Tucked into one wing of the Fellowship Building of the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church is the Taylor School Annex, a Montessori program for infants and toddlers. The Taylor School is a Montessori preschool and kindergarten in Boxborough for students ages 2.9 to 6 years old. On Sept. 2, the Annex opened its doors to children ages 15 to 33 months. In mid-October, they will be accepting five infants.
The Montessori method is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator, Maria Montessori, in the early 1900s. According to the American Montessori Society, “Montessori is a holistic, experiential, child-directed system of education.” Learning takes place across modalities (visual, auditory, tactile), often using specially designed materials for hands-on and interactive learning and discovery. Individual students choose work based on their interests and proceed at their own pace. Schools have multi-age classrooms, typically spanning three years, where younger students are supported by older ones who act as mentors and role models.
In a telephone interview with the founder and Head of School Marni Kaplan-Earle, she noted how Maria Montessori used the term “nido” (Italian for “nest”) for the infant and toddler program, suggesting a nurturing and safe environment. The Annex is an extension of the family, where the children begin to develop “their sense of self and recognize their own curiosities and needs.” She said that toddlers “are in a sensitive period for independence” and that their desire to do things for themselves is their “superpower.” In this program, children are provided opportunities for independence and risk-taking, and are taught not to fear making mistakes. “You never do for a child what they might be able to do successfully for themselves,” Kaplan-Earle paraphrased Maria Montessori. Teachers are available to provide scaffolding when needed.
Peace education
Kaplan-Earle further stated that, after the elections last year, it felt important to her to offer peace education, one of the tenets of Montessori, to the youngest children. Peace education is not a subject per se but is woven throughout the curriculum and school day. As noted on the school website, “Life skills such as listening, understanding, tolerance, empathy, inclusion, and negotiation have a specific place and importance in the Montessori environment.”
Kaplan-Earle and School Director Wieneke van Sonderen welcomed me to the Annex one morning. They noted that their program follows a school model that may differ from other day care programs. The typical day has toddlers arriving between 8 and 8:20 in the morning. They leave the car line with a teacher to enter the school, giving them a sense that they are not being left behind by a parent. Then, they have a gathering. A flameless candle is put in the center of a circle, visually signaling the children to come together. There is then a group lesson involving materials from the classroom. Some of the Montessori materials are modified for this age group. For example, the iconic Pink Tower involving 10 stacking cubes excludes the five littlest cubes that could pose as choking hazards.
Adeline Swartz (left) and Logan Waterhouse (right) develop life skills emphasized by Montesssori—a sense of order, concentration, and independence—at the Taylor School Annex, Sept. 24. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Afterward, the children are given the option to have a snack. The school provides snacks that always include a protein, a fruit or vegetable, and a grain. That morning, they had yogurt, bananas, and crackers, and in the afternoon they were going to have hummus, carrots, and rice cakes.
The children then do a simple lesson with a teacher, sometimes in small groups of two or three, using an item the students have chosen from the shelves. For example, a teacher may present the purposeful way of arranging knobbed cylinders according to size. After lessons, the children go outside to the playground, which was installed by the school but may also be used by members of the church. The children come in for lunch and sit together at a table to eat the lunch they have brought from home. After another visit outside, the children are ready for a nap, followed by a second snack. The school day ends at 3 p.m., but some students remain for the extended day program up to 5 p.m.
As we spoke, we could hear one child crying in the background. Kaplan-Earle explained that not all children have had experience with care outside the home. Van Sonderen continued that even if they came from another child care program, this was a completely new environment, with different people. “It is still a big change,” she said.
A joyful environment
All crying had ceased when I was shown into the toddler classroom, where the cheeriness of the red and yellow walls with large picture windows was matched by the joyful environment. I was greeted by nine pairs of curious eyes. A little boy with a toddler-sized broom approached, then a little girl with her stuffed doggy said “hi.” I was welcomed by the three teachers in various parts of the space.
The class is, to use Kaplan-Earle’s words, intentionally overstaffed. During my visit, I saw some children climbing the small structures geared for gross motor development, others engaged in movement and music exercises with a teacher, and one child was occupied with a “practical life exercise” with another teacher as she learned to wipe her face in front of a mirror. The shelves contained a host of other educational materials and books that help children learn concepts in science, math, and literacy but are really fun things to do, like studying a giant pine cone with a magnifying glass or stacking colorful, multisized hats onto a stuffed gnome.
A brief visit to the infant classroom revealed preparations for an open house on Oct. 4. The green walls were being adorned with a mural of trees. Five cribs and other furnishings were ready to be assembled. Staffing of three teachers had been finalized.
There are also future plans to conduct parent education programs, open to the community at large. Topics could include positive discipline, nutrition and healthy eating habits, and toilet learning.
“The children of today will make all the discoveries of tomorrow,” Maria Montessori once said. As a recipient of a Montessori education myself, it was wonderful to discover this community has come to Harvard to provide our littlest children the opportunity for this special learning experience.
