Welcome to the Website!

Please check out the blog it is not about my life (fascinating as that is...), but a series of articles written about children and parenting, from toileting to paying for college...

Mary's School is a Montessori school. A Montessori school has multi-ages together (in our case: 2-5 year olds), and a focus on meaningful work. The assumption is that children are, as one child told me recently, practicing to be grown-ups. They want to learn to do the things that they see as being needful for competence. They also are naturally inquisitive and want to learn. So, we are showing them real things: real animals to care for, real things to count, how to use letter sounds to make words, how to make snack, how to clean up, how to make something ready for the next person. They thrive on this work. They choose their work, and so learn how to make choices that serve them, an important life skill.

Humans are social beings, so this is another area of competency that children are drawn to. Much of what we model and talk about, and the setup of the classroom, is to help teach social skills. Works can be done alone or in a group, but that requires conversation. We teach that "no is also an answer." We teach responsibility to the community of children that is Mary's School.

A recent study, published in Science Magazine, pointed out that 5 year old children in a public Montessori program, chosen by lottery and not by economic advantage, scored better than peers in math, reading and social skills. I am not at all surprised, and am thankful for someone taking the time to note what we see all the time.

I have been teaching since 1978, and have been teaching in Montessori programs since 1992. I received my Montessori certification at the NCCMTE in 1995, in Early Childhood. I am also a mom (two of my children are on the homepage of the website, about 16 years ago...) Being a mom has taught me a lot, being a teacher has taught me a lot. I continue to learn in both areas.

Warmly,
Mary Willis