03 May 2016

Navi Class Goes Montessori: Ch. 2

This is by no means a classic Montessori education, but that’s what it’s based on, so I am calling the new program my Montessori experiment.

My principal was very foresighted not to let me institute this from the beginning of the year. Montessori means creating a student-sized little learning environment and I would have gotten the exercises all wrong had I not had these few months to get to know the students before transplanting them; I never taught these grades before.

The first day they took it in with the oh-no-something-new grumbles and set to work, if not exactly “with a right good will,” then with a fine imitation of it.

The next day, today, they came in and fell to in a scene that could have been created by Disney animators, learning Navi with all the rabbits and bluebirds gamboling and singing along. The one who recently said, “Instead of doing creative activities, can I just sit and translate 15 pesukim?” got to do just that; the one I have been challenging to challenge herself challenged herself; the quiet one gathered a group and started a discussion; the grumblers burst into song; and they all lived happily ever after; thank you G-d; we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

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