A parent’s notes on Journey & Discovery

My daughter Lili age 2 months

Perhaps you are like me and frequently wonder as you observe them, what your child is experiencing, how they perceive the world and what they are feeling (perhaps like me you hope that those experiences are mostly positive).

Obviously you want your child/ren to have a good learning experience too, and have clearly made steps towards this by enrolling them at the Montessori Place, but aren’t you still curious?

With the intention of finding out more about the Montessori approach and and an idea of what my daughter may experience whilst there, I attended the Journey and Discovery workshop for parents in February. I was rewarded and found the event insightful and though I will never really know what my child experiences I now have some idea of ‘how’ she experiences.

Me age 2 months

We were asked to find a childhood photo of ourselves and bring this to the first session. Before entering the learning environments, we were asked to look at the photo and remember / meditate on how we were as a young child. With this fresh in our minds it was easier to approach the space and the activities as a child would, without the presumptions and layers of experience that all adults carry. The process helped me to re-kindle that sense of awe and wonder that small children have that is so precious and so easy to quash.

During the first half of the event we were asked to explore the environments without touching the objects or talking to other participants. The next day during the second half of the event we were allowed to interact with the learning resources and speak to each other if we wished. This meant that we approached the objects fresh, after space and time enough for reflection and interest in the activities to grow.

Over the course of the workshop, the transition from Infant Community to Children’s House to Elementary level was a subtle unfolding and was almost unnoticeable. Starting with the ‘everyday’ made exciting in the Infant community, like getting dressed and washing your hands. In the Children’s House there were some care-taking activities plus the development of literacy and numeracy, and tasks that promoted a growing awareness of the wide world. Finally once you arrived at the Elementary level you would be searching and discovering independently the keys to more abstract problem solutions; yet there was still a sense of a community with rotas for care-taking activities and house keeping.

The most memorable experience that I had over the two days, was that sometimes I wanted help and it was there, but other times I really wanted to figure things out alone and I was able to do this without interference. I realised that a child in these environments could gain a sense of achievement and know that it is okay to make mistakes.

Participating in the workshop had an immediate influence on my relationship with my daughter, I understood that I need to provide a physical, not just mental / emotional space where my child can achieve at her own pace. I was reminded that placement and presentation of objects within the home provide constant opportunities for discovery and that it is important to recognise those opportunities in order to enable my daughter to explore / try / learn, without interference or with help if requested.

I would like to thank all the staff involved in the organisation of the workshop, clearly a lot of time, energy, thought and love had gone into the preparation of the event and I have not come across any other educational institution that could boast of such a warm welcome to parents and carers.

Tara mother of Lili