Thank you to all who participated in Friday’s discussion!

Over 40 adolescent guides from around the world joined together online on Friday to discuss the Prepared Environment for the coming school year. The discussion focused on the needs of young adolescents (12-15 years old), but many of the ideas can be extended to older adolescents (15-18 years old) as well.

We know as Montessori teachers that the prepared environment is an essential element of our work. Remember that while we are preparing the physical environments for the adolescent community we are also preparing the psychic environment. That is, keep in mind whether or not the environment will feel physically and emotionally safe.

In this year when some adolescent communities will be learning remotely, some in person, and some a combination of the two, we asked ourselves these questions:

How will we prepare our environments so they provide the order and security our adolescents will need to thrive?
What is necessary in the prepared environment to allow adolescents to continue their process of self-construction?

We asked participants to provide their school situations if known. The group divided almost evenly into three groups: remote, hybrid, and in-person. Take courage in that! Whatever your situation, you are not alone in this adventure.

Special thanks to our facilitators:

Erin Foley, Sam Rotker, Susan Holmes-Glazier, Emily Dowell, Chris Marks, and Kira Donnelly!

The following are summaries of the notes from each of the breakout sessions.

*Please note, these are shared ideas to help you think through how to successfully create your spaces for learning this year. They are not official recommendations. Please follow all state and local guidelines. *

In-Person Learning

The Physical Space

Look at your spaces and strip them down, get rid of extra 'stuff' and clean, clean, clean!
Be outdoors as much as possible because virus transmission seems to be much lower outdoors.
Set up an outdoor tent (or more than one), like a field station
A carport tent because it is taller, meant to be outdoors for long periods, and the flaps stretch out to optimize spacing
Students bring in their own camp chairs
Use labeled personal lap desks or clipboards rather than tables
Bins (plastic for easy cleaning) for students to carry around personal belongings
All students have their own, labeled, individual supplies
Remove couches and soft chairs because they can't be easily cleaned
Sanitizing stations (including outdoor stations) for shared materials - ie: science equipment
Have students design posters to help with reminders of sanitization, traffic flow, or general guidelines to follow
Despite our practice of student responsibility for cleaning the environment, admin. must set up outside cleaning to happen daily during this time.
Consider purchasing electrostatic cleaners and UV wands
Merv 13 or HEPA filters for HVAC
Plexiglass dividers
Unidirectional pathways
Remove large tables and replace with individual
Masks inside at all times and off outside only when 6ft or more apart
Use of big hula hoops to help designate spacing outside

Reentry ideas:

Orientation is key!
Phase reentry into smaller groups to practice and provide orientation lessons on traffic flow, how to wear a mask, bathroom use, eating etc.
Lots of sanitizing lessons. Think of them as repeated 1st period lessons.
Invite specialists - physician or psychologists into school to meet with students to ask questions and inspire a greater understanding from an expert
Facial reading Creative Expression work or workshops on masks:
- Theater with masks - neutral mask techniques, communicating with your whole body
- Discuss Historical context of how masks were worn in different cultures and contexts. Make masks replicating historical masks
- Study the history of Black plague and Spanish Flu
- Use of clear masks for better communication
Community building in place of an Odyssey Trip: canoeing, community building games socially distanced
Creative Expression outdoors: earth art, nature sketching, watercolor landscape painting
Mandatory removal of shoes upon entering building

General Thoughts:

Prepare ahead but include students in process
Invite reflection and process on how we live in a community safely at this time
Employees are asked to sign a 'return to work waiver' so invite students to sign one too
Code of Civility should now include - emotional safety and tech safety
If doing live streaming of classes for any students at home, check into picture release requirements

Remote Learning

Remote learning is a challenge for all. In the spring, we were just trying to get through to the end of the academic year. We need to approach this year with a solid plan and to meet the needs of the adolescent.

Code of Civility

This sets the tone for everything that follows. Start with this and build from it.
Use breakout rooms to create the code of civility.
Small groups could create a video to share their component with others.
Give 9th year students the opportunity to schedule their own time.
Schedule time for the 7th and 8th year students to collaborate - this will help the 7th year students acclimate and give the 8th year students a chance to lead.

Welcoming and orienting new students -

Encourage 8th/9th year students to offer words of advice.
Build community early with younger students by including 6th year students in activities such as an online scavenger hunt.
Create an online game like Minecraft, but make it “classcraft”
Meet with 7th year advisory separately.
Provide support for 7th year students to help them adjust to the adolescent work.

Structuring the day -

Students are looking for outlets to feel useful, to find purpose, to have ways to discover themselves. Provide opportunities for this in the day and week.
Work on projects away from zoom. Help students schedule time to collaborate.
Challenge students to take on new responsibility at home and report back.
Provide students with a template for planning their day/week with two columns: planned time and actual time spent. Check in regularly on progress.

Useful platforms and structures

Students can create lessons to teach others.
Use Flipgrid to make and share videos.
Work on etiquette for posting comments: positive and constructive feedback.
Padlet is another platform.

3rd Period Ideas

A rap battle in Humanities based on their study. For example, Civil War, one rap for the North, one for the South - make a TikTok video.
Create a collaborative work of art. Choose a piece, grid it out, and give each student their grid to re-create with food.
Students prepare lessons for lower elementary students: read aloud, a cooking lesson, cartoon drawing lesson.
“How-to” videos for a household chore that students have never done before. Present using flipgrid.

Math Seminar

Using Google Whiteboard or Google Jamboard, students can prepare their work prior to the workshop time. They can create different pages for their work and then share it as they explain their work.

Creative Expression

Send essential items home in individual kits.
Sidewalk chalk art.
“Chopped” cooking challenges to do over video chat.
Bob Ross day - dress like him and create a video to present to the class.
Have casual “knit-in,” or drawing/painting sessions over Zoom.

Physical Expression

Make a workout that is 30 minutes long and complete it together over zoom.
Students create a physical fitness plan - they set a goal and frequently check-in with guides or advisory groups.

Community and Work on the Land

Deliver a kit of food to each house. Cook it together over video chat.
Decide what meal to cook at each house, then eat it together over video chat.
Gardening at home: Start the seeds at home, bring transplants to school at a scheduled time to plant in the school garden.
Complete farm work with fewer students who meet there and work for a couple of hours.
Meet on a rotating basis in small groups at school every Friday to work in the garden.
Invite guest speakers to join by video call: Senators, Congresswomen, climate change experts, other Montessori students.

Hybrid Learning Situations

Work on the land / Production and Exchange / Service

Microeconomy in a box - providing materials to take home
Farm in a box - providing materials to take home or deliver to students
Look for individual economic ventures
Create an online microeconomy with ability to take orders and payments
Service projects at a distance: cooking and baking at home for a school lunch program
A collective plant sale

Community

Fear of Missing Out - how do we connect the group that has to stay at home?
Webinars with specialists
Making global connections - zoom with other programmes

Local Travel

Involve parents
Camping with individual tents
A series of day trips
Keep in mind respecting the natural distancing between adolescents and parents
Preparing campsites can be hospitality work
Independent travel

What is next?

We plan to host more discussions as the school year approaches. Please feel free to suggest topics for discussion at contact@montessoriadolescent.com and check the Events tab for announcements and instructions about registration. Have a story about something that went really well in remote learning so-far? Please reach out to us. We are happy to have guest bloggers share their experiences.