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MEfA Montessori
  • Home
  • Our Story
    • Our Vision
    • Our Approach
    • Our People
    • Our Trustees
    • Our Donors
  • Montessori Classes
    • Term Dates and Diary
    • Montessori School
    • Forest School
    • After School
    • Baby & Toddler
    • Therapy Classes
  • News & Events
    • Newsletters
    • Conferences >
      • 2020 MEfA Montessori Annual Conference
  • Training
    • MEfA Post Grad SEN Part 1
    • MEfA Post Grad SEN Part 2
    • Waldon Therapy Training
    • Our Alumni
    • Papers >
      • Montessori - Play as Therapy
      • What is Autism?
      • Montessori and Autism
      • Why the World Needs Resilient Kids
    • Book Reviews
  • Testimonials
  • Join Us
  • Contact Us

MEfA Montessori Blog

Best Friends Forever?

17/8/2020

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Before we head back to school it's a good time to help children examine their relationships with their peers.

There is so much that children have missed over the lock down period, but many were happy to skip the BFE, 'tween' and 'teen' dramas.

The physical and emotional distance from their friends has allowed children to reflect on which of their friendships they wish to take with them and which they wish to leave behind in the new school year.

We can ask our children what friendship really means to them - which three words come to mind?  Whether you ask this to a group of children, or your own child, it allows children to come up with descriptors such as, 'kind', 'loyal', 'trustworthy' or 'stands up for you'.  Ask, "When you think of your three best friends do they have these qualities?"

This type of question enables children to pay attention to their gut feelings - feelings that emerge as a kind of summary of their experiences and expectations that might otherwise be hard to put into words.

When children become mindful of how they feel, think and act when they are with specific people they learn to trust themselves.  Focusing on other children's positive traits helps them to discern who adds value to their life rather than fixating on who steals their joy.

Practising curiosity and pulling back from judgement keeps adults connected with children, without making children feel that we are criticising their choices; we have to allow them to make their own decisions.

Offering children compassion and empathy through their experiences keeps you connected and helps children to work through their feelings.

There will be positive and negative consequences from the social isolation that children and families have experienced during lock down, but there are also opportunities for growth that we can carry forward into our 'new normal'.
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Emotional Implications of a return to school ...

5/7/2020

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​MEfA Montessori School is planning to reopen in September 2020 and, for the majority of our children, this will be after an absence of six months.

We understand that when we do reopen some of our adults and children will be nervous. Many of our children have enjoyed their time at home with their parents and siblings - but others have become edgy and anxious.

We have been blessed with a lovely sunny Spring and early Summer and many of us have spent a lot more time in nature than we have been able to do before. 

Many families have sent us photos and videos of their children indoors baking, crafting and constructing - and outdoors cycling, gardening and enjoying nature walks.

During the lock-down, I have spent most afternoons nurturing our beautiful Forest School/Well-being Area and I can testify to the benefits of gardening for mental, physical and emotional well-being.

In the early weeks back at school children (and adults) will be tired, and as any parent knows, this can result in irascible behaviour.

We will be sharing risk assessments and protocols with the whole school community which will bring comfort to those who may be worried about the transmission of infection.

Although the UK international travel restrictions are gradually reopening, we still have families who have been 'stranded' abroad for almost four months. These families will face additional challenges as and when they are able to return.

All of this will bring challenges, but we are totally focussed on making the return to school for our children and adults a truly nurturing experience.

Soon we will be bringing the 2019-2020 school year to a close; do please keep sending us your family news and photos!




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Beyond 100 days ...

29/6/2020

 

Tuesday March 17th was a tearful day for our parents and teachers alike. We decided to close our beautiful MEfA Montessori School, days ahead of Government guidance for all schools to close, because of the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus.
 
During the past 3.5 months we needed to cancel the MEfA Montessori Waldon Therapy Training, the 2020 Alumni Conference, our Summer Party and the Graduation Event for Cohort 20 of the MEfA Montessori post graduate SEN CPD course, Part 1: A Blueprint for Observation
 
We have also cancelled the September 2020 Cohort of Part 2 of our training. At present our Annual Conference for Parents and Professionals is still scheduled for October – let us see what the pandemic situation is, and whether anyone wants, or is allowed, to travel to busy events.
 
2020 is the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Dr Maria Montessori. We had planned to travel to Chiaravalle and Rome (Italy) during the summer to attend celebratory conferences. Also, Autumn term plans to run MEfA SEN training in Pondicherry (India) and Bergen (Norway), and the annual Nienhuis Montessori Retreat in Zelham (Holland) have all been cancelled/ put on hold.
 
On 29th June 2020, the Government decreed that all schools in England will reopen with full classes in September. Happily, as we are a charity, we do not come under the auspices of this legislation. We ‘locked down’ before it was mandatory to do so, and we will most likely ‘unlock’ a little later – after we see what transpires.  Our current plans are to reopen slowly in September.
 
Siebert Road, our vehicular access road, has been designated a Greenwich School Street - Invicta Primary School is accessed by this street. A School Street is closed to motor vehicles at drop off and pick up times. This means that we will not have vehicular access to our Montessori Forest School and Well-being Area between 08:00 – 09:30 and 15:00 – 16:00, causing some issues for staff arriving and leaving and anyone needing access during these times.  

There will be a consultation about whether to make the scheme a permanent fixture. It is likely that we will contribute to say that the disabled bay opposite our school gates will be inaccessible during the planned ‘school streets’ times. https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200259/transport_and_travel/2047/school_streets   
​
We have been gradually opening our Forest School and Well-being Area – outdoors only – and several staff and families (socially distanced of course) have come to explore the bounties of our fruits, flowers, veggies and general loveliness outdoors. We have sweet peas, eating peas, broad beans, runner beans, coco beans, courgettes, tomatoes, sweet and chilli peppers, radishes, carrots and beetroots. And (although we should never start a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’) lots of lovely flowers – also our grapevine, apple tree and lemon tree.
 
We had a bit of a wobble when we received an email from our website host on 29th May to tell us that they were closing in one month! The cavalry arrived! We are forever indebted to our lovely neighbour Vicky Rubery who helped us to design and migrate the website and emails you can now see at www.montessorieducationforautism.com   office@montessorieducationforautism.com
Let's wait and see what's beyond 100 days ...

  
      

    wendy fidler

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​MEfA Montessori
Montessori House
135 Westcombe Hill
Blackheath
London SE3 7DP
​
Tel: +44 (0) 208 305 2202
​Mob: +44 (0) 7710 433994
mail@montessorieducationforautism.com


​Registered Charity No: 1136552
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  • Home
  • Our Story
    • Our Vision
    • Our Approach
    • Our People
    • Our Trustees
    • Our Donors
  • Montessori Classes
    • Term Dates and Diary
    • Montessori School
    • Forest School
    • After School
    • Baby & Toddler
    • Therapy Classes
  • News & Events
    • Newsletters
    • Conferences >
      • 2020 MEfA Montessori Annual Conference
  • Training
    • MEfA Post Grad SEN Part 1
    • MEfA Post Grad SEN Part 2
    • Waldon Therapy Training
    • Our Alumni
    • Papers >
      • Montessori - Play as Therapy
      • What is Autism?
      • Montessori and Autism
      • Why the World Needs Resilient Kids
    • Book Reviews
  • Testimonials
  • Join Us
  • Contact Us