From College to Kindergarten
But some might be moving rocks and logs around or playing in a big sandpit. Others could be painting, counting, or learning to read. “They can be upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside—wherever they want to be,” Katzenmeyer explains.
This freedom is part of the structure of 蒙特梭利 schooling, a unique educational system created in the early 1900s by Italian teacher and physician Maria 蒙特梭利. The 蒙特梭利 system centers on the idea that children should be able to learn in a way that best suits their individual needs.
Katzenmeyer’s 蒙特梭利 connection began when she was working on her master’s degree in early childhood education at the University of Colorado-Denver while expecting her second child and searching for a preschool for her 3-year-old daughter. The family settled on a 蒙特梭利 school a block away from their house. Katzenmeyer recalls being “just blown away by the beauty of the classrooms, how nature-focused everything was, and how the children were very independent.” This led her to undertake training to become a 蒙特梭利 teacher herself and to start planning to open a school of her own. 这是命运的安排, 百年历史, former one-room schoolhouse went up for sale right around the time the family moved back to Madison, 威斯康星州. Toad Hill 蒙特梭利 School opened its doors on September 1, 2005. “It all just kind of fell into place,卡岑迈耶回忆道.
从那时起, she has enrolled 更多的 than 100 students, ranging in ages from 2 to 6—a number of them the children of Madison-based fellow 贝洛伊特 alumni. Currently, the school has 28 students, three full-time teachers (including Katzenmeyer, known as “Ms. Beckie”), a part-time teacher, and a student teacher. All are trained to guide the children further in their natural interests while also helping them with struggles. Katzenmeyer describes their approach this way: “We’ll help you if this is what you want to do.”
A unique feature of Toad Hill 蒙特梭利 is a massive “outdoor classroom” where students can learn about nature firsthand. One of the longstanding school traditions is the counting of cherries during their growing season. 一年, a girl asked Katzenmeyer what the record was for the most cherries picked, then set her mind on surpassing it. “She turned into this little project manager of this record-breaking, 1,千年一遇,卡岑迈耶回忆道.
This focus on immersive engagement is key, whether the kids are learning about colors or international history. 对于Katzenmeyer, a double major in modern languages and art history, with a minor in museum studies at 贝洛伊特, it seemed only natural to use interactive means to introduce the kids to a wider world. She often sets aside time to examine cultural pieces, from Guatemalan textiles to Indian saris, and she orchestrates frequent trips to museums. “I think it helps the children get a 更多的 complete vision of their world, 太,她说。, recalling 贝洛伊特’s similar teaching philosophy and emphasis on contextualizing. “贝洛伊特 really helped me make sense of a 蒙特梭利 classroom because of what I had to do in those classes for four years.”
