The All-Day, All-Year Montessori Community: A Place for Living at School

(At the conclusion of this article is a section that describes the process of 
bringing the parents along on this journey from the perspective of the 
administrative staff. See: “A Few Thoughts From an Administrative 
Perspective”)

By Michele Aspinall 
Winter 2005

I am pleased to have another opportunity to share this story with you. I don’t claim to have a terribly “unique” story, but I found that when I was struggling to develop the all-year program at Countryside, it encouraged me to hear of others going through the same thing. I am also quite proud to retell it again and again because the story is not mine but instead it is the children’s story...

Mentor Transcript: Elementary (Unsupervised Students, Enabling Independent Music Work, US History) Transcript Date: May 13, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Primary (Colored Pencils for Art, Assistant Training, Outdoor Work Environment, Age Appropriate Work) Transcript Date: May 11, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Toddler (Phys Ed Program, Rearranging and Beautifying Environment) Transcript Date: May 11, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Elementary (Math for 6th Graders, Untrained Head of School) Transcript Date: May 6, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Primary (Changing to All Day, Reading by Kindergarten, Kindergarten Enrichment) Transcript Date: May 4, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Toddler (Toilet Learning without Parents, Snack Process) Transcript Date: May 4, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Elementary (Journals vs. Loose Papers, Care of Environment, Daily Math Assignments) Transcript Date: April 29, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Primary (Age Appropriate Work, Recalcitrant Child, Inspiring Bell Work) Transcript Date: April 27, 2010

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Mentor Transcript: Toddler (Material Rotation, Unfocused Child, Observing Child, Manipulatives) Transcript Date: April 27, 2010

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Teaching Today's Elementary Child: Is Anything New?

By Wendy Calise

...Think for a moment when the last time was that you heard the word mettle. The word itself seems almost to be one of the past. If the language has fallen out of use, what does that mean for the idea? Has mettle become obsolete? As I consider the challenges of the future, it seems unlikely. Yet the development of sturdy constitution in our youth is waning, and the children will not likely be the better for it...

...The father did his work; his son did his. I do not suffer the illusion that we can or should recreate one culture in place of another or somehow go back in time. But there is much to be learned. These children were astoundingly competent. They could do things. I wondered about their counterparts in America...

Download the full pdf file here:  Teaching Today's Elementary Child