The PEA-R Model, borrowed from Occupational Therapy, helps staff with varied behavior management experience more efficiently assess and address challenges with student performance (behavior). PEA-R stands for Person-Environment-Activity-Relationship. This model is jargon-free and accessible to anyone. It facilitates a more systematized internal decision tree to help staff better organize their thinking around student behavior. Additionally, PEA-R can help create community-wide consistency in staff behavior management practices. Through this model, staff analyze and breakdown contexts where students are struggling and contexts where they are successful into more concrete variables. Then, with that information, staff are more readily able to identify specific barriers and supports to performance that are naturally occurring within the environment, rather than turning to more contrived behavior management strategies. The PEA-R model can help to create a more informed and effective staff approach to supporting student performance and build a truly inclusive, strengths-based program, starting with staff perspectives around behavior.

Dr. Montessori once said, “Give the world to the small child.” As guides, we are tasked with introducing our students to the wonders of the natural world. Teaching Life Sciences can be overwhelming, especially when navigating the complexities of fostering curiosity and interest while also ensuring curriculum requirements are covered. How can we do it all without getting stuck in the monthly “theme trap” that insists one must study leaves in October and frogs in March? How can we shake up our Life Science shelves and bring the sciences back to life?

In this 3-part series, we will discuss ways to approach the Life Sciences that allow us to move beyond “parts of” puzzles and three-part cards and help our children understand the interconnectedness of the natural world through exploration and discovery. This workshop aims to ignite a year-round passion for the sciences. Our mission? To foster a holistic understanding of the natural world, empowering children to meaningfully interact with their environment while seamlessly integrating this exploration into the other curriculum areas within our classrooms.

Join me as we take a fresh look at the Sciences through the lens of Systems Thinking and explore ways to integrate this structure into our nature studies in the Montessori Early Childhood classroom. This workshop, designed to be interactive, will include PowerPoint Presentations, live materials demonstrations, resource handouts, and opportunities for shared experiences from the group.