Peaceful Pathways Montessori Academy 630-553-4263
peacefulpathwaysmontessori.com
In 2006 Shawna Watkins, a former Yorkville
High School and Middle School ADD coordinator, decided to open Peaceful Pathways Montessori Academy at 8250 Rt. 71 in Yorkville. “Our church had a Montessori school and I was
working there as an administrator,” she recalls. “I watched just how respectful the process was with the students and the teachers, and I knew this type of school would be a game-changer for some students.” Shawna, who grew up in Yorkville, explains that the
Montessori schools’ teaching technique was developed in Italy in the early 1900s by a female doctor who worked with people with learning disabilities. Te technique was so successful, Shawna says, that it was expanded into use in regular classrooms. “Montessori education is based on planes of development,” Shawna says. “Our 120 students, ages 15 months through 15 years old, are divided into six classrooms -- the 15 months to 3-year-olds; the 3 to 6-year olds; the 6 to 12-year-olds; and the 7th, 8th and 9th graders, with two of the age groups having two classes.” Shawna says that children from
birth to 6 years old take in the world like sponges. “Tey have absorbent minds,” she
says. “Tey are learning language skills, to walk and move around. Tey are discovering their environment. Tey are constantly learning new things.” Children aged 6 to 12 years old are becoming more socialable, Shawna says.
32 Photos courtesy of Shawna Watkins “For this age we give more lessons in groups because
if I can get one student excited about something, I can get them all excited. At this age, they want to change the world. Tey realize they can have an impact. Our job is to help them realize their gifts and talents.” Te 7th to 9th-graders become more egocentric, she
says. “So we tie all their work to real-life activities to draw
them out. Tey run classroom businesses, like selling coffee to parents or raising and selling pumpkins. It gives them a view of what’s happening in the outside world.” Parents interested in the school can schedule a tour on the school website, Shawna says.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
