about 02:04:21.209 --> 02:04:23.299 Montessori and your passion with everybody 02:04:23.329 --> 02:04:28.349 it's so much appreciated and so welcome as well at this time where 02:04:28.389 --> 02:04:32.039 I think there's so much going on in education and people are concerned. 02:04:32.419 --> 02:04:37.134 So I think Montessori is an just fabulous way to address anybody's problems. 02:04:37.144 --> 02:04:40.674 So I just love the idea of Montessori and thank you so much for sharing 02:04:40.674 --> 02:04:42.064 your passion with us today. 02:04:42.744 --> 02:04:43.724 Thank you for having me. 02:04:43.724 --> 02:04:44.294 I really loved this. 02:04:44.424 --> 02:04:44.624 Or two. 02:04:47.804 --> 02:04:52.594 Today on Blooming Curious, I am super excited to welcome Alex Peterson. 02:04:52.654 --> 02:04:56.134 Alex is a Montessori teacher dedicated to fostering a love 02:04:56.164 --> 02:04:58.014 of learning in young children. 02:04:58.704 --> 02:05:02.004 Under the handle Miss Nearing's Montessori, Alex creates 02:05:02.024 --> 02:05:04.024 engaging educational content. 02:05:04.064 --> 02:05:08.459 on tiktok and Instagram, sharing creative teaching strategies, hands 02:05:08.459 --> 02:05:13.059 on activities, and insights into the Montessori approach through her content. 02:05:13.089 --> 02:05:16.619 Alex connects with parents and educators, making learning 02:05:16.639 --> 02:05:19.049 accessible and fun for everyone. 02:05:19.519 --> 02:05:23.909 She holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education, and 02:05:23.909 --> 02:05:26.029 has a background in special education. 02:05:26.459 --> 02:05:31.199 She holds her AMS primary three to six certificate from the Montessori education 02:05:31.199 --> 02:05:33.919 center of the Rockies in beautiful. 02:05:34.114 --> 02:05:35.634 Denver, Colorado. 02:05:35.984 --> 02:05:37.974 Welcome to Blooming Curious, Alex. 02:05:38.784 --> 02:05:40.234 Thank you for having me. 02:05:40.604 --> 02:05:41.654 It's such a pleasure. 02:05:41.844 --> 02:05:42.974 I am so excited. 02:05:43.014 --> 02:05:47.444 Um, for anybody listening who doesn't know, I found Alex on Instagram 02:05:48.124 --> 02:05:50.214 and Alex is a prolific creator. 02:05:50.244 --> 02:05:52.984 And every day there's some very cheerful. 02:05:53.774 --> 02:05:57.244 Teaching going on about the Montessori and what the children 02:05:57.264 --> 02:05:59.194 in her Montessori class are doing. 02:05:59.194 --> 02:06:02.424 So this is what drew me in and I just thought this is amazing. 02:06:02.424 --> 02:06:04.944 This is exactly what Blooming Curious is about. 02:06:04.944 --> 02:06:09.134 It's about curiosity and learning and children loving what they're doing. 02:06:09.134 --> 02:06:10.194 So I'm very excited. 02:06:10.864 --> 02:06:15.194 So Alex, for those of us that are unfamiliar and haven't got a clue or 02:06:15.194 --> 02:06:18.934 have never spent time in a Montessori classroom, explain to us what 02:06:18.994 --> 02:06:25.064 Montessori education is and really how is it different from a traditional 02:06:25.174 --> 02:06:27.804 classroom or a traditional teaching? 02:06:28.774 --> 02:06:29.304 Sure. 02:06:29.314 --> 02:06:33.034 So, when you think of a traditional classroom, you typically think of a 02:06:33.374 --> 02:06:36.804 teacher who's kind of in charge of the learning and she plans lessons 02:06:36.804 --> 02:06:38.484 or he plans lessons each day. 02:06:38.804 --> 02:06:41.684 And every day you show up and there's a scheduled time block 02:06:41.684 --> 02:06:45.724 that you have a math activity or a language lesson or a science lesson. 02:06:46.184 --> 02:06:52.244 And, um, back in the early, like, early 1800s, a woman named Maria Montessori Um, 02:06:52.254 --> 02:06:56.184 spent some time, uh, she was a scientist in Italy, actually, and she was one of 02:06:56.204 --> 02:06:58.524 the first women scientists ever in Italy. 02:06:58.834 --> 02:07:03.314 And because of that, she was actually placed in a, like what they referred 02:07:03.314 --> 02:07:06.144 to at the time as like a mental asylum to work with children who 02:07:06.144 --> 02:07:07.814 are essentially outcasts of society. 02:07:07.814 --> 02:07:10.844 They did not fit the general mold of the traditional education 02:07:10.844 --> 02:07:12.864 system in Italy at the time. 02:07:13.244 --> 02:07:16.954 And during her time there, she observed that when children were able to work 02:07:16.974 --> 02:07:19.664 with tactile materials and spend time. 02:07:20.099 --> 02:07:25.979 playing games and learning through games and play and going at their own pace and 02:07:25.979 --> 02:07:28.029 choosing what they get to do each day. 02:07:28.319 --> 02:07:32.639 They were more likely to learn because they were in charge of their learning. 02:07:32.999 --> 02:07:37.879 So through a very long period of time of her observation, she was able to develop 02:07:37.879 --> 02:07:43.249 this huge method where the children are essentially the leaders of the classroom. 02:07:43.399 --> 02:07:45.519 And so that method is carried on today. 02:07:45.519 --> 02:07:46.159 She has. 02:07:47.179 --> 02:07:50.649 completely taken over the education world all over the world. 02:07:50.689 --> 02:07:54.719 These schools popped up from Italy, and then they just exploded. 02:07:54.749 --> 02:07:57.739 So they've all made it in almost every continent at this point. 02:07:58.249 --> 02:08:02.609 And essentially it is the complete opposite of a traditional school. 02:08:02.609 --> 02:08:06.239 So you take everything you've ever learned in a traditional school, throw it all out 02:08:06.239 --> 02:08:08.359 the window and completely level it down. 02:08:08.649 --> 02:08:12.779 Which is what I had to do because I did get my degree in Um, traditional 02:08:12.779 --> 02:08:14.409 education before I entered Montessori. 02:08:14.449 --> 02:08:18.189 So I literally threw everything away that I knew and started all the way over. 02:08:18.569 --> 02:08:23.839 And when you think of how a traditional school day is run, when the children 02:08:23.919 --> 02:08:29.179 enter in a Montessori classroom, they go immediately right to what they want to do. 02:08:29.379 --> 02:08:33.389 Right away when they walk in the door and it's what they want to do essentially 02:08:33.389 --> 02:08:38.379 with freedom within limits all day long with me acting as a simple guide. 02:08:38.399 --> 02:08:41.419 So we actually are not even called teachers in the Montessori world. 02:08:41.419 --> 02:08:42.309 They call us guides. 02:08:42.309 --> 02:08:46.259 And my job is to simply connect the child to the materials in the 02:08:46.259 --> 02:08:49.969 room based on who they are as a person and what I observe in them. 02:08:50.544 --> 02:08:52.264 And I just guide them in their learning. 02:08:52.314 --> 02:08:54.134 They are the, they are the bosses. 02:08:54.134 --> 02:08:55.124 They're in charge. 02:08:55.484 --> 02:08:57.994 I just kind of find the things that meet the needs of where 02:08:57.994 --> 02:08:59.114 they're at in their life. 02:08:59.174 --> 02:09:03.064 And I, I kind of step by step, bring them around through a 02:09:03.064 --> 02:09:04.604 full curriculum in the room. 02:09:07.414 --> 02:09:08.134 Okay. 02:09:08.644 --> 02:09:09.444 So now. 02:09:09.659 --> 02:09:12.759 The first question I'm having is I'm thinking about what teachers are 02:09:12.759 --> 02:09:16.389 thinking in a traditional setting or parents who send kids to traditional 02:09:16.599 --> 02:09:21.369 settings, and they're thinking, well, how do they meet curriculum outcomes? 02:09:21.389 --> 02:09:26.069 If kids are just playing and doing their own thing, and you're there 02:09:26.069 --> 02:09:29.819 as a guide, helping them with the materials, for example, how are 02:09:29.819 --> 02:09:31.789 you going to meet the outcomes? 02:09:31.789 --> 02:09:36.424 Because Montessori, I think, goes, Well, I guess it depends on the location or 02:09:36.444 --> 02:09:40.814 the school, but they do go right through to the end of high school, don't they? 02:09:41.364 --> 02:09:42.644 Mine actually does, yes. 02:09:42.774 --> 02:09:44.564 So we have all the way up through high school in mine. 02:09:45.784 --> 02:09:49.734 So how would, how would you explain that to parents or other teachers? 02:09:49.744 --> 02:09:53.734 Is, how do you then meet your curriculum outcomes, um, if kids 02:09:53.734 --> 02:09:56.174 are just free ranging, so to speak? 02:09:56.174 --> 02:09:58.444 So some people might think, well, that's just free range learning. 02:10:00.024 --> 02:10:03.834 Yeah, we often get the, uh, the stigma that we're just like a bunch of 02:10:04.204 --> 02:10:07.984 essentially hippies, you know, that just kind of let our kids do whatever we want. 02:10:08.024 --> 02:10:12.054 But, um, the heavy hitting point is that there are, there is freedom 02:10:12.054 --> 02:10:16.064 and the children really are free to do whatever they want within 02:10:16.064 --> 02:10:18.284 a very strict series of limits. 02:10:18.684 --> 02:10:22.384 And the room itself provides a deep range of limits. 02:10:22.849 --> 02:10:26.779 Whether it's just simply where things go on the shelf and how you return 02:10:26.779 --> 02:10:31.289 everything to the shelf Every shelf has an order and the order is sequential 02:10:31.289 --> 02:10:34.849 from top to bottom left to right and everything builds on itself in the shelf 02:10:35.239 --> 02:10:39.029 Um, my job is to ensure that they aren't goofing off and are actually doing 02:10:39.029 --> 02:10:42.709 what they should be doing So I need to have a deep understanding of just 02:10:42.739 --> 02:10:48.404 pedagogy in general and like academic standards in general um, and then The 02:10:48.404 --> 02:10:54.524 whole, the whole layout of the room is almost to trick the child into learning. 02:10:54.564 --> 02:10:59.694 So when you think of traditional education standards, my job is to give 02:10:59.694 --> 02:11:03.474 them those standards and teach them in a way where they almost don't realize. 02:11:04.074 --> 02:11:08.659 that they're learning because we are just having fun, whether we're playing a game 02:11:08.799 --> 02:11:12.219 and we're learning letters, whether I'm coloring with them and we're learning 02:11:12.219 --> 02:11:16.539 numbers, there's just a series of ways that I can present a lesson to a child 02:11:16.539 --> 02:11:20.219 just to make sure that I'm keeping them on track and exactly where they should be. 02:11:20.569 --> 02:11:23.789 We follow all the state standards in my, in my state personally, 02:11:23.789 --> 02:11:27.409 which align standards almost across the globe, like universally. 02:11:27.779 --> 02:11:33.139 Um, and all of the materials in every classroom always start about a 02:11:33.139 --> 02:11:36.709 half year lower than what the child would be when they enter the room. 02:11:36.709 --> 02:11:39.549 So we have materials that that could potentially meet the needs 02:11:39.549 --> 02:11:41.079 of a two and a half year old child. 02:11:41.529 --> 02:11:45.219 And then the lot like the upper end of a room like mine would 02:11:45.219 --> 02:11:46.929 go all the way to first grade. 02:11:47.324 --> 02:11:52.344 So it's awesome that a child can go as far as they want or as slow as they want. 02:11:52.644 --> 02:11:55.924 And we keep them on track, but at the pace that kind of meets them 02:11:56.114 --> 02:11:57.894 the best, if that makes sense. 02:11:58.284 --> 02:12:00.264 And then we fill in the gaps where necessary. 02:12:00.264 --> 02:12:04.604 So if I notice that a child is only doing anything in the 02:12:04.604 --> 02:12:06.574 math for two days straight. 02:12:06.654 --> 02:12:09.864 I'm going to guide them into language on that third day to make sure that 02:12:09.864 --> 02:12:11.174 they're meeting the language area. 02:12:11.484 --> 02:12:14.234 And then maybe we'll head towards geography that fourth day so that by 02:12:14.254 --> 02:12:18.834 the full whole five day week, they will have hit every subject area by the 02:12:18.834 --> 02:12:20.434 time they walk out the door on Friday. 02:12:21.029 --> 02:12:21.159 If that makes sense. 02:12:22.429 --> 02:12:22.949 Okay. 02:12:23.249 --> 02:12:29.259 So the other thing I want to then ask is, um, do children ever do whole group 02:12:29.259 --> 02:12:33.549 or do you ever do whole group lessons like a math session, for example, or a 02:12:33.549 --> 02:12:38.179 phonics session to the whole class, or, or is it just following the individual 02:12:38.209 --> 02:12:41.219 children as they're going through their learning at their own pace? 02:12:42.229 --> 02:12:45.769 Developmentally, the, the child before about the age of six. 02:12:46.609 --> 02:12:50.259 If you really look at who they are as a person, that's when you start hearing 02:12:50.259 --> 02:12:54.099 like, that's mine, like, and they don't like to share, so they care a lot 02:12:54.099 --> 02:12:56.389 about how the world pertains to them. 02:12:56.719 --> 02:13:00.469 So I'm going to structure the majority of my lessons, just me one 02:13:00.469 --> 02:13:02.989 on one with an individual child. 02:13:03.429 --> 02:13:06.859 As they get older, they start Clipping a plane of development and 02:13:06.859 --> 02:13:10.899 then they start caring about the whole, how can we collectively come 02:13:10.899 --> 02:13:12.509 to a conclusion about something? 02:13:12.509 --> 02:13:13.819 How can we work together? 02:13:14.259 --> 02:13:17.669 So when that, when I get a, like a late five year old, early six year 02:13:17.669 --> 02:13:22.099 old child in the room, I will start teaching lessons to those children as 02:13:22.099 --> 02:13:27.599 a small group, but I will never do a massive phonics lesson to the whole. 02:13:28.214 --> 02:13:32.194 The whole group of kids, just because a six year old child is genuinely very 02:13:32.194 --> 02:13:35.134 different than a three year old child, and they're, they have different needs. 02:13:35.564 --> 02:13:38.234 We do do a group time in the middle of the day. 02:13:38.604 --> 02:13:43.604 Um, we just do calendar, and we check the weather, and we sing songs. 02:13:43.604 --> 02:13:48.004 If there's a concert coming up, we might practice songs for the concert coming up. 02:13:48.404 --> 02:13:52.019 Um, but when it comes to the academic lessons, There's really not a whole 02:13:52.019 --> 02:13:53.429 lot that we do in a whole group. 02:13:53.789 --> 02:13:57.059 Right now we're actually studying the continent of North America and we have a 02:13:57.059 --> 02:14:00.349 grandma who, um, is from Mexico actually. 02:14:00.349 --> 02:14:03.619 She was born and raised in Mexico and she made Mexican, like this Mexican 02:14:03.619 --> 02:14:05.569 dessert for us and she brought us in toys. 02:14:06.559 --> 02:14:10.399 So we had this whole group lesson about what it was like to grow up in Mexico. 02:14:10.399 --> 02:14:12.859 And so sometimes when it's a cultural thing and we can learn about 02:14:12.859 --> 02:14:17.119 the culture that's beneficial to anyone of any age group everywhere. 02:14:17.359 --> 02:14:20.299 And so those kind of things I love to do whole group because it's. 02:14:20.314 --> 02:14:23.694 It's very cool to just experience that as a community, but when it 02:14:23.694 --> 02:14:26.384 comes to like math lessons and language lessons and geography and 02:14:26.394 --> 02:14:29.194 art and all that stuff, typically it's going to be more one on one. 02:14:29.774 --> 02:14:30.294 Okay. 02:14:30.294 --> 02:14:31.174 That's interesting. 02:14:31.214 --> 02:14:37.094 And so I know that the Montessori is also, and you've just mentioned it, 02:14:38.854 --> 02:14:43.424 Montessori places this very big emphasis on preparing the environment and you 02:14:43.424 --> 02:14:46.184 were talking a lot about your materials. 02:14:46.614 --> 02:14:53.169 So what is the design that goes into the classroom and How does that then 02:14:54.089 --> 02:14:55.919 contribute to the child's learning? 02:14:57.059 --> 02:15:00.709 If you ever set foot in a Montessori classroom, you'll notice that there 02:15:00.709 --> 02:15:05.699 is literally nothing, even on the walls, placed above the child's height. 02:15:06.524 --> 02:15:11.254 picture frame, every table, every chair, everything is going to be 02:15:11.254 --> 02:15:15.594 sitting lower or at the child's height, except for maybe two chairs in the 02:15:15.594 --> 02:15:17.664 room that I can sit in to observe. 02:15:18.054 --> 02:15:22.764 Um, so even when the child walks in the door, it's their home and they already 02:15:22.764 --> 02:15:24.859 feel like Everything is at their height. 02:15:24.859 --> 02:15:26.539 They never have to reach for anything. 02:15:26.539 --> 02:15:30.569 They never have to go out of their way to go into this crazy 02:15:30.569 --> 02:15:32.129 location to find something. 