The traditional practice of cursive handwriting is slowly disappearing from mainstream schools. Today’s students are printing instead, as focus shifts to typing and word processing. In the Montessori community, cursive writing continues to be a mainstay in the classroom. Montessori continues the tradition for a number of reasons:

Formation of Letters – Learning to write is hard work! There is fluidity to writing in cursive that makes it easier to learn, with increased speed and efficiency.

Trying to form each and every letter in print, taking the pencil off the paper after each letter and remembering how to print the next letter is time consuming. While it may seem the time difference is minuscule, it makes a big difference in the overall effort made while learning to write.

There is evidence that reading skills are more quickly developed, idea generation and retention of information is improved through cursive writing. Handwriting helps with the continuous flow of thought and enables students to think ahead while they are writing.

Fine Motor Skills – Cursive writing requires a large amount of control and fine motor skill. These skills are transferrable to many different areas of learning and proficiency supports students in their overall development.

Special Needs – In many situations, cursive writing can be beneficial for students with learning disabilities or special needs. Cursive letters have more distinctive shapes than in print, even though they may use the same upstroke or downstroke to produce.  Letters like b and d are easily exchangeable in print and children with reading difficulties or dyslexia often have an easier time reading cursive as a result.

Signatures – Despite the digital age we live in, the practice of using a signature is still required in many situations. What’s more, a signature is an expression of individuality and personality!  This is a special reason why teaching children how to write their name remains a priority in Montessori education.

Creating Beauty in the World – Maria Montessori believed that beauty and grace were an important part of the learning process.  If something looked beautiful, children would be more apt to take care of it, use it, and learn from it. Handwriting is an art form and Montessori develops penmanship as another way to support the learning process while bringing beauty into our lives.

 

At Kendalwood, we continue the tradition of cursive writing for all these reasons and our students take pride in the art of handwriting. What do you think? Does penmanship still matter in this day and age?

 

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Kendalwood Montessori & Elementary School is Durham Region’s first fully accredited Montessori school. At Kendalwood, we believe that our job is to inspire children to become the best students they can be. With a curriculum that focuses on developing the intellect as well as nurturing self-esteem, academics are taught, curiosity is cultivated and respect is fostered. Our approach creates an environment where students flourish and develop a lifelong love of learning.

If you have been following our blog, you have likely heard us mention the “prepared environment” in reference to our classrooms. This concept is central to authentic Montessori education, so we will explore it in more detail this week.

A Montessori classroom is designed with great care. At first glance, the classroom looks neat and tidy – almost sparse. Upon closer inspection, you will see the classroom is filled with a variety of carefully selected materials and activities. Everything has a purpose and a clearly defined home. In addition to being orderly, the space is designed to be visually appealing. Plants, natural light, and fine art are commonly found in a Montessori classroom.

However, the arrangement, planning and intent of a Montessori classroom goes so much deeper than the visual aesthetics. Dr. Montessori knew that the classroom environment could facilitate independent learning and discovery when the space was well planned and arranged to support children.  She used the term the Prepared Environment to explain her approach to the arrangement and set up of a classroom.

 “The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.”

–       Maria Montessori. The Secret of Childhood, 1966

Everything in a Montessori classroom is intentionally placed to elicit a positive response and invoke learning in the child. Materials are accessible on open shelves, arranged on trays to easily transition to a work station. A large carpeted area and child sized furnishings provide ample space and options for students to work comfortably. The prepared environment provides a natural sense of order which permeates the classroom and students are afforded a high degree of independence as a result.  A calm yet industrious buzz of activity ensues.

 

Guiding Principles of the Prepared Environment

1. Freedom
The classroom and all of its contents are available to the students throughout the day. The classroom materials are spread out through the classroom to allow children the opportunity to move freely through the classroom – children can work at a table, on the floor, standing, etc.

2. Structure and Order
Dr. Montessori stated that there is a sensitive period for order for children between the ages of 1-3. During these early years, the order of the classroom provides an introduction and a methodology for students to make sense of their world.

3. Beauty
The Montessori classroom should be beautiful, warm and inviting. A tranquil environment will encourage the child to be calm; the beautiful room will encourage a child to take care of it.

4. Nature and Reality
The best way for children to learn about the world is to go out and experience it! In Montessori education, children are exposed to the Culture area of the classroom where they explore concepts and information about their environment and the greater world at an early age. This approach supports an appreciation and understanding of the environment, our community and the broader global community that makes up our home. A desire to care for the environment and each other is a natural extension.

5. Social Environment
The freedom and self-discipline within the classroom environment encourages children to interact with their peers. Classrooms consisting of students from a three-year age span enable younger students to rely on older peers for guidance and support. The elder students are then able to be role models and leaders for their younger classmates. This reciprocal dynamic benefits all ages in developing confidence, self-esteem, empathy and learning to work in groups.

6. Intellectual Environment
In addition to the five areas of the classroom (Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language and Culture) that stimulate the child’s intellect, overall growth and development culminates with the combination of all of the preceding components (1-5).

Our Prepared Environment at Kendalwood

The Kendalwood campus is a reflection of our commitment to the Montessori Method and the guiding principles of the prepared environment.  We offer warm and inviting classrooms with an abundance of natural light, gleaming hardwood floors, and personalized cubbies. The entire campus is exceptionally bright and airy, creating an idyllic Montessori learning environment. Spacious outdoor areas include a wide open soccer field and multiple play areas with safe and age appropriate equipment. This backdrop regularly extends our classrooms to the outdoors. Our campus also offers a large, flexible space for indoor athletics, group learning and school wide activities.

The Kendalwood environment allows our students to be the centre of their own learning, in a space made specifically for the students. Are you looking for a place for your child to be inspired?  Drop in to our next Open House or book a tour to see us in action! We are located in Whitby, Ontario in the heart of Durham Region.

Montessori curriculum is supported through a series of concrete materials designed to help students conceptualize abstract ideas, particularly in math.  Dr. Montessori believed that “the hands are instruments of the brain” and by using our hands in the learning process, we are better able to internalize information. Further, using a kinesthetic process aids in overall engagement and concentration.

 

“He does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.”

–          Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

 

The Stamp Game is a Montessori material designed for learning and reinforcing knowledge of the four key math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and it is an integral part of the mathematics progression.

It is important to mention that math materials are progressive, and it can be difficult to speak of one Montessori material without referring to all those that have come before.  Each material prepares for the next and builds on the concepts that have been mastered.

The Stamp Game is first presented in Casa, after the child has learned place value (units, tens, hundreds, and thousands) with the Golden Beads.  Prerequisites to using the stamp game are understanding the concepts of large and small numbers, simple exchanges of 10 units equaling one 10, and the child must know how to count using concrete materials (not necessarily with number symbols).

The Stamp Game employs the hand and engages the mind to absorb concepts much more fully than working only with pencil, paper and worksheet, as is the norm.  The child can use this material to understand all operations, making it something they can return to again and again. It prepares the child for pencil and paper work in a more holistic manner.

The material consists of small wooden squares in common place value colours (green for units, blue for tens, red of hundreds and green for unit of thousands) that are used throughout the mathematics progression. The place value they represent, 1 (units), 10 (tens), 100 (hundreds) and 1000 (thousands) are written on them (1, 10, 100, 1000).

Using this distinctive material, the child begins moving in the direction of abstraction where they will be able to complete an equation without use of the manipulatives, although this remains a far way off.

Interested in learning more about our Mathematics program? Contact us!