Feature Story & Photos By: Larry H. Oskin
The South Lake Montessori School is progressively focused on inspiring creativity for their students to celebrate art, creativity, history, culture, life and all aspects of learning.
One of the most successful and fun new projects for its students is Postcrossing Cards. The Montessori team works with an international organization to facilitate their students sending and receiving mailed postcards from random people around the world. This safe and secure system allows the students to share messages, photographs, art and information with others across the globe while learning about other cultures. Tracy McCoy of South Lake Montessori School says, “Our kids love it! It has really helped them to learn about people and places from other countries. We have created a Postcrossing Board to share all of the letters we receive. Besides, learning about other cities, landmarks and people, some of our children have had fun sharing information about prehistoric dinosaurs, their cats, favorite books, special events and more. Plus, we have created a map to pin all of the places we have learned about from these internationally shared postcards.”
With a lack of field trips and special guest speakers this past year due to the COVID pandemic restrictions, they have still shared many new opportunities and experiences. Another extraordinary program is their annual art carnival and exhibit with educationally-based arts and crafts projects. They have studied famous artists’ lives, their artwork and their varied art techniques. The students have tried to replicate the famous artwork and the techniques with their own versions. The students were able to use paints, pastels, oils, watercolors, pencils and chalks. Some reproductions were done with a simple grid technique, while others were done by eye. Student art was hung on an outdoor backyard fence as well as inside the school. They also were able to create 3-D Triaramas to bring visual creativity into play, while sharing studies in art, science, culture and history.
They have been using a large Timeline of Life to teach the story of life from single-cell organisms, to dinosaurs, mammals and humans. The students were creatively inspired to share their learning through sidewalk and driveway chalk art projects. The South Lake Montessori children are regularly exposed to theatre with opportunities to write scripts, dance, play music, study lighting and stage, act in plays, practice public speaking and performing character roles. They annually celebrate World Culture Day. Students select countries to share typical dress, music, dance and foods while using their own family connections. Their students have often been invited to participate in the local Moonlight Players performances. There are productive student-led weekly meetings with Class Presidents and Vice Presidents to discuss all school projects, policies, challenges, and potential future new opportunities.
The Famous Montessori Method: Jan Sheldon and her staff help children reach their fullest potential at their own pace. The South Lake Montessori philosophy is a leading idea in education. Instead of dividing their school children by grade, the South Lake Montessori classes place children in age groups from ages 3 to 6 and 6 to 12. Classrooms help children develop their social skills while challenging them to learn to work together, with other students’ best interests in mind. Their staff uses extensive observation to guide and help children learn and develop at their own pace. The child’s dignity and ability is a critical element at the school. While the basics are taught, teachers encourage children to explore other styles of learning and expression, from artistic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal and intuitive techniques. There are no defined grades, yet their teachers train, observe, keep records and plan individual projects that ensure that each child is completely engaged to learn at his or her best pace. The school encourages children to find answers. The instructors are trained to ask questions rather than to merely provide answers and solutions. Discovering answers for themselves helps children develop self-esteem and self-confidence.
Jan Sheldon, owner of the South Lake Montessori School, says her primary home state is California, while spending some of her childhood in Hawaii. Her father was in the Navy and her mother was a Social Editor of a San Diego newspaper. She fell in love with theatre, especially Shakespeare. After marriage, she and her husband Richard Judkins moved here to Florida. In 1982, she became the first President of Lake County NOW Chapter — National Organization for Women. In 1983, she began working at the Lake Montessori school in Leesburg, Florida. “In 1997, my two boys were in middle and high school, so I decided to open the South Lake Montessori School”, said Sheldon. The South Lake Montessori School started out with primary only, teaching 3 to 6-year-olds. In 1994, Sheldon also started the Moonlight Players. She was president of Moonlight for 20 years before she stepped down. She is now President Emeritus.
In 2003, Sheldon hired Tracy White McCoy as her elementary teacher after meeting at a theatrical performance they worked on together. Sheldon notes, “I met Tracy when she was about 15 when we performed in Annie. She is still our elementary teacher and she’s one of the most talented and intelligent people I know. She brings a lot of theatrical joy to her job.”
Sheldon is proud to have a diversely talented staff with Chris Gonzalez and Emmanuella Rojas. Gonzales is part of the primary staff and a specialist in linguistics. Rojas is bilingual, fluent in Spanish and an American sign language expert
South Lake Montessori remains a very creative educational environment. Due to Covid, they are only half full with registered students at this time. They are licensed for up to 65 children. They have families coming with students from all over Florida to this Clermont school location because they have AMI recognition. They have two classrooms, one for primary students serving 3 to 6-year-olds and one for elementary students serving 6- to 12-year-olds.
To learn more, go to Get to Know Jan Sheldon
For More Information, make an appointment to visit the South Lake Montessori School, located at 983 West DeSoto Street in
Clermont, FL 34711, call: 352-365-7212, email: slmsoffice13@gmail.com and visit: https://southlakemontessorischool.com/.
