Neighbor News
Students become teachers for Parents Night at Joliet Montessori School
Nearly 100 proud Montessori students hosted—and instructed—their parents during an action-packed evening of learning.
On the evening of April 6th, class was in session at Joliet Montessori School (JMS) in Crest Hill, but this time, it was the students doing the teaching. Their parents were on hand, receiving instruction on all manner of subjects and interests.
The twice-annual Parents Night event is an exciting time at JMS, as parents get a firsthand look at the progress made by their own children—and also gain valuable insight into the methods and materials used in a Montessori education.
In each classroom, students prepared stations with a unique and interesting lesson to teach. Lessons included the sciences, math, history, language arts, geography, philosophy and other subjects, and parents were encouraged to visit as many of the presentations as possible during the event.
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For one first-year Montessori mom, it was a personally gratifying experience. Tawnie Cisneros has a seven-year-old son in one of the elementary classrooms, and was delighted to see him demonstrating how to add and subtract large numbers in his lesson. However, the most amazing moment of the night for Tawnie was at another table, where her son’s classmate explained how to derive square roots from difficult numbers using a Montessori Square Root Table that illustrates the concept with beads that represent the target number as a literal square—no calculator required.
“I’ve never had square roots explained to me that way,” Tawnie remarked after the event. “This is the first time the concept really makes sense to me, and it’s through this very simple, hands-on Montessori Square Root Board in the hands of this confident little kid.”
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As always, turnout for JMS Parents Night was high. Donna Martin, Interim Head of School, remarked, “Our parents are fantastic. They’re very involved in the school and we’re always happy to open our doors to show them how well their children are progressing. Seeing really is believing, there’s just no substitute.”
JMS offers programs for students from preschool age through 9th grade. It is the only Montessori school in Will County certified by both the American Montessori Society (AMS) and the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI).
JMS is currently accepting enrollments for the fall session. To schedule a tour or classroom observation, visit the JMS web site.
