Our Wall of Fame - The Montessori Family We Have Created

Over the past few months we have been absolutely delighted to receive visits and correspondence from so many former students.  They have ranged in age from our most recent graduates (who are six years old and in grade one) right up to a former grad who is turning 17 this year!  Their parents tell us that the children beg to come and visit us.  They would come every day if they could.

Whenever former students visit us, they are shy at first.  It isn't long before they are showering the teachers with hugs and news of their lives.  They then head right for what we like to call 'The Wall of Fame'.  'The Wall of Fame' is a wall in our entrance filled with the class pictures of every class since we started our school in the late 1990s. 

Our former students love to find themselves in the pictures - to see what they were wearing that day, how small they were and who they were sitting beside.  Surprisingly, many of the friendships that began here at our Montessori school have endured over the years.  One of our graduates from our 2002 class has told us that she and her fellow graduates from that year have now reconnected through Facebook.

The children still remember the things we did together.  "Do you remember when....." they will often say.  We are amazed that they remember the Montessori materials vividly, the songs we sang and some of the lessons they received.  They will often ask if they can work with the Golden Beads, the Skip Counting Chains and so many other materials that they remember. One child who visited recently wanted to bring in all the thank you notes that the teachers had written him.  He keeps them in a special box. 

It fills our hearts with joy to see the children growing up, to hear about their accomplishments and to continue to be a part of their lives.  We are forever connected by the invisible threads running through our Montessori family.  Although our former students are not physically with us each day, their presence is felt.  Their shining faces continue to smile down at us each day from our 'Wall of Fame'.  

     They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.

Carol Buchner