Transition to the Oak Room
'mighty oaks from little acorns grow'
Transition to The Oak Rooms
"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow"
To ensure a successful experience, children are working towards:
- verbally expressing personal wants and needs
- separating from parents and caregivers relatively easily
- anticipating the need to use the toilet and carries out toileting independently
- responding to adult direction in a timely manner
- following daily routine
- learning to wait for an adult’s attention
- demonstrating social awareness of others
- bonding with teachers and classmates
- managing disappointment
- awareness of physical body and demonstrating some impulse control
- putting on and taking off coat, shoes, clothing independently
- sitting calmly and focusing on an activity for a period of time
- playing alone without the need for adult participation
- sitting independently for circle and for short group lessons
- standing independently while waiting in line
- sitting for individual lessons
- making his/her own selection of work
- exhibiting a desire to "do it by myself!"
- developing age-appropriate fine motor control
- developing age-appropriate gross motor skills
- enjoying language experiences - being read to, songs and rhymes
- demonstrating the ability to listen
- willingness to try new activities
- developing a sense of order
Here are some things you may notice about transitioning:
Creative communication - It is not always possible for daily verbal or written communication because of the larger group size in the Oak Room, but there are lots of creative ways that staff and our children communicate with us about what happens during their day – Transparent Classroom photos and updates, lunch box, and much more. If there’s something specific that you need or want to know, just ask your child’s teacher to schedule a time to chat.
The Oak Room has perhaps four times the material of the Acorn Room and the expectation for the level of work and concentration will also increase significantly.
Some activities in the Acorn Room are group activities or become group activities, and take up much of the morning, e.g., language activities, some food preparation, snack. In the Oak Room food preparation is individual work, and snack is eaten with an invited friend. It takes the children time to adjust to this change. Also, the idea of needing to be invited to join someone’s work may be new to the transitioning child.
With the “I can do it myself” attitude of children ages 3.5 - 6, and their growing independence from adults, a higher ratio and group size are maintained without sacrificing quality in care and education. This ratio allows for more opportunities for independant problem solving and increased time to interact with other children and their environment, given their budding social skills.
The energy-filled environment may appear confusing, but there is an order. Children are engaged in all sorts of exploration and discovery in a dynamic environment that is well-planned by teachers. Teachers are orchestrating experiences and are strategically engaged in discussion, encouragement, education, caring, and helping children navigate tricky social situations and learn self-regulating. When your child initially enters the Oak Room he/she is introduced to all of the main areas of the classroom; language, sensorial, mathematics, culture, art, peace corner, with the focal point being in the practical life area. The practical life area helps to promote independence, concentration, coordination, and order within the child. We find that when daily individualized lessons are given in the academic areas children that have obtained these chief skills seem to flourish and become confident, independent learners and take pride in doing things for themselves.
Classroom Placement
The placement of students each year is a task that our teachers takes very seriously. We’d like to share with you the process and criteria that we use when we are setting up classes for the new school year. It is a thorough process that is essential to create well-balanced classrooms.
- Teacher Knowledge of Students - After working together for a full school year, teachers have in-depth knowledge of students’ learning styles, academic strengths and needs, personalities, friendships, and social interactions, including possible difficulties. All of this information is taken into consideration when making placements.
- Peers - Fostering social emotional development and leadership is of great importance for our students. We know that students are often nervous about starting a new year in a new classroom, so we try our best to have at least one or two familiar faces in each child’s class. However, we also know that it may sometimes be a disadvantage to have too many friends or even “best” friends together for another year. It discourages making new friends and broadening a child’s social circle and skills.
- Balancing Classes - Is important to each class a simile compose. We strive to balance boys, girls, academic abilities, health concerns, behavior issues, language spoken etc.
The child’s best interest is always our primary concern. Class placements are a team effort.
Children will have time together on the playground and plenty of time in the afternoon to interact.
Classroom placement is shared towards the end of the Summer in the Back to School newsletter.
Preparing for the Transition
Support Socialization: Provide Social Experiences away from home
Summer is a great time to set up play dates and arrange for your child to attend summer camp to build relationships with peers. These “away” experiences prepare your child for the more social environment of the Oak Room, and also provide them with experiences separating from you and learning to feel safe and comfortable in the presence of other trusted adults. These experiences allow the child to discover that they can stay in other environments and enjoy themselves, relaxing and trusting that their parent will return for them later.
- Gradually increase the length of time your child spends with another trusted adult.
- Always explain to your child that you will leave and you will return a bit later.
- Be on time, so your child experiences trust in you and your word.
- Once school starts continue planning these playdates, now also with friends from other classrooms.
Practice Clear, Positive Communication
In Montessori, we adhere to the following guideline in our communication with the children: “be kind, respectful, clear and brief.” We know that while over-explaining may make us feel more confident in our knowledge as adults, lengthy explanations are simply confusing to young children. Here are a few additional guidelines that we practice in our classrooms and likewise encourage you to practice at home:
- Model clear spoken language for your child to get a clear impression of their developing spoken language; refrain from using “baby talk” either in words or intonation.
- Expect your child to use words rather than gestures, grunts or body language.
