Botany in the Montessori Learning Environment

Children “learn by doing” and that is a key element in the Montessori Method. 

Students learn about the different parts of a leaf. The lesson is first explained to the group by the Directress.  The next part of the lesson is for the students to “go out” into their environment and bring back what they have found into the classroom.

The use of beautiful materials within the Montessori classroom goes hand in hand with the overall learning process.   By using the “Botany Cabinet,” the child learns the shapes and names of the leaves by tracing their borders and matching them to those they actually found in their own environment.  This enables the child to actually see and touch and learn.  We refer to this as a sensorial experience.

The children absorb a limitless wealth of impressions, taking in all of the elements of the world around them.  This lays a foundation for the love of learning for years to come.

A Day Out

Brother & sister experiencing a day out.

Parents often ask how they can extend their child’s learning from school to home. There are countless ways to do so, but perhaps the most important piece of advice I can provide is for them to do something as a family. Children learn by their experiences. This concept is at the cornerstone of the Montessori Method.

The experiences gained by a day out are immeasurable. Touching, feeling, smelling the world around heightens learning and provides children with lasting memories. A trip to the zoo or a museum offers the chance for a child to not only imagine being in a far off, exotic environment, but actually experiencing a close replica. It almost becomes an adventure.

Although a wonderful family event, it far too often becomes simply that...a singular event - a day out. Imagine the possibilities and the excitement that you could generate before and after your trip with just a little effort. Not only would this give your child a better experience during the day out, but also has the potential to turn your trip into a lifetime memory.

Here are a few simple ideas to do just that:

1. Visit the local library or download some books related to the place you’ll be visiting. Read the books together. This will create excitement for your child but also help you understand your child’s perspective on where you are going. Make sure to read a good selection of both fiction and non-fiction books, to spark your child’s creativity while giving a foundation of knowledge.
2. Make a scavenger hunt. Print out or download to your phone images that you expect to see on your trip. If your children have seen a painting or sculpture and know a little information about the artist, a trip to an art gallery becomes magical.
3. Create a collage. Before your trip, use old magazines or print out photos of what you expect to see. During the trip, give your child a camera. I have yet to meet a child that did not love taking photographs. After the trip, have your child use their photographs to make a collage to display in their room.
4. Go on a letter hunt. B is for Butterfly. During the day, have your child spot items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Take a picture, upload your photos to one of the many online print services and create your own letter book from your trip.
5. Cook a meal inspired by your trip. I saved the best for last (at least in my opinion). Nearly everything we do can have a connection to food. Cooking with your children is wonderful, so much can be learned and the experience in and of itself is simply fun.

Civics - The Montessori Way

Election Day has passed. I was amazed at how many students came to school yesterday proudly wearing an “I Voted” sticker. This badge of honor indicated how many of them had the opportunity to visit a polling station and begin to understand our country’s political process. However, as a school that embraces the Montessori philosophy of education, nothing teaches like doing.

Snack Election at The Boyd School - Reston

Children at a young age begin to understand cause and effect; or in this case, sow and reap. Early Childhood students at The Boyd School - Reston Campus were given a real-life and age-appropriate civics lesson. Yesterday, they were presented with two alternatives for the snack today; homemade ice cream or Rice Krispies treats. Votes were individually and privately cast. Today, the children will be making homemade ice cream as a result.

Students in the Upper Elementary School at The Boyd School - Westfields Campus participated in the Youth Leadership Initiative at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. After independent and shared research through the use of various media, the students were given the opportunity to form their own decisions based on each candidate’s platform. The culminating Mock Election yielded additional learning moments when their results clearly showed that personal preference and outside influence do impact the results when a blind vote of each candidate’s platform was far from in-line with the actual ballots cast.

Giving children the tools to make informed decisions and helping them understand the cause and effect of their actions will benefit them greatly throughout their lifetime.

Innovation on Display

As parents and educators, we are presented with the task of preparing our children for the future. A future that has become increasingly harder to comprehend, let alone predict. The world is changing at a pace far quicker than at any point in history. It often is said that this generation of children will be working in fields that don't even currently exist. So, how can we possibly prepare our children to succeed and thrive in a future that is beyond our understanding?

Montessori materials on exhibit at MoMA.
Photograph from Museum of Modern Art

Preparing young children for the future and truly embracing their development is a relatively recent concept. A current exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York entitled, ‘Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000’ showcases and examines this concept. The image of the child transformed during the 20th century from that of a small adult who should be put to work as soon as possible to that of a entirely different creature filled with potential. However, as Ken Johnson wrote in his review of the exhibit for the New York Times, the fundamental question became “What do children need to flourish and become proper members of society?” Johnson further writes that the exhibit examines, “How much freedom to allow and how much control to impose are questions not only about children but also about people everywhere in a time of declining traditional values and expanding possibilities for new ways of being and doing.”

