One of the unique features of Acton’s learning environment is self-governance. Guides don’t fix all the problems that arise in the studio. Guides often step back and wait for learners to raise the issue. Leaders emerge to do something about it. Then, guides will offer frameworks, tools, and choices. In this way, guides push governance of the studio back to the learners to solve problems themselves. 

Towards the end of the first session, Elementary guides introduced the practice of giving and receiving feedback. This can be hard—not just for learners but for adults too!

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we are reading books about King’s life and legacy. The holiday provides an opportunity to discuss concepts such as respect and kindness and to discuss how we like to be treated and how we should treat each other. Learners gave examples of ways they like and don’t like to be treated. One learner shared, “I like it when my friends ask me to play with them.” “Someone gave me a fluffy toy when I fell outside a hotel,” said another.

One of the fundamental aspects of the Montessori studio is the focus on order. The materials on the shelves are arranged in order from least to most complex, and work is stored in the same place (and, in some instances, in a particular sequence). From an outside perspective, the high value given to order might seem unusual or quaint. However, order is the basis for all the learning that happens in the studio. The child mentally absorbs his physical environment, and the physical environment helps a child organize her behaviors and her mind. 

Order paves the way for a child to begin to focus and concentrate on activities in the classroom.  When they know what to expect, where to find the materials that they need, and what is expected of them, children are freed to explore and can develop independence from adults.  

The beautiful foliage over the past few weeks has provided a wonderful opportunity for learners to notice the natural world and study leaves and trees. Learners have been examining the parts of a leaf, including the veins, blade, and petiole (the stem we can hold), and are identifying the shapes of different types of leaves, such as elm, oak, and ginkgo. Learners are practicing sorting leaves by color and matching similar shapes. Learners have also been examining types of bark and colors of wood from different trees. On the art shelf, learners are making leaf art with watercolors, leaf rubbings, and other materials. On the art shelf, learners are making leaf art, including painting with watercolors on leaf rubbings. 

Preparing for this exhibition looked a lot like the final dress rehearsals for a play or musical. The studio became a company of performers with opening night resting equally on the shoulders of each role. Every learner had their part to master and a friend to help them execute. 

In the days leading up to the performance the studio was abuzz with energy. Learners submitted their naturalization applications and completed the final edits on their biographies, all while drafting scripts, memorizing lines for their second exhibition of learning, and continuing their core skills. Some used code to create our schedule of events and others took advantage of any free time to rehearse lines. But all learners committed themselves to the excellence of this exhibition. 

One of the main tasks the Montessori studio aims to accomplish is preparing a child’s hand for the task of writing. Writing requires a number of fine motor skills, including the strength and coordination of the thumb and first two fingers to hold the pencil securely in a ‘pincer grip’, the hand-to-eye coordination to trace visual or imagined shapes, and the flexibility of the wrist to move back and forth to allow for subtler movement in shaping letters and numbers.  

Many materials and activities in the classroom are designed to strengthen these fine motor skills throughout the Montessori primary cycle. Introductory Montessori materials like the knobbed cylinders and puzzles have small knobs that require a child to form a pincer grip and lift weighted objects, strengthening those fingers in the process. The Practical Life area is full of opportunities for a child in the first year of Montessori to practice using small spoons and stiff tongs to transfer small objects, which also strengthen the fingers and hand-to-eye coordination. Young learners are also tracing sandpaper letters and numbers to start to get a kinetic feel for the shapes of the letters.

This was our last full week of Session 2 before the exhibition of learning on Thursday. With the end of the session fast approaching, learners must address the question “How do I know when I’m finished?” 

Learners have been self-directing projects in Writer’s Workshop and Quest. Writer’s Workshop emphasized the importance of the writing process as learners worked on hero-biographies. They’ve done research, outlined, and drafted, and now they’re self-/peer-editing. This process involves asking questions like “Is this my best work?”; “How does this compare to something else I’ve written?”; and “How does this compare to a world class example?” 

As we transition into fall, more jackets, hats, and mittens are appearing in the studio!  As part of the Montessori Practical Life curriculum, young learners have opportunities to practice putting on their own coats, mittens, and hats before playing outside. 

In the studio, Montessori “dressing frames” help learners practice these practical fine motor skills as part of the morning work cycle. There are dressing frames for zippers, small and large buttons, buckles, and laces. Over the three-year Montessori primary cycle, learners progressively master these different types of clothing fasteners, helping them to be more independent at home and school. The older learners also exercise their leadership and mentorship skills during transitions, as they love to help younger ones zip up and buckle up too. 

This year in the Montessori studio we will be holding observations by Zoom, which might be a first for a Montessori observation! While a virtual observation might not allow parents to see the entire studio, it does give parents an opportunity to be the proverbial fly on the wall and see a normal day in the life of your child. It will also give you a more uninterrupted, close-up view of your child than you might be able to have otherwise. 

The Montessori method is founded on observation. As guides, we regularly step back to observe children working. We call it an observation and not an evaluation because we are seeking to learn and gain insight about the child through her behavior. We are looking at the type of work a child is inclined towards, how a child is processing information and interacting with the environment, and how a particular child learns.