02:15:32.479 --> 02:15:36.249 And everything on the shelves are always fully prepared for them. 02:15:36.259 --> 02:15:39.839 So let's say it's an art lesson and they're going to need glue and scissors. 02:15:40.259 --> 02:15:43.699 The tray is going to be already prepared with glue and scissors and 02:15:43.719 --> 02:15:45.289 the paper they might need to glue it. 02:15:45.629 --> 02:15:47.909 So they're never going to need to come and find me. 02:15:48.284 --> 02:15:51.844 To help like have me go search out a glue stick that I've hidden way at the 02:15:51.854 --> 02:15:56.584 top of a cupboard way up high So they know that when they go to choose to 02:15:56.584 --> 02:16:00.304 do something in the room, it's already ready for them It's ready to go. 02:16:00.424 --> 02:16:04.354 There is no need to ask a teacher to intervene which gives them this deep 02:16:04.354 --> 02:16:09.459 sense of like independence and I can Do it and she trusts that I can do 02:16:09.459 --> 02:16:13.449 it, which puts this huge weight on the child to do it correctly like that. 02:16:13.449 --> 02:16:14.409 I am trusting them. 02:16:14.469 --> 02:16:15.909 They know I'm trusting them. 02:16:16.179 --> 02:16:18.759 I'm trusting 'em with a pair of scissors to use it correctly. 02:16:18.759 --> 02:16:18.849 Mm-hmm. 02:16:18.849 --> 02:16:20.619 That's a pretty big deal to a 3-year-old. 02:16:20.919 --> 02:16:24.339 So when when you have the weight of that responsibility, you're gonna find that. 02:16:24.949 --> 02:16:28.859 That just in and of that, they're going to want to use the material correctly 02:16:28.859 --> 02:16:31.509 or they're going to lose it, you know, I'm not going to put out scissors if 02:16:31.509 --> 02:16:32.799 they're going to cut their friend's hair. 02:16:33.569 --> 02:16:34.089 Simple as that. 02:16:34.229 --> 02:16:35.929 So there's like, you know, freedom within limits. 02:16:36.029 --> 02:16:37.139 They can have the scissors. 02:16:37.459 --> 02:16:40.429 You just can't go in the corner and cut your friend's hair or you can't cut. 02:16:40.784 --> 02:16:42.794 You know, the plants apart or whatever it is. 02:16:43.284 --> 02:16:45.534 Um, we also use a lot of natural materials. 02:16:45.564 --> 02:16:48.074 So you'll, you'll notice there's a lot of wood and a lot of 02:16:48.084 --> 02:16:50.294 glass and very minimal plastic. 02:16:50.654 --> 02:16:54.004 Um, which is kind of where the whole like beige thing comes in. 02:16:54.144 --> 02:16:55.344 I don't know if you've ever heard that stigma. 02:16:55.994 --> 02:16:59.004 There's a lot of color, but it's not a lot of plastic color. 02:16:59.384 --> 02:17:03.034 Um, and so when you're working with glass or ceramics or 02:17:03.054 --> 02:17:06.294 anything breakable, especially with like a three year old child. 02:17:07.044 --> 02:17:09.964 If it drops, it's going to shatter. 02:17:09.984 --> 02:17:11.574 It's not a plastic sippy cup. 02:17:11.574 --> 02:17:14.244 If you're running and you're not being careful and you're carrying 02:17:14.244 --> 02:17:18.174 a glass vase and you slip and fall because you made the choice to run. 02:17:18.559 --> 02:17:20.459 It's going to shatter all over the floor. 02:17:20.479 --> 02:17:21.189 And guess what? 02:17:21.229 --> 02:17:24.879 Every child is now turning their head to look at the child who's dropped 02:17:24.879 --> 02:17:28.989 the vase which can be kind of an embarrassing experience for that child. 02:17:28.999 --> 02:17:32.549 But it's also self correcting in that it makes them not want to 02:17:32.549 --> 02:17:36.029 run the next time or not want to carry the thing with one hand. 02:17:36.029 --> 02:17:37.309 And next time they're going to use two. 02:17:38.069 --> 02:17:41.569 So there's just a lot of like little things that I can put into the room 02:17:41.939 --> 02:17:46.109 where Where it's that thing doing all the correcting and so it's not just me 02:17:46.109 --> 02:17:49.939 nagging them like you need to use walking feet like instead of me saying that. 02:17:50.514 --> 02:17:53.664 They just know to use walking feet because they're carrying something 02:17:53.664 --> 02:17:55.244 that could shatter when they drop it. 02:17:55.544 --> 02:17:58.154 And it's really cool to watch like a three year old child. 02:17:58.194 --> 02:18:01.194 After that, every three year old child is going to shatter something. 02:18:01.194 --> 02:18:01.884 It's inevitable. 02:18:01.884 --> 02:18:02.854 We do break glass. 02:18:02.854 --> 02:18:03.474 It happens. 02:18:04.054 --> 02:18:07.104 But after about a month and a half into the school year, after all 02:18:07.104 --> 02:18:12.404 the glass has kind of broken and we all fell to the floor, it is 02:18:12.664 --> 02:18:14.414 the coolest thing in the world. 02:18:14.769 --> 02:18:19.059 To watch the most rowdy three year old child choose to walk slowly 02:18:19.269 --> 02:18:20.699 while they carry something breakable. 02:18:20.719 --> 02:18:23.919 It's like the coolest thing to watch and most people don't even believe that 02:18:23.919 --> 02:18:26.189 it's possible, but it's really cool. 02:18:26.469 --> 02:18:30.689 So just in and of itself, like how the room is laid out, like I will structure 02:18:30.699 --> 02:18:34.859 the shelves, so I like prevent a racetrack in the room, so they have to walk. 02:18:35.459 --> 02:18:37.019 or they're going to run into a shelf. 02:18:37.509 --> 02:18:42.459 I make sure that I structure like the way that the sunlight hits certain 02:18:42.459 --> 02:18:46.069 tables so that it's not blinding the child so they choose to work over there. 02:18:46.069 --> 02:18:49.919 There's just like a ridiculous amount of floor plan that will go into 02:18:49.919 --> 02:18:54.179 how I lay out the room and where I put the materials also matter. 02:18:54.744 --> 02:18:55.864 It's it's pretty cool. 02:18:56.374 --> 02:18:57.604 It sounds really cool. 02:18:57.614 --> 02:19:02.084 So it sounds also to me like your biggest job as a teacher 02:19:02.904 --> 02:19:05.014 is actually your pre teaching. 02:19:05.214 --> 02:19:08.744 It's your it's your planning of how of the materials you're going to 02:19:08.744 --> 02:19:12.004 use, how you're going to display them, where you're going to put them. 02:19:12.744 --> 02:19:14.264 Uh, and you obviously. 02:19:14.444 --> 02:19:17.244 Thinking about your curriculum and your materials that you're 02:19:17.244 --> 02:19:20.914 using or that are accessible to children linked to the curriculum. 02:19:20.914 --> 02:19:26.634 So it sounds to me that it's just flipped from a traditional classroom setting. 02:19:26.654 --> 02:19:30.404 Although teachers in traditional settings also obviously have to plan, 02:19:31.344 --> 02:19:33.584 also obviously have to plan and prepare. 02:19:35.044 --> 02:19:39.424 But there's also a big emphasis on the actual teaching in the moment, you know, 02:19:39.454 --> 02:19:42.924 you've got your big class teaching, your group teaching and all that kind of stuff. 02:19:43.994 --> 02:19:47.884 But I think there's more emphasis by what I can pick up here from you is 02:19:47.884 --> 02:19:52.364 your pre teaching, your, your planning behind because your environment plays 02:19:52.384 --> 02:19:54.824 such a massive role in the teaching. 02:19:55.264 --> 02:19:57.434 So that's super, super interesting. 02:19:57.924 --> 02:20:00.614 And also what I liked what you've just said is that. 02:20:00.974 --> 02:20:07.094 In the good old days before the invention of plastic kids actually ate off 02:20:07.094 --> 02:20:11.114 the same plates and drank out of the same cups and glasses as adults did. 02:20:11.774 --> 02:20:15.764 And there wasn't this thing of, you have to have a sippy cup and a plastic 02:20:15.764 --> 02:20:17.294 plate and all this kind of thing. 02:20:17.684 --> 02:20:23.524 So I think it actually is a respect for the child and also it teaches the child. 02:20:24.029 --> 02:20:28.959 Responsibility, because they've got the same responsibility in taking care of 02:20:28.959 --> 02:20:31.579 things and using things as an adult has. 02:20:32.989 --> 02:20:33.879 So I think that that 02:20:33.919 --> 02:20:36.959 is really powerful, to be honest. 02:20:36.969 --> 02:20:40.739 Yeah, we also, we have a whole curriculum area, actually, that's 02:20:40.849 --> 02:20:43.189 just called care of the environment. 02:20:43.799 --> 02:20:47.439 And it is just that, like sweeping, mopping, washing the tables, 02:20:47.459 --> 02:20:51.689 washing the floors, watering the plants, dusting the shelves. 02:20:51.689 --> 02:20:54.729 There is just an entire shelf that exists in my room. 02:20:55.239 --> 02:20:57.279 So that they can take care of the space they live in. 02:20:57.819 --> 02:21:02.779 Like we have mops, I have brooms, I have watering cans, like anything that could 02:21:02.779 --> 02:21:08.329 be cleaned, they have the ability to clean it so they know that this space is theirs 02:21:08.329 --> 02:21:10.379 and it's theirs also to take care of. 02:21:11.019 --> 02:21:13.949 It's not just my job, it's our job as a community. 02:21:13.949 --> 02:21:17.919 We do laundry, we do the dishes, like it's their job to take care of 02:21:17.919 --> 02:21:19.829 everything just as much as it is my job. 02:21:21.109 --> 02:21:24.749 So how do you organize eating and food times then? 02:21:24.749 --> 02:21:26.599 Do children still bring their own food in? 02:21:26.599 --> 02:21:30.669 And then do you, I saw on one of your, one of your videos on Instagram, 02:21:30.669 --> 02:21:34.599 actually, you were talking about how you actually sit with your 02:21:34.609 --> 02:21:36.559 children and eat in the classroom. 02:21:36.559 --> 02:21:39.789 So you eat at the tables where you're learning and they've obviously 02:21:39.789 --> 02:21:43.339 bringing in food from home, but you're talking about doing the dishes. 02:21:43.349 --> 02:21:45.059 So you're talking about if you. 02:21:45.569 --> 02:21:50.049 Did something, were you preparing a food, for example, as part of a lesson that 02:21:50.049 --> 02:21:52.439 kids clean up that after themselves? 02:21:53.719 --> 02:21:57.419 Yeah, so there's multiple food aspects. 02:21:58.899 --> 02:21:59.889 Kids love food. 02:22:00.909 --> 02:22:01.219 Don't forget, 02:22:01.259 --> 02:22:04.629 Montessori is Italian, so of course, I mean, Italian and food 02:22:04.699 --> 02:22:06.279 automatically goes together, right? 02:22:06.299 --> 02:22:08.409 You wouldn't be able to separate the two at all. 02:22:08.409 --> 02:22:08.439 I've 02:22:08.439 --> 02:22:10.279 actually never put that together before. 02:22:10.349 --> 02:22:11.309 That is so true. 02:22:11.379 --> 02:22:16.059 Um, so we actually have a whole curriculum that's just dedicated 02:22:16.059 --> 02:22:17.289 to learning how to prepare food. 02:22:17.289 --> 02:22:18.429 We call it food preparation. 02:22:18.429 --> 02:22:21.659 So it's just a sequence of activities that the children can learn, like 02:22:21.659 --> 02:22:25.789 banana cutting, apple cutting, slicing, peeling, what you name it. 02:22:25.959 --> 02:22:26.989 The sky's the limit. 02:22:26.999 --> 02:22:28.299 I've made pizza with the kids. 02:22:28.329 --> 02:22:32.829 We've made muffins, smoothies, oatmeal, like the sky is essentially the limit. 02:22:33.354 --> 02:22:35.194 I did eggs, hard boiled eggs. 02:22:35.194 --> 02:22:38.184 Like it just depends on the allergies in the class and what you can provide. 02:22:38.254 --> 02:22:39.574 Right now I'm able to do peanuts. 02:22:39.614 --> 02:22:41.664 So they're learning how to crack peanuts because we do not have a 02:22:41.664 --> 02:22:44.874 single peanut allergy in the whole school this year, which is so cool. 02:22:44.874 --> 02:22:45.394 That is 02:22:45.414 --> 02:22:46.044 lucky. 02:22:46.414 --> 02:22:47.424 I've been able to do that before. 02:22:47.424 --> 02:22:49.794 So this is my first time ever learning, having them learn how 02:22:49.794 --> 02:22:51.014 to like crack open a peanut. 02:22:51.094 --> 02:22:51.774 It's awesome. 02:22:52.224 --> 02:22:55.124 Um, so they have that and that's available to them and that 02:22:55.124 --> 02:22:56.724 changes as the year goes on. 02:22:56.724 --> 02:22:58.134 I, I'll switch out the trays. 02:22:58.134 --> 02:23:00.734 It'll get increasingly harder, more multi steps. 02:23:01.434 --> 02:23:04.084 They're responsible for cleaning all of that afterwards as well. 02:23:04.564 --> 02:23:09.214 We also have a, um, a grant from the United States government that provides 02:23:09.214 --> 02:23:11.464 us with like fresh fruit and vegetables. 02:23:12.324 --> 02:23:16.784 every week Um, so whatever is seasonal, the whole goal is that 02:23:16.784 --> 02:23:20.264 the kids, they want the children to try new fruits and veggies. 02:23:20.264 --> 02:23:23.614 So we try to follow the seasonal pattern of what's in season right now. 02:23:24.154 --> 02:23:26.194 Um, and that's what we eat for snack. 02:23:26.254 --> 02:23:29.674 And so they're able to eat snack at any point in the morning or the 02:23:29.674 --> 02:23:31.794 afternoon, whenever their body is hungry. 02:23:31.794 --> 02:23:33.244 They can just choose to eat. 02:23:33.554 --> 02:23:37.344 There's like a designated table in my classroom that's It's the only circle 02:23:37.344 --> 02:23:41.244 table in my room and it only has two chairs and there's one waiting chair. 02:23:41.244 --> 02:23:44.174 So only two friends can actually be eating at a time. 02:23:44.564 --> 02:23:48.034 But if the snack table is open or if the waiting chair is open, they are free. 02:23:48.034 --> 02:23:50.514 If their stomach is growling, they can just stand up from 02:23:50.514 --> 02:23:51.984 what they're doing and go eat. 02:23:52.014 --> 02:23:54.044 So there is not like a structured, like. 02:23:54.544 --> 02:23:58.014 Everybody gets their snack from their backpack and we all sit down and eat it. 02:23:58.024 --> 02:23:59.704 But they can definitely bring their own snack. 02:23:59.704 --> 02:24:03.724 And a lot of children do choose to bring extra food if they're like hungry or going 02:24:03.724 --> 02:24:05.604 through a growing spurt or whatever it is. 02:24:06.144 --> 02:24:07.734 Um, so they can eat snack whenever. 02:24:07.734 --> 02:24:10.904 They can also do food prep whenever in the morning or the afternoon. 02:24:11.364 --> 02:24:12.844 And then when it comes time for lunch. 02:24:13.174 --> 02:24:18.894 We do have, like, actual adult sized ceramic plates, juice cups, and then, 02:24:18.894 --> 02:24:22.784 like, bowls and forks and spoons and knives that you would see in a home, just, 02:24:22.904 --> 02:24:28.204 like, literally I bought them at Walmart, so they are as natural and real and 02:24:28.204 --> 02:24:30.214 authentic to a home as they would come. 02:24:30.634 --> 02:24:33.644 They're responsible for setting their own table spot up at lunch. 02:24:33.644 --> 02:24:36.144 They get a placemat that they have to lay down below it. 02:24:36.154 --> 02:24:39.474 They learn where the fork goes, the knife and the spoon, how the plate sits on the 02:24:39.554 --> 02:24:41.284 placemat, where the cup and the bowl go. 02:24:41.704 --> 02:24:44.104 Um, then they can serve themselves lunch. 02:24:44.114 --> 02:24:48.194 If they do choose to eat lunch, at my school at least, they can have 02:24:48.194 --> 02:24:49.424 like the school provided lunch. 02:24:49.424 --> 02:24:52.344 We have a full time cook and an assistant cook and they make. 02:24:52.414 --> 02:24:55.834 An assortment of also lovely things for the school. 02:24:56.194 --> 02:24:59.404 Um, so they can choose the hot lunch option or they can bring their own lunch 02:24:59.464 --> 02:25:03.154 if they do not like the hot lunch option, but they're ha still having school lunch. 02:25:03.484 --> 02:25:07.084 They can get a pb and j as the substitute out for the protein. 02:25:07.564 --> 02:25:10.534 So it's a pretty healthy mixture of who brings their own lunch. 02:25:10.534 --> 02:25:12.934 Who eats hot lunch and who chooses the p, d and J? 02:25:12.934 --> 02:25:17.194 It's almost like, like 33% split across the board right now for this. 02:25:17.394 --> 02:25:19.984 For this specific group of kids, every year is different. 02:25:20.304 --> 02:25:23.404 And then we do eat at those tables that we've been working on all morning. 02:25:23.404 --> 02:25:25.314 So we sit down, we eat there. 02:25:25.384 --> 02:25:29.334 At the end of lunch, when it's time to be dismissed from lunch, they are 02:25:29.334 --> 02:25:31.254 responsible for cleaning everything. 02:25:31.254 --> 02:25:34.604 So their placemat needs to go back into the laundry bin, because we're going 02:25:34.604 --> 02:25:35.934 to do laundry at the end of the day. 02:25:36.244 --> 02:25:39.424 I do have a washer and dryer that are in my classroom, so we do 02:25:39.424 --> 02:25:40.724 laundry at the end of the day. 02:25:40.974 --> 02:25:43.934 It's a job, so two children are assigned to learn. 