- Ask for what you want. Rather than emphasizing a negative action (“Don’t do that!”) use positive language to ask for what you want from the child, such as “you may put your shoes on now.”
- Communicate expectations with clarity and provide logical consequences such as: “It’s time to put your shoes on now and we won’t do anything else until your shoes are on.”
- Say what you see, rather than what you think it means. We can empower children to express their feelings with words by modeling the language of feelings, such as: “I can see you’re feeling happy/sad/frustrated/confused.”
Provide activities that require Multiple Steps and support Concentration
Experiences such as working together to set a table (one careful step at a time), helping to prepare a meal, folding and putting away laundry, washing windows, or harvesting vegetables from the garden build independence, confidence, and concentration. These kinds of activities also give young children practice with sequencing, support their natural sense of order, strengthen their fine motor muscles, and give them an experience of contributing to their family in a meaningful way. These are also activities the child will encounter and continue to practice in the Oak Room, so starting now will help build comfort and familiarity.
Please see Parent Teacher Conference Follow up Link for Multiple Step Direction suggestions and games.
Provide Tools of Independence at Home
In Montessori, we believe that we should never do for a child that which she can do for herself. This focus on independence comes about by creating environments in which young children can succeed with as much independence as possible. We know that competence builds confidence and this confidence becomes the foundation of a lifelong love of learning. Some of these common tools of independence we offer in the Oak Room can also be very helpful at home.
- A stool at the bathroom sink allows your child to wash hands and brush teeth without having to ask for adult assistance.
- A child-sized pitcher and glasses stored on a low shelf in the kitchen allows a child to pour herself a glass of water when she feels thirsty.
- A small broom and dustpan hung from a low hook allow a child to sweep a spill when it happens – same with providing a low kitchen drawer or basket filled with cotton spill cloths for easy, independent clean-up.
- Low shelves neatly organized with a child’s toys and art activities, with each having its own clearly designated space, makes it possible for your child to successfully follow your adult direction to “please put your toys away.”
- For independence in dressing, offer choices that your child can manage alone. For example, if your child doesn’t yet know how to tie laces, provide shoes with Velcro closures; if your child struggles to fasten snaps or buttons, provide clothing with elastic waistbands.
Please see Thoughtful Thursdays - Montessori in the Home link below for more suggestions.
Expect and empower your Child to be Independent
When your child comes to school, she will be in an environment where she will have many choices and long periods of time when she can work independently with an activity of her choosing. She will also be responsible for managing her own toileting needs and clothing.
Unstructured Playtime
Toileting
Please see Toilet Training newsletter below for detailed suggestions.
Dressing
Consider, first and foremost, your child’s ability to manage getting easily into and out of their clothing at school. Consider also that your child’s clothing should allow for their activity while not detracting from their experience at school:
- Snaps, buttons, buckles, and bows can be exceptionally challenging for young children; therefore, unless your child is already fully independent in managing these closures, please do not send them to school. Pull-on pants and skirts with elastic waistbands are manageable by most young children.
- Please limit your child’s school clothing choices to those that are weather appropriate and suitable for their active, reality-based experience at school.
- To save time in the morning and to avoid any power struggle, consider having your child choose the next day’s clothing, and lay it out, the night before.
Please see Parent Teacher Conference Follow up Link for dressing independently suggestions.
Plan for Healthy Lunches your child can manage independently
Young children love to help in the preparation of food, especially their own school lunches. Lunches can be packed the night before to save time in the morning.
- Offer food choices which are easy for your child to manage at school – fruit and veggies cut into small pieces, for example
- Provide containers your child can manage independently – practice with the closures ahead of time
- Guide your child’s healthy choices: “Today, would you prefer apple or banana for your fruit? Do you prefer cheese or tofu for your protein?”
The Oak Room children are expected to eat independently.
Please see attached Back to School Newsletter for Grace & Courtesy at Lunch suggestions.
Joining the Oak Room is a very big and exciting transition for your child, and also for you. Your attitude about this transition is the single most significant factor in your child’s successful transition to school. Our staff is 100% dedicated to supporting you through this process.
- Email Kelly & Fiona, with questions or for support: info@lhmsnj.com
- Look for parent handbook, school calendar, and your child’s class assignment and phase-in date to arrive, in August.
- Attend the Playground Meet & Greet and Back to School night for your child’s class. This is a time to meet other parents, to get to know your child’s teachers, and learn more about the daily routines at school.
- Attend Parent Education and Community Events – post your 1-page calendar on the refrigerator, add calendar dates from Transparent Classroom calendar to your personal calendar and watch for newsletters announcing upcoming events!
To promote healthy development, the adults guiding the child and providing an environment for positive self-construction must be willing to observe, plan, prepare and allow the transition to occur naturally. We must continually ask ourselves: “For whom does the school function: for the needs of the adults or the needs of the child?”
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Long Hill Montessori School
Email: LongHillMontessoriSchool@gmail.com
Website: www.LongHillMontessoriSchool.com
Location: 158 Central Avenue, Stirling, NJ, United States
Phone: (908) 647-1852
Long Hill Montessori School prepares children for a lifetime of learning and success in today's world. We are committed to the development of the whole child based on the Montessori philosophy of education and human development.