A Montessori Distance program was out of the question before March 2019, however, the changes to our lifestyles brought by the pandemic led to the creation of a Montessori Online program.
At Mountain West Montessori, we strongly believe in the importance of connection as a priority for education. A child that feels seen, heard, and valued by his/her community, is a child that can thrive in all aspects of development. The
Montessori philosophy has been at its core, a strong part of the development of our program. Both our Montessori at Home as well as our Hybrid and On-site program fulfills the developmental needs of every child in the different stages of development. Our Montessori at Home program has the following components:
Zoom Meetings
Used to foster connection and socialization between students and guide. The zoom meeting also allows for the student to have structure.
Presentation Videos
Our Montessori Guides have created videos with different presentations. These videos allow for a child to see a presentation, pause it, rewind it and view it all over again. Repetition is an important aspect of Montessori work and by having videos that are accessible, students have the opportunity to go back to any moment of the presentation they might need to see again.
Materials from Home
Students will be using some materials that can easily be found at home and some basic school supplies such as pencils, glue, ruler, etc.
Materials from School
One of the characteristics of a Montessori education is its beautiful three dimensional materials. For an On-line program, it is really hard to bring every material home to every child, but we are figuring ways to reproduce some of the materials so that they can be sent home and the child can still have a hands-on-experience while following the presentation videos.
Parent Guidance
In order for our On-line program to be successful, there really needs to be a strong partnership between Parents and school. To support this process, we have created a series of videos that will support parents in setting up a prepared environment at home (and how does that look for every stage of development), tips on how to guide your children through the on-line program as well as positive discipline tips for creating harmony at home.
Fridays
will consist of special activities such as cooking classes, physical education, arts & crafts and more!
Sample Schedule
8:30 to 8:50 AM Yellow Tree Kick OFF Zoom Session
9:00 - 11:00 AM Work time with videos and materials.
11:00 AM Circle Time. Zoom Session.
2:00 Evening Closing Zoom Session
*The rest of the time children get pre-recorded lesson presentations and are free to use the time openly to work, repeat and practice.