Practical notes for Montessori families and educators, and what is new in FutureNerds.
Schedule tours during the work cycle, after the first hour. By then the children have arrived, settled and chosen work, and most of them are concentrating on work. A visiting parent who walks in at 9:45 on a Tuesday sees a four-year-old carrying a tray of water across the room without spilling, two six-year-olds working through a long addition problem with…
For parents
What the curriculum areas and progress terms in a Montessori report mean, and the questions to ask your child's guide about them.
For educators
A plan and word-for-word scripts for raising a concern at a parent conference and leaving with one next step the parent agrees to.
For parents
How to teach handwashing, nose-blowing and coughing into an elbow at home the way a Montessori classroom does, one slow step at a time.
For educators
How to write plain rules for fever, vomiting and returning to school that a parent can read and apply before breakfast.
For parents
How to turn your school's illness policy into a quick morning check, plan your backup care in advance, and tell the school when your child is staying home.
For educators
How to publish conference slots that families book themselves, handle the families who don't, and send reminders before each meeting.
For parents
What to write down before your conference, what to bring and what to ask, so the meeting spends its time on what you most want to know.
For educators
A two-week plan for gathering observations, work samples and progress records for each child so every conference starts from evidence.
For parents
What to check on a field trip permission slip, how to plan pickup changes around the trip, and how to get ready if you volunteer to chaperone.
For educators
A checklist for permission slips, chaperones, head counts and packing that you can work through in the weeks before a trip with young children.
For parents
A ten-minute routine for the first of each month that puts closures, events and club days into one calendar your whole family uses.