A SCHOOL LIKE NO OTHER
by Annette Flores Garcia
Woman's Home Companion, March 28, 2001
I wasn't expecting anything new. I thought I had seen it all: After all, I already had three older boys who had gone through two years of preschool each, then big school. The coloring books, paper puppets, cut-outs to name a few. And then there's the alphabet to be learned, the numbers to be memorized (not to mention recognize) and the songs to be sung. Yup. That was preschool to me. As simple as A-B-C. But I was wrong. It was only when my fourth boy got into Family Montessori Preschool over at Esteban Abada (behind Katipunan in QC) that I realized that preschool wasn't just the alphabet, numbers, songs and the like...IT was different! It's a time of exciting discoveries, exploring the world and getting to know one's self better.
Even the classroom is different. The tables and chairs are arranged in groups where children can sit as they chose in groups, or in two's or alone if they wish. The blackboard, unlike in the traditional classroom, is not the center of it all and the teacher's table is non-existent.
What a refreshing change after the other preschool where there seemed to be different points of distraction - someone wailing in the corner, another laughing at the other, a teacher trying her best to be heard above the din, while pointing at the blackboard trying to get the children to look at the letter A.
Not in this school because they follow the Maria Montessori method of teaching where the children are encouraged to do their work on their own while the teacher directs the activity rather than teaches. In fact, the teacher using the Montessori method isn't really a "teacher" in the usual sense of the word but more of a "directress". In this case, the child is the heart of the school, the prepared environment complete with Montessori materials is for him/her to manipulate and learn from and to grow with at his/her own pace.
I was baffled at first at the productive silence there was in the classroom as the children, with ages ranging from 2 1/2 to 6, were seated randomly around pint-sized chairs and chairs or on the floor, totally absorbed in whatever it was that interested them at the moment. It was a busy sort of silence, one which is produced only when someone is concentrating on something.
There was one boy carefully pouring water into a glass, another building a tower of blocks and still another doing the reading cards...whatever the child was doing seemed to absorb him completely as there was almost no uneeded conversation in the classroom except for a few boys and girls who were comparing notes as to which one colored better than the other. The "teacher" went from child to child observing, helping when needed and making sure they were as productive as they culd be.
Would my child Eduardo - a very active four year-old then - fit in, I wondered? Wouldn't he be storming around the classroom or disrupting the class? Would he, if allowed to do exactly what he wanted to do, follow the rules? A few months later, I found my fears completely unfounded. Not only was my active little boy begging his teacher to "please teach me how to write" - but he was sitting quietly, doing work day by day by day and learning the alphabet, his numbers and all the basics while still having fun!
A few months later, Eduardo astounded his older brothers because he knew not only the days of the week but also the months of the year and even the continents of the world. Joyfully at the dinner table or while riding in the car, he sings songs about these things he learns from school!
Finding a school for your preschool-age children can really be a challenge.There is so much we want for our children and oftentimes we have to settle for less than what we hoped for. Fortunately, at Family Montessori Preschool there is so much they offer that even the most hard-to-please mothers can truly feel more than satisfied.
The following is a piece I wrote which appeared in the school's yearbook for SY1999-2000 inspired by the children of Family Montessori Preschool:
ONE SCHOOLDAY AT A TIME
These were the days when everything was good and new,
When I felt a little shy until I met you and teacher too.
Then we started working,
Which one will I choose to do today?
"Teacher, teacher, can I try?"
The pink tower, Pouring? Sandpaper letters?
"Teacher, teacher, is this the way?"
Hmmm...and then I tried all of them. They were all fun to do.
Sometimes I did things on my own,
Like changing my shirt or folding my clothes
or eating on my own.
I felt so good and warm inside.
"I did it by myself!"
Then teacher would smile and say,
"I'm so proud of you!"
We sang so many songs and drew so many pictures
and listened to many stories.
Some were teacher's, some were yours
and some of them were mine.
But we all learned together.
My classmates, teacher and I.
Of so, so many things.
Of how and why and what of things.
Of leaves and flowers and sunshine and rain.
Of plants that grow and trees that shade
and houses made of love.
Of people and children and brothers and sisters
of towns and countries and continents.
They are all our to take good care of
and yours and mine to share.
But even as we continue to share the world
we are all very different.
You are you, and I am I, and nothing can change that
that's why we are so very special.