The exhibit at MoMA features Montessori materials described as follows; “From systematic analysis, [Montessori] devised an activity-based teaching method that used material objects to stimulate their senses, and she believed that children should be allowed to explore these materials at their own pace.” Her method of observing and supporting the natural development of children helps them develop creativity, problem-solving, and time-management skills. 

Julia Child's kitchen at the Nat'l Museum of American History
Photograph from Smithsonian Institute

The skills developed and nurtured in a Montessori environment help children to “think outside of the box” and to innovate. Montessori schools across the world herald the technology industry as a prime example of the pioneering skills cultivated by this learning method with former students such as; the founders of Google - Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founder of Amazon.com - Jeff Bezos, and founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales. But the pioneering spirit can be traced back before these modern creative geniuses. August 15 marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Julia Child. Child credited her love of working with her hands to her own Montessori learning experience. She encouraged people to try new things, to experiment, to discover, and yes, even to fail. If you spend any time observing in a Montessori environment, you will see each one of these. As part of the National Museum of American History’s celebration of Julia Child’s 100th birthday, her kitchen will be on display through September 3.

“Learn how to cook– try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all, have a good time.”

~ Julia Child

Understanding the Montessori Infant Environment

by Mike Brown

As I prepare to welcome home a new family member who will eventually spend time in our infant room, I have begun the process to better understand his learning environment at school. I am accustomed to walking into a classroom and seeing distinct work areas such as tables, floor mats, pillows, etc. However, a traditional work area seems hardly appropriate for a developing infant who is learning to adapt to his new environment.

After birth, the development of movement is a child’s first major skill gained. The growth from being completely immobile at birth to involuntary and later voluntary movement is typically done in a rapid progression. This is a process that we all have experienced and witnessed but far fewer of us have an understanding of why. Lacie Russell, our infant teacher explained it to me in the following manner; “Infants have an internal need to move. Their movements first start as reflexes and then become more voluntary. As they begin to explore their surroundings and become more comfortable, they learn to trust the way their bodies move and begin to explore new things. The need to move drives them so quickly, they want to see and touch everything. From learning to lift their head to crawling on all fours, they get great pleasure from movement, and this pleasure keeps them wanting more.” Christie Stanford, founder of Aid to Life Education, a company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that provides Montessori services to children between zero and twelve years old, further explains the biological development; “This happens rapidly during the first year of life as the Myelin Sheath coats the neurons in the body, which is essential in the proper functioning of the nervous system. This Myelination moves from the head to the feet and from the center of the body to the fingertips. Due to this process, the first part of the infant’s body to be Myelinated is the throat and neck, then shoulders, arms, legs, etc. until lastly the child has control of his or her wrists and fingers (refined grasp), along with ankles and toes (child can now walk).” *

This brings me back to the infant environment. Infants require a safe, comforting area for movement. This movement area offers an assortment of materials; pillows of various shapes and objects of multiple textures and sizes. Objects such as mobiles are also suspended above the mat. The point of reference provided by the mat inherently offers reassurance and security to the child. The freedom to explore not only gives him the opportunity to develop muscles required for voluntary movement but also confidence and a sense of independence.
Much the same as in an early childhood classroom, the infant’s mat or work area is carefully prepared by his caregiver. For the youngest child, he is given both tummy time and the chance for sensorial development on his back. Mrs. Russell explains in her infant environment, children are placed on their backs to give them freedom to truly move as they wish. Some infant programs use bouncy chairs or other commercial movement devices, however, when a child is placed in one of these devices his freedom is taken away and his movement is restricted. Additionally, he may not want to be placed in the position forced by the confines of one of these devices. Once a child is ready to sit up, only one material is given for exploration at a time. When the child becomes increasingly more mobile, materials are placed on a low shelf. This encourages the child to move on his own to not only get the material, but also make a decision as to which material interests him. By allowing him these freedoms, Ms. Stanford concludes, “we offer him the greatest opportunity for natural growth in an unrestricted environment.” *

Mike Brown is part of The Boyd School's Support Staff. Mike has been with the school since October of 2004 and has served the school in a jack-of-all-trades capacity ranging from Art Teacher to Director of Admissions to his current role as Public Relations Coordinator.


* Excerpts from MariaMontessori.com, “The Montessori Movement Mat - The Child’s First Working Table,” by Christie Stanford, January 2012

Creative Play in a Montessori Environment

Experts acknowledge that the loss of creative play has negative consequences. Imagination and creativity; cornerstones of higher math and science are developed through creative play. David Elkind, author of The Power of Play, writes "Creativity and imagination are like muscles; if you don't use them, you lose them,"

Aldie Kindergarten student's collaborative extension.

