For today’s post in our Montessori Monday series, we will continue to explore the nine Wildflower principles, with a focus on the importance of store-front, community-embedded schools.
It was a sunny yet chilly mid-April day in Chicago and we kept looking at the map on my phone to make sure we hadn’t missed it. All nine of us agreed - it wasn’t there! We were searching for a blue mailbox, which was supposed to be at the corner of Oakley and Madison. However, there was no mailbox in sight. We traveled for a few more blocks, singing songs, hoping to spot somewhere to drop our letters but unfortunately, the mailbox finder website had led us astray.
Feeling defeated, my eight kindergarten students and I headed back to school. I promised that we would stick the letters in the main office’s mail drop and that a United States postal worker would deliver each note to their homes. They weren’t convinced. They wanted the real deal, not some wooden box in an office. They had spent weeks, singing and writing their addresses, composing notes with the moveable alphabet, writing the letters, sealing the envelopes, and adding stamps. These are all essential life skills for young children to learn and it was a bit heartbreaking to watch their forlorn faces look at their letters.
All of a sudden, Jaylen yells out, “Look! A mailman! Let’s go talk to him and ask him where the mailbox is!” All eight of them took off, running as fast as they could towards the unassuming postal worker.
“We practiced writing our addresses for weeks and we are looking for the mailbox! Have you seen it?” Marina begged the postal worker. “We wrote letters to our families and they have to get them,” Mateo yelled.
This patient young man listened to their whole story with a broad smile on his face. When they were finished detailing their defeat, he said, “I can take those for you and make sure they make it to the right place.” The children were elated! They could not believe their luck.
With pure joy in their eyes, they passed Javon, the postal worker, their letters. He stayed for a bit, asked what they were learning in school and told them to have a wonderful day. He even agreed to take a picture with his new biggest fans. With tears in my eyes, I snapped several photos of these amazing problem solvers and one remarkable community member who modeled grace, courtesy and kindness to eight six year olds.
As we rushed back to school to tell everyone we met a postal worker, we reflected a bit on our experience. We had run into a problem and they had found a solution, by themselves. Marina said she wanted to be a postal worker when she grew up.
Venturing out into one’s community is just an extension of classroom learning. These children learned more about the mail system, their neighbors and their own ability to solve problems than they ever would have if I had offered to drop the letters in a box on my way home from school.
Children are naturally curious and our local communities provide amazing opportunities for them to explore, connect and find joy in their own neighborhoods. Wildflower schools strive to be community-embedded spaces that are models of service and connection. The store-front model also opens our practice to the public and invites children to think of the world outside of school walls.
At Mountain Laurel Montessori, we are already dreaming about all of the local connections we hope to make in Philadelphia. Visits to bakeries, libraries, parks and other spaces where children can share their exuberance and love of learning as well as their natural inclination to help others.
These types of experiences make staying in the classroom rejuvenating, worthwhile and liberating.
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