02:25:44.004 --> 02:25:44.549 Oh 02:25:44.549 --> 02:25:45.639 my gosh. 02:25:45.639 --> 02:25:49.324 Load the soap up, put the laundry in, start the washer and dryer. 02:25:49.324 --> 02:25:50.604 Man, are they experts at that. 02:25:50.604 --> 02:25:52.404 They love doing the washer and dryer. 02:25:52.404 --> 02:25:53.184 They're so good at it. 02:25:53.634 --> 02:25:59.254 Um, for like legal reasons, even though we wash our dishes in dish 02:25:59.284 --> 02:26:03.874 buckets with soap and like water, like a rinse bucket, they're still not 02:26:03.944 --> 02:26:06.254 legally clean because they're children. 02:26:06.754 --> 02:26:10.074 So we do have to load them up and actually send them to the kitchen 02:26:10.074 --> 02:26:13.624 where the kitchen like actually runs them through the dishwasher. 02:26:14.654 --> 02:26:16.484 More of a process over product thing. 02:26:16.534 --> 02:26:17.974 They do incredible at it. 02:26:18.364 --> 02:26:21.464 It's just not, it's not legally correct, which is fine. 02:26:21.924 --> 02:26:27.224 And then once the kitchen actually washes them legally, they'll send them back down. 02:26:28.154 --> 02:26:33.174 And another job at the end of our day is to actually unload the dish cart. 02:26:33.174 --> 02:26:37.294 So put all the dishes back on the dish cabinet for the, like the following day. 02:26:37.724 --> 02:26:42.354 Um, so yeah, it's really cool to like watch how the routine of like. 02:26:42.879 --> 02:26:46.889 I can totally step back and I do not help them clean up from lunch one bit. 02:26:46.889 --> 02:26:49.259 And even my little two and a half year old that I have this year 02:26:49.749 --> 02:26:51.279 can do everything all by herself. 02:26:51.339 --> 02:26:53.259 They are rock stars at it by now. 02:26:55.144 --> 02:26:58.854 And you know, this just comes back to the thing that I always say is 02:26:58.874 --> 02:27:00.884 that we do not trust children enough. 02:27:00.934 --> 02:27:06.794 We don't give them enough credit because they are actually really, really capable. 02:27:07.044 --> 02:27:08.514 It does my head in. 02:27:08.524 --> 02:27:12.664 I cannot tell you how infuriating I find it when I see a parent carrying a 02:27:12.664 --> 02:27:14.544 child's backpack because I'm thinking. 02:27:15.159 --> 02:27:17.989 What message are you giving your child? 02:27:17.989 --> 02:27:21.529 You're telling your child that they're not capable of carrying their own backpack. 02:27:21.539 --> 02:27:22.999 You can't do that, sweetie. 02:27:23.059 --> 02:27:24.859 You're not, you're not strong enough. 02:27:24.859 --> 02:27:25.769 You're not capable enough. 02:27:25.769 --> 02:27:26.789 It drives me insane. 02:27:27.949 --> 02:27:30.029 Or even carrying them into school. 02:27:30.069 --> 02:27:33.479 I have always been interested by when a parent carries the kid into school. 02:27:33.869 --> 02:27:37.809 You've now made the choice for the child to enter the building. 02:27:37.949 --> 02:27:39.359 That's the one I've always been interested in. 02:27:39.429 --> 02:27:40.139 Let them walk. 02:27:40.159 --> 02:27:42.209 Let them choose to enter the building. 02:27:42.209 --> 02:27:43.449 It's their, it's their school. 02:27:43.469 --> 02:27:45.759 Let them choose to, like, you let them choose. 02:27:45.759 --> 02:27:47.619 I 02:27:47.999 --> 02:27:54.434 find it just so great, so amazing that In your school, and I'm sure 02:27:54.434 --> 02:27:57.174 it's probably in every Montessori school would be the same, right? 02:27:57.194 --> 02:28:03.084 Well, you'd hope so anyway, that you really do give children that 02:28:03.084 --> 02:28:05.364 credit, that they are capable beings. 02:28:05.364 --> 02:28:07.514 They're capable of chopping up their food. 02:28:07.514 --> 02:28:08.884 They're capable of cleaning up. 02:28:08.884 --> 02:28:12.994 They're capable of looking after themselves or following a routine. 02:28:13.034 --> 02:28:16.884 And you really are instilling the sense of independence and this can 02:28:16.884 --> 02:28:20.764 do attitude in them, which I think a lot of children at some point. 02:28:21.084 --> 02:28:23.814 I always get frustrated because sometimes you have a feeling that 02:28:23.814 --> 02:28:27.614 they think that it's your job to just top them up, that they don't have any 02:28:27.614 --> 02:28:29.994 responsibility in their own learning. 02:28:30.344 --> 02:28:36.704 And so I think this kind of strategy and this methodology is really 02:28:36.704 --> 02:28:41.584 important in giving children that message that you are a capable being. 02:28:41.844 --> 02:28:47.104 We respect you and we, and we believe in you that you are capable 02:28:47.104 --> 02:28:48.614 of doing these things on your own. 02:28:48.634 --> 02:28:50.724 And I think that is an amazing message. 02:28:50.754 --> 02:28:55.104 And I think that more schools need to do that. 02:28:55.414 --> 02:29:01.444 And I love so much how you, how the kids set tables and sit and eat at tables. 02:29:01.454 --> 02:29:04.534 That is just so amazing because I don't know how much input 02:29:04.534 --> 02:29:05.694 you have with the families. 02:29:05.694 --> 02:29:09.404 But one of the things that I've seen and you read a lot about now 02:29:09.404 --> 02:29:12.224 is that kids don't sit together and eat as a family anymore. 02:29:12.614 --> 02:29:14.874 That whole family time's disappearing. 02:29:15.384 --> 02:29:18.334 So at least then they don't get that at home, which is 02:29:18.334 --> 02:29:20.004 incredibly sad if they're not. 02:29:20.654 --> 02:29:24.704 At least they get it at school and they learn that, you know, this is how you 02:29:24.704 --> 02:29:29.474 sit properly, this is how you have, you know, your cutlery, where it goes. 02:29:29.484 --> 02:29:34.464 This, I think those are really important things and that we're losing. 02:29:35.024 --> 02:29:39.544 But I think with ways of what you guys are doing in Montessori, and I 02:29:39.544 --> 02:29:41.364 wish that all schools would do that. 02:29:41.814 --> 02:29:45.374 I think you give that back to children, which I think is so special. 02:29:45.574 --> 02:29:46.344 I really do. 02:29:46.944 --> 02:29:48.104 That is so special. 02:29:48.134 --> 02:29:51.964 And I say that as a mum as well, you know, that's always been something 02:29:51.964 --> 02:29:54.554 really important in our family, is that. 02:29:55.604 --> 02:29:59.934 We have always, always, always sat at the table and had dinner together. 02:30:00.714 --> 02:30:03.254 There are times like maybe on a Friday night when the kids were 02:30:03.254 --> 02:30:06.924 younger, we'd have family movie night and we'd have a pizza or whatever, 02:30:07.534 --> 02:30:10.864 um, in front of the television, but that is a very rare occurrence. 02:30:11.454 --> 02:30:14.144 But I think that sitting together as a family at a dinner 02:30:14.144 --> 02:30:16.214 table is really important. 02:30:16.654 --> 02:30:19.354 And I think that's also important in a school setting. 02:30:19.854 --> 02:30:24.304 Um, and I think that beats any day having kids just sit on the floor. 02:30:24.964 --> 02:30:27.724 Opening their lunch boxes and eating their lunch, because I think that's 02:30:27.724 --> 02:30:32.394 just pretty gross, but I understand that that's also a space thing and 02:30:32.394 --> 02:30:35.034 they aren't, the setup isn't, I guess. 02:30:36.144 --> 02:30:38.264 in some schools like you guys have it there. 02:30:39.454 --> 02:30:42.504 I want to talk to you because you've mentioned a few times you have things, 02:30:42.574 --> 02:30:46.164 uh, children from you said two and a half year old right through to six year old. 02:30:46.174 --> 02:30:51.354 How does, how your mixed age classrooms, how do they function 02:30:51.374 --> 02:30:52.944 and, and what have you seen? 02:30:52.954 --> 02:30:58.574 How does that benefit all age children having being in that mixed age? 02:30:59.174 --> 02:30:59.984 environment 02:31:00.724 --> 02:31:00.834 I 02:31:00.834 --> 02:31:05.984 think my biggest argument for mixed age classrooms is like a workplace. 02:31:06.184 --> 02:31:10.414 No workplaces are just straight everybody's the same age. 02:31:10.414 --> 02:31:11.774 They're all multi age. 02:31:12.064 --> 02:31:15.364 We can all learn something from somebody younger than us, somebody the same 02:31:15.364 --> 02:31:17.144 age as us, and somebody older than us. 02:31:18.254 --> 02:31:22.559 And, I will never forget my very first observation in a Montessori 02:31:22.559 --> 02:31:26.549 environment watching multi age kids because it's so easy to pick out 02:31:26.549 --> 02:31:29.199 the older ones and the younger ones, not just based on their size alone, 02:31:29.199 --> 02:31:30.979 but you can see it and who they are. 02:31:31.339 --> 02:31:34.409 And the older ones just become this like matriarch or 02:31:34.409 --> 02:31:36.189 patriarch of the, of the room. 02:31:36.579 --> 02:31:39.919 And if they have been in that room for the full time, like when they 02:31:39.919 --> 02:31:42.589 started as a three year old, then they were there as a four year old 02:31:42.589 --> 02:31:46.369 and a five year old, and then they turn six, the rules never change. 02:31:46.479 --> 02:31:47.799 I never change. 02:31:47.839 --> 02:31:49.119 The room hasn't changed. 02:31:49.159 --> 02:31:51.129 Like they are experts. 02:31:51.139 --> 02:31:52.729 Like they've got it down pat. 02:31:52.749 --> 02:31:56.069 You are hardly recorrecting them minimally, of course, because 02:31:56.069 --> 02:31:57.219 there's always the goofing off. 02:31:57.219 --> 02:31:59.849 But for the most part, they've got it down. 02:32:00.214 --> 02:32:01.654 And they just become a helper. 02:32:01.674 --> 02:32:06.684 So they go out of their way to make sure that the little ones are seen and heard 02:32:06.684 --> 02:32:11.104 and helped and understood and doing the right thing and staying on track. 02:32:11.104 --> 02:32:13.974 And sometimes they'll like show them a lesson because they're so proud of 02:32:13.974 --> 02:32:15.554 something they've already mastered. 02:32:15.554 --> 02:32:18.354 That's not like way below their age level now. 02:32:19.304 --> 02:32:23.484 And some of the best friendships I've personally witnessed in children. 02:32:23.864 --> 02:32:26.574 Are a six year old child and like a three or four year old 02:32:26.574 --> 02:32:27.954 child, specifically in the girls. 02:32:27.954 --> 02:32:29.034 I see it a lot with the girls. 02:32:29.244 --> 02:32:33.364 Man, are those six year old girls just like angelic to the three year olds? 02:32:34.144 --> 02:32:37.854 And it's always fascinating when I have a three year old who's just really 02:32:37.854 --> 02:32:41.764 struggling being at school, whether they start the year and they're crying and they 02:32:41.764 --> 02:32:44.234 have separation anxiety or whatever it is. 02:32:44.574 --> 02:32:47.904 When they become a six year old and they've moved past a separation and 02:32:47.904 --> 02:32:49.394 they come in the door, no problem. 02:32:49.394 --> 02:32:51.354 And it's an easy peasy transition. 02:32:51.804 --> 02:32:55.884 they start to see those little three year olds who do struggle and they're 02:32:55.884 --> 02:33:00.814 immediately their buddy because they like see the past version of themselves in that 02:33:00.814 --> 02:33:04.684 child and they know how to help them and they know what they need because that's 02:33:04.684 --> 02:33:08.474 what they needed when they were their age and it is just man is it like the most 02:33:08.484 --> 02:33:13.444 beautiful thing there's like hardly ever any problems i have lots of siblings in 02:33:13.444 --> 02:33:16.234 the room so i'll have the older sibling and the younger sibling because of the 02:33:16.264 --> 02:33:21.874 multi ages and for the most part it's It is just, it is the coolest thing. 02:33:21.884 --> 02:33:25.544 It's so cool because they just know that what a three year old needs 02:33:25.544 --> 02:33:26.764 is not what a six year old needs. 02:33:26.764 --> 02:33:28.774 And everybody just knows and they understand that. 02:33:29.224 --> 02:33:31.404 And it's, it's really cool to watch. 02:33:32.624 --> 02:33:39.354 And listen, Alex, I just had a thought, um, so do those children stay with you 02:33:39.384 --> 02:33:43.554 until they're six and then they move on to another classroom or another teacher? 02:33:44.134 --> 02:33:47.164 So some of those kids could be with you for three years. 02:33:49.354 --> 02:33:51.754 And so in terms of your materials and stuff. 02:33:52.179 --> 02:33:56.529 I guess then the materials would be, some of them would be for younger 02:33:56.559 --> 02:33:58.969 age children and some of them would be for older age children. 02:33:58.969 --> 02:34:00.909 I think you probably mentioned that, possibly you've touched 02:34:00.909 --> 02:34:02.419 on that before earlier. 02:34:02.889 --> 02:34:08.759 Um, so when they're younger, they could still have access to all the materials. 02:34:09.069 --> 02:34:10.859 So are they repeating things? 02:34:11.609 --> 02:34:15.749 You know, I'm just thinking from someone who's not a Montessori person might say. 02:34:16.024 --> 02:34:20.174 Would they get bored being in the same environment for three years doing the 02:34:20.174 --> 02:34:22.094 same things with the same materials? 02:34:22.684 --> 02:34:23.774 How does that work? 02:34:23.774 --> 02:34:25.334 Just explain that maybe. 02:34:26.794 --> 02:34:30.144 So for me personally, I can't really speak to other Montessori teachers, 02:34:30.154 --> 02:34:33.084 but what I've personally done to just make sure that that isn't a problem 02:34:33.404 --> 02:34:35.614 is how you cycle the shelves out. 02:34:36.014 --> 02:34:39.894 So there are some staple like core materials that are not going anywhere. 02:34:39.904 --> 02:34:43.489 Like I, I know that like when you think of Montessori or at least Hopefully when 02:34:43.489 --> 02:34:46.239 you do think of Montessori, you think of the little pink tower that Maria 02:34:46.239 --> 02:34:49.449 designed, and hopefully that's a picture that you've seen and are familiar with. 02:34:49.869 --> 02:34:51.799 That's part of a sensorial curriculum. 02:34:51.799 --> 02:34:53.039 That's the name of the curriculum. 02:34:53.399 --> 02:34:56.569 That curriculum and those like three or four shelves that I have, 02:34:56.619 --> 02:34:57.839 they're never going to change. 02:34:57.869 --> 02:35:02.629 They were designed and built by Maria herself, and they are very deeply 02:35:02.629 --> 02:35:06.179 rooted in like a million different, you can do language and geography 02:35:06.179 --> 02:35:09.279 and art and all sorts of other stuff with just those shelves alone. 02:35:09.279 --> 02:35:12.869 And there's many different ways to dive into just one material on that shelf. 02:35:13.369 --> 02:35:17.469 Language, there's a couple staple core materials in the language area, 02:35:17.749 --> 02:35:20.799 like how we teach initial letter presentations and then the movable. 02:35:21.389 --> 02:35:23.929 alphabet And there's just a couple things that are never, 02:35:23.929 --> 02:35:25.189 ever going to leave the room. 02:35:25.669 --> 02:35:28.119 And then the math curriculum is pretty locked down. 02:35:28.129 --> 02:35:30.469 Like, there are just some things and some shelves that will 02:35:30.479 --> 02:35:32.169 never, ever get rearranged. 02:35:32.569 --> 02:35:38.434 But the geography and the art and the fine motor and the cultural and the, um, Like 02:35:38.644 --> 02:35:44.184 seasonal materials, they're all going to change and they change every three years. 02:35:44.194 --> 02:35:47.134 So something like, for instance, North America, which is what we are. 02:35:47.164 --> 02:35:49.404 We've been learning for all of September and most of 02:35:49.704 --> 02:35:51.024 actually all of October as well. 02:35:51.024 --> 02:35:54.094 It's going away in a couple weeks that won't come back 02:35:54.104 --> 02:35:55.454 out for another three years. 02:35:55.794 --> 02:35:59.724 Which is a, there is stuff on that shelf that will meet a three year 02:35:59.724 --> 02:36:04.304 old's needs and a six year old's needs on the entire shelf of North America. 02:36:04.304 --> 02:36:06.814 And then we're going to move on and we're going to study South America. 02:36:07.194 --> 02:36:10.464 And South America has not been out for three years, so none of the children 02:36:10.464 --> 02:36:13.414 in this room have encountered South America yet, if that makes sense. 02:36:13.874 --> 02:36:17.714 And I just put out solar system, and the solar system shelf has 02:36:17.714 --> 02:36:18.814 not been out for three years. 02:36:18.824 --> 02:36:22.784 So I try to keep everything on a three year cycle, so that at some 02:36:22.784 --> 02:36:26.389 point throughout the children's lives in their time in my room, 02:36:26.469 --> 02:36:27.319 they're going to get everything 02:36:27.319 --> 02:36:28.502 if that makes sense. 