I Love MontessoriStill Working on the Montessori AlbumsAugust 20, 2008 by Miss Norma | No comments
Today I spent about four hours working on three albums. They were the Record Keeping Album, the Teacher Resource Album (which included Philosophy, Child Development, Children With Special Needs, Classroom management, Peace Education, and Parent Teacher Communication) and the Cultural Album (which include Science, Geography, Art and Movement/Music). Once again like I mentioned on my previous post it is frustrating to work on them because I get to put these albums together however I want. So I had to decide what I was putting on each album since I did not want to have a binder for each of these subjects.
So what did I accomplish in those four hours? Well I got each binder in order and placed tabs with labels for each subject and sections under each subject. I also got a refresher on all the helpful materials I have to fall back on when I need assistance with any of the subjects mentioned above. I also accomplished writing up a Table of Contents for each album, even though I still need to type it up.
While putting these albums together I also went back to look at the notes I took in class last summer. This was very helpful to me because as I was looking through some of the papers I did not quite understand certain things so my notes clarified them for me. So I put my notes at the end of each subject and hope to have time to type them up. I figure that it would be more helpful to have them in the binders instead of in some notebook tugged away somewhere where I would never look at it.
Now what do I need to do to finish off the albums. I plan on putting sheet protectors on each album. So I need to go out and buy some more sheet protectors. I would also like to type up the Table of Contents and my notes. For now, that is all I can think of that needs to be done to feel like my albums are complete.
Once again I will let you know when they are finished to my liking.
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A Few Days Before I Start My New Montessori AdventureAugust 13, 2008 by Miss Norma | No comments
I will be starting the school year in just a few days. I am looking forward to it. It is going to be an exciting and an educational year for me. I will begin my first year as a lead Montessori teacher. I will have my classroom were I will decide how I want it to look and run. It is going to be tough, but it will be a great year.
I look forward to meeting my students and families. There is no doubt that I am going to do all I can to make it their best school experience ever. Just like I want my daughter to have good memories of her school years that is what I want for my students. I want them to enjoy going to school and to look forward to coming to school everyday.
I actually do not remember my first years of school and sometimes I wish I did. I cannot remember anything before third grade. I wonder why I do not remember my first school years. I think in a Montessori classroom the children have so much more that in a traditional school because they are constantly working on hands-on activities and with other friends.
Next week is going to be a busy week. There is going to be a lot of planning, cleaning, and meetings. It is all about being prepared for the children to come the following week.
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Excited About the New School YearAugust 5, 2008 by Miss Norma | No comments
I am really excited to start the new school year. I am looking forward to having a successful and productive year. I have two weeks before I start the teacher planning portion and I cannot wait.
I look forward to working with my co-teacher and our students. I plan on getting to know all my students really well and giving them the best school experience they can have. As of now there are about 18 students registered for my classroom. That is a good number for my first year as a lead directress. I am pretty sure I will end up with a full classroom and know I will do fine anyway. This is what I enjoy doing so I know I am going to do my best.
I also have a very supportive group of co-workers so that will make it even better for me. I know all the staff so it is so much more comfortable to be able to approach them with any concerns I might have and need support and suggestions for.
I plan on getting to know all my parents and have them involved in their child’s education. The Montessori philosophy believes very much in the involvement for the family in the children’s education. So it will be one of my goals to emphasize good parent involvement. I believe that it is important for children to see that their family cares about their education. It also gives them more encouragement.
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Parts of … In MontessoriJuly 30, 2008 by Miss Norma | 8 comments
For my training I had to develop a curriculum. I chose ocean Life. So I made a lot of parts of sea creatures. The children really enjoy making books of parts of. The one they love the most was the Parts of the Manatee. Some children did that work daily. Every time they did it, it was like if they were doing it for the first time.
I really enjoyed working on this project because i got to learn about a lot of sea animals specially those that are native to Florida. It also helped me build my confidence during circle time. In a Montessori classroom it is very important to have good circle time. During this time is that children learn to build their attention and learn about different cultural and world topics.
During my research of Ocean Life I most enjoyed making the materials for part of the different sea creatures. I made about ten parts of . Some of them were Parts of the Shark, Parts of the Sea Horse, Parts of the Fish, Parts of the Lobster, Parts of the Jelly Fish, and Parts of the Star Fish. If you need any of these or others feel free to contact me to get a copy of it. I will also have some of them up so that you can download it and make it for you classroom.
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Summer Time, No Time Off for MontessoriJuly 27, 2008 by Miss Norma | No comments
A few weeks ago was the beginning of summer. I had been off for a week and began working summer camp at the Montessori school I work for. I was looking forward to it because I have time to do planning for the school year. It is going to be my first year as the head directress in a classroom. I am excited and nervous. I am definitely looking forward to it. It is what I been wanting since I graduated college, to be a teacher.
It’s funny, this was a week to relax and forget about school for a while, but I actually have not stopped thinking about it.
I went shopping a couple of times and I saw things that I would like to buy for my classroom. I love the fact that in a Montessori classroom you can use so many daily practical life items, such as place mats, bowls trays, screws, screwdriver, clothes and cups. A Montessori classroom is composed of so many different things that in almost any store you can find something you can use in the classroom.
I’ve been imagining what I would like my classroom to be like and how I am going to have the children happy and stimulated, wanting to learn everyday.
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