Montesorri Children's House of Durham has been building foundations for intellectual, moral, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual competence in children across the Triangle for nearly 40 years. MCHD was the first school in North Carolina to become an Accredited School by the American Montessori Society and today is one of only 6 schools in the state of North Carolina to maintain this ranking. Their focus has always been on utilizing the principles of Maria Montessori to "educate young people to have a sense of the grand order of the universe, to assume their rights and responsibilities, to find joy in learning, and to delight among the peoples and in the places where they live". The school has grown over the years, moving to a gorgeous new facility in 2012. I recently took a tour of the facility and met so many wonderful teachers and truly got a sense of what sets MCHD apart.
You can see Montessori Children's House of Durham in action below, where you can truly get a glimpse into how absolutely magical of a school it is.
You can see Montessori Children's House of Durham in action below, where you can truly get a glimpse into how absolutely magical of a school it is.
What sets the Montessori method apart from the rest is how incredibly intentional the methodology is. Teachers work to notice what a child's passion is and use that to give individualized instruction. Instead of teaching to the test, they truly teach to the child, taking the time to truly make the process interesting and the subject fascinating, which results in the kids absolutely loving learning.
The classrooms themselves at MCHD are so peaceful. They also play an important role in the educational philosophy. Children can be easily overwhelmed with too many things so there is intentional placement of certain items, which are switched out as determined by the teachers. A minimalist approach also makes it easier for children to take care of their space, and know what goes where when they clean up.
The first stop on our tour was the toddler program. MCHD is happy to announce they are growing their toddler program, specifically designed to develop language, cognitive and motor abilities in children ages 18 months through 3 years. 18mo - 3 year olds currently can attend 3 or 5 halfdays a week but in 2016-17 the program is expanding to offer full care as well.
The highly trained and kind teachers are there to guide the children's growth as they find friendships, and instilling collaborative work while uniting the toddler’s strong sense of independence with practical success. The toddler room is comprised of 2 classes, the maximum number of students in each class is 12 and they each have 2 teachers, so the ratio is 6:1 or lower. Each class also has two class parents to coordinate volunteering in a variety of ways. For some parents that may mean coming into the classroom, for others with a busy work schedule it may mean helping coordinate the spring fling festival or the like.
MCHD explains what makes their toddler program so unique, "Each year begins with an orientation period that allows for a smooth transition away from a primary caregiver into what is often the child’s first community of peers. The environment is rich with materials to stimulate conversation and the development of language, with manipulatives, pre-math materials, science and nature exploration, and activities for sensory exploration and gross and fine motor development. Children are introduced to art and music from various cultures and have many opportunities for creative expression. Practical life skills relate to care of self and the environment, including toilet learning. Activities often are multi-dimensional: work washing a table, for example, involves both large and fine motor skills, memory recall, logical sequencing of steps, and vocabulary building."
The highly trained and kind teachers are there to guide the children's growth as they find friendships, and instilling collaborative work while uniting the toddler’s strong sense of independence with practical success. The toddler room is comprised of 2 classes, the maximum number of students in each class is 12 and they each have 2 teachers, so the ratio is 6:1 or lower. Each class also has two class parents to coordinate volunteering in a variety of ways. For some parents that may mean coming into the classroom, for others with a busy work schedule it may mean helping coordinate the spring fling festival or the like.
MCHD explains what makes their toddler program so unique, "Each year begins with an orientation period that allows for a smooth transition away from a primary caregiver into what is often the child’s first community of peers. The environment is rich with materials to stimulate conversation and the development of language, with manipulatives, pre-math materials, science and nature exploration, and activities for sensory exploration and gross and fine motor development. Children are introduced to art and music from various cultures and have many opportunities for creative expression. Practical life skills relate to care of self and the environment, including toilet learning. Activities often are multi-dimensional: work washing a table, for example, involves both large and fine motor skills, memory recall, logical sequencing of steps, and vocabulary building."
One concept we talked about in my tour was the MCHD application of the montessori philosophy on grace and courtesy. For example, sharing doesn't mean just giving the wanted item to another child, it's negotiating a more complex process of polite waiting and experiencing the beauty of delayed gratification. The opportunity for teaching is in this conflict of two children wanting the same thing. It's teaching children to use words to express their desire, helping the second child to wait and look for a signal that the first is done, and more.
One thing about MCHD that was very touching is how considerate they are of the children's emotional needs. Visitors to the toddler program observe the class through two-way glass in hidden observation rooms, because at that age, children's fear of strangers disrupts the learning environment and seeing an adult often reminds them of their parent. Avoiding that unncessary worry reinforced the school's respect for the children and their autonomy.
MCHD moved into their new facility in 2012 and one benefit is all of the space they have.
Their multipurpose building is utilized as a gym for physical education during inclement weather, and adjacent rooms include music, reading enrichment and an art studio. It also has a full kitchen and can be used as an auditorium for guest speakers and seminars after hours for the community. It's also the after school space, where they offer enrichments, including yoga, karate, soccer shots, dramatic arts, movement and dance, craft making, Lego engineering, philosophy club, odyssey of mind, music lessons and more. Elementary students are challenged with enriching after school clubs, including Odyssey of the Mind, Chess, and Philosophy and Ethics. After school is a wonderful program at MCHD, one of the reasons is that you can enroll in it full time or use it in a drop in manner, which is incredibly helpful to parents.