02:36:28.502 --> 02:36:30.649 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense. 02:36:31.469 --> 02:36:35.499 So, What are some common misconceptions about Montessori 02:36:35.499 --> 02:36:37.409 education that you often encounter? 02:36:39.149 --> 02:36:39.489 Um, 02:36:39.489 --> 02:36:41.329 I think one of the biggest ones we've already touched 02:36:41.329 --> 02:36:42.869 on is just the free for all. 02:36:43.319 --> 02:36:47.129 And I literally think, and there are genuinely people out there, I think, who 02:36:47.169 --> 02:36:50.659 think that the children just walk in the door and it's just It's absolute chaos for 02:36:50.659 --> 02:36:54.849 eight hours a day, and then I send them home, which is just so far from the truth. 02:36:55.259 --> 02:36:59.499 Um, and the other, the other one you've already touched on of just how, like, how 02:36:59.499 --> 02:37:03.569 on earth are we able to even meet academic standards if they are a free for all? 02:37:03.569 --> 02:37:04.689 Like, how does that work? 02:37:05.069 --> 02:37:08.529 Um, not really so much of a misconception, but just something that is really 02:37:08.529 --> 02:37:12.979 hard for people to wrap their minds around is how it's possible for me 02:37:13.279 --> 02:37:16.689 to sit down with a child one on one. 02:37:16.984 --> 02:37:19.604 And just let the other 23 kids go free. 02:37:19.914 --> 02:37:23.174 That's a really hard concept for people to wrap their minds around. 02:37:23.184 --> 02:37:26.394 They don't quite understand how it's possible to fully remove 02:37:26.404 --> 02:37:27.854 myself from the situation. 02:37:28.244 --> 02:37:30.974 That is something you just genuinely have to see in action. 02:37:30.974 --> 02:37:31.894 It is almost near. 02:37:31.894 --> 02:37:34.224 I've tried to explain it in a million different ways in a 02:37:34.224 --> 02:37:35.514 million different videos online. 02:37:35.904 --> 02:37:39.594 And I just think it's something if you, if that is where you're stuck on. 02:37:40.249 --> 02:37:43.759 Go observe a Montessori classroom and watch her or him just sit 02:37:43.759 --> 02:37:47.099 down and pull themselves away from everything and watch the kids just 02:37:47.099 --> 02:37:48.849 keep going as if nothing is going on. 02:37:48.849 --> 02:37:50.229 It's totally normal to them. 02:37:50.829 --> 02:37:53.029 Um, and then I think the other misconception is just 02:37:53.029 --> 02:37:54.279 based on the fact that. 02:37:54.919 --> 02:38:00.459 Maria was asked to patent her method and she ultimately chose not to. 02:38:00.989 --> 02:38:05.909 So essentially, there is no quote right way and wrong way to do things. 02:38:06.489 --> 02:38:10.549 So you are going to find, um, some Montessori schools aren't 02:38:10.779 --> 02:38:13.149 necessarily Montessori schools. 02:38:14.119 --> 02:38:17.509 Essentially, anybody can take the name Montessori, slap it on the side of a 02:38:17.509 --> 02:38:21.149 building, put wooden materials out on the shelf and say, look, you're Montessori. 02:38:21.159 --> 02:38:22.249 Yes, it worries me, yeah. 02:38:22.349 --> 02:38:22.719 Yeah. 02:38:23.409 --> 02:38:26.349 Um, so there's just some vetting that might need to happen if. 02:38:26.954 --> 02:38:30.204 If you are, if it is someone who's genuinely looking at either teaching 02:38:30.204 --> 02:38:33.584 in one or just sending their children to one, there's a lot of back, like, 02:38:33.584 --> 02:38:36.614 behind the scenes work that might need to happen on that end, just to 02:38:36.614 --> 02:38:39.814 make sure you're actually choosing one that is something that if Maria 02:38:39.814 --> 02:38:41.404 was still alive, she would approve of. 02:38:43.009 --> 02:38:44.389 So yeah, those would be my big ones. 02:38:45.089 --> 02:38:49.859 I think I would be wary of that because I've seen it even where I, I live, you 02:38:49.859 --> 02:38:53.579 know, you'd see a building come up and it's a new, it's a new childcare center 02:38:53.579 --> 02:38:56.799 and then they'd have Montessori on the side and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know 02:38:56.799 --> 02:39:01.279 if you really are Montessori, you know, and I think you're right for parents. 02:39:01.754 --> 02:39:05.454 And you've just touched on this now because I was going to say to you, what 02:39:05.454 --> 02:39:09.774 advice would you give parents and teachers who are considering Montessori education? 02:39:09.774 --> 02:39:12.504 I guess one of the things that you would consider is to check out whether they 02:39:12.524 --> 02:39:17.574 truly are aligned with Montessori values and whether they really have the actual 02:39:17.574 --> 02:39:22.544 Montessori materials, because I know Montessori has very specific materials 02:39:22.634 --> 02:39:24.314 in terms of teaching various things. 02:39:24.314 --> 02:39:29.039 It's You know, whereas in other schools or non Montessori you can basically use 02:39:29.069 --> 02:39:33.849 anything, but Montessori is very strict on the type of materials that they use. 02:39:33.969 --> 02:39:35.819 Uh, I think I'm right on that, right? 02:39:36.769 --> 02:39:37.399 Tell me if I'm wrong. 02:39:37.889 --> 02:39:41.349 Um, if you, 02:39:43.359 --> 02:39:44.889 oh, what was I was going to say now? 02:39:44.969 --> 02:39:50.409 Um, uh, Montessori, thank God for editing. 02:39:50.409 --> 02:39:56.869 Um, I can't remember my train, I, I, I stopped my own train of thought there. 02:39:57.669 --> 02:39:58.149 Um, 02:40:01.049 --> 02:40:05.159 Is there anything else, Alex, that you think is really important for people 02:40:05.159 --> 02:40:09.949 listening to this episode that they should really know about Montessori? 02:40:09.949 --> 02:40:11.979 That's something that, because I can see that you feel so 02:40:11.979 --> 02:40:13.649 passionate about Montessori. 02:40:14.289 --> 02:40:19.629 Is there anything that you want to say to people about Montessori that you 02:40:19.639 --> 02:40:23.099 think that they should know if they want to bring their kids there, if they 02:40:23.099 --> 02:40:25.949 want to teach in a Montessori school? 02:40:26.614 --> 02:40:31.404 Anything, what else do you want to, this is your plug for Montessori, so to speak. 02:40:32.764 --> 02:40:32.914 I 02:40:32.914 --> 02:40:37.124 think my biggest takeaway that I, if anyone could take anything away, 02:40:37.124 --> 02:40:42.094 it's just to not be, don't be so close minded and, and be open minded. 02:40:42.454 --> 02:40:47.229 Um, there is a lot of like, Misconceptions and a lot of weird stigmas about 02:40:47.229 --> 02:40:51.659 it from, for whatever reason, and about a hundred of them are false. 02:40:52.039 --> 02:40:56.189 And, um, I learned that myself at one point or another, and I've 02:40:56.199 --> 02:41:00.289 witnessed other people realize, Oh, so this is what you do. 02:41:00.659 --> 02:41:04.219 And they're There is just so many misconceptions and a lot of them can go 02:41:04.219 --> 02:41:07.969 away by just scheduling an observation So if you do find a school in your 02:41:07.969 --> 02:41:13.199 area That is genuinely montessori and they are doing everything they can to 02:41:13.209 --> 02:41:17.019 uphold what maria would have thought Would have been true and right and 02:41:17.029 --> 02:41:22.189 just ask them call them up say hey I'm interested whether it's for being a 02:41:22.189 --> 02:41:24.069 teacher or sending your children there. 02:41:24.069 --> 02:41:27.859 Let them know what you're interested in and just ask for an observation. 02:41:28.379 --> 02:41:30.869 And almost every one of them will allow you to come in. 02:41:30.899 --> 02:41:34.209 They'll allow you to sit in a chair with a clipboard and a piece of paper, and they 02:41:34.209 --> 02:41:35.829 will just allow you to take it all in. 02:41:36.129 --> 02:41:39.679 And there is truly no better way to actually understand what on earth 02:41:39.719 --> 02:41:42.779 goes on in a Montessori classroom than just sitting in a chair. 02:41:43.229 --> 02:41:47.629 It was, I hold on to that very first observation I ever, I ever witnessed. 02:41:47.649 --> 02:41:49.079 I cling to that one. 02:41:49.079 --> 02:41:52.414 It was, One of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed, and if 02:41:52.414 --> 02:41:55.114 it wasn't for that I don't think I'd still, like, I'd be here today. 02:41:55.114 --> 02:42:00.114 So you would be shocked at what you'll see and what the children are capable of if 02:42:00.114 --> 02:42:01.984 you just sit in a chair and take notes. 02:42:02.214 --> 02:42:03.134 It's wonderful. 02:42:03.644 --> 02:42:08.074 And Alex, is that moment, is that what made you want to be a Montessori teacher? 02:42:09.469 --> 02:42:12.989 Originally a traditional, I just say a traditional, you know, a non 02:42:13.459 --> 02:42:15.219 Montessori teacher, traditional teacher. 02:42:15.769 --> 02:42:18.599 You were originally, that's where you started, right? 02:42:18.679 --> 02:42:21.449 So what was it that made you change to Montessori? 02:42:22.129 --> 02:42:25.799 Um, so I was studied at a four year college to be a traditional. 02:42:26.489 --> 02:42:29.349 teacher And that's what I thought I was going to do my whole life. 02:42:29.349 --> 02:42:31.919 I thought I was going to be like a second or a third grade teacher. 02:42:31.919 --> 02:42:33.159 That sounded like the dream. 02:42:33.549 --> 02:42:37.989 Um, and in America, we get placed to student teach for like six to eight weeks 02:42:37.989 --> 02:42:42.879 or sometimes 12 weeks, depending on your major, um, right before you graduate. 02:42:42.879 --> 02:42:47.029 And so I got the letter for my student teaching placement and in the letter, 02:42:47.049 --> 02:42:50.589 it said the name of the school and it just said kindergarten on it. 02:42:51.469 --> 02:42:53.489 And I was like, okay, sweet. 02:42:53.589 --> 02:42:54.309 This is great. 02:42:54.329 --> 02:42:57.619 But I did not go to college in the same town I was from. 02:42:58.119 --> 02:43:01.229 And so I mentioned it to a friend who was born and raised in that town. 02:43:01.239 --> 02:43:03.379 And I said, Hey, this is the school I got placed at. 02:43:03.379 --> 02:43:04.489 What do you know about it? 02:43:04.889 --> 02:43:08.199 And I just remember the look on their face and they were like, Oh, you know, 02:43:08.199 --> 02:43:09.549 that's a Montessori school, right? 02:43:09.589 --> 02:43:11.069 Like I'll never forget the look on his face. 02:43:11.149 --> 02:43:12.879 And I was like, Oh no. 02:43:12.919 --> 02:43:13.539 And I was. 02:43:13.839 --> 02:43:18.569 furious like in that moment I was so mad that my traditional college 02:43:18.579 --> 02:43:21.889 would place me to student teach in a Montessori school without telling me 02:43:21.899 --> 02:43:27.124 and without preparing me for it and I was to this day I was the only The only 02:43:27.124 --> 02:43:32.144 one that I know of that they place like to student teach there, which baffles 02:43:32.154 --> 02:43:35.434 me to this day, somehow providential. 02:43:35.614 --> 02:43:39.864 Yeah, and I just sent an email to my teacher that was my cooperating teacher 02:43:39.864 --> 02:43:43.719 and I expressed my concern and I said, Hey, like, I'm not really a mom, like I 02:43:43.719 --> 02:43:45.289 know nothing about the montessori method. 02:43:45.749 --> 02:43:47.659 I'm so sorry that I got placed with you. 02:43:47.939 --> 02:43:50.349 What do you want me to do to make sure I'm prepared? 02:43:50.819 --> 02:43:54.669 And she was so kind and she just emailed back and was like, Oh my gosh, no worries. 02:43:54.699 --> 02:43:56.069 Like come in and observe. 02:43:56.069 --> 02:44:01.399 Like, so I observed in December before my January term started and she actually 02:44:01.489 --> 02:44:03.759 had me observe for three straight hours. 02:44:03.759 --> 02:44:07.249 They get to work for three straight hours in the morning and normal 02:44:07.249 --> 02:44:09.399 observations for anybody else would be probably about an hour. 02:44:09.429 --> 02:44:15.324 But, um, I sat in that chair And I can think of three kids off the top 02:44:15.324 --> 02:44:18.834 of my head who I was just in shock. 02:44:18.954 --> 02:44:23.704 They were like three and they were not once did she even say like she 02:44:23.704 --> 02:44:27.194 didn't, she didn't talk to them because they were functioning so. 02:44:27.759 --> 02:44:28.729 independently. 02:44:29.549 --> 02:44:30.729 for three straight hours. 02:44:30.739 --> 02:44:31.819 They did not need help. 02:44:32.229 --> 02:44:33.529 They did not need guidance. 02:44:33.729 --> 02:44:35.429 They did not need redirection. 02:44:35.579 --> 02:44:37.689 They just knew exactly what to do and they did it. 02:44:37.909 --> 02:44:39.709 And it was unreal. 02:44:39.789 --> 02:44:41.629 I can see those kids to this day. 02:44:41.629 --> 02:44:45.839 It was, I'm pretty sure I teared up in that moment because I had 02:44:45.839 --> 02:44:47.209 never seen anything like it before. 02:44:47.229 --> 02:44:50.719 And I had just done a practicum in like a third grade classroom where I still 02:44:50.719 --> 02:44:54.514 had third graders that would come up to me and be like, So what do I do next? 02:44:54.804 --> 02:44:58.194 Like they just couldn't problem solve of like what came next and I 02:44:58.204 --> 02:45:01.224 watched this three year old child know exactly what to do next and 02:45:01.224 --> 02:45:03.324 then do it and it was mind blowing. 02:45:05.094 --> 02:45:07.594 Oh my gosh, I missed out Alex. 02:45:07.594 --> 02:45:10.544 I really want to go to the Montessori school. 02:45:14.024 --> 02:45:15.364 Oh, it sounds so wonderful. 02:45:15.824 --> 02:45:19.104 Uh, listen, Alex, before we go, um, it's been amazing. 02:45:19.114 --> 02:45:22.164 It's been just so, so wonderful and enlightening to listen to you. 02:45:22.194 --> 02:45:25.594 And it's also just made me feel really sad that I don't have a 02:45:25.644 --> 02:45:29.904 Montessori, um, education and I don't have a Montessori training. 02:45:30.994 --> 02:45:34.654 Because I think it would have just been lovely to teach in a Montessori school. 02:45:35.294 --> 02:45:37.154 Tell people where they can find you. 02:45:37.194 --> 02:45:40.904 Uh, what do you tell people where they can find you? 02:45:40.934 --> 02:45:47.164 Because I also know that you offer things in terms of Montessori training to people. 02:45:47.214 --> 02:45:48.004 Is that correct? 02:45:48.364 --> 02:45:51.404 So tell people where they can get hold of you and how you can help them. 02:45:52.629 --> 02:45:55.499 Sure, my handle's just missnearingsmontessori. 02:45:55.499 --> 02:45:57.229 It's on TikTok and on Instagram. 02:45:57.249 --> 02:45:59.579 It's also a website, so the same website. 02:45:59.959 --> 02:46:04.639 If there are any questions or any concerns or any problems that you see and you 02:46:04.649 --> 02:46:08.519 just want a couple minutes spent with me walking you through something, there is 02:46:08.519 --> 02:46:12.974 a link on that website for just like, A little time with me on a zoom call just 02:46:12.984 --> 02:46:17.414 asking or answering questions or working through a frustration It i've worked 02:46:17.414 --> 02:46:20.564 with a whole bunch of people who either are montessori teachers and they're 02:46:20.574 --> 02:46:23.644 struggling with something or who want to send their kids to montessori and 02:46:23.644 --> 02:46:28.324 want to know how to prepare them or just struggle or have kids in the montessori 02:46:28.324 --> 02:46:33.864 school and are struggling with them and there's all sorts of walks of life and 02:46:33.894 --> 02:46:37.144 so it's really cool to be able to walk through all of those with everyone. 02:46:37.184 --> 02:46:38.024 But yeah. 02:46:39.434 --> 02:46:41.004 That's amazing and we will put, 02:46:41.054 --> 02:46:46.764 I will put links to all your, to your website and your Instagram handle. 02:46:46.764 --> 02:46:47.434 I'll put all that. 02:46:47.724 --> 02:46:50.764 in the show notes for anybody listening, so you don't have to worry about that. 02:46:51.184 --> 02:46:54.504 Alex, thanks so much for being here today and sharing your vast 02:46:54.564 --> 02:46:57.314 knowledge about Montessori and your passion with everybody. 02:46:57.344 --> 02:47:02.364 It's so much appreciated and so welcome as well at this time where 02:47:02.404 --> 02:47:06.054 I think there's so much going on in education and people are concerned. 02:47:06.434 --> 02:47:11.149 So I think Montessori is an Just fabulous way to address anybody's problems. 02:47:11.159 --> 02:47:14.689 So I just love the idea of Montessori and thank you so much for sharing 02:47:14.689 --> 02:47:16.079 your passion with us today. 