Day In the Life at the Children’s House

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Watch a Day In the Life at Maharishi Preschool

Preschoolers develop responsibility through routine

maharishi preschoolAt Maharishi Preschool we are cultivating within each child a sense of independence and capability.  When the children enter into the gates of our playground carrying their lunch and wearing their backpack, a sense of responsibility, independence, and capability is enlivened in them. They know where to put their belongings and they know where they are when they need them or when it is time to go home. During their time at school, they make many choices and their sense of capability grows each day. They are following their internal drive to master skills, grow, and learn, and by allowing them to be responsible for their own belongings, these qualities will continue to be reinforced.  The sense of pride when children feel responsible in these small but significant ways is such a beautiful thing to witness!

Taking precautions in the preschool

children house preschool montessori

When entering the school area all children will get their temperature taken, temperatures at 100 degrees or higher will be sent home.

Masks

Teachers will be required to wear masks while inside, or while down on children’s level outside. Face shields are


Hand washing recommended, especially for toddler teachers. Masks will be required while inside for all children 3+. Masks will not be required for children under 3.

Children will wash hands upon arrival, before and after eating, when entering from outside, when seen with hands in mouth/nose, and a minimum of every 2 hours. Washing is completed with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Social distancing

Drop off times are arranged by class so that there are no traffic jams between parents and children. Transitions into the school house for class will be staggered to avoid congestion in the hallways.

Changes to the environment

preschool environmentThe children each have a cubby where they can store their shoes and backpacks. Cubbies will be outside of the classrooms in the hallways so children do not enter the classroom with outside shoes and backpacks. There is only one child per table in all classrooms, unless the table is very large. The classrooms with ages 3 and up will have sanitizing stations for the children to clean their own work, under adult supervision as needed. Water and soap will be used for plastic, metal, and glass materials and natural disinfectant spray for wooden materials. When a toddler completes a work, they will return it to a special shelf to be cleaned between use. A teacher will sanitize the work items and return them to the shelves with available work.

The protocol for Maharishi School’s Children’s House was created with reference to DHS requirements and CDC recommendations, and with approval from IDPH

If you would like to learn more about the Children’s House, click here.

To learn more about our academics or to contact a member of our admissions staff, click here.

Find out about our school events and student life, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Meet Our New Teachers: Uma Henderson

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new teacher at maharishi preschool

Uma Henderson co-leads in the Preschool.

Alumni teaching at our school

Did you know Maharishi School Alumni Uma Henderson is a co-lead teacher in the Children’s House? Uma grew up in Fairfield and attended Maharishi School from K-12th grade. After graduating she moved to Boulder, Colorado to study holistic nutrition and natural medicine. Uma worked in the field of health and healing for many years. Her work allowed her to travel around the world to Thailand, Indonesia, and Hawaii.

After her traveling days came to an end, she wanted to reestablish a home base. That’s when Uma and her partner moved back to Fairfield and had their daughter, Prayma.

Maharishi School community

I asked Uma how she feels about growing up in the same community that she’s raising her daughter in and she said,

“I have to say that I had the sweetest childhood here in Fairfield. It was such a nourishing place to grow up and I am thankful everyday for the friends, teachers, and community that helped raise me and (to this day) still show their love and support.”

maharishi preschool

Uma’s daughter Prayma.

“I always felt that I wanted to return to Fairfield to settle down. For me, at the end of the day, it came down to the human connection and like-minded community that cultivated a true sense of happiness. This made it pretty clear to me where I wanted to raise my own children. My daughter was born here and now she is almost three. The support that I experienced from this community during my pregnancy, and through the first years of motherhood is more than I could have asked for. Returning here has been a really positive experience for many reasons, but a significant one is my opportunity to work at Maharishi School and have my daughter attend the Children’s House. I love being able to see her each day at school and I also immensely appreciate all of the parenting tools I have become familiar with being in this atmosphere.”

Teaching with covid-19

I also asked Uma what her thoughts are about teaching preschool during a pandemic. She responded,

“I had my concerns about returning to teaching at the preschool during the pandemic. Of course the obvious concern of being exposed to the virus, but also I was concerned about how the mask wearing and social distancing would affect the children socially and emotionally. For this reason, this year we have really prioritized their outdoor play time, where they can safely play mask free and also build strong connections with one another and the teachers. Cultivating these connections is key in helping them adapt and feel comfortable when we do have to be inside wearing a mask.”

alumni daughter prayma

Prayma

“The work that we do at the Children’s House very much involves assisting the children in cultivating emotional intelligence. We help them to learn how to identify the emotions that they are feeling and voice them, so as to allow them to process their feelings and experiences in a healthy way. I believe that the emphasis we put on the emotional body allows the children to feel seen and heard. So although I did have initial concerns around the mask wearing, so far, I do believe that the children are handling it quite well, perhaps as a result of the emotionally nurturing environment we have provided.”

