I am rejuvenated and excited to be back in the classroom! Spring Break and the Montessori Conference in Denver were very good to me. I had the chance to connect with other teachers, learn from them, share my knowledge and purchase new things for our room! After the conference, I was able to spend my Spring Break in Denver with my family (my husband and children drove to Denver from Chicago.) It was quite amazing! I hope you also had an awesome break. I can't wait to hear how you spent it during our Morning and Sunset Meetings.
There is so much to share that I don't know where to start! Haha! First, I'll share the school observations that I was able to attend in Denver. Ms. Essling and I were able to coordinate 2 school observations. The first school we observed was Family Star Montessori. It is a head start program and it was very interesting to see their Infant/Toddler Montessori rooms. They also shared how their community supports parents and their children. I was especially interested in one of the EC classrooms that had a variety of "Snack Works" on the shelf. Aside from the the community snack, snacks were also on the Practical Life Shelf. The children were able to isolate the skills (a Montessori approach) of peeling, cutting and others.
The next school we observed was Sandoval School. This school is a Denver Public Montessori where our old art teacher, Kelly Bolt, now teaches. We were able to observe the afternoon work time. The school is a dual language school and the children were all speaking in Spanish. We were able to observe kindergarten independent reading and independent work time. The children were so focused on their works! It was very impressive.
At the conference, I went to several workshops. I don't intend to bore you with all the details =) but I want to share with you the topics of the workshops I went to. They are as follows:
- Teachers' Emotional Intelligence (Being prepared emotionally to be able to support your students effectively)
- Integrating Curriculum in the 3-Year Cycle
- Celebrating Differences Through Cosmic Education (Montessori's Cosmic Task)
- Enriching the Language Area
- Beyond the Peace Table: Supporting Anti-Biased, Anti-Racist Practices
These workshops were brilliant! I value all of the different ideas and discussions that I participated in. I also had the opportunity to engage with the other Suder teachers who went. We were able to discuss what we learned and how best to take it back home to our students.
With that, I want to share my favorite speaker at this conference. Rick Steves is a well published author of travel books. He shared how travel has made him the person he is now and it has given him a new perspective in peace and understanding of the world. I won't be able to mimic the heartfelt presentation he gave, but I was very moved that he made traveling his avenue to humanize society. He challenged us to be thoughtful and transformative travelers. He wants us to "be part chameleon" when we travel. We should morph with the culture, use the world as our "wading pool of exploration", and at the end we get to "bring home the magic." As an educator, this struck me deeply because I am always trying to better myself, improve my craft and know "everything." It is because I want to be the best teacher I can be, but mainly because I want to serve my students and my own children with what I learn. Rick Steves ended his presentation by saying, "When you travel, your truth is challenged." You become fearful of being uncomfortable and not knowing something. But he also said that "the flip side of fear is understanding." Such beautiful insight and a reminder to all of us to always move forward. Keep on trying and going... there is still a lot to learn!
See you at school!
Always,
Mrs. Guerrero
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