SubscribeLast night was New Parent Orientation at Ian’s school, Soaring Wings. Being there made me feel so good about my decision to change schools. They did a few little presentations mostly to show what a Montessori education is all about. I just found myself nodding in agreement with so much of what they said. I really love the Montessori method and all that it does for my kids.
One of the the demonstrations they did showed a language work called the step board. I hadn’t seen that work before, and it was amazing. There are “problem strips” that have words on them. The child takes the problem strip and looks at the picture, then spells out the word. Only the correct letters will fit on the problem strip. Once the word is completed, then they take a paper and trace the words with a pencil. You can see a demonstration of it here.
As Ian’s teacher Ericka was demonstrating it, she explained that it is usually a skill that the 6 year olds work on. A little light went on in my head, as I recognized the small strips of paper with the words spelled out on them. We had a whole stack of them taped to our refrigerator at home! Ian has been working with the step board all week, and he has been doing great with it.
After the presentation I went to talk to Ian’s teacher. Her eyes just lit up as she told me how much she likes Ian. She was so excited to tell me that he had been working with the step board that she demonstrated. She was thrilled with how much Ian knows, and how willing he is to work and to learn. That is one of the best parts of a Montessori education for Ian. He is a bit advanced compared to some of his peers, but since they teach to each individual child’s level, he is continually challenged. He is lagging behind a bit on his writing, but they didn’t seem too worried about it.
I was happy that I juggled my schedule to be there last night. It just reinforced for me that the move was a great choice. Now I get to hear positive things about what a special boy Ian is, instead of hearing about all the negative things he did on the playground. I am so happy that they are able to see Ian for what he is–an energetic intelligent BOY!