Summer Camps & Montessori

I have loved watching the children get excited each week for something new; new art projects, new songs, new adventures. This is a bit of a departure from our usual Montessori school year since we do not utilize themes in the Montessori Pedagogy. During the Montessori School year, we tend to really follow the interests of the child. There are the constants (Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Culture, Art), and then there are the spontaneous curiosities of the child.

In the Montessori pedagogy, when we see an explosion of interest in an area, like camping or rainbows, we take that interest to engage the child in all kinds of learning. We see that as an opportunity to slip inside an open door welcoming us into the child's psyche to entice the child to expand that curiosity into other realms of learning.

What do we need to go camping? (practical life) Where can we camp? (culture and geography) What do we need to take with us? (practical life and language) What do we eat when we camp? (practical life) How do we set up a tent? (practical life, language, mathematics, sensorial)

This interest may vary from child to child, and we have the flexibility to bring in materials that not only speak to this child's interest but also address the child's natural drive toward functional independence, their sensitive period for language, the child's mathematical mind, and their interest in science.

Yes, themes are fun, and I will not lie; themes make planning pretty streamline for the teacher (not easy, but streamline 😉). And we love to have them over the summer. But what they do not offer is a child-centered opportunity for learning. They do not lend to child-directed education. This is why, come September, we will be returning to the unique and wonderful world of Montessori pedagogy of meeting each child where they are with individual personalities, interests, and needs.