She’s a tiny thing, a little more than a year old, with her hair in pigtails and what’s left of her spaghetti lunch smeared all over her cheeks and chin and bib. Yet, there she was pushing back her little chair, getting up from her little table, holding her paper plate and toddling, careful now, toward a trash bin. She puts her plate in the bin, turns around, toddles back to her chair and sits down.
No big deal.
I’m in the infant classroom at Family Star Montessori and Early Head Start, 2246 Federal Blvd. The building once housed a bakery, but it has been home for about 12 years to this preschool, which serves children from 8 weeks to 6 years old.
As its name indicates, this is a Montessori program, which to the uninitiated might simply mean it has the cutest classrooms ever. Everything is pint-sized, including the toilets. Speaking of which, you will not find babies in disposable diapers here. They wear cloth because it’s easier to move around in — and at this age, moving around, interacting with the environment, is how children learn. The bonus? They can immediately feel when they are wet or, uh, otherwise. That uncomfortable sensation, the thinking goes, helps them potty- train faster.
What you see in the classroom — the workstations, the blocks, the artist’s easel, the puzzles — is the articulation of the belief that the best way to teach children is to watch the way they learn. Instruction emphasizes the use of all five senses. It allows children to choose their activities, encouraging self-reliance, independence and a love of learning.
“It’s not about ‘What can I do for you?’ ” says Family Star executive director Ginny Trierweiler. “It’s about ‘What can you do?’ ”
This philosophy is a remarkable thing to witness in practice. Classrooms are calm. Children are engrossed in the activities they have chosen. Teachers are moving from station to station, observing and guiding.
I’ve written about poverty and the role of early-childhood education in preventing the achievement gap. The fact is that kids who enter school behind their peers are likely to stay behind and more likely to drop out of school.
Programs like Family Star, now in its 21st year, seek to prevent the achievement gap from taking root. It has an outreach program for pregnant women. It works closely with moms and dads, helping them to become better, more engaged parents.
Family Star serves 140 children and their families in two locations. About 85 percent of them come from low-income families. And there’s a waiting list. With the help of Season to Share, Family Star could continue to strengthen its program, and supplement its parent outreach and teacher training.
The little girl in the pigtails, she’ll be entering kindergarten in about four years. It’s her parents’ goal and Family Star’s mission to see she does so ready and eager to learn.
Tina Griego writes Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Reach her at 303-954-2699 or tgriego@denverpost.com.
