This week has been incredibly full, sumptuous, savory. Coming back after a break is always sweet.  But this week has been even better.  

Perhaps the bar was set Monday morning with our very first “Great Lesson.”  I spent the better part of the break, as well as the last month or so, preparing for a full-class presentation on the story of the Universe.  Although “Great Lessons” are a tradition in Montessori elementary classrooms, I had been suspect of some of the less than accurate accounts.  So I pulled a hefty pile of books from the library (some that are rather overdue after too many renewals, I’m afraid), and did my best to grasp the scientific discoveries about how our Universe may have begun.  It’s quite a lot to wrap one’s mind around, much less to then present to a group of 31 six- to twelve-year-olds!

But present, I did.  After the morning story (with a few demonstrations here and there), a number of students dove into extensions: researching the life cycle of stars, studying the light elements, making calculations about numbers of stars in our galaxy.  The room was bustling with activity.

Tuesday continued with the same energy and vigor.  Students were just so into their work.  At times it felt hard to keep up with them!

Then on Wednesday, despite huge amounts of snow and the rest of the county schools closing, we opened (totally my fault, or my gift, depending upon one’s perspective).  Having half the class there was a lot of fun.  My co-teachers and I started introducing a letter writing process and before lunch I had two business letters delivered to me, both containing proposals about how to alter our lunch set-up and afternoon procedure so as to build community among the group.

Today, we opted to start the day with a long-overdue Community Meeting.  Typically we have Community Meeting on Wednesday mornings, toward the end of the morning work cycle.  This week, however, we just had too much to tackle to wait until the end and possibly run out of time before lunch.  So at 8:00 am, we sat together in a circle, shared appreciations, and then started working through the entries in the Joys & Concerns Book.  

I had glanced at the entries and surmised that the first few were more like reminders and that the group would probably breeze through them.  I was wrong.  The entry, “Some people aren’t wearing slippers,” brought up discussion that left us feeling like we were trying to crawl through molasses.  Believe it or not, there are some very strong feelings in our community about the choice of classroom footwear!

Despite the slow pace of discussing issues and sharing perspectives, the process was incredibly important.  We hadn’t been able to tackle a really divisive community issue like this for quite some time.  The fact that the issue was relatively simple (footwear choice) allowed students to explore implications.  What if we had a fire drill or an emergency on a snowy day and someone was only wearing socks?  How concerned should we be that someone in the community might cut their foot on something sharp if they weren’t wearing protective footwear?  Shouldn’t individuals have the freedom to weigh the safety risks and wear what is comfortable?  Why do we wear slippers in the classroom anyway?

Around and around we went.  Even as discussion wound down and someone offered a proposal, more issues came popping forward.  What about croc-style shoes on a rainy day?  Wouldn’t people get wet feet during a fire drill if they wore croc-style shoes outside?  Should everyone have extra socks?  How do the sock-wearers of the community feel about all this?

About 30 minutes later, the community came to a consensus decision.  Only two more pages of concerns to go!

Toward the end of Community Meeting (almost two hours after we began), I commended the class for their persistence and focus and introduced a new procedure for the classroom: a postal system.  The postal system idea arose after talking with my mom, a veteran Montessori teacher and Montessori teacher trainer, about some of the problematic note-writing that had been permeating our class.  So we instituted a formal postal system.  Students wanting to write letters (to a classmate, a teacher a family member, a business, etc.) must have the letter approved by a postmaster (a.k.a. teacher).  This gives teachers the opportunity to introduce formal letter writing, as well as work on mechanics, grammar, and spelling, as appropriate.  After revising the letter, the student can then address an envelope and “stamp” the letter, before placing the letter in the post-office box.  A mail carrier then delivers the mail during lunch jobs.  

Well, I certainly wasn’t prepared for the frenzy of letter writing that ensued!  The three “postmasters” were giving little writing conferences left and right.  I could barely catch my breath before someone else would come up asking if I could read another letter.  I was so excited, though, to be able to work with students on individual skills.  One girl got a chance to think about how to organize paragraphs.  Two boys worked on capitalization.  Some of the younger students were able to focus on accurate spelling.  The amount of writing was truly breathtaking (like I said, it was hard to catch my breath before starting another mini-writing conference!).

With all the amazing work of the week, I can barely believe that tomorrow is Friday.  Whatever will the day have in store for our community?