The signs of spring are emerging: chirping songbirds, fluttering butterflies and budding blossoms can be seen outside. With this time of year, we also witness a fresh energy in our classrooms. This is my favorite time of year. Teachers and I delight in the explosion of mastery happening in the classroom. Children’s reading, mathematics and writing skills are skyrocketing. We are simply astounded by the children’s drive and diligence in their work.
It is indeed a magical time of year. The classrooms have grown to become efficient communities of learners. At one end of the classroom, two children are working together on a rug with the binomial cube. At a table, a young child is focused on his push pin work, while another is happily writing her name. In Practical Life, children are pouring water, polishing a shoe and painting a masterpiece. Each child is developmentally unique and at a different level of proficiency. However, they all share common traits: a love of work, inner discipline, and spontaneous concentration sparked by independence and freedom of choice. Maria Montessori believed that these are the truly “normal” characteristics of childhood, which emerge when children’s complete needs are met. The classrooms are now normalized.