02:47:16.759 --> 02:47:17.739 Thank you for having me. 02:47:17.739 --> 02:47:18.309 I really loved this. 02:47:19.639 --> 02:47:20.279 Anytime. 02:47:20.299 --> 02:47:23.239 And I'm really looking forward to maybe in the future we'll have you on again. 02:47:23.239 --> 02:47:23.839 Who knows? 02:47:27.009 --> 02:47:28.999 So I'm just going to stop the recording. 02:47:29.160 --> 02:47:29.360 Or two. 02:47:32.540 --> 02:47:37.330 Today on Blooming Curious, I am super excited to welcome Alex Peterson. 02:47:37.390 --> 02:47:40.870 Alex is a Montessori teacher dedicated to fostering a love 02:47:40.900 --> 02:47:42.750 of learning in young children. 02:47:43.440 --> 02:47:46.740 Under the handle Miss Nearing's Montessori, Alex creates 02:47:46.760 --> 02:47:48.760 engaging educational content. 02:47:48.800 --> 02:47:53.195 on tiktok and Instagram, sharing creative teaching strategies, hands 02:47:53.195 --> 02:47:57.795 on activities, and insights into the Montessori approach through her content. 02:47:57.825 --> 02:48:01.355 Alex connects with parents and educators, making learning 02:48:01.375 --> 02:48:03.785 accessible and fun for everyone. 02:48:04.255 --> 02:48:08.645 She holds a bachelor's degree in early childhood and elementary education, and 02:48:08.645 --> 02:48:10.765 has a background in special education. 02:48:11.195 --> 02:48:15.935 She holds her AMS primary three to six certificate from the Montessori education 02:48:15.935 --> 02:48:18.655 center of the Rockies in beautiful. 02:48:18.850 --> 02:48:20.370 Denver, Colorado. 02:48:20.720 --> 02:48:22.710 Welcome to Blooming Curious, Alex. 02:48:23.520 --> 02:48:24.970 Thank you for having me. 02:48:25.340 --> 02:48:26.390 It's such a pleasure. 02:48:26.580 --> 02:48:27.710 I am so excited. 02:48:27.750 --> 02:48:32.180 Um, for anybody listening who doesn't know, I found Alex on Instagram 02:48:32.860 --> 02:48:34.950 and Alex is a prolific creator. 02:48:34.980 --> 02:48:37.720 And every day there's some very cheerful. 02:48:38.510 --> 02:48:41.980 Teaching going on about the Montessori and what the children 02:48:42.000 --> 02:48:43.930 in her Montessori class are doing. 02:48:43.930 --> 02:48:47.160 So this is what drew me in and I just thought this is amazing. 02:48:47.160 --> 02:48:49.680 This is exactly what Blooming Curious is about. 02:48:49.680 --> 02:48:53.870 It's about curiosity and learning and children loving what they're doing. 02:48:53.870 --> 02:48:54.930 So I'm very excited. 02:48:55.600 --> 02:48:59.930 So Alex, for those of us that are unfamiliar and haven't got a clue or 02:48:59.930 --> 02:49:03.670 have never spent time in a Montessori classroom, explain to us what 02:49:03.730 --> 02:49:09.800 Montessori education is and really how is it different from a traditional 02:49:09.910 --> 02:49:12.540 classroom or a traditional teaching? 02:49:13.510 --> 02:49:14.040 Sure. 02:49:14.050 --> 02:49:17.770 So, when you think of a traditional classroom, you typically think of a 02:49:18.110 --> 02:49:21.540 teacher who's kind of in charge of the learning and she plans lessons 02:49:21.540 --> 02:49:23.220 or he plans lessons each day. 02:49:23.540 --> 02:49:26.420 And every day you show up and there's a scheduled time block 02:49:26.420 --> 02:49:30.460 that you have a math activity or a language lesson or a science lesson. 02:49:30.920 --> 02:49:36.980 And, um, back in the early, like, early 1800s, a woman named Maria Montessori Um, 02:49:36.990 --> 02:49:40.920 spent some time, uh, she was a scientist in Italy, actually, and she was one of 02:49:40.940 --> 02:49:43.260 the first women scientists ever in Italy. 02:49:43.570 --> 02:49:48.050 And because of that, she was actually placed in a, like what they referred 02:49:48.050 --> 02:49:50.880 to at the time as like a mental asylum to work with children who 02:49:50.880 --> 02:49:52.550 are essentially outcasts of society. 02:49:52.550 --> 02:49:55.580 They did not fit the general mold of the traditional education 02:49:55.580 --> 02:49:57.600 system in Italy at the time. 02:49:57.980 --> 02:50:01.690 And during her time there, she observed that when children were able to work 02:50:01.710 --> 02:50:04.400 with tactile materials and spend time. 02:50:04.835 --> 02:50:10.715 playing games and learning through games and play and going at their own pace and 02:50:10.715 --> 02:50:12.765 choosing what they get to do each day. 02:50:13.055 --> 02:50:17.375 They were more likely to learn because they were in charge of their learning. 02:50:17.735 --> 02:50:22.615 So through a very long period of time of her observation, she was able to develop 02:50:22.615 --> 02:50:27.985 this huge method where the children are essentially the leaders of the classroom. 02:50:28.135 --> 02:50:30.255 And so that method is carried on today. 02:50:30.255 --> 02:50:30.895 She has. 02:50:31.915 --> 02:50:35.385 completely taken over the education world all over the world. 02:50:35.425 --> 02:50:39.455 These schools popped up from Italy, and then they just exploded. 02:50:39.485 --> 02:50:42.475 So they've all made it in almost every continent at this point. 02:50:42.985 --> 02:50:47.345 And essentially it is the complete opposite of a traditional school. 02:50:47.345 --> 02:50:50.975 So you take everything you've ever learned in a traditional school, throw it all out 02:50:50.975 --> 02:50:53.095 the window and completely level it down. 02:50:53.385 --> 02:50:57.515 Which is what I had to do because I did get my degree in Um, traditional 02:50:57.515 --> 02:50:59.145 education before I entered Montessori. 02:50:59.185 --> 02:51:02.925 So I literally threw everything away that I knew and started all the way over. 02:51:03.305 --> 02:51:08.575 And when you think of how a traditional school day is run, when the children 02:51:08.655 --> 02:51:13.915 enter in a Montessori classroom, they go immediately right to what they want to do. 02:51:14.115 --> 02:51:18.125 Right away when they walk in the door and it's what they want to do essentially 02:51:18.125 --> 02:51:23.115 with freedom within limits all day long with me acting as a simple guide. 02:51:23.135 --> 02:51:26.155 So we actually are not even called teachers in the Montessori world. 02:51:26.155 --> 02:51:27.045 They call us guides. 02:51:27.045 --> 02:51:30.995 And my job is to simply connect the child to the materials in the 02:51:30.995 --> 02:51:34.705 room based on who they are as a person and what I observe in them. 02:51:35.280 --> 02:51:37.000 And I just guide them in their learning. 02:51:37.050 --> 02:51:38.870 They are the, they are the bosses. 02:51:38.870 --> 02:51:39.860 They're in charge. 02:51:40.220 --> 02:51:42.730 I just kind of find the things that meet the needs of where 02:51:42.730 --> 02:51:43.850 they're at in their life. 02:51:43.910 --> 02:51:47.800 And I, I kind of step by step, bring them around through a 02:51:47.800 --> 02:51:49.340 full curriculum in the room. 02:51:52.150 --> 02:51:52.870 Okay. 02:51:53.380 --> 02:51:54.180 So now. 02:51:54.395 --> 02:51:57.495 The first question I'm having is I'm thinking about what teachers are 02:51:57.495 --> 02:52:01.125 thinking in a traditional setting or parents who send kids to traditional 02:52:01.335 --> 02:52:06.105 settings, and they're thinking, well, how do they meet curriculum outcomes? 02:52:06.125 --> 02:52:10.805 If kids are just playing and doing their own thing, and you're there 02:52:10.805 --> 02:52:14.555 as a guide, helping them with the materials, for example, how are 02:52:14.555 --> 02:52:16.525 you going to meet the outcomes? 02:52:16.525 --> 02:52:21.160 Because Montessori, I think, goes, Well, I guess it depends on the location or 02:52:21.180 --> 02:52:25.550 the school, but they do go right through to the end of high school, don't they? 02:52:26.100 --> 02:52:27.380 Mine actually does, yes. 02:52:27.510 --> 02:52:29.300 So we have all the way up through high school in mine. 02:52:30.520 --> 02:52:34.470 So how would, how would you explain that to parents or other teachers? 02:52:34.480 --> 02:52:38.470 Is, how do you then meet your curriculum outcomes, um, if kids 02:52:38.470 --> 02:52:40.910 are just free ranging, so to speak? 02:52:40.910 --> 02:52:43.180 So some people might think, well, that's just free range learning. 02:52:44.760 --> 02:52:48.570 Yeah, we often get the, uh, the stigma that we're just like a bunch of 02:52:48.940 --> 02:52:52.720 essentially hippies, you know, that just kind of let our kids do whatever we want. 02:52:52.760 --> 02:52:56.790 But, um, the heavy hitting point is that there are, there is freedom 02:52:56.790 --> 02:53:00.800 and the children really are free to do whatever they want within 02:53:00.800 --> 02:53:03.020 a very strict series of limits. 02:53:03.420 --> 02:53:07.120 And the room itself provides a deep range of limits. 02:53:07.585 --> 02:53:11.515 Whether it's just simply where things go on the shelf and how you return 02:53:11.515 --> 02:53:16.025 everything to the shelf Every shelf has an order and the order is sequential 02:53:16.025 --> 02:53:19.585 from top to bottom left to right and everything builds on itself in the shelf 02:53:19.975 --> 02:53:23.765 Um, my job is to ensure that they aren't goofing off and are actually doing 02:53:23.765 --> 02:53:27.445 what they should be doing So I need to have a deep understanding of just 02:53:27.475 --> 02:53:33.140 pedagogy in general and like academic standards in general um, and then The 02:53:33.140 --> 02:53:39.260 whole, the whole layout of the room is almost to trick the child into learning. 02:53:39.300 --> 02:53:44.430 So when you think of traditional education standards, my job is to give 02:53:44.430 --> 02:53:48.210 them those standards and teach them in a way where they almost don't realize. 02:53:48.810 --> 02:53:53.395 that they're learning because we are just having fun, whether we're playing a game 02:53:53.535 --> 02:53:56.955 and we're learning letters, whether I'm coloring with them and we're learning 02:53:56.955 --> 02:54:01.275 numbers, there's just a series of ways that I can present a lesson to a child 02:54:01.275 --> 02:54:04.955 just to make sure that I'm keeping them on track and exactly where they should be. 02:54:05.305 --> 02:54:08.525 We follow all the state standards in my, in my state personally, 02:54:08.525 --> 02:54:12.145 which align standards almost across the globe, like universally. 02:54:12.515 --> 02:54:17.875 Um, and all of the materials in every classroom always start about a 02:54:17.875 --> 02:54:21.445 half year lower than what the child would be when they enter the room. 02:54:21.445 --> 02:54:24.285 So we have materials that that could potentially meet the needs 02:54:24.285 --> 02:54:25.815 of a two and a half year old child. 02:54:26.265 --> 02:54:29.955 And then the lot like the upper end of a room like mine would 02:54:29.955 --> 02:54:31.665 go all the way to first grade. 02:54:32.060 --> 02:54:37.080 So it's awesome that a child can go as far as they want or as slow as they want. 02:54:37.380 --> 02:54:40.660 And we keep them on track, but at the pace that kind of meets them 02:54:40.850 --> 02:54:42.630 the best, if that makes sense. 02:54:43.020 --> 02:54:45.000 And then we fill in the gaps where necessary. 02:54:45.000 --> 02:54:49.340 So if I notice that a child is only doing anything in the 02:54:49.340 --> 02:54:51.310 math for two days straight. 02:54:51.390 --> 02:54:54.600 I'm going to guide them into language on that third day to make sure that 02:54:54.600 --> 02:54:55.910 they're meeting the language area. 02:54:56.220 --> 02:54:58.970 And then maybe we'll head towards geography that fourth day so that by 02:54:58.990 --> 02:55:03.570 the full whole five day week, they will have hit every subject area by the 02:55:03.570 --> 02:55:05.170 time they walk out the door on Friday. 02:55:05.765 --> 02:55:05.895 If that makes sense. 02:55:07.165 --> 02:55:07.685 Okay. 02:55:07.985 --> 02:55:13.995 So the other thing I want to then ask is, um, do children ever do whole group 02:55:13.995 --> 02:55:18.285 or do you ever do whole group lessons like a math session, for example, or a 02:55:18.285 --> 02:55:22.915 phonics session to the whole class, or, or is it just following the individual 02:55:22.945 --> 02:55:25.955 children as they're going through their learning at their own pace? 02:55:26.965 --> 02:55:30.505 Developmentally, the, the child before about the age of six. 02:55:31.345 --> 02:55:34.995 If you really look at who they are as a person, that's when you start hearing 02:55:34.995 --> 02:55:38.835 like, that's mine, like, and they don't like to share, so they care a lot 02:55:38.835 --> 02:55:41.125 about how the world pertains to them. 02:55:41.455 --> 02:55:45.205 So I'm going to structure the majority of my lessons, just me one 02:55:45.205 --> 02:55:47.725 on one with an individual child. 02:55:48.165 --> 02:55:51.595 As they get older, they start Clipping a plane of development and 02:55:51.595 --> 02:55:55.635 then they start caring about the whole, how can we collectively come 02:55:55.635 --> 02:55:57.245 to a conclusion about something? 02:55:57.245 --> 02:55:58.555 How can we work together? 02:55:58.995 --> 02:56:02.405 So when that, when I get a, like a late five year old, early six year 02:56:02.405 --> 02:56:06.835 old child in the room, I will start teaching lessons to those children as 02:56:06.835 --> 02:56:12.335 a small group, but I will never do a massive phonics lesson to the whole. 02:56:12.950 --> 02:56:16.930 The whole group of kids, just because a six year old child is genuinely very 02:56:16.930 --> 02:56:19.870 different than a three year old child, and they're, they have different needs. 02:56:20.300 --> 02:56:22.970 We do do a group time in the middle of the day. 02:56:23.340 --> 02:56:28.340 Um, we just do calendar, and we check the weather, and we sing songs. 02:56:28.340 --> 02:56:32.740 If there's a concert coming up, we might practice songs for the concert coming up. 02:56:33.140 --> 02:56:36.755 Um, but when it comes to the academic lessons, There's really not a whole 02:56:36.755 --> 02:56:38.165 lot that we do in a whole group. 02:56:38.525 --> 02:56:41.795 Right now we're actually studying the continent of North America and we have a 02:56:41.795 --> 02:56:45.085 grandma who, um, is from Mexico actually. 02:56:45.085 --> 02:56:48.355 She was born and raised in Mexico and she made Mexican, like this Mexican 02:56:48.355 --> 02:56:50.305 dessert for us and she brought us in toys. 02:56:51.295 --> 02:56:55.135 So we had this whole group lesson about what it was like to grow up in Mexico. 02:56:55.135 --> 02:56:57.595 And so sometimes when it's a cultural thing and we can learn about 02:56:57.595 --> 02:57:01.855 the culture that's beneficial to anyone of any age group everywhere. 02:57:02.095 --> 02:57:05.035 And so those kind of things I love to do whole group because it's. 02:57:05.050 --> 02:57:08.430 It's very cool to just experience that as a community, but when it 02:57:08.430 --> 02:57:11.120 comes to like math lessons and language lessons and geography and 02:57:11.130 --> 02:57:13.930 art and all that stuff, typically it's going to be more one on one. 02:57:14.510 --> 02:57:15.030 Okay. 02:57:15.030 --> 02:57:15.910 That's interesting. 02:57:15.950 --> 02:57:21.830 And so I know that the Montessori is also, and you've just mentioned it, 02:57:23.590 --> 02:57:28.160 Montessori places this very big emphasis on preparing the environment and you 02:57:28.160 --> 02:57:30.920 were talking a lot about your materials. 02:57:31.350 --> 02:57:37.905 So what is the design that goes into the classroom and How does that then 02:57:38.825 --> 02:57:40.655 contribute to the child's learning? 02:57:41.795 --> 02:57:45.445 If you ever set foot in a Montessori classroom, you'll notice that there 02:57:45.445 --> 02:57:50.435 is literally nothing, even on the walls, placed above the child's height. 02:57:51.260 --> 02:57:55.990 picture frame, every table, every chair, everything is going to be 02:57:55.990 --> 02:58:00.330 sitting lower or at the child's height, except for maybe two chairs in the 02:58:00.330 --> 02:58:02.400 room that I can sit in to observe. 02:58:02.790 --> 02:58:07.500 Um, so even when the child walks in the door, it's their home and they already 02:58:07.500 --> 02:58:09.595 feel like Everything is at their height. 02:58:09.595 --> 02:58:11.275 They never have to reach for anything. 02:58:11.275 --> 02:58:15.305 They never have to go out of their way to go into this crazy 02:58:15.305 --> 02:58:16.865 location to find something. 02:58:17.215 --> 02:58:20.985 And everything on the shelves are always fully prepared for them. 02:58:20.995 --> 02:58:24.575 So let's say it's an art lesson and they're going to need glue and scissors. 