CCMS Visit Observations

I had the opportunity to go and visit the Corpus Christi Montessori School. For general knowledge, the Corpus Christi Montessori School is a dual-language charter school which is funded by the state alone. Prior to this visit, I had never been to a Montessori based school. Although, I have previously read about the theories behind Montessori schools. Actually visiting the school in person was a much more engaging experience and I really enjoyed myself. I learned a lot about the environment of the classrooms, the work cycle, and the positive attitude of the Montessori School here in Corpus Christi.

The learning environment of the Corpus Christi Montessori School is one of a kind. First of all, the students are in multi-age groups; first grade through third graders are grouped together and fourth through sixth graders are grouped together. This offers many benefits for the students because they are able to learn from each other's strengths. The classrooms are very open and inviting with plenty of natural light spilling into the room. Each classroom had at least two living animals and several plants. There are groups of desks around the edge of the room, but there is a large open area in the middle of the room where students are free to work individually on the floor at their mats. Most of the classrooms flow into another room where more students and learning can be found. It is my opinion that this open, flowing environment is very inviting for the students. In addition, I observed a great deal of respect between the students, teachers, and the administration at this school. In fact their three main rules are: Respect of self, Respect of others, and Respect of the environment. That pretty much says it all!

When the students walk into the classrooms in the morning they walk into a prepared environment with work already laid out on the counters. The work is laid out in order from simple to abstract. During this time in the morning the children have a three hour uninterrupted work cycle, which Maria Montessori strongly believed in. During this work cycle the students have the freedom to choose the order in which they complete their assignments. The teacher has many manipulatives and strategies available in the classroom that assist the students in completing their assignments. I was able to observe the students during their work cycle and I noticed that every student was engaged, on task, and well behaved. It was a beautiful sight to see!

The Corpus Christi Montessori School is certainly one of a kind. The atmosphere that they create is a that of a community and a family. This type of environment is a great way to nurture learning and creativity. The set-up of the classrooms are definitely different than the majority of those that you will find in public schools. The Montessori classrooms have much more open space and are not as rigid as other classrooms I have observed. Also, the classrooms each have a peace table where the students can resolve and work out their differences. I have never seen this at any other school, and I think that it is a wonderful idea. This gives the students the power and the responsibility to work out their own issues. Although, I must say that one of the biggest differences that I observed was the fact that the Corpus Christi Montessori School offers basketball, volleyball, violin lessons, chess club, yearbook club, drama club, and newspaper club for their first through sixth grade students. How cool!

I will certainly take what I have learned from my visit to the Corpus Christi Montessori School and apply it to my future classroom. I believe that the methodology in which they implement is beneficial to the overall success of the child as a whole. The staff at the Montessori School does a wonderful job of nurturing their student's individual learning needs. I am thankful for the opportunity that I was given to visit this school. This was be a lasting memory for me. I have never seen so many students who were so eager, engaged, and excited about learning!!!