Learning Curve: Montessori teachers working hard to keep hands-on learning going at home

KINGSTON — Like all schools who follow the Montessori system of education, the Wyoming Valley Montessori School is all about hands-on, self-directed learning. So what happens when a pandemic forces that learning to be a bit more hands-off?

According to two teachers from the school, it’s time to get creative.

Danny Klein and Amy Weinschenk are co-teachers at the school, working together to teach students in the fourth- through sixth-grade age range. According to the teachers, Klein tends to focus on math, science and related fields, while Weinschenk’s focuses are writing, social studies and other related things.

Both teachers said that it was a bit of a challenge to transition into online learning, but they think their students have done exceptionally well.

“Our students are very independent, by the nature of the schooling,” Klein said. “They all did well.”

Weinschenk echoed Klein’s sentiment.

“It’s amazing how quickly they picked up on some of the technology,” she said. “For the most part, things were up and running in a week.”

The teachers said that the first few days of online learning were a bit touch-and-go, since the initial plan was to only do remote learning for two weeks. But once it became clear that students would not be going back to school any time soon, they said it also became clear that it was time to get creative.

“We had to do a lot of research,” Klein said, saying much of the time was spent looking for information that was specifically stylized for the hands-on approach for which Montessori schools are famous.

“We were up until 12:30, 1 a.m. making lessons,” he went on. “But after the first month, we got the hang of it.”

Some of that creativity has come by way of making videos for the students, with Weinschenk saying she’s been making time travel-themed history videos where she takes her students back in time.

“We keep to the same lessons but tried to make them more digitally appealing,” she said.

One thing that the students of the pair of teachers were most looking forward to about this school year was a planned three-day trip to Boston, that was originally set to go on from May 12 to 14.

While the students were disappointed by the loss of the trip, Weinschenk said her brother and sister-in-law, who live in Boston, helped her set up a virtual walking tour of the city’s famous Freedom Trail, so students could still learn about important landmarks of the American Revolution.

Additionally, just like a normal Montessori classroom, the teachers say many of the students’ assignments are partner projects, which they say is helping the students keep in contact with each other.

Still, though, it’s clear the students miss school.

“They look forward to our get-togethers because I think that’s what keeps their spirits up,” Klein said. “They cannot wait to get back to school.”

Weinschenk agreed.

“This is hard on us but it’s harder on our students.” she said.

Klein said he the students consistently say how much they want to come back.

“We say the same thing each and every day,” Klein said. “Everybody is in it together as a community.”