02:58:24.995 --> 02:58:28.435 The tray is going to be already prepared with glue and scissors and 02:58:28.455 --> 02:58:30.025 the paper they might need to glue it. 02:58:30.365 --> 02:58:32.645 So they're never going to need to come and find me. 02:58:33.020 --> 02:58:36.580 To help like have me go search out a glue stick that I've hidden way at the 02:58:36.590 --> 02:58:41.320 top of a cupboard way up high So they know that when they go to choose to 02:58:41.320 --> 02:58:45.040 do something in the room, it's already ready for them It's ready to go. 02:58:45.160 --> 02:58:49.090 There is no need to ask a teacher to intervene which gives them this deep 02:58:49.090 --> 02:58:54.195 sense of like independence and I can Do it and she trusts that I can do 02:58:54.195 --> 02:58:58.185 it, which puts this huge weight on the child to do it correctly like that. 02:58:58.185 --> 02:58:59.145 I am trusting them. 02:58:59.205 --> 02:59:00.645 They know I'm trusting them. 02:59:00.915 --> 02:59:03.495 I'm trusting 'em with a pair of scissors to use it correctly. 02:59:03.495 --> 02:59:03.585 Mm-hmm. 02:59:03.585 --> 02:59:05.355 That's a pretty big deal to a 3-year-old. 02:59:05.655 --> 02:59:09.075 So when when you have the weight of that responsibility, you're gonna find that. 02:59:09.685 --> 02:59:13.595 That just in and of that, they're going to want to use the material correctly 02:59:13.595 --> 02:59:16.245 or they're going to lose it, you know, I'm not going to put out scissors if 02:59:16.245 --> 02:59:17.535 they're going to cut their friend's hair. 02:59:18.305 --> 02:59:18.825 Simple as that. 02:59:18.965 --> 02:59:20.665 So there's like, you know, freedom within limits. 02:59:20.765 --> 02:59:21.875 They can have the scissors. 02:59:22.195 --> 02:59:25.165 You just can't go in the corner and cut your friend's hair or you can't cut. 02:59:25.520 --> 02:59:27.530 You know, the plants apart or whatever it is. 02:59:28.020 --> 02:59:30.270 Um, we also use a lot of natural materials. 02:59:30.300 --> 02:59:32.810 So you'll, you'll notice there's a lot of wood and a lot of 02:59:32.820 --> 02:59:35.030 glass and very minimal plastic. 02:59:35.390 --> 02:59:38.740 Um, which is kind of where the whole like beige thing comes in. 02:59:38.880 --> 02:59:40.080 I don't know if you've ever heard that stigma. 02:59:40.730 --> 02:59:43.740 There's a lot of color, but it's not a lot of plastic color. 02:59:44.120 --> 02:59:47.770 Um, and so when you're working with glass or ceramics or 02:59:47.790 --> 02:59:51.030 anything breakable, especially with like a three year old child. 02:59:51.780 --> 02:59:54.700 If it drops, it's going to shatter. 02:59:54.720 --> 02:59:56.310 It's not a plastic sippy cup. 02:59:56.310 --> 02:59:58.980 If you're running and you're not being careful and you're carrying 02:59:58.980 --> 03:00:02.910 a glass vase and you slip and fall because you made the choice to run. 03:00:03.295 --> 03:00:05.195 It's going to shatter all over the floor. 03:00:05.215 --> 03:00:05.925 And guess what? 03:00:05.965 --> 03:00:09.615 Every child is now turning their head to look at the child who's dropped 03:00:09.615 --> 03:00:13.725 the vase which can be kind of an embarrassing experience for that child. 03:00:13.735 --> 03:00:17.285 But it's also self correcting in that it makes them not want to 03:00:17.285 --> 03:00:20.765 run the next time or not want to carry the thing with one hand. 03:00:20.765 --> 03:00:22.045 And next time they're going to use two. 03:00:22.805 --> 03:00:26.305 So there's just a lot of like little things that I can put into the room 03:00:26.675 --> 03:00:30.845 where Where it's that thing doing all the correcting and so it's not just me 03:00:30.845 --> 03:00:34.675 nagging them like you need to use walking feet like instead of me saying that. 03:00:35.250 --> 03:00:38.400 They just know to use walking feet because they're carrying something 03:00:38.400 --> 03:00:39.980 that could shatter when they drop it. 03:00:40.280 --> 03:00:42.890 And it's really cool to watch like a three year old child. 03:00:42.930 --> 03:00:45.930 After that, every three year old child is going to shatter something. 03:00:45.930 --> 03:00:46.620 It's inevitable. 03:00:46.620 --> 03:00:47.590 We do break glass. 03:00:47.590 --> 03:00:48.210 It happens. 03:00:48.790 --> 03:00:51.840 But after about a month and a half into the school year, after all 03:00:51.840 --> 03:00:57.140 the glass has kind of broken and we all fell to the floor, it is 03:00:57.400 --> 03:00:59.150 the coolest thing in the world. 03:00:59.505 --> 03:01:03.795 To watch the most rowdy three year old child choose to walk slowly 03:01:04.005 --> 03:01:05.435 while they carry something breakable. 03:01:05.455 --> 03:01:08.655 It's like the coolest thing to watch and most people don't even believe that 03:01:08.655 --> 03:01:10.925 it's possible, but it's really cool. 03:01:11.205 --> 03:01:15.425 So just in and of itself, like how the room is laid out, like I will structure 03:01:15.435 --> 03:01:19.595 the shelves, so I like prevent a racetrack in the room, so they have to walk. 03:01:20.195 --> 03:01:21.755 or they're going to run into a shelf. 03:01:22.245 --> 03:01:27.195 I make sure that I structure like the way that the sunlight hits certain 03:01:27.195 --> 03:01:30.805 tables so that it's not blinding the child so they choose to work over there. 03:01:30.805 --> 03:01:34.655 There's just like a ridiculous amount of floor plan that will go into 03:01:34.655 --> 03:01:38.915 how I lay out the room and where I put the materials also matter. 03:01:39.480 --> 03:01:40.600 It's it's pretty cool. 03:01:41.110 --> 03:01:42.340 It sounds really cool. 03:01:42.350 --> 03:01:46.820 So it sounds also to me like your biggest job as a teacher 03:01:47.640 --> 03:01:49.750 is actually your pre teaching. 03:01:49.950 --> 03:01:53.480 It's your it's your planning of how of the materials you're going to 03:01:53.480 --> 03:01:56.740 use, how you're going to display them, where you're going to put them. 03:01:57.480 --> 03:01:59.000 Uh, and you obviously. 03:01:59.180 --> 03:02:01.980 Thinking about your curriculum and your materials that you're 03:02:01.980 --> 03:02:05.650 using or that are accessible to children linked to the curriculum. 03:02:05.650 --> 03:02:11.370 So it sounds to me that it's just flipped from a traditional classroom setting. 03:02:11.390 --> 03:02:15.140 Although teachers in traditional settings also obviously have to plan, 03:02:16.080 --> 03:02:18.320 also obviously have to plan and prepare. 03:02:19.780 --> 03:02:24.160 But there's also a big emphasis on the actual teaching in the moment, you know, 03:02:24.190 --> 03:02:27.660 you've got your big class teaching, your group teaching and all that kind of stuff. 03:02:28.730 --> 03:02:32.620 But I think there's more emphasis by what I can pick up here from you is 03:02:32.620 --> 03:02:37.100 your pre teaching, your, your planning behind because your environment plays 03:02:37.120 --> 03:02:39.560 such a massive role in the teaching. 03:02:40.000 --> 03:02:42.170 So that's super, super interesting. 03:02:42.660 --> 03:02:45.350 And also what I liked what you've just said is that. 03:02:45.710 --> 03:02:51.830 In the good old days before the invention of plastic kids actually ate off 03:02:51.830 --> 03:02:55.850 the same plates and drank out of the same cups and glasses as adults did. 03:02:56.510 --> 03:03:00.500 And there wasn't this thing of, you have to have a sippy cup and a plastic 03:03:00.500 --> 03:03:02.030 plate and all this kind of thing. 03:03:02.420 --> 03:03:08.260 So I think it actually is a respect for the child and also it teaches the child. 03:03:08.765 --> 03:03:13.695 Responsibility, because they've got the same responsibility in taking care of 03:03:13.695 --> 03:03:16.315 things and using things as an adult has. 03:03:17.725 --> 03:03:18.615 So I think that that 03:03:18.655 --> 03:03:21.695 is really powerful, to be honest. 03:03:21.705 --> 03:03:25.475 Yeah, we also, we have a whole curriculum area, actually, that's 03:03:25.585 --> 03:03:27.925 just called care of the environment. 03:03:28.535 --> 03:03:32.175 And it is just that, like sweeping, mopping, washing the tables, 03:03:32.195 --> 03:03:36.425 washing the floors, watering the plants, dusting the shelves. 03:03:36.425 --> 03:03:39.465 There is just an entire shelf that exists in my room. 03:03:39.975 --> 03:03:42.015 So that they can take care of the space they live in. 03:03:42.555 --> 03:03:47.515 Like we have mops, I have brooms, I have watering cans, like anything that could 03:03:47.515 --> 03:03:53.065 be cleaned, they have the ability to clean it so they know that this space is theirs 03:03:53.065 --> 03:03:55.115 and it's theirs also to take care of. 03:03:55.755 --> 03:03:58.685 It's not just my job, it's our job as a community. 03:03:58.685 --> 03:04:02.655 We do laundry, we do the dishes, like it's their job to take care of 03:04:02.655 --> 03:04:04.565 everything just as much as it is my job. 03:04:05.845 --> 03:04:09.485 So how do you organize eating and food times then? 03:04:09.485 --> 03:04:11.335 Do children still bring their own food in? 03:04:11.335 --> 03:04:15.405 And then do you, I saw on one of your, one of your videos on Instagram, 03:04:15.405 --> 03:04:19.335 actually, you were talking about how you actually sit with your 03:04:19.345 --> 03:04:21.295 children and eat in the classroom. 03:04:21.295 --> 03:04:24.525 So you eat at the tables where you're learning and they've obviously 03:04:24.525 --> 03:04:28.075 bringing in food from home, but you're talking about doing the dishes. 03:04:28.085 --> 03:04:29.795 So you're talking about if you. 03:04:30.305 --> 03:04:34.785 Did something, were you preparing a food, for example, as part of a lesson that 03:04:34.785 --> 03:04:37.175 kids clean up that after themselves? 03:04:38.455 --> 03:04:42.155 Yeah, so there's multiple food aspects. 03:04:43.635 --> 03:04:44.625 Kids love food. 03:04:45.645 --> 03:04:45.955 Don't forget, 03:04:45.995 --> 03:04:49.365 Montessori is Italian, so of course, I mean, Italian and food 03:04:49.435 --> 03:04:51.015 automatically goes together, right? 03:04:51.035 --> 03:04:53.145 You wouldn't be able to separate the two at all. 03:04:53.145 --> 03:04:53.175 I've 03:04:53.175 --> 03:04:55.015 actually never put that together before. 03:04:55.085 --> 03:04:56.045 That is so true. 03:04:56.115 --> 03:05:00.795 Um, so we actually have a whole curriculum that's just dedicated 03:05:00.795 --> 03:05:02.025 to learning how to prepare food. 03:05:02.025 --> 03:05:03.165 We call it food preparation. 03:05:03.165 --> 03:05:06.395 So it's just a sequence of activities that the children can learn, like 03:05:06.395 --> 03:05:10.525 banana cutting, apple cutting, slicing, peeling, what you name it. 03:05:10.695 --> 03:05:11.725 The sky's the limit. 03:05:11.735 --> 03:05:13.035 I've made pizza with the kids. 03:05:13.065 --> 03:05:17.565 We've made muffins, smoothies, oatmeal, like the sky is essentially the limit. 03:05:18.090 --> 03:05:19.930 I did eggs, hard boiled eggs. 03:05:19.930 --> 03:05:22.920 Like it just depends on the allergies in the class and what you can provide. 03:05:22.990 --> 03:05:24.310 Right now I'm able to do peanuts. 03:05:24.350 --> 03:05:26.400 So they're learning how to crack peanuts because we do not have a 03:05:26.400 --> 03:05:29.610 single peanut allergy in the whole school this year, which is so cool. 03:05:29.610 --> 03:05:30.130 That is 03:05:30.150 --> 03:05:30.780 lucky. 03:05:31.150 --> 03:05:32.160 I've been able to do that before. 03:05:32.160 --> 03:05:34.530 So this is my first time ever learning, having them learn how 03:05:34.530 --> 03:05:35.750 to like crack open a peanut. 03:05:35.830 --> 03:05:36.510 It's awesome. 03:05:36.960 --> 03:05:39.860 Um, so they have that and that's available to them and that 03:05:39.860 --> 03:05:41.460 changes as the year goes on. 03:05:41.460 --> 03:05:42.870 I, I'll switch out the trays. 03:05:42.870 --> 03:05:45.470 It'll get increasingly harder, more multi steps. 03:05:46.170 --> 03:05:48.820 They're responsible for cleaning all of that afterwards as well. 03:05:49.300 --> 03:05:53.950 We also have a, um, a grant from the United States government that provides 03:05:53.950 --> 03:05:56.200 us with like fresh fruit and vegetables. 03:05:57.060 --> 03:06:01.520 every week Um, so whatever is seasonal, the whole goal is that 03:06:01.520 --> 03:06:05.000 the kids, they want the children to try new fruits and veggies. 03:06:05.000 --> 03:06:08.350 So we try to follow the seasonal pattern of what's in season right now. 03:06:08.890 --> 03:06:10.930 Um, and that's what we eat for snack. 03:06:10.990 --> 03:06:14.410 And so they're able to eat snack at any point in the morning or the 03:06:14.410 --> 03:06:16.530 afternoon, whenever their body is hungry. 03:06:16.530 --> 03:06:17.980 They can just choose to eat. 03:06:18.290 --> 03:06:22.080 There's like a designated table in my classroom that's It's the only circle 03:06:22.080 --> 03:06:25.980 table in my room and it only has two chairs and there's one waiting chair. 03:06:25.980 --> 03:06:28.910 So only two friends can actually be eating at a time. 03:06:29.300 --> 03:06:32.770 But if the snack table is open or if the waiting chair is open, they are free. 03:06:32.770 --> 03:06:35.250 If their stomach is growling, they can just stand up from 03:06:35.250 --> 03:06:36.720 what they're doing and go eat. 03:06:36.750 --> 03:06:38.780 So there is not like a structured, like. 03:06:39.280 --> 03:06:42.750 Everybody gets their snack from their backpack and we all sit down and eat it. 03:06:42.760 --> 03:06:44.440 But they can definitely bring their own snack. 03:06:44.440 --> 03:06:48.460 And a lot of children do choose to bring extra food if they're like hungry or going 03:06:48.460 --> 03:06:50.340 through a growing spurt or whatever it is. 03:06:50.880 --> 03:06:52.470 Um, so they can eat snack whenever. 03:06:52.470 --> 03:06:55.640 They can also do food prep whenever in the morning or the afternoon. 03:06:56.100 --> 03:06:57.580 And then when it comes time for lunch. 03:06:57.910 --> 03:07:03.630 We do have, like, actual adult sized ceramic plates, juice cups, and then, 03:07:03.630 --> 03:07:07.520 like, bowls and forks and spoons and knives that you would see in a home, just, 03:07:07.640 --> 03:07:12.940 like, literally I bought them at Walmart, so they are as natural and real and 03:07:12.940 --> 03:07:14.950 authentic to a home as they would come. 03:07:15.370 --> 03:07:18.380 They're responsible for setting their own table spot up at lunch. 03:07:18.380 --> 03:07:20.880 They get a placemat that they have to lay down below it. 03:07:20.890 --> 03:07:24.210 They learn where the fork goes, the knife and the spoon, how the plate sits on the 03:07:24.290 --> 03:07:26.020 placemat, where the cup and the bowl go. 03:07:26.440 --> 03:07:28.840 Um, then they can serve themselves lunch. 03:07:28.850 --> 03:07:32.930 If they do choose to eat lunch, at my school at least, they can have 03:07:32.930 --> 03:07:34.160 like the school provided lunch. 03:07:34.160 --> 03:07:37.080 We have a full time cook and an assistant cook and they make. 03:07:37.150 --> 03:07:40.570 An assortment of also lovely things for the school. 03:07:40.930 --> 03:07:44.140 Um, so they can choose the hot lunch option or they can bring their own lunch 03:07:44.200 --> 03:07:47.890 if they do not like the hot lunch option, but they're ha still having school lunch. 03:07:48.220 --> 03:07:51.820 They can get a pb and j as the substitute out for the protein. 03:07:52.300 --> 03:07:55.270 So it's a pretty healthy mixture of who brings their own lunch. 03:07:55.270 --> 03:07:57.670 Who eats hot lunch and who chooses the p, d and J? 03:07:57.670 --> 03:08:01.930 It's almost like, like 33% split across the board right now for this. 03:08:02.130 --> 03:08:04.720 For this specific group of kids, every year is different. 03:08:05.040 --> 03:08:08.140 And then we do eat at those tables that we've been working on all morning. 03:08:08.140 --> 03:08:10.050 So we sit down, we eat there. 03:08:10.120 --> 03:08:14.070 At the end of lunch, when it's time to be dismissed from lunch, they are 03:08:14.070 --> 03:08:15.990 responsible for cleaning everything. 03:08:15.990 --> 03:08:19.340 So their placemat needs to go back into the laundry bin, because we're going 03:08:19.340 --> 03:08:20.670 to do laundry at the end of the day. 03:08:20.980 --> 03:08:24.160 I do have a washer and dryer that are in my classroom, so we do 03:08:24.160 --> 03:08:25.460 laundry at the end of the day. 03:08:25.710 --> 03:08:28.670 It's a job, so two children are assigned to learn. 03:08:28.740 --> 03:08:29.285 Oh 03:08:29.285 --> 03:08:30.375 my gosh. 03:08:30.375 --> 03:08:34.060 Load the soap up, put the laundry in, start the washer and dryer. 03:08:34.060 --> 03:08:35.340 Man, are they experts at that. 03:08:35.340 --> 03:08:37.140 They love doing the washer and dryer. 