A Letter from the Director
Excellence In The Early Years
I’m delighted to learn that you have expressed an interest in Tas Montessori School. As Director of the school, I’m writing to share a few of my thoughts with you and to raise a few questions—questions that may prove helpful as you decide the kind of school that’s right for your family.
As you may well know, the toddler years as well as the years of Preschool and early elementary are among the most important in a child’s development. There is no time when young minds will grow and change more rapidly. There is no period more critical in shaping the ways that children learn and think, interact with others, and feel about school and themselves. For this reason, we consider the education of young children to be work of enormous importance. We believe in providing your child a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment. This is evident in the care we take in shaping the classroom experience. Furthermore, in our early classes, we maintain a ratio of one adult to just 7 or 8 students. This level and quality of personal attention gets to the heart of what sets the Tas Montessori program apart. We honestly believe in quality over quantity.
In addition, there are important aspects of our approach to teaching and learning that distinguish our program. To explore these, let me turn to the questions I promised at the outset. First, what does “educational excellence” mean for a 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-year-old? At many schools, the answer lies in acceleration—in short, presenting material from first, second, or third grade early, pushing all students to achieve at the same level. At TMS, we disagree with this approach. We believe the most excellent experience for young children is the most developmentally appropriate one. Yes, preschoolers can be taught to sit for extended lessons, to complete work sheets, and to solve rote math problems. No, this is not optimal use of their remarkable talents. Young children are wired to explore. They learn through exploring their environment. They learn through play. They learn in motion. They should learn not only facts and skills, but also how to problem-solve, cooperate, and communicate, to be part of a school community, to be resilient and resourceful. These tenets are at the heart of the Montessori Method where all of early learning is done with a hands-on, follow the child approach.
Skilled teachers create opportunities for students to learn these lessons. They channel children’s natural curiosity. They help each student face challenges and experience successes. In our classrooms you will find students engaged in hands-on activities like constructing block bridges, planting seeds, hatching chicken eggs in an incubator, and modeling lessons in a variety of interactive methods. This is not to say that your child will not accel beyond the average, quite the contrary is observed in our programs most often. As your child advances in one area, they will be allowed and encouraged to move on to the next level when they are ready.
What should a classroom look like? Of course, there is no single correct design for an early childhood classroom. However, the way a room looks tells you something about the kind of teaching and learning that happens there. If students’ days are spent exploring, the room should reflect this, with stations and destinations of many kinds—not just a carpet area for group lessons. If students’ creativity is given full chance to take flight, the room should teem with art—not perfect cookie-cutter coloring, but individual creations that reflect trial and error and each child’s own vision. If students are entering a world really worth discovering, the room should be filled with great children’s books, blocks to build with, and natural light—not cartoon characters and bright plastic toys. If children are to learn to value the resources entrusted to them, the room should be well ordered and well cared for. And finally, if children’s days are scheduled as they should be, the room should be empty and silent at times. You see, to thrive, young children need lots of time outside. Barring extreme conditions, TMS kids play and learn outside more than once each day, whether it’s animal studies, playground play, or nature walks.
What happens when kids have a conflict? This may not be the first question parents consider, but it relates to some of the most important life skills children will ever learn. Of course, the easiest approach is for the teacher to simply impose order: “Stop it.” “Take turns.” “Quiet down.” However, this shortcut misses an important learning opportunity. Instead, we feel the teacher’s role is to help children build an effective set of skills for conflict resolution. This often means asking questions rather than handing down judgments. It’s facilitating and modeling rather than law enforcement. Frankly, it’s a lot of work. But time invested in this way yields results of inestimable value; results you see clearly as children grow into their Middle and Upper School years. I hope, through these questions and answers, that I’ve given you some sense of our philosophy and approach at Tas Montessori School, and of the spirit of our school, which I believe makes it such a wonderful place to learn and grow.
Toddlers - During this period of time children experience explosive cognitive and physical growth. We strive to help them develop language skills, small and gross motor skills, social development, independence, basic mathematical skills, word recognition, increasing practical skills, as well as curiosity about the greater cultural and scientific world they live in.
Preschool - One of the hallmarks of a Montessori school is the family-like environment that includes children of a three-year age span. Since every child reaches developmental milestones at a different rate, this allows our Montessori trained teachers to guide children to the kindergarten level without the pressure of having to push them to a certain milestone within strict age requirements. Older children are encouraged to act as mentors and role models to the younger children. The younger children build confidence and self-esteem as they eventually step into that role.
Early Elementary - Kindergarten is a crucial academic year, preparing the child not just for the rigors of grade school to come, but for an entire lifetime of learning. A child who enters first grade adeptly socialized, unafraid to tackle new challenges, eager to learn new things, and secure in his or her own ability to figure things out is likely to do well not just in school but also in life. Our goal in our early elementary class is to make sure your child has reached and exceeded appropriate milestones in language arts, reading, basic science and biology, geography, and basic mathematics. We value just as highly the intangible skills of self-reliance, social adroitness, and self-confidence.
Thank you, Lindsay Pickerel
Director, Texas and Nationally Certified
Montessori Teacher, Internationally Certified