Posts by Westshore Montessori School
Montessori At Home: How to Fight Summer Boredom
adapted from a June 2020 piece by Christina Clemmer on mother.ly Summer days are a great time to play with your child and do special activities together. Setting up a few areas in your home where your child can play independently will allow your child to have fun playing on his own, too—so that you can…
Read MoreWhat Is Westshore’s Summer Program?
by Jessica Hrytzik The Westshore Montessori Summer Program is a fun-filled opportunity for enrichment. Each and every child brings a very special element to our program. The children share their knowledge, their personalities, and their opportunities with peers from every classroom at Westshore Montessori. The Classrooms are filled with the typical Montessori materials that the children…
Read MoreCreating Montessori At Home
One of the most helpful things you can do for your child during this time is to create familiar Montessori routines and environments in your own space at home. The Johnson family has this beautiful setup to share with the Westshore community: Do you have any lessons or quarantine creations that you are proud of?…
Read MoreCommunity Over Competition
Written by Directress Monica Dieter The Montessori Method works to maximize the individual child’s academic potential. At Westshore, our classrooms are authentic Montessori environments designed to facilitate child-directed learning experiences. By engaging with materials that are accessible, inviting, and self-correcting, students develop independence, curiosity, and confidence. As students build a strong sense of self, they…
Read MoreDeveloping Our Skills Artfully
Reflections on creating a class-wide project for the Gala, written by Directress Cindy Genin and Assistant Jessica Hrytzik
Read MoreMaking Choices
The essence of independence is to be able to do something for oneself. Maria Montessori Several weeks ago I had a conversation with my daughter who is a senior in college. She told me that she had to make a choice whether or not to go to some events, and was having a hard time…
Read More‘Montessori-Inspired’ Is Not the Same as Montessori: Please Don’t Pretend That It Is.
Published in The 74 Million on Oct. 21, 2019 Sept. 13 marked the first anniversary of the announcement that Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos had pledged $2 billion to create and operate the Bezos Day One Fund. Part of it, the Day 1 Academies Fund, will create a network of full-scholarship Montessori-inspired preschools…
Read MoreA Surprising Favorite Game: Learning Geometric Solids
Written by Directress Cindy Genin Do any of you remember the game, Guess Who? It was one of my favorite games when I was younger. How about the game Headbands? This is a game that is fun for the whole family. In all of our classrooms, we have two very similar works on the shelves; the Mystery Bag and Guessing Game. The Sensorial…
Read MoreSound Games Come First in Montessori
Written by Directress Monica Dieter Contrary to popular belief, a child’s knowledge of letter-sound relationship is far more important than his or her ability to name letters or recite the alphabet. A child can easily memorize the names of objects or letter symbols, but that does not mean they can use that information to later…
Read MoreCelebrating Holidays in the Montessori Classroom
Written by Directress Denise Pawlukiewicz Our school community is made up of diverse cultures, ethnicities and traditions. With that in mind, our approach to holiday celebrations is very simple. We prepare our room in advance of the holiday, talk to the children about the event, and then celebrate in a manner appropriate for a toddler.…
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