03:08:37.140 --> 03:08:37.920 They're so good at it. 03:08:38.370 --> 03:08:43.990 Um, for like legal reasons, even though we wash our dishes in dish 03:08:44.020 --> 03:08:48.610 buckets with soap and like water, like a rinse bucket, they're still not 03:08:48.680 --> 03:08:50.990 legally clean because they're children. 03:08:51.490 --> 03:08:54.810 So we do have to load them up and actually send them to the kitchen 03:08:54.810 --> 03:08:58.360 where the kitchen like actually runs them through the dishwasher. 03:08:59.390 --> 03:09:01.220 More of a process over product thing. 03:09:01.270 --> 03:09:02.710 They do incredible at it. 03:09:03.100 --> 03:09:06.200 It's just not, it's not legally correct, which is fine. 03:09:06.660 --> 03:09:11.960 And then once the kitchen actually washes them legally, they'll send them back down. 03:09:12.890 --> 03:09:17.910 And another job at the end of our day is to actually unload the dish cart. 03:09:17.910 --> 03:09:22.030 So put all the dishes back on the dish cabinet for the, like the following day. 03:09:22.460 --> 03:09:27.090 Um, so yeah, it's really cool to like watch how the routine of like. 03:09:27.615 --> 03:09:31.625 I can totally step back and I do not help them clean up from lunch one bit. 03:09:31.625 --> 03:09:33.995 And even my little two and a half year old that I have this year 03:09:34.485 --> 03:09:36.015 can do everything all by herself. 03:09:36.075 --> 03:09:37.995 They are rock stars at it by now. 03:09:39.880 --> 03:09:43.590 And you know, this just comes back to the thing that I always say is 03:09:43.610 --> 03:09:45.620 that we do not trust children enough. 03:09:45.670 --> 03:09:51.530 We don't give them enough credit because they are actually really, really capable. 03:09:51.780 --> 03:09:53.250 It does my head in. 03:09:53.260 --> 03:09:57.400 I cannot tell you how infuriating I find it when I see a parent carrying a 03:09:57.400 --> 03:09:59.280 child's backpack because I'm thinking. 03:09:59.895 --> 03:10:02.725 What message are you giving your child? 03:10:02.725 --> 03:10:06.265 You're telling your child that they're not capable of carrying their own backpack. 03:10:06.275 --> 03:10:07.735 You can't do that, sweetie. 03:10:07.795 --> 03:10:09.595 You're not, you're not strong enough. 03:10:09.595 --> 03:10:10.505 You're not capable enough. 03:10:10.505 --> 03:10:11.525 It drives me insane. 03:10:12.685 --> 03:10:14.765 Or even carrying them into school. 03:10:14.805 --> 03:10:18.215 I have always been interested by when a parent carries the kid into school. 03:10:18.605 --> 03:10:22.545 You've now made the choice for the child to enter the building. 03:10:22.685 --> 03:10:24.095 That's the one I've always been interested in. 03:10:24.165 --> 03:10:24.875 Let them walk. 03:10:24.895 --> 03:10:26.945 Let them choose to enter the building. 03:10:26.945 --> 03:10:28.185 It's their, it's their school. 03:10:28.205 --> 03:10:30.495 Let them choose to, like, you let them choose. 03:10:30.495 --> 03:10:32.355 I 03:10:32.735 --> 03:10:39.170 find it just so great, so amazing that In your school, and I'm sure 03:10:39.170 --> 03:10:41.910 it's probably in every Montessori school would be the same, right? 03:10:41.930 --> 03:10:47.820 Well, you'd hope so anyway, that you really do give children that 03:10:47.820 --> 03:10:50.100 credit, that they are capable beings. 03:10:50.100 --> 03:10:52.250 They're capable of chopping up their food. 03:10:52.250 --> 03:10:53.620 They're capable of cleaning up. 03:10:53.620 --> 03:10:57.730 They're capable of looking after themselves or following a routine. 03:10:57.770 --> 03:11:01.620 And you really are instilling the sense of independence and this can 03:11:01.620 --> 03:11:05.500 do attitude in them, which I think a lot of children at some point. 03:11:05.820 --> 03:11:08.550 I always get frustrated because sometimes you have a feeling that 03:11:08.550 --> 03:11:12.350 they think that it's your job to just top them up, that they don't have any 03:11:12.350 --> 03:11:14.730 responsibility in their own learning. 03:11:15.080 --> 03:11:21.440 And so I think this kind of strategy and this methodology is really 03:11:21.440 --> 03:11:26.320 important in giving children that message that you are a capable being. 03:11:26.580 --> 03:11:31.840 We respect you and we, and we believe in you that you are capable 03:11:31.840 --> 03:11:33.350 of doing these things on your own. 03:11:33.370 --> 03:11:35.460 And I think that is an amazing message. 03:11:35.490 --> 03:11:39.840 And I think that more schools need to do that. 03:11:40.150 --> 03:11:46.180 And I love so much how you, how the kids set tables and sit and eat at tables. 03:11:46.190 --> 03:11:49.270 That is just so amazing because I don't know how much input 03:11:49.270 --> 03:11:50.430 you have with the families. 03:11:50.430 --> 03:11:54.140 But one of the things that I've seen and you read a lot about now 03:11:54.140 --> 03:11:56.960 is that kids don't sit together and eat as a family anymore. 03:11:57.350 --> 03:11:59.610 That whole family time's disappearing. 03:12:00.120 --> 03:12:03.070 So at least then they don't get that at home, which is 03:12:03.070 --> 03:12:04.740 incredibly sad if they're not. 03:12:05.390 --> 03:12:09.440 At least they get it at school and they learn that, you know, this is how you 03:12:09.440 --> 03:12:14.210 sit properly, this is how you have, you know, your cutlery, where it goes. 03:12:14.220 --> 03:12:19.200 This, I think those are really important things and that we're losing. 03:12:19.760 --> 03:12:24.280 But I think with ways of what you guys are doing in Montessori, and I 03:12:24.280 --> 03:12:26.100 wish that all schools would do that. 03:12:26.550 --> 03:12:30.110 I think you give that back to children, which I think is so special. 03:12:30.310 --> 03:12:31.080 I really do. 03:12:31.680 --> 03:12:32.840 That is so special. 03:12:32.870 --> 03:12:36.700 And I say that as a mum as well, you know, that's always been something 03:12:36.700 --> 03:12:39.290 really important in our family, is that. 03:12:40.340 --> 03:12:44.670 We have always, always, always sat at the table and had dinner together. 03:12:45.450 --> 03:12:47.990 There are times like maybe on a Friday night when the kids were 03:12:47.990 --> 03:12:51.660 younger, we'd have family movie night and we'd have a pizza or whatever, 03:12:52.270 --> 03:12:55.600 um, in front of the television, but that is a very rare occurrence. 03:12:56.190 --> 03:12:58.880 But I think that sitting together as a family at a dinner 03:12:58.880 --> 03:13:00.950 table is really important. 03:13:01.390 --> 03:13:04.090 And I think that's also important in a school setting. 03:13:04.590 --> 03:13:09.040 Um, and I think that beats any day having kids just sit on the floor. 03:13:09.700 --> 03:13:12.460 Opening their lunch boxes and eating their lunch, because I think that's 03:13:12.460 --> 03:13:17.130 just pretty gross, but I understand that that's also a space thing and 03:13:17.130 --> 03:13:19.770 they aren't, the setup isn't, I guess. 03:13:20.880 --> 03:13:23.000 in some schools like you guys have it there. 03:13:24.190 --> 03:13:27.240 I want to talk to you because you've mentioned a few times you have things, 03:13:27.310 --> 03:13:30.900 uh, children from you said two and a half year old right through to six year old. 03:13:30.910 --> 03:13:36.090 How does, how your mixed age classrooms, how do they function 03:13:36.110 --> 03:13:37.680 and, and what have you seen? 03:13:37.690 --> 03:13:43.310 How does that benefit all age children having being in that mixed age? 03:13:43.910 --> 03:13:44.720 environment 03:13:45.460 --> 03:13:45.570 I 03:13:45.570 --> 03:13:50.720 think my biggest argument for mixed age classrooms is like a workplace. 03:13:50.920 --> 03:13:55.150 No workplaces are just straight everybody's the same age. 03:13:55.150 --> 03:13:56.510 They're all multi age. 03:13:56.800 --> 03:14:00.100 We can all learn something from somebody younger than us, somebody the same 03:14:00.100 --> 03:14:01.880 age as us, and somebody older than us. 03:14:02.990 --> 03:14:07.295 And, I will never forget my very first observation in a Montessori 03:14:07.295 --> 03:14:11.285 environment watching multi age kids because it's so easy to pick out 03:14:11.285 --> 03:14:13.935 the older ones and the younger ones, not just based on their size alone, 03:14:13.935 --> 03:14:15.715 but you can see it and who they are. 03:14:16.075 --> 03:14:19.145 And the older ones just become this like matriarch or 03:14:19.145 --> 03:14:20.925 patriarch of the, of the room. 03:14:21.315 --> 03:14:24.655 And if they have been in that room for the full time, like when they 03:14:24.655 --> 03:14:27.325 started as a three year old, then they were there as a four year old 03:14:27.325 --> 03:14:31.105 and a five year old, and then they turn six, the rules never change. 03:14:31.215 --> 03:14:32.535 I never change. 03:14:32.575 --> 03:14:33.855 The room hasn't changed. 03:14:33.895 --> 03:14:35.865 Like they are experts. 03:14:35.875 --> 03:14:37.465 Like they've got it down pat. 03:14:37.485 --> 03:14:40.805 You are hardly recorrecting them minimally, of course, because 03:14:40.805 --> 03:14:41.955 there's always the goofing off. 03:14:41.955 --> 03:14:44.585 But for the most part, they've got it down. 03:14:44.950 --> 03:14:46.390 And they just become a helper. 03:14:46.410 --> 03:14:51.420 So they go out of their way to make sure that the little ones are seen and heard 03:14:51.420 --> 03:14:55.840 and helped and understood and doing the right thing and staying on track. 03:14:55.840 --> 03:14:58.710 And sometimes they'll like show them a lesson because they're so proud of 03:14:58.710 --> 03:15:00.290 something they've already mastered. 03:15:00.290 --> 03:15:03.090 That's not like way below their age level now. 03:15:04.040 --> 03:15:08.220 And some of the best friendships I've personally witnessed in children. 03:15:08.600 --> 03:15:11.310 Are a six year old child and like a three or four year old 03:15:11.310 --> 03:15:12.690 child, specifically in the girls. 03:15:12.690 --> 03:15:13.770 I see it a lot with the girls. 03:15:13.980 --> 03:15:18.100 Man, are those six year old girls just like angelic to the three year olds? 03:15:18.880 --> 03:15:22.590 And it's always fascinating when I have a three year old who's just really 03:15:22.590 --> 03:15:26.500 struggling being at school, whether they start the year and they're crying and they 03:15:26.500 --> 03:15:28.970 have separation anxiety or whatever it is. 03:15:29.310 --> 03:15:32.640 When they become a six year old and they've moved past a separation and 03:15:32.640 --> 03:15:34.130 they come in the door, no problem. 03:15:34.130 --> 03:15:36.090 And it's an easy peasy transition. 03:15:36.540 --> 03:15:40.620 they start to see those little three year olds who do struggle and they're 03:15:40.620 --> 03:15:45.550 immediately their buddy because they like see the past version of themselves in that 03:15:45.550 --> 03:15:49.420 child and they know how to help them and they know what they need because that's 03:15:49.420 --> 03:15:53.210 what they needed when they were their age and it is just man is it like the most 03:15:53.220 --> 03:15:58.180 beautiful thing there's like hardly ever any problems i have lots of siblings in 03:15:58.180 --> 03:16:00.970 the room so i'll have the older sibling and the younger sibling because of the 03:16:01.000 --> 03:16:06.610 multi ages and for the most part it's It is just, it is the coolest thing. 03:16:06.620 --> 03:16:10.280 It's so cool because they just know that what a three year old needs 03:16:10.280 --> 03:16:11.500 is not what a six year old needs. 03:16:11.500 --> 03:16:13.510 And everybody just knows and they understand that. 03:16:13.960 --> 03:16:16.140 And it's, it's really cool to watch. 03:16:17.360 --> 03:16:24.090 And listen, Alex, I just had a thought, um, so do those children stay with you 03:16:24.120 --> 03:16:28.290 until they're six and then they move on to another classroom or another teacher? 03:16:28.870 --> 03:16:31.900 So some of those kids could be with you for three years. 03:16:34.090 --> 03:16:36.490 And so in terms of your materials and stuff. 03:16:36.915 --> 03:16:41.265 I guess then the materials would be, some of them would be for younger 03:16:41.295 --> 03:16:43.705 age children and some of them would be for older age children. 03:16:43.705 --> 03:16:45.645 I think you probably mentioned that, possibly you've touched 03:16:45.645 --> 03:16:47.155 on that before earlier. 03:16:47.625 --> 03:16:53.495 Um, so when they're younger, they could still have access to all the materials. 03:16:53.805 --> 03:16:55.595 So are they repeating things? 03:16:56.345 --> 03:17:00.485 You know, I'm just thinking from someone who's not a Montessori person might say. 03:17:00.760 --> 03:17:04.910 Would they get bored being in the same environment for three years doing the 03:17:04.910 --> 03:17:06.830 same things with the same materials? 03:17:07.420 --> 03:17:08.510 How does that work? 03:17:08.510 --> 03:17:10.070 Just explain that maybe. 03:17:11.530 --> 03:17:14.880 So for me personally, I can't really speak to other Montessori teachers, 03:17:14.890 --> 03:17:17.820 but what I've personally done to just make sure that that isn't a problem 03:17:18.140 --> 03:17:20.350 is how you cycle the shelves out. 03:17:20.750 --> 03:17:24.630 So there are some staple like core materials that are not going anywhere. 03:17:24.640 --> 03:17:28.225 Like I, I know that like when you think of Montessori or at least Hopefully when 03:17:28.225 --> 03:17:30.975 you do think of Montessori, you think of the little pink tower that Maria 03:17:30.975 --> 03:17:34.185 designed, and hopefully that's a picture that you've seen and are familiar with. 03:17:34.605 --> 03:17:36.535 That's part of a sensorial curriculum. 03:17:36.535 --> 03:17:37.775 That's the name of the curriculum. 03:17:38.135 --> 03:17:41.305 That curriculum and those like three or four shelves that I have, 03:17:41.355 --> 03:17:42.575 they're never going to change. 03:17:42.605 --> 03:17:47.365 They were designed and built by Maria herself, and they are very deeply 03:17:47.365 --> 03:17:50.915 rooted in like a million different, you can do language and geography 03:17:50.915 --> 03:17:54.015 and art and all sorts of other stuff with just those shelves alone. 03:17:54.015 --> 03:17:57.605 And there's many different ways to dive into just one material on that shelf. 03:17:58.105 --> 03:18:02.205 Language, there's a couple staple core materials in the language area, 03:18:02.485 --> 03:18:05.535 like how we teach initial letter presentations and then the movable. 03:18:06.125 --> 03:18:08.665 alphabet And there's just a couple things that are never, 03:18:08.665 --> 03:18:09.925 ever going to leave the room. 03:18:10.405 --> 03:18:12.855 And then the math curriculum is pretty locked down. 03:18:12.865 --> 03:18:15.205 Like, there are just some things and some shelves that will 03:18:15.215 --> 03:18:16.905 never, ever get rearranged. 03:18:17.305 --> 03:18:23.170 But the geography and the art and the fine motor and the cultural and the, um, Like 03:18:23.380 --> 03:18:28.920 seasonal materials, they're all going to change and they change every three years. 03:18:28.930 --> 03:18:31.870 So something like, for instance, North America, which is what we are. 03:18:31.900 --> 03:18:34.140 We've been learning for all of September and most of 03:18:34.440 --> 03:18:35.760 actually all of October as well. 03:18:35.760 --> 03:18:38.830 It's going away in a couple weeks that won't come back 03:18:38.840 --> 03:18:40.190 out for another three years. 03:18:40.530 --> 03:18:44.460 Which is a, there is stuff on that shelf that will meet a three year 03:18:44.460 --> 03:18:49.040 old's needs and a six year old's needs on the entire shelf of North America. 03:18:49.040 --> 03:18:51.550 And then we're going to move on and we're going to study South America. 03:18:51.930 --> 03:18:55.200 And South America has not been out for three years, so none of the children 03:18:55.200 --> 03:18:58.150 in this room have encountered South America yet, if that makes sense. 03:18:58.610 --> 03:19:02.450 And I just put out solar system, and the solar system shelf has 03:19:02.450 --> 03:19:03.550 not been out for three years. 03:19:03.560 --> 03:19:07.520 So I try to keep everything on a three year cycle, so that at some 03:19:07.520 --> 03:19:11.125 point throughout the children's lives in their time in my room, 03:19:11.205 --> 03:19:12.055 they're going to get everything 03:19:12.055 --> 03:19:13.238 if that makes sense. 03:19:13.238 --> 03:19:15.385 Yeah, yeah, yeah, that makes perfect sense. 03:19:16.205 --> 03:19:20.235 So, What are some common misconceptions about Montessori 03:19:20.235 --> 03:19:22.145 education that you often encounter? 