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A Joyful Start to the Montessori Journey with MMC&M

By: Camilla Nichols-Uhler and Alex Chiu

This fall, The Montessori Children’s Academy (MCA) proudly launched an exciting new program called Montessori, My Child, & Me (MMC&M).  Designed for children ages 18-30 months, this program offers young children the opportunity to explore a modified Montessori environment with their parents or caregivers.  MMC&M also provides the adults with an opportunity to learn about Montessori education and to see firsthand how it benefits children.

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MMC&M sessions are 1 ½ hours once a week for eight weeks and are held in a classroom specifically designed for this younger age group.  The classroom is a beautiful, welcoming environment equipped with specially designed furniture and materials that are the appropriate size for little arms and legs.  Everything in the classroom is of the highest quality, obtained from renowned companies such as Hello Wood in Rickman, Tennessee and Community Playthings in Ulster Park, NY.

During each class meeting, the children and adults are introduced to a sampling of age-appropriate Montessori materials from each of the five main learning areas found in a typical Montessori classroom: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Culture.  However, the materials for the MMC&M classroom are adapted to meet the distinct needs and abilities of the young children in this special program.

One example of a lesson modified for MMC&M participants is the Pink Tower from the Sensorial area.  In the MMC&M classroom, the tower contains five cubes for our little explorers to use in order to build the tower from the largest cube at the bottom to the smallest cube at the top.  In our MCA 3-6-year-old classrooms, the Pink Tower contains ten cubes, and the children learn to transfer one cube at a time from the shelf to their workspace.  As children use this material, they gain a sense of sequence and order.  When they are finished, they return the Pink Tower to its place in the classroom and arrange it in the same way that they found it when they began their work.  This way it is ready for the next person to use.

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As our youngest MMC&M students began to learn the process for using the smaller version of the Pink Tower, the adults observed that this activity is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface.  Many of the parents and adult caregivers marveled at how the children were able to follow directions, concentrate on the activity, and put away the materials in the appropriate place when they were finished!  This is just one example of how Montessori engages the whole child in each activity.  Gaining skills in independence, small and large muscle control, planning, and care of materials all are the essence of this seemingly simple lesson.  And as our adults observed, even the youngest children can be successful when given the guidance and opportunity to take on new challenges!

In addition to using a sampling of modified Montessori materials, the MMC&M children and adults participate in music, movement, art, and yoga activities under the guidance of a certified Montessori Head Teacher.  Movement is an important aspect of the Montessori environment.  Studies have shown that children engaged in movement while learning are able to retain information more easily.  In Montessori classrooms, the children often are moving to choose and complete their work.  Movement provides time to release energy, to think, and to plan.

Within the MMC&M classroom, children have many opportunities to move and to develop their large motor skills as they crawl through a tunnel, push a carpet sweeper, or balance a wooden wheel on a yellow line.  The MMC&M children also practice yoga poses and participate in a variety of songs and games that allow them to move their bodies in controlled, purposeful ways.  At the same time, they are having quite a lot of fun!

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And it’s not only the children who benefit from participating in the MMC&M program. The adults also glean a great deal of knowledge not only about Montessori but also about their own children. By welcoming parents and caregivers into the prepared Montessori environment and guiding them while their children explore the materials, the adults are given the opportunity to see their children through a different lens.  This allows them to come to a deeper understanding of their children’s needs and unique capabilities.

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During the course of the morning, the parents and caregivers are invited to visit the cozy adult area that offers a comfy couch, lounge chairs, and a coffee table. There, with a cup of coffee or tea, they can sit back and observe the classroom in action.  Past participants have told us that by taking note of how the classroom is organized and seeing the types of child-sized tools we provide, they have learned how they can model the Montessori layout in order to promote their children’s independence at home.  There are some simple things parents can do to adapt the kitchen, bathroom, and child’s bedroom to facilitate more practice with important daily life skills.  As Dr. Montessori once said, “The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self”. By modeling the Montessori environment at home, parents give their children the gift of independence, as well as a sense of pride in being able to do things for themselves.

The adults in our MMC&M program also have the opportunity to peruse Montessori resources, including books and articles related to the Montessori philosophy and methodology, and to read a collection of parent testimonials from current and former Montessori parents. Through observation and in conjunction with the parent education materials provided and guidance by the Head Teacher, the adults can witness how the Montessori environment addresses the needs of the children and fosters their natural curiosity, making learning meaningful and fun! They can also begin to build a bridge between home and school by implementing what they see in the MMC&M classroom in their own homes and family routines, which is one of the main goals of the program.

The Montessori Children’s Academy plans to expand the successful Montessori, My Child, & Me program in the future so that it is available at all three of our campuses—Morristown, Chatham, and Short Hills.  We are excited to offer even more parents the opportunity to join our community and to embark on a beautiful Montessori journey together with their children.

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“The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth. From this almost mystic affirmation there comes what may seem a strange conclusion: that education must start from birth.”  ~ Maria Montessori

Montessori Childrens Academy NJ

A Word of Welcome from MCA

By: Alex Chiu and Hannah Ferris

“Montessori Education” 

For some, those two words might not mean very much.  For others however, they bring about many misconceptions of discipline, pedagogy, or purpose. But for those who have become familiar with the Montessori Method and have seen the beauty of its effectiveness as a model for educating children, those words conjure up a kaleidoscope of feelings ranging from joy, relief, and excitement, to an urgency to spread the news and create more Montessori opportunities for children everywhere.

