Observation is a chance for you to get a picture of what our school and classrooms are like. If you have a child in the classroom you will see their behavior is colored by the excitement of your visit. To minimize this factor for everyone in class please observe the following procedures:

Kindly arrive a few minutes prior to your scheduled observation time to review some information.

We have a high regard for the classroom environment and take great care not to interrupt the children’s concentration and focus. When you enter the classroom please be seated. Please do not move around the classroom as the environment should remain as normal as possible while you observe.

When you sit down children may come up to you, either your child or others. Please try not to engage them in conversation. A polite “hello” and a direct response as to who you are is fine and then quietly invite the child to return to work. If a child offers you tea, please accept the offer, as this is an important work in Grace and Courtesy. The children have been told before you come that your work is to watch them work.

If you have a child in the classroom and your child cries, clings to you, is silly or ignores you completely, don’t be surprised. Children respond differently to having their parents in the classroom than they do in the normal course of the school day or at home.

Guides are not able to take time to discuss things with you during or immediately after your observation. Their work is to be present with the children. If questions occur while you are observing, please write them down. We will be glad to answer questions later during a phone conversation or conference when children are not present.

After observing, please leave quietly.

If your child is in the classroom, please explain before your visit that you will be watching everybody work, you will be sitting in your own special chair, and that you will be leaving quietly when it is time to go. You will then wave goodbye or give your child a little hug and leave. It is best if your goodbye to your child is brief and positive.

NOTE: PLEASE KEEP ANY INFORMATION OF A SENSITIVE OR PERSONAL NATURE CONFIDENTIAL.

Thank you,

Ross Montessori School Staff