Living Montessori
After an atypical year, summer finally arrived and with it, many people debate whether this is the ideal time to address the academic lag.
For the Montessori public school community, the issue of lag cannot be addressed generally or lightly. In circles where they have gathered to dream about the possibilities for the summer, educators agree that it is time to rest, as children and young people have worked a lot academically during the school year.
For Amneris Chaparro, a teacher guide from the Professor Juana Rosario school in Aguada, going outdoors as a family is essential. "We could meet in an open area and do sowing, outdoor games, exercises, yoga. Everything that children love," she said.
As explained by the educator, each of the academic areas can be reinforced using the elements that nature provides. For example, numbers can be reinforced by counting leaves, stones, etc. Also, instill values through the care of nature and animals. "The essence of this time I would say that it must be that children work in nature," she mentioned. In her opinion, contact with the earth is a pillar of the Montessori philosophy that during the distance mode could not be attended in the way it is usually done in school.
"We do not have to drown children with educational materials constantly when they already come from such a different school year where they were given a lot of work. They need a break and learn to enjoy the stage they are in," she added.
Although not all public schools will have a specific summer program, at least in their school many teacher guides, voluntarily, are determined to convene families to meet in open spaces. As explained by Chaparro, the families have been very closed and he understands that it is extremely necessary to socialize and connect with nature. "Get together in the summer in an open place and do different things ... enjoy the breeze, a story reading in the open air," she proposed.
Although these meetings would be during her vacation time, Amneris emphasizes that it would be very beneficial for her to be able to connect with her students and parents in a safe and relaxed environment before the next semester. "We do it for them, the children need it. Children and young people need to reconnect".