Preparing for the Classroom

By Nieva Armstrong, Lower Elementary Teacher

Eight weeks have passed. To the new elementary children the mystery behind the door to the yellow classroom has been revealed. Yes, they now know that there’s a wealth of substantive activities to accomplish in the elementary. They have been working on their reading, writing, and numbers steadily. They are experiencing what the passage from being unconscious to conscious learners is about. Their eyes have become open to the world.  They recognize certain things from experience, but others things are vague, while some are totally unfamiliar to them. It is at which they begin to discover parts of learning comes naturally to them, and what they have to put in more effort to accomplish.

This is also the stage where a lot of mental construction and expansion is happening. Their reasoning mind is forming. Ideas have to make sense to them before they accept them. At this point, saying “Because I said so” does not come without a rebuttal.

Parallel to mental construction is their realization that they are social beings. They are now developing an understanding of their relationship to other people. Their sense of place now depends on being part of a group. They are now starting to look at themselves in relation to people outside of their family. Hero worship begins, and their moral senses are developing.  With all of these occurring between 6 and 12 years of age, the children face differing challenges. Some challenges are just initial jitters and part of being initiated into the tasks in the elementary. Others appear to need additional support outside of what is being done in the classroom. However, there are some challenges that appear bigger because they are compounded by factors that can be eliminated or avoided.

Here are some of my observations on what issues compound the children’s situation.

Sometimes children appear tired, probably due to lack of rest or interrupted sleep. When children get overworked on extracurricular activities, they can appear sluggish. They can be distractingly chatty, with their conversation jumping from one subject to another. They seek stimulus to wake them up.  They constantly seek an opportunity to take a break, like going to the restroom or taking a drink. They appear to have difficulty following the lesson they are receiving or the work they are performing. They find it difficult to maintain their focus. They may choose to get a material out and they either will work with the material hurriedly or will just keep the material set up but will not used it appropriately.

Sometimes children appear with overly stimulated senses. They look distracted. When they move in the classroom, they move without any purpose. These children daydream constantly. What seems to be occupying them is this overload of images and sounds. They mouth or act out whatever it is that is occupying their mind. They seek to be entertained. They are always merely curious. They only seek to get an answer to what they are curious about. They do things that do not interest them fast and just “to please”.

Sometimes children appear to be hungry. These children say that they either missed eating their full breakfast or they ate only a small amount of breakfast.  Some of these children find it difficult to start their day and will immediately dash for the snack pass as soon as Snack Time begins. A few are irritable and sensitive. Some find it difficult to focus on the lesson they are receiving when they feel hungry.

Maria Montessori believed that purposeful work helps normalize the children. With meaningful work, the children develop their skills and their character. The culture of engaging in purposeful work is what the children have learned to develop since their primary years. So, when they come into the elementary classroom, this goal is further instilled.  When the children arrive tired, distracted, or hungry, the classroom staff strives to address their situation. When they choose a work, our role is to guard their focus against distractions. Through this, we help them reach their goal for that day, and achieve the purpose of the lesson they choose.

In order to make the most of the learning and socialization experiences available to the children each year, we urge parents to consider monitoring these three aspects of their readiness to grow in body, mind, and spirit.