Montessori Classroom Observation

On Wednesday, September 30th I observed Mrs. Bangham’s three to six year old classroom. The observation was from 8:00 to 10:00, at Greensboro Montessori School. Since they combine different ages I focused more on the five and six year olds that would be in a normal Kindergarten class. I learned so much about Montessori schools and how they work in the two hours I observed.
This classroom was unlike any other I have ever seen. All of the furniture in the room was child sized. There were a few tables and chairs in the kitchen area. Along with a sink and counter top with cabinets around it. There were lots of cubbies and shelves with different center activities on them. There were so many learning materials in the classroom and children could learn something from every object provided. There were beads for counting, blocks, puzzles, tea sets, play-doh, cleaning materials, and mirrors. There were also items for the children to fold, paint, balance boards, plant growing and reading books. Along with so many other materials and activities. There were several

It appeared that the children lead their learning and the teacher’s role is to help them. Mrs. Bangham was working with the children on the floor and never telling them what to do. She was very nice and encouraging. I never heard her yell at any of the children, if they were doing something that was disturbing others then she would go to them and redirect them to a center or activity. Mrs. Bangham related to her children by getting on their level when she talked to them and was loving and positive. When a group of children were getting loud, she asked them nicely to lower their voices. She also walked around and observed what the kids were working on. When talking to the children about their art work or creation they had made she asked them to describe their work instead of just saying it looked