We are quickly approaching the one year mark since we started Lennox in her Montessori school and journey. This time last year we pretty much had no idea what Montessori really was and we had no intentions in putting Lennox into it. But when we lost our previous child care arrangements, we were scrambling to find the best place to send our little girl.

So now, almost a year later, I can say we are 100% happy with our decision! We love Lennox’s new {barely new now!} school, her teachers/Montessorians, the director, the environment and everything she has learned. We, of course, don’t have another child to compare to but we feel like Lennox has really grown up while attending Montessori school. She is miss independent {when she wants to be!}, she has a huge personality and really has become a big girl rather than little toddler!

Some things she loves:

• Music, she just loves music. I know music is a big part of her day since she is always singing. She will put anything to the tune of another children’s song. Last night I was going through song clips on iTunes and I was amazed by how many she knew and she recited back all the words without the song even playing. She has the Terrell blood {my husband’s family is very music, my family…not so much!}
• Colors, Shapes, Counting, ABC’s — She has known a lot of this for a while now, but she has been putting it all together a lot better lately.
• Cause & Effect — I know within her classroom, her “works” stations have a lot of cause & effect type works and she seems to be really putting them to the test in “the real world”
• Everyday skills — She understands how to clean something up, she will even get upset if she spills or makes a mess {ok not always, but sometimes!} and will rush around finding something to clean it up with. At school they have to clean up their own messes, I love that she is learning this skill! She is also learning to dress herself, go to the potty herself, wash hands on her own, pick up her toys before moving on to a different toy, etc. At Montessori school she is really taught to do all of this on her own. Of course, they will help her when needed, but they are expected to take care of themselves when they can. This has made her become more independent.
• Nature — She loves nature and has been learning a lot about the world outside. She also has been learning about baby animals vs. adult animals, how animals grow {even the process from caterpillar to butterfly}.
• Talking — Talking.. talking.. talking.. that is all Lennox does! She can really care on a full conversation now if she wants. Of course, sometimes she reverts back to her one word answers or whines, but I think that is just the 2-year-old showing up! She understands how to respond to something.. for example, “I’m going to the store”, “I want to go to the store too”. or “This is my phone” “No daddy, this is mommy’s phone”.
• Memory — She remembers EVERYTHING. How do kids remember everything that happens in their busy lives. She will remember something that hasn’t been discussed or seen in a month, she will remember just where it is, what it is, or how to get it! Sometimes I wish she could remember where our keys are in the morning!

I’m sure there are ton of other things I’m forgetting at the moment and even some things we don’t even know about yet! We have our parent/teacher conference in a few weeks and I can’t wait to hear all about her daily life at school.

For more about Montessori school and Lennox’s progress, i have another Montessori update here.