We reasoned that we could lay down a solid floor so that the Montessori materials would have a balanced place to rest the sides on the house could roll up so there would be plenty of ventilation and the structure would allow the children to work in inclement weather-which would extend the schooling season through December and possibly more, mean fewer days off, and provide more predictable childcare. We combed through options-yurts, tents, our garage and more-and ultimately settled on building a hoop house because we could get it up relatively quickly. Given the concerns around how the outdoor spaces were being used, my wife and I were pressured into creating a heartier and hardened outdoor environment that would enable a more traditional Montessori set-up in which, above all else, our teacher would feel comfortable so that there would be a more positive culture. ![]() But that was challenging to do given that we could often hear and see significant swaths of the action. With three sets of siblings, the social dynamics between the seven children were intense and accelerated.Įven as we felt that the lack of productive engagement exacerbated these challenges, we parents also needed reminders in the calls to back off and let the children and teachers develop their own culture. ![]() There are reasons Montessori schools actually prefer larger classes of multi-age children than the small number we had. This resulted in both a lack of engagement and over-stimulation for some of the children, which had repercussions.Īlthough there are many benefits to a small class size, we also witnessed drawbacks, which we discussed as a group. We felt that the time together often resembled much of what Montessori is designed to escape-one-size-fits-all schooling, rather than seeking to use the outdoors environment to meet each child where he or she was. We vented about our concerns with how the time outdoors-on the farm, in the playground, and in our backyard- was being used, particularly before the curricular materials we had purchased arrived. We had frank conversations about what types of curricular materials we actually needed and about money. We talked about COVID protocols and how to deal with questions of safety-both in the schooling environment and externally. The subject of the conversations ranged widely. They required candor, and it was hard to read people’s body language on camera. The calls stretched on into the evening and were frequently taxing. They were both vital to the pod lasting throughout the fall and often painful. ![]() To make sure we had strong communication and candid conversations rather than letting challenges fester, we instituted weekly Thursday night Zoom meetings to talk logistics. And just because we had all chosen the same home-schooling option, didn’t mean we all had the same reasons for being there or that we were on the same page around behavioral choices.Ĭommunication and compromise would be key to sustain the pod.
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