Collaboration is such an important facet of the Montessori classroom. On any given day, you could witness our younger friends paired up with their eagerly awaiting Elementary counterparts to learn from their expertise. Recently, our Elementary Students have been clamoring at the opportunity to be a reading buddy to our Kindergarten friends. This is a win-win situation for both children in that the older children receive the intrinsic reward of passing on their reading skills and the younger children get the benefit of one on one attention with an “expert.”
Just this week one of our preprimary friends came bounding up to me, grinning from ear to ear with pride, saying, “Ms. Janet, I learned ‘traction!” Seeing that pride and knowing that he’s standing a bit taller today due to one of our Elementary students, who was paired up with him this morning to teach him subtraction, reminded me why collaboration is such an important part of the Montessori Classroom.
Allowing for these collaborative opportunities across age levels does not only enhance and promote kindness, empathy, and goodwill among our children but also ensures that the legacy of the Montessori Method lives on through the work of our students at the Brandon, Riverview, and Southshore Montessori Schools.