It is a common misconception that the Montessori method of learning limits creative play. This is far from actuality. In the Montessori learning environment children are often presented with materials that lay the foundation to traditional areas of education, such as the basic understanding of area and volume learned by working with the brown stair materials. However, once a child begins to grasp the geometry of these objects, an extension of this exercise allows for children to explore the possibilities of construction limited only by their imagination but grounded in a far better understanding of plane geometry. Perhaps a simpler explanation would be a comparison of two approaches to music education. Would you consider it the best method for a person to develop musical skills or to understand musical composition by simply providing a person with a set of bells without guidance or would an introduction to the chromatic scale to develop a sense of tone before doing so lead to a better learning experience and honestly, more fun? When children have a basic understanding of skills or concepts it allows for a heightened learning experience and improves a child’s confidence while playing.

Herndon students using loose parts for outdoor building.

Children have a natural and intrinsic desire to play, explore, adapt and cooperate, especially in the outdoors. The benefits of outdoor play are easily identified and the development of large-motor skills and social interactions are well documented. Although traditional playground equipment such as slides, climbers, balls, etc. provide children a great deal of benefit and avenues for development, true creative activity is somewhat limited. Providing children with materials and equipment (loose parts) that can stimulate, facilitate and enhance children’s play leads to a high level of ownership which is a powerful ingredient in providing a positive play and learning experience for a child. Jeff Hill of the Childrens Scrapstore, a UK business providing children with these loose parts for playground use since 1982 states, “Giving children the opportunity to experience higher levels of creative activity during playtime, makes a difference to them, to their relationships with others and ultimately to the whole school environment.”

Westfields children on board the train climber.

At The Boyd School, we have enhanced our children’s outdoor experience through a number of playground extensions. Through the use of loose parts, children have the opportunity to construct on a larger scale than within the walls of the classroom using similar materials. Currently, children can build with custom designed, lightweight outdoor building blocks and small tires. The buildings, towers, and vehicles are only limited by their imagination. Additional and various loose parts are introduced to constantly provide children new materials in which to play. Children at the Aldie Campus have the opportunity to manipulate their playground experience through the use of a Snug Play system. The Snug Play system, generously donated by Van Metre to the school, is a series of lightweight, open-ended and moveable collection of play equipment. Children have the opportunity to create entirely new play environments and experiences through collaboration and the use of their imaginations. The Snug Play system at The Boyd School is one of the first installations in Virginia. Children at the Broadlands Campus have the opportunity to manipulate and build with natural materials creating paths, walls, and tunnels. The Boyd School - Westfields Campus offers children the opportunity to ‘travel’ as far as their imaginations allow on board an Amish built train climber.

The Amazing Teacher

It takes an uniquely talented individual to be a teacher. They truly are the life-force of any institute of learning. We all are aware that these amazing people are tasked with educating the future, the proverbial next generation. We also understand they are responsible for developing in children social skills necessary for each child to become productive members of society.

Maria Montessori said of teachers, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’” Her statement requires some additional thought to fully comprehend the inherent meanings.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to create an environment in which each of her students feel comfortable and at ease. To create an environment conducive to discovering, to exploring, to learning. Each child needs to be guided towards independence and instilled with the confidence to learn on their own. Meaning, children have to be both willing to succeed and conversely willing to undergo failure and to use a set-back as a learning tool. Keen observation and interaction is required by teachers to understand the needs of each child in order for this concept to come to fruition.

In a classroom inspired by the research and educational philosophy of Montessori, children stay with the same teacher for three years. This developmental journey results in a tremendous bond between child and teacher not to mention teacher and family. Recently, we had the opportunity to enjoy the wide arrange of emotions as children cross or move up to the next level in our Montessori learning environments. From the shear joy and pride teachers feel as a child completes this stage of development to the heartfelt tears as they say goodbye, these incredible people we call teachers truly understand Montessori’s statement.

At The Boyd School we take great pride in our teachers and staff. We appreciate the tremendous effort and love that they share. Each year a few of our beloved Boyd family leave us as they pursue other personal or professional endeavors. We extend to each of these wonderful individuals sincere wishes for success and take it with great pride to know that so many members of the Montessori community truly learned the craft of teaching under our tutelage.

We are constantly looking for uniquely gifted individuals to become a part of our community. Being passionate, creative, joyful are required qualifications. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Boyd family and the extended Montessori community contact us (Email The Boyd School). CLICK HERE for current career openings.