Last Shabbos, Shabbos Shekalim, we read the portion of parsha about giving machatzis hashekel (half shekel) by each person in B’nei Yisrael. Each person had to give the exact amount, no more and no less. This allowed everyone to feel they had an equal part in the Mishkan. We also read parshas Truma, which told of B’nei Yisroel’s contributions of materials to the building of the Mishkan. There was genius (of course, it was Hashem’s idea). Human beings feel more connected to something when they contribute of themselves to it. Human beings also feel less ownership if they perceive themselves as having contributed less.
We take these wise ideas from Torah and incorporate them into our daily lives in our Jewish Montessori classroom. As we go through the day there are things we do to help the children take and feel ownership over their learning, their classroom, their community and their lives.
Learning belongs to all of us! The students take ownership of their education by being able to choose when during the day to do the work they need to get done. They have self correcting materials that allow them to check if they have correctly done their work. Many times they have the ability to choose the followup work they will do to show they have understood a lesson they have received. In the same way that the children are learning, we learn from observing and teaching them as well. We use our curriculum binders at times as a guide for a lesson, which shows the children that we are all learning, even the adults.
The classroom belongs to us all! We have the children help take care of the classroom doing things like watering plants, feeding class pets, sweeping the floor, cleaning the tables and making sure the works are put back on the shelves where they belong when done. We work to make sure the classroom is beautiful and that we all feel proud of it. Feeling proud of ourselves as part of it is a bonus.
Our community matters and we are part of it! We all work together to treat one another with respect and kindness. We play community building games each day, allowing us to work on cooperation and positive interactions. We remind each other that “the only person I am competing with is me, to be a better me than I was 5 minutes ago.” The children are encouraged to collaborate with each other on work and projects. Asking a friend for help is a desired thing, not considered cheating or shirking on their work. Conflicts of course arise, and we use conflict resolution to work through them. We come together as a group to create our rules and work through any issues.
These lessons will serve our students throughout their lives in many situations. Although many of these ideas are also part of the Montessori philosophy, we acknowledge that all these concepts come from Torah and of course from Hashem!
-Daniella
We take these wise ideas from Torah and incorporate them into our daily lives in our Jewish Montessori classroom. As we go through the day there are things we do to help the children take and feel ownership over their learning, their classroom, their community and their lives.
Learning belongs to all of us! The students take ownership of their education by being able to choose when during the day to do the work they need to get done. They have self correcting materials that allow them to check if they have correctly done their work. Many times they have the ability to choose the followup work they will do to show they have understood a lesson they have received. In the same way that the children are learning, we learn from observing and teaching them as well. We use our curriculum binders at times as a guide for a lesson, which shows the children that we are all learning, even the adults.
The classroom belongs to us all! We have the children help take care of the classroom doing things like watering plants, feeding class pets, sweeping the floor, cleaning the tables and making sure the works are put back on the shelves where they belong when done. We work to make sure the classroom is beautiful and that we all feel proud of it. Feeling proud of ourselves as part of it is a bonus.
Our community matters and we are part of it! We all work together to treat one another with respect and kindness. We play community building games each day, allowing us to work on cooperation and positive interactions. We remind each other that “the only person I am competing with is me, to be a better me than I was 5 minutes ago.” The children are encouraged to collaborate with each other on work and projects. Asking a friend for help is a desired thing, not considered cheating or shirking on their work. Conflicts of course arise, and we use conflict resolution to work through them. We come together as a group to create our rules and work through any issues.
These lessons will serve our students throughout their lives in many situations. Although many of these ideas are also part of the Montessori philosophy, we acknowledge that all these concepts come from Torah and of course from Hashem!
-Daniella
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