Being an alumni

I also asked Uma what it’s like to be teaching at the school where she is also an alumni, and what plans she has as a co-lead teacher this year.

“Returning to Maharishi School has honestly been such a sweet experience for me. Because I spent twelve years here growing up, it definitely feels surreal at times that life has come full circle over a decade later. It amazes me that now I am taking my daughter’s picture in the same place where my mother took mine each year on the first day of school.”

“I feel that it’s such an honor and privilege to be a teacher in the Children’s House at Maharishi School. Although sometimes I

teacher maharishi school alumni uma

Uma

 feel that the students are really teaching me! I believe that each child has a well of innate knowledge and I believe that it’s my job to help nurture that as well as each child’s own inner intelligence and curiosity of the world around them. I have grown so much as a person as I’ve learned to embody the teachings of Montessori, as well as Positive Discipline, and Maharishi’s Science of Creative Intelligence. These three philosophies are what we follow in the Children’s House and they work harmoniously together to create such a smooth and enriching experience for the students and teachers.”

“Teaching children, for me, has been one of the most growth provoking, soul enriching, and heart warming experiences I have ever had. I am thrilled to be guiding these blossoming souls and am so excited to continue for years to come!”

If you would like to learn more about the Children’s House, click here.

To learn more about our academics or to contact a member of our admissions staff, click here.

Find out about our school events and student life, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Maharishi School Children’s House

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preschool childrens house elyse soaresDid you know the preschool incorporates Montessori & Positive Discipline?

Welcome to the Maharishi School Children’s House! In this blog you will find some basic information as well as new and updated protocols regarding preventative measures against Covid-19 in the preschool.

The preschool offers multi-age classrooms consistent with the Montessori pedagogy. The toddler class consists of children who are 18 months to 3 years old. The 3-5 class includes children aged three to six which include Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten.

The cornerstone of your child’s social-emotional growth focuses on supporting each child in becoming self-aware, autonomous, contributing members of our world. The Montessori Method and Positive Discipline go hand-in-hand in developing these important skills in our school community. In the Children’s House and also in grades Kindergarten through 2 in the lower school, Positive Discipline is practiced by all teachers. The building blocks of Positive Discipline are:

  1. Mutual respect
  2. Understanding the belief behind the behaviorpreschool children's house montessori
  3. Effective communication
  4. Understanding a child’s world
  5. Discipline that teaches rather than punishes
  6. Focusing on solutions rather than punishment
  7. Encouragement
  8. Children do better when they feel better
  9. Connection before correction
  10. Contribution

Lynn Shirai is the Director of the Children’s House as well as the Lower school. In her monthly newsletter to the parents Lynn comments, “As the new Children’s House director I am happy to report that all is running smoothly. The children are happy, mask-wearing, Montessori learners that are finding joy in being with their friends and teacher-guides every day. Dr. Beall, our school co-head, visited the classrooms last week and was so impressed with the children as they were very naturally wearing masks indoors while busy with their Montessori activities.”

Taking precautions in the preschool

When entering the school area all children will get their temperature taken, temperatures at 100 degrees or higher will be sent home.

mask wearing children maharishi schoolMasks

Teachers will be required to wear masks while inside, or while down on children’s level outside. Face shields are recommended, especially for toddler teachers. Masks will be required while inside for all children 3+. Masks will not be required for children under 3.

Hand washing 

hand washing maharishi school coronavirus

Child size bathrooms in the preschool.

Children will wash hands upon arrival, before and after eating, when entering from outside, when seen with hands in mouth/nose, and a minimum of every 2 hours. Washing is completed with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Social distancing

Drop off times are arranged by class so that there are no traffic jams between parents and children. Transitions into the school house for class will be staggered to avoid congestion in the hallways.

Changes to the environment

The children each have a cubby where they can store their shoes and backpacks. Cubbies will be outside of the classrooms in the hallways so children do not enter the classroom with outside shoes and backpacks. There is only one child per table in all classrooms, unless the table is very large. The classrooms with ages 3 and up will have sanitizing stations for the children to clean their own work, under adult supervision as needed. Water and soap will be used for plastic, metal, and glass materials and natural disinfectant spray for wooden materials. When a toddler completes a work, they will return it to a special shelf to be cleaned between use. A teacher will sanitize the work items and return them to the shelves with available work.

maharishi school montessoriThe protocol for Maharishi School’s Children’s House was created with reference to DHS requirements and CDC recommendations, and with approval from IDPH

To find out how more about the Children’s House, click here.

Please contact admissions@maharishischool.org immediately to get started on your application and schedule an interview today!