YOUR CHILD BRINGING HOME BIG WORDS?

    Maria Montessori respected the intelligence and the ability of even the youngest children.  Through her observations and research she learned that children are most senstive to absorbing oral language and vocabulary during early childhood.  For this reason, Montessori teachers are trained to use a full vocabulary with students, and to never "water down"  or baby talk. You may hear your child using a rich vocabulary including scientific terms. You need not worry that your child is being given work far above his grade level or abilities!  He is simply absorbing the rich vocabulary he is exposed to every day.  Of course, sometimes these words become confused.  When I asked students why a fish would need camoflage, one child answered with enthusiasm, "to stay safe from CREDITORS!"  Now that's something even adults can relate to!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TEACHER HOME VISITS?

Many schools require their teachers to conduct a family conference at the home of each student.  Home visits and visits by families to the teachers home are common practices in other cultures.  Visits may be scheduled at the beginning of the year so that teachers, students, and parents can get to know each other. They may also serve as goal setting conferences so that teachers are aware of the family's priorities and goals for their student. Goals may be social, emotional, physical, and/or academic.  The teacher can also be made aware of any special needs child child may have.  Proponents of home visits believe that parents feel more comfortable meeting on their own turf, instead of at school.

On the other hand, some teachers feel uncomfortable with home visits because they feel this mixes professional and personal territory.  Especially if the child attends before/after school care, at-school visits give parents a rare chance to see the classroom. Some parents may feel that home conferences are intrusive.

My colleagues and I would like to receive feedback from both parents and teachers regarding home visits.

HANDWRITING SKILLS VS. KEYBOARDING

I have just finished my master's research project which explored how Montessori exercises contribute to the development of fine motor skills and spatial awareness necessary to handwriting readiness.  As part of this project, I reviewed some related literature that debated the possible obsolescence of handwriting now that we use keyboards so much.  Research has found that the physical act of learning to write is integrated into the mental act of processing writing.  Students who use keyboards too early have more difficulty later with composition, interpretation, and other higher thinking tasks necessary to good writing. Students should become adept at keybording in the upper elementary years, after basic writing skills and thought processes have had time to develop.