You can see in the photos below that the outdoor spaces are full of opportunities for gross motor play and letting their imaginations run wild. The classrooms are bright and uncluttered, making for a space where children can concentrate without being overwhelmed.
Their multipurpose building is utilized as a gym for physical education during inclement weather, and adjacent rooms include music, reading enrichment and an art studio. It also has a full kitchen and can be used as an auditorium for guest speakers and seminars after hours for the community. It's also the after school space, where they offer enrichments, including yoga, karate, soccer shots, dramatic arts, movement and dance, craft making, Lego engineering, philosophy club, odyssey of mind, music lessons and more. Elementary students are challenged with enriching after school clubs, including Odyssey of the Mind, Chess, and Philosophy and Ethics. After school is a wonderful program at MCHD, one of the reasons is that you can enroll in it full time or use it in a drop in manner, which is incredibly helpful to parents.
You can see in the photos below that the outdoor spaces are full of opportunities for gross motor play and letting their imaginations run wild. The classrooms are bright and uncluttered, making for a space where children can concentrate without being overwhelmed.
The MCHD practice on specials is to offer them all on one day, instead of interrupting the learning throughout the week. Their specials for the elementary school are Spanish, art, music, PE, and more.
As a former art teacher I was really impressed with their art program. MCHD's art teacher has been at the school 20 years! As you can imagine, she really knows how to help children express their artistic side. It's more than just art for students as well. Several times a year, they offer a parent child art class on Saturdays and even some adult classes. What a fantastic bonding experience for families!
As a former art teacher I was really impressed with their art program. MCHD's art teacher has been at the school 20 years! As you can imagine, she really knows how to help children express their artistic side. It's more than just art for students as well. Several times a year, they offer a parent child art class on Saturdays and even some adult classes. What a fantastic bonding experience for families!
Learning at MCHD in the multi-aged elementary school is a holistic process. They don't simply get information from books or the teacher, but gain knowledge from a multitude of sources. For example, children in the Upper Elementary planted and grew a vegetable and herb garden, tended it gently to help it sprout, and once everything had grown, they picked it all and combined it into a caprese salad, which they offered to administrators and other classes. Start to finish, it was all about learning how to grow, working on patience while it grew, how to cook, and the importance of giving generously - so many lessons learned just from one garden!
Lower Elementary children, Grades 1-3, are truly coming into their own to take responsibility for their weekly work plan and build time-management and resource skills. While traditional academic studies are individually adjusted to each student’s proficiency, all students get daily exercises in spelling, math, handwriting, grammar and reading in addition to weekly intensive lessons in Music, Spanish, and Art.
Upper Elementary children, Grades 4-6, are doing more advanced work in mathematics, history and cultural studies, geography, natural science, writing, literature, foreign language, arts, and music, building on skills gained in their Lower Elementary years. Montessori education emphasizes an "expectation of community service to affirm the sense of social interdependence emerging at this age. Students collectively create a respectful, self-reliant community." What really impressed me was how the final year of sixth grade culminates in a year-long project focused on representing a country at the Montessori Model United Nations in New York City, with instruction in advanced research and presentation skills on real-world topics, such as the ecological sustainability of refugee camps in Tunisia. What is truly to me the most unique part about Montessori education above all else is how much the children love to learn, as evidenced abovein the smiles as children play in the creek behind the school, or in their school play shown above.
If all of this sounds amazing, it's because it is. MCHD has worked extremely hard over the years to give children a world class education. I could tell just from my morning witnessing the children and teachers in action that they are deserving of their glowing reputation.
For up to date news and great articles on their blog, check out MCHD's facebook page.
Luckily for you, MCHD has several upcoming informational sessions and tours, starting in just a couple weeks. Simply RSVP at the number above. Information about the tour as well as additional dates are on the website. Private tours and observations are also available by appointment daily. So go and see what I experienced - a school unlike any other.
For up to date news and great articles on their blog, check out MCHD's facebook page.
Luckily for you, MCHD has several upcoming informational sessions and tours, starting in just a couple weeks. Simply RSVP at the number above. Information about the tour as well as additional dates are on the website. Private tours and observations are also available by appointment daily. So go and see what I experienced - a school unlike any other.
So if you are looking to really offer your child a unique,
gentle, and empowering educational experience,
you owe it to yourself to check out the one of a kind
Montessori Children's House of Durham. Tell them SoDu sent you!
gentle, and empowering educational experience,
you owe it to yourself to check out the one of a kind
Montessori Children's House of Durham. Tell them SoDu sent you!
FTC required disclosure: The above post is a sponsored advertisement. Some of the content, such as the images, are provided by the pardner for my use. I give permission for this blog post to be used in perpetuity by the pardner as they wish. May seem silly, but legally I gotta say it. Congrats for reading the fine print!
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