Allison Jones and Elizabeth Slade join the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the invisible structures that keep a well-run Elementary classroom humming. After realizing that they each had spent years inventing and tweaking various structures and practices that were not explicitly taught in training, Allison and Elizabeth decided to write Finding Ground: Building Strong Elementary Practice, in hopes of saving other Elementary Guides years of experimentation (that often comes at the expense of the children). The book is filled with practical tools and resources to support and ground Elementary Guides.

In this conversation, we focus on just one small part of their shared wisdom: implementing systems for shared accountability. As Montessorians, we know that intrinsic motivation and the use of the Montessori materials are essential. AND...the second plane is also a sensitive period for developing the skills of time management and materials management - skills that are essential for their longterm development.

So what does this look like in practice? How do Guides keep track of what students are working on? How do the students keep track? And do we create these systems and tools to support students' self-reflection rather than rushing through checklists? We discuss the use of work journals in depth. Join Allison and Elizabeth for this fascinating discussion.