Mentorship in our classrooms: Why Mixed Ages Work

Have you ever noticed the mixed-age classrooms in a Montessori school and wondered why? This is a specific design that allows younger children to benefit from having older peers as role models and mentors and enables older children to step into leadership roles. This model mirrors real-world experiences where people of different ages work together and learn from each other.

In our IMSP classrooms, older students relish and value the opportunity to be leaders, sometimes stepping into a teaching role. Mentoring their younger friends increases the independence and competence of the older students. This model is also beneficial to the younger children as they look to older students to be role models and helpers. They know that they can count on them for help and, because of this, they can accomplish tasks they may not be able to do independently yet.

As a whole, children can cooperate rather than compete, creating an environment of learners who support and care for each other. Check out this video to see Montessori mentorship in action!

Want to learn more? Read our next article:

STARTING PRESCHOOL: HOW TO HANDLE SAYING GOODBYES?

Comments

Další články

Dealing with Emotions Through Art

“Social and emotional learning(SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”

Toddler & Me Parent Interview Aria & Evangelia

We are pleased to introduce Evangelia and her daughter, Aria who started with IMSP after attending our Toddler & Me course. How did they like it, what have they learned, and what benefit does it bring to their daily life?

The Benefits of Cursive Handwriting

It can be an exciting time when your child begins to read and write their first words. They are at the dawn of an exhilarating literacy journey that will open their eyes to a world of books, knowledge, and wonder!

Creating a Montessori Home

Discover simple, easy ways to make your child's space comfortable, beautiful and educational, according to time-tested Montessori guidelines and principles.

Learning Mathematics in our Primary Classrooms

Maria Montessori often stated that not only does every human being have an innate drive to understand the environment around them, we all also naturally have what she called a “Mathematical Mind”. In the Montessori classroom, mathematical learning begins through indirect preparation long before a child is ever introduced to any Math materials.