The 8e Montessorischool is, as one of the few schools in the Netherlands, really mixed. Children with different cultural backgrounds learn from and with each other. What could be more beautiful than that?

 

We are a true Montessori school. We look both at what each child needs to learn as well as what is achievable. Do you like to calculate with exercises from a book? Or is it better for you to start with the wooden Montessori materials first? Do you need extra lessons to learn letters? Or can you already read and are you going to read in the library with an older child? We learn together, from and with each other.

 

The children are grouped in classes with different year groups. Groups 1 and 2 are together, groups 3, 4 and 5and groups 6, 7 and 8. That way you alternate being the youngest and being the oldest one. This is instructive for children with less self-confidence, as well as for children who can learn more to take each other into account. And because every year the oldest children leave and are divided among the higher groups, all the children in the school get to know each other well. This approach results in low levels of bullying in Montessori schools.

 

The children learn to work independently and to choose proper work. A good task is a task that is neither too easy nor too difficult. Some children need more help from the teacher than others. Maria Montessori called it “vrijheid in gebondenheid”. We keep a close eye on the development of our children. In the kindergarten classes we do this by observing a lot. In the higher groups through observation and through regular testing. We know very well what the children need. If a child needs something extra, we will organize that. Children who need extra help for math or language receive help outside the classroom in small groups from the remedial teacher. Children who need an extra challenge can go to Anansi once a week, a class in which children, for example, do challenging math problems, program or build robots.

 

We also like to learn together. During music lessons, gym and drama lessons, for example. And during the cosmic education classes. These are different subjects around a specific theme. Such as visual education (from our art teacher), history, technology, biology, geography and reading comprehension. An example of such a theme is fire, water, earth, air. Artworks, stories, buildings and presentations on that subject are displayed throughout the school.

 

Because all classes are located around the central auditorium, and the doors of the classrooms are always open, and there are also workplaces in the corridors around the auditorium, there is also a lot of collaboration between children and teachers from different classes.

 

By learning together, you also learn to live together.

 

Caring for your environment is important at a Montessori school like ours. There is a large wall of plants in the school, planters in which we grow vegetables in the schoolyard, plants in the classroom and there are animals: geckos, fish and our  school dog that goes to school once a week and that you can read to. A dog listens but does not judge. It helps children to read aloud with pleasure and without fear. By practicing a lot, you will read better.

 

The school is neat and tidy. The children ensure that this stays that way by tidying up things themselves in cupboards that they can reach easily, by sweeping after they have played in the sandbox, by putting the books back neatly in the library. It is nice to learn in a neat, beautiful environment with beautiful materials, Maria Montessori wrote. And then children also learn more.

 

Our team is diverse and enthusiastic. Time and again we look at how our education can be improved, so that children can develop even better. We also do this together, with the team as a whole. We like to work together with the parents. And parents who have time , help with reading in the library, practicing with math or with the Digitale Topschool digital top school, and of course with outings.

 

Did you become curious? Feel free to come by sometime! Every month we organize an information morning for interested parents. You can register via administration@8montessorischool.nl