Season 2 Ep. 6: Early Childhood Reentry Conversation

Season Two, Episode 6 of Montessori in Action Podcast hosts a conversation with three Montessori educators working in 3-6 classrooms in public Montessori schools. They had not met or spoken prior to this conversation. The topic for discussion is how young children are reentering school this year following the disruptions of the pandemic and what educators are doing to support them. There are two outtakes included in this episode where the guests reflect on a bright moment of their day.

This conversation raised some Ideas to support 3-6 year olds:

  • Repetition- repeat, repeat, repeat

  • Story telling

  • Connecting with outside resources

  • Getting involved in service work to support focusing on others

  • Offering challenges

  • Special permission to give a friend a lesson

  • Community building

  • Big work- golden bead 45 layout

  • Allowing moments of concentration & collaboration without interruption

  • Honest conversations with children

  • Explaining new rules 

  • Stepping back and allowing more to unfold than usual

  • Teaching and creating space for conflict resolution

  • Having true and real conversations with age-appropriate honest talk

  • Give yourself Grace

  • Friendliness with error

  • Starting each new day with a fresh beginning

Guests on this episode (in alphabetical order)

Keanna Artis  is a lead guide at Moore Montessori Community School in Southern Pines, North Carolina- a charter school that opened its doors in 2018. Keanna was a founding member of the school.

Kanetria Doolin is a lead guide at Lake Ridge Elementary School, a district school in Cedar Hill Texas that she was instrumental in starting. Kanetria has just earned her Master’s Degree in Montessori with and Emphasis on Urban Education from Southern Methodist University University.

Norah O’Brien is a lead guide at Oscar Mayer Montessori School, a district school in the Chicago Public Schools in Illinois. Norah is trained in both 3-6 and 6-9 and has taught both levels at Mayer over the past 14 years. Norah was a Montessori child who has been working in Montessori classrooms for 30 years in Chicago, Atlanta, and San Diego.