This is how The Montessori Children’s Academy came into being.  In 1999, The Montessori Children’s Academy opened the doors to its first school in Madison, NJ.  Serving 45 families, the school became a place where the essence of the Montessori Method came alive.  With the vision of its founder and president, the school transformed physically from a typical concrete and stone structure with a basic outdoor play yard to a warm, family community in which teachers welcomed children into a home-like and beautiful environment.

Our classrooms came alive with the highest quality Montessori materials – Pink Towers for children to construct as they absorbed the meaning of order and size, colorful Puzzle Maps to construct the continents of the world and countries from each continent, Practical Life areas where children learned simple food preparation and daily life skills with materials that caught their attention because they were not only pretty, but also just the right size for little hands.  And the outdoor play yard was transformed into a safe, attractive outdoor learning and playing environment with a top-of-the-line climbing structure, shade area, and little garden patches.

But even more than the cosmetics, it was the devotion of the administration and the teachers who brought their love of and confidence in the Montessori Method to the school each and every day. Nick DiGiacomo, MCA’s founder, recalls: “I remember opening the doors that very first day and wondering if anyone who walked through them would understand why I was there, and why it was so important to me to make a difference in the lives of their children.  I wanted them to think of our school as a special place, a place that was warm and inviting, with friendly and caring teachers who were passionate about educating their children in a very special way.”

“That first day was a long one,” Nick remembers, “with all the glitches that you would expect to occur on the first day of any new adventure.  It was toward the end of that day, when I sat all alone at the front desk, waiting for the last few children to be picked up, still wondering if I did the right thing, when it happened… One of the moms stopped by on her way out and said, ‘Thank you. My son doesn’t want to leave. He just loves it here.’  Those simple words just made all the difference in the world to me.  All of a sudden, the never-ending preparation, the planning, the hard work, and those endless hours, didn’t seem so difficult any more.”

Fast forward to 2016:

The Montessori Children’s Academy has grown to serve over 450 families on three campuses in Northern New Jersey.

Our oldest operating campus, which opened in 2003, is found in Chatham, NJ. Chatham is a residential enclave for families with children. Its tradition of being a tight-knit, family-friendly community made it an obvious choice for the expansion of our family of schools. Our Chatham campus is within close walking distance of the Main Street business district and we love that many of our families are beginning to walk to school again; a sure sign that spring is coming! MCA has thrived in Chatham and our Chatham school serves families from Chatham Borough and Township, Madison, Summit, New Providence, and Florham Park. MCA is a proud member of the Madison/Chatham Chamber of Commerce and we have recently worked with the Library of the Chathams and the Chatham Newcomers & Social Club to share the benefits of Montessori education in the Chatham community.

Our Chatham campus serves families with children ages 2½ - Kindergarten.

Our Chatham campus serves families with children ages 2½ – Kindergarten.

In 2007, we opened our Short Hills campus. This campus is incredibly diverse and serves families from many suburban Essex County towns. The Millburn/Short Hills community has been incredibly accepting of MCA. We’ve recently welcomed members of the Millburn Seniors Club to campus as guest readers and our students have seen many productions at the Paper Mill Playhouse. What makes our Short Hills campus truly unique is our Elementary program. In addition to our preschool and Kindergarten programs, we offer Montessori classroom settings for children ages 6-12 years. The Elementary program expands on the foundation of learning that we provide in our 3- to 6-year-old classrooms. It includes many opportunities and academic projects inspired by a wide-ranging curriculum, activities in the community, and our beautiful outdoor classroom.

Our Short Hills campus serves families with children ages 2½ - 12 years.

Our Short Hills campus serves families with children ages 2½ – 12 years.

Our newest campus is located in the Convent Station neighborhood of Morristown. This school (which relocated from Madison in 2010) lies in the heart of Morris County and serves families who reside in the county or who come to Morristown specifically for work and school. The Mayor of Morristown, Tim Dougherty, recently recognized MCA as he officially proclaimed February 28 – March 5, 2016 as Montessori Education Week. Our Morristown campus has much to offer both children and adults, as our Montessori teacher education program, Montessori Center for Teacher Development, has its home on the Morristown campus. Additionally, our youngest students have been learning the ways of the classroom on our “youngest campus”. In the fall of 2015, we launched Montessori, My Child, & Me, a class for 18-30 month old children and their caregivers. It’s been an absolute joy to watch these little ones grow and begin to test their own independence.

The Morristown campus serves families with children ages 18 months -Kindergarten.

The Morristown campus serves families with children ages 18 months -Kindergarten.

MCA and Beyond!

As you can see, MCA has a lot to offer and we’re continuing to grow. That’s why we decided to start The MCA Blog! We want to use it foremost to stay in touch with our current, alumni, and prospective families. You’ll hear from MCA’s Director of Montessori Development, Camilla Nichols-Uhler, MCA’s Senior Director, Jeanine Christiana, our support staff, teachers, and maybe even some of our students. We’ll use this blog to share detailed information about our programs, our expertise in the ways of the Montessori Method, news from our classrooms, and other unique insights on early childhood education and development.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what kind of topics you’d like to see on The MCA Blog and how we can better educate you and your child for tomorrow’s world. We’re glad that you’re coming on this Montessori journey with us!