03:19:23.885 --> 03:19:24.225 Um, 03:19:24.225 --> 03:19:26.065 I think one of the biggest ones we've already touched 03:19:26.065 --> 03:19:27.605 on is just the free for all. 03:19:28.055 --> 03:19:31.865 And I literally think, and there are genuinely people out there, I think, who 03:19:31.905 --> 03:19:35.395 think that the children just walk in the door and it's just It's absolute chaos for 03:19:35.395 --> 03:19:39.585 eight hours a day, and then I send them home, which is just so far from the truth. 03:19:39.995 --> 03:19:44.235 Um, and the other, the other one you've already touched on of just how, like, how 03:19:44.235 --> 03:19:48.305 on earth are we able to even meet academic standards if they are a free for all? 03:19:48.305 --> 03:19:49.425 Like, how does that work? 03:19:49.805 --> 03:19:53.265 Um, not really so much of a misconception, but just something that is really 03:19:53.265 --> 03:19:57.715 hard for people to wrap their minds around is how it's possible for me 03:19:58.015 --> 03:20:01.425 to sit down with a child one on one. 03:20:01.720 --> 03:20:04.340 And just let the other 23 kids go free. 03:20:04.650 --> 03:20:07.910 That's a really hard concept for people to wrap their minds around. 03:20:07.920 --> 03:20:11.130 They don't quite understand how it's possible to fully remove 03:20:11.140 --> 03:20:12.590 myself from the situation. 03:20:12.980 --> 03:20:15.710 That is something you just genuinely have to see in action. 03:20:15.710 --> 03:20:16.630 It is almost near. 03:20:16.630 --> 03:20:18.960 I've tried to explain it in a million different ways in a 03:20:18.960 --> 03:20:20.250 million different videos online. 03:20:20.640 --> 03:20:24.330 And I just think it's something if you, if that is where you're stuck on. 03:20:24.985 --> 03:20:28.495 Go observe a Montessori classroom and watch her or him just sit 03:20:28.495 --> 03:20:31.835 down and pull themselves away from everything and watch the kids just 03:20:31.835 --> 03:20:33.585 keep going as if nothing is going on. 03:20:33.585 --> 03:20:34.965 It's totally normal to them. 03:20:35.565 --> 03:20:37.765 Um, and then I think the other misconception is just 03:20:37.765 --> 03:20:39.015 based on the fact that. 03:20:39.655 --> 03:20:45.195 Maria was asked to patent her method and she ultimately chose not to. 03:20:45.725 --> 03:20:50.645 So essentially, there is no quote right way and wrong way to do things. 03:20:51.225 --> 03:20:55.285 So you are going to find, um, some Montessori schools aren't 03:20:55.515 --> 03:20:57.885 necessarily Montessori schools. 03:20:58.855 --> 03:21:02.245 Essentially, anybody can take the name Montessori, slap it on the side of a 03:21:02.245 --> 03:21:05.885 building, put wooden materials out on the shelf and say, look, you're Montessori. 03:21:05.895 --> 03:21:06.985 Yes, it worries me, yeah. 03:21:07.085 --> 03:21:07.455 Yeah. 03:21:08.145 --> 03:21:11.085 Um, so there's just some vetting that might need to happen if. 03:21:11.690 --> 03:21:14.940 If you are, if it is someone who's genuinely looking at either teaching 03:21:14.940 --> 03:21:18.320 in one or just sending their children to one, there's a lot of back, like, 03:21:18.320 --> 03:21:21.350 behind the scenes work that might need to happen on that end, just to 03:21:21.350 --> 03:21:24.550 make sure you're actually choosing one that is something that if Maria 03:21:24.550 --> 03:21:26.140 was still alive, she would approve of. 03:21:27.745 --> 03:21:29.125 So yeah, those would be my big ones. 03:21:29.825 --> 03:21:34.595 I think I would be wary of that because I've seen it even where I, I live, you 03:21:34.595 --> 03:21:38.315 know, you'd see a building come up and it's a new, it's a new childcare center 03:21:38.315 --> 03:21:41.535 and then they'd have Montessori on the side and I'm thinking, yeah, I don't know 03:21:41.535 --> 03:21:46.015 if you really are Montessori, you know, and I think you're right for parents. 03:21:46.490 --> 03:21:50.190 And you've just touched on this now because I was going to say to you, what 03:21:50.190 --> 03:21:54.510 advice would you give parents and teachers who are considering Montessori education? 03:21:54.510 --> 03:21:57.240 I guess one of the things that you would consider is to check out whether they 03:21:57.260 --> 03:22:02.310 truly are aligned with Montessori values and whether they really have the actual 03:22:02.310 --> 03:22:07.280 Montessori materials, because I know Montessori has very specific materials 03:22:07.370 --> 03:22:09.050 in terms of teaching various things. 03:22:09.050 --> 03:22:13.775 It's You know, whereas in other schools or non Montessori you can basically use 03:22:13.805 --> 03:22:18.585 anything, but Montessori is very strict on the type of materials that they use. 03:22:18.705 --> 03:22:20.555 Uh, I think I'm right on that, right? 03:22:21.505 --> 03:22:22.135 Tell me if I'm wrong. 03:22:22.625 --> 03:22:26.085 Um, if you, 03:22:28.095 --> 03:22:29.625 oh, what was I was going to say now? 03:22:29.705 --> 03:22:35.145 Um, uh, Montessori, thank God for editing. 03:22:35.145 --> 03:22:41.605 Um, I can't remember my train, I, I, I stopped my own train of thought there. 03:22:42.405 --> 03:22:42.885 Um, 03:22:45.785 --> 03:22:49.895 Is there anything else, Alex, that you think is really important for people 03:22:49.895 --> 03:22:54.685 listening to this episode that they should really know about Montessori? 03:22:54.685 --> 03:22:56.715 That's something that, because I can see that you feel so 03:22:56.715 --> 03:22:58.385 passionate about Montessori. 03:22:59.025 --> 03:23:04.365 Is there anything that you want to say to people about Montessori that you 03:23:04.375 --> 03:23:07.835 think that they should know if they want to bring their kids there, if they 03:23:07.835 --> 03:23:10.685 want to teach in a Montessori school? 03:23:11.350 --> 03:23:16.140 Anything, what else do you want to, this is your plug for Montessori, so to speak. 03:23:17.500 --> 03:23:17.650 I 03:23:17.650 --> 03:23:21.860 think my biggest takeaway that I, if anyone could take anything away, 03:23:21.860 --> 03:23:26.830 it's just to not be, don't be so close minded and, and be open minded. 03:23:27.190 --> 03:23:31.965 Um, there is a lot of like, Misconceptions and a lot of weird stigmas about 03:23:31.965 --> 03:23:36.395 it from, for whatever reason, and about a hundred of them are false. 03:23:36.775 --> 03:23:40.925 And, um, I learned that myself at one point or another, and I've 03:23:40.935 --> 03:23:45.025 witnessed other people realize, Oh, so this is what you do. 03:23:45.395 --> 03:23:48.955 And they're There is just so many misconceptions and a lot of them can go 03:23:48.955 --> 03:23:52.705 away by just scheduling an observation So if you do find a school in your 03:23:52.705 --> 03:23:57.935 area That is genuinely montessori and they are doing everything they can to 03:23:57.945 --> 03:24:01.755 uphold what maria would have thought Would have been true and right and 03:24:01.765 --> 03:24:06.925 just ask them call them up say hey I'm interested whether it's for being a 03:24:06.925 --> 03:24:08.805 teacher or sending your children there. 03:24:08.805 --> 03:24:12.595 Let them know what you're interested in and just ask for an observation. 03:24:13.115 --> 03:24:15.605 And almost every one of them will allow you to come in. 03:24:15.635 --> 03:24:18.945 They'll allow you to sit in a chair with a clipboard and a piece of paper, and they 03:24:18.945 --> 03:24:20.565 will just allow you to take it all in. 03:24:20.865 --> 03:24:24.415 And there is truly no better way to actually understand what on earth 03:24:24.455 --> 03:24:27.515 goes on in a Montessori classroom than just sitting in a chair. 03:24:27.965 --> 03:24:32.365 It was, I hold on to that very first observation I ever, I ever witnessed. 03:24:32.385 --> 03:24:33.815 I cling to that one. 03:24:33.815 --> 03:24:37.150 It was, One of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed, and if 03:24:37.150 --> 03:24:39.850 it wasn't for that I don't think I'd still, like, I'd be here today. 03:24:39.850 --> 03:24:44.850 So you would be shocked at what you'll see and what the children are capable of if 03:24:44.850 --> 03:24:46.720 you just sit in a chair and take notes. 03:24:46.950 --> 03:24:47.870 It's wonderful. 03:24:48.380 --> 03:24:52.810 And Alex, is that moment, is that what made you want to be a Montessori teacher? 03:24:54.205 --> 03:24:57.725 Originally a traditional, I just say a traditional, you know, a non 03:24:58.195 --> 03:24:59.955 Montessori teacher, traditional teacher. 03:25:00.505 --> 03:25:03.335 You were originally, that's where you started, right? 03:25:03.415 --> 03:25:06.185 So what was it that made you change to Montessori? 03:25:06.865 --> 03:25:10.535 Um, so I was studied at a four year college to be a traditional. 03:25:11.225 --> 03:25:14.085 teacher And that's what I thought I was going to do my whole life. 03:25:14.085 --> 03:25:16.655 I thought I was going to be like a second or a third grade teacher. 03:25:16.655 --> 03:25:17.895 That sounded like the dream. 03:25:18.285 --> 03:25:22.725 Um, and in America, we get placed to student teach for like six to eight weeks 03:25:22.725 --> 03:25:27.615 or sometimes 12 weeks, depending on your major, um, right before you graduate. 03:25:27.615 --> 03:25:31.765 And so I got the letter for my student teaching placement and in the letter, 03:25:31.785 --> 03:25:35.325 it said the name of the school and it just said kindergarten on it. 03:25:36.205 --> 03:25:38.225 And I was like, okay, sweet. 03:25:38.325 --> 03:25:39.045 This is great. 03:25:39.065 --> 03:25:42.355 But I did not go to college in the same town I was from. 03:25:42.855 --> 03:25:45.965 And so I mentioned it to a friend who was born and raised in that town. 03:25:45.975 --> 03:25:48.115 And I said, Hey, this is the school I got placed at. 03:25:48.115 --> 03:25:49.225 What do you know about it? 03:25:49.625 --> 03:25:52.935 And I just remember the look on their face and they were like, Oh, you know, 03:25:52.935 --> 03:25:54.285 that's a Montessori school, right? 03:25:54.325 --> 03:25:55.805 Like I'll never forget the look on his face. 03:25:55.885 --> 03:25:57.615 And I was like, Oh no. 03:25:57.655 --> 03:25:58.275 And I was. 03:25:58.575 --> 03:26:03.305 furious like in that moment I was so mad that my traditional college 03:26:03.315 --> 03:26:06.625 would place me to student teach in a Montessori school without telling me 03:26:06.635 --> 03:26:11.860 and without preparing me for it and I was to this day I was the only The only 03:26:11.860 --> 03:26:16.880 one that I know of that they place like to student teach there, which baffles 03:26:16.890 --> 03:26:20.170 me to this day, somehow providential. 03:26:20.350 --> 03:26:24.600 Yeah, and I just sent an email to my teacher that was my cooperating teacher 03:26:24.600 --> 03:26:28.455 and I expressed my concern and I said, Hey, like, I'm not really a mom, like I 03:26:28.455 --> 03:26:30.025 know nothing about the montessori method. 03:26:30.485 --> 03:26:32.395 I'm so sorry that I got placed with you. 03:26:32.675 --> 03:26:35.085 What do you want me to do to make sure I'm prepared? 03:26:35.555 --> 03:26:39.405 And she was so kind and she just emailed back and was like, Oh my gosh, no worries. 03:26:39.435 --> 03:26:40.805 Like come in and observe. 03:26:40.805 --> 03:26:46.135 Like, so I observed in December before my January term started and she actually 03:26:46.225 --> 03:26:48.495 had me observe for three straight hours. 03:26:48.495 --> 03:26:51.985 They get to work for three straight hours in the morning and normal 03:26:51.985 --> 03:26:54.135 observations for anybody else would be probably about an hour. 03:26:54.165 --> 03:27:00.060 But, um, I sat in that chair And I can think of three kids off the top 03:27:00.060 --> 03:27:03.570 of my head who I was just in shock. 03:27:03.690 --> 03:27:08.440 They were like three and they were not once did she even say like she 03:27:08.440 --> 03:27:11.930 didn't, she didn't talk to them because they were functioning so. 03:27:12.495 --> 03:27:13.465 independently. 03:27:14.285 --> 03:27:15.465 for three straight hours. 03:27:15.475 --> 03:27:16.555 They did not need help. 03:27:16.965 --> 03:27:18.265 They did not need guidance. 03:27:18.465 --> 03:27:20.165 They did not need redirection. 03:27:20.315 --> 03:27:22.425 They just knew exactly what to do and they did it. 03:27:22.645 --> 03:27:24.445 And it was unreal. 03:27:24.525 --> 03:27:26.365 I can see those kids to this day. 03:27:26.365 --> 03:27:30.575 It was, I'm pretty sure I teared up in that moment because I had 03:27:30.575 --> 03:27:31.945 never seen anything like it before. 03:27:31.965 --> 03:27:35.455 And I had just done a practicum in like a third grade classroom where I still 03:27:35.455 --> 03:27:39.250 had third graders that would come up to me and be like, So what do I do next? 03:27:39.540 --> 03:27:42.930 Like they just couldn't problem solve of like what came next and I 03:27:42.940 --> 03:27:45.960 watched this three year old child know exactly what to do next and 03:27:45.960 --> 03:27:48.060 then do it and it was mind blowing. 03:27:49.830 --> 03:27:52.330 Oh my gosh, I missed out Alex. 03:27:52.330 --> 03:27:55.280 I really want to go to the Montessori school. 03:27:58.760 --> 03:28:00.100 Oh, it sounds so wonderful. 03:28:00.560 --> 03:28:03.840 Uh, listen, Alex, before we go, um, it's been amazing. 03:28:03.850 --> 03:28:06.900 It's been just so, so wonderful and enlightening to listen to you. 03:28:06.930 --> 03:28:10.330 And it's also just made me feel really sad that I don't have a 03:28:10.380 --> 03:28:14.640 Montessori, um, education and I don't have a Montessori training. 03:28:15.730 --> 03:28:19.390 Because I think it would have just been lovely to teach in a Montessori school. 03:28:20.030 --> 03:28:21.890 Tell people where they can find you. 03:28:21.930 --> 03:28:25.640 Uh, what do you tell people where they can find you? 03:28:25.670 --> 03:28:31.900 Because I also know that you offer things in terms of Montessori training to people. 03:28:31.950 --> 03:28:32.740 Is that correct? 03:28:33.100 --> 03:28:36.140 So tell people where they can get hold of you and how you can help them. 03:28:37.365 --> 03:28:40.235 Sure, my handle's just missnearingsmontessori. 03:28:40.235 --> 03:28:41.965 It's on TikTok and on Instagram. 03:28:41.985 --> 03:28:44.315 It's also a website, so the same website. 03:28:44.695 --> 03:28:49.375 If there are any questions or any concerns or any problems that you see and you 03:28:49.385 --> 03:28:53.255 just want a couple minutes spent with me walking you through something, there is 03:28:53.255 --> 03:28:57.710 a link on that website for just like, A little time with me on a zoom call just 03:28:57.720 --> 03:29:02.150 asking or answering questions or working through a frustration It i've worked 03:29:02.150 --> 03:29:05.300 with a whole bunch of people who either are montessori teachers and they're 03:29:05.310 --> 03:29:08.380 struggling with something or who want to send their kids to montessori and 03:29:08.380 --> 03:29:13.060 want to know how to prepare them or just struggle or have kids in the montessori 03:29:13.060 --> 03:29:18.600 school and are struggling with them and there's all sorts of walks of life and 03:29:18.630 --> 03:29:21.880 so it's really cool to be able to walk through all of those with everyone. 03:29:21.920 --> 03:29:22.760 But yeah. 03:29:24.170 --> 03:29:25.740 That's amazing and we will put, 03:29:25.790 --> 03:29:31.500 I will put links to all your, to your website and your Instagram handle. 03:29:31.500 --> 03:29:32.170 I'll put all that. 03:29:32.460 --> 03:29:35.500 in the show notes for anybody listening, so you don't have to worry about that. 03:29:35.920 --> 03:29:39.240 Alex, thanks so much for being here today and sharing your vast 03:29:39.300 --> 03:29:42.050 knowledge about Montessori and your passion with everybody. 03:29:42.080 --> 03:29:47.100 It's so much appreciated and so welcome as well at this time where 03:29:47.140 --> 03:29:50.790 I think there's so much going on in education and people are concerned. 03:29:51.170 --> 03:29:55.885 So I think Montessori is an Just fabulous way to address anybody's problems. 03:29:55.895 --> 03:29:59.425 So I just love the idea of Montessori and thank you so much for sharing 03:29:59.425 --> 03:30:00.815 your passion with us today. 03:30:01.495 --> 03:30:02.475 Thank you for having me. 03:30:02.475 --> 03:30:03.045 I really loved this. 03:30:04.375 --> 03:30:05.015 Anytime. 03:30:05.035 --> 03:30:07.975 And I'm really looking forward to maybe in the future we'll have you on again. 03:30:07.975 --> 03:30:08.575 Who knows? 03:30:11.745 --> 03:30:13.735 So I'm just going to stop the recording.