Update from Ms. Maccabe - March 18
/Good Afternoon Montessori Parents,
We hope you are all doing well and that your family members, far and wide, are also in good health. In these times of unknown we are all working hard to maintain normalcy, as we are able, with calm and clarity. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
Your Montessori family has been working hard to prepare for the coming weeks of “Distance Learning”. We all recognize that this is a very different way to approach Montessori and I am so incredibly proud of each of our staff as they are working endlessly this week to both create a new paradigm for learning as well as learn the new technology platform that we will be using. There is a great deal of enthusiasm that is inspiring others and everyone is rising to the challenges.
We are planning on using ZOOM for our connectivity platform. While Montessori is, in its essence, a hands-on learning approach to learning, we are looking at ways to incorporate technology in a manner that will support and continue the relationships already established between the children and teachers. We also look to continue to increase the skills and development of the children as well as support you, the parents.
To that end, we have many plans we are developing including:
Weekly parent check in group meetings for all levels; we encourage caregivers to participate as they may be the ones implementing our plans.
Toddler and Primary child groups with teachers, at least several times a week
Elementary
Daily check in time for student questions
Weekly conferencing for each child, as is done in the classroom
Lessons as offered by teachers through video or live lessons
Videos of staff offering myriad topics including drawing, yoga, nature exploration, dance, singing
As you can see we are hard at work preparing for this time ahead. In doing this we have questions for you that will help us best prepare. Please let me know directly what your needs may be. This includes:
Do you have access to reliable internet that will allow access to ZOOM daily or weekly for brief timesa. Do you have a printer?b. Does your computer have a microphone and camera?
Do you have school supplies available to your children? Paper, scissors, tape, glue etc.
Other needs and/or special circumstances that need our attention.
We are here to support your family in any way that we can. Please know that we are available as needed. In addition to our weekly, scheduled meeting times, we will continue to be available via email individually with our regular 24 hour response time.
As you know, a Montessori education begins with the Prepared Environment. While we don’t want you to create a Classroom Environment, we do want to offer suggestions regarding ways to increase success for your children with small tweaks to your home environment. This will be part of further communication later this week.
Order is one of the most important elements of society. And order can look very different in every home. We have attached a general guideline for routines for all levels. We all know how much children rely on routine and we want to offer you some ideas to continue this important component in your current lives. In times of stress and unknown, routines are essential for children and adults to maintain a sense of balance and order. We encourage you to adhere to the ones suggested as you are able.
All of us feel it is important to maintain the sense of family that VIMSIA is known for. This includes all of us; children, parents and staff. We are here to collaborate and support. I look forward to hearing from you in regard to how things are going.
Going forward, you will receive weekly emails from me with updates. Your classroom teachers will be in touch later this week with specific details and then again at the end of a well deserved Spring Break. We plan to launch our Distance Learning on Monday, March 30th and appreciate your support, patience and participation in this new and uncharted learning platform.
Sending all good and positive thoughts and energy,
Heather