Holiday Joy from Montessori Children's House

We're Cooking

Winter is a great time to initiate, or expand on, a child's role in the family kitchen. Our weekly cooking classes at MCH follow the Montessori principles of empowering young children to be independent and feature hands on developmentally appropriate and fun projects for young children. Each year we compile a cookbook of our child friendly recipes for families to try at home and have their children take the lead in the kitchen. There are several good cookbooks on the market geared toward preschoolers, such as Molly Katzen's Pretend Soup, Honest Pretzels and her newest, Salad People. Habits for healthy eating and participation in family life can never start too early. It's a great way to empower your child to develop fine motor skills, concentration, a sense of order, independence and more. The end results are sweet rewards--you'll be surprised what even picky eaters will try if they have helped to make it themselves.

Farm

to

Table

Orchard

to

Table

First Lady Michelle Obama's blog, Let's Move, has a treasure trove of recipes from Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids' "State Dinner" winners over the years. Go there while it's still up...and get cooking.

Look Into the Camera...

We had the opportunity to welcome a student filmmaker into our school for two days last month. It was fascinating for the children--the cameras, the microphone, the chance to talk and talk. It was so interesting for me, as well, to watch the process and to facilitate interactions (or not) between the college students and our young students. The crew then filmed at a nearby elementary school and the filmmaker sent us the finished product to share.
Enjoy.

Mommy, Daddy and Me

Always in our Hearts

Our fall "homecoming" of MCH alumni will be this Wednesday and we look forward to it with joyful hearts. We may not see you every day as we did when you were younger, but you continue to be an important part of our school community. The children attending Montessori Children's House today spend quite a bit of time studying the class photos that hang on the walls. They may be searching for a sibling or family friend, or just pondering what all those faces have in common with them. We are all one big family and now we are almost ten years old! Let's celebrate and share memories together this Wednesday and also in the spring when we will have a grand birthday party in honor of our school. Thank you, alumni, for a wonderful decade of learning, discovery...and joy.

Parenting Apps

Warning: I feel many puns coming on.
Disclaimer: this is not a review of parenting apps out there in the digital world.
Parents of my age virtually know nothing about this sort of thing. But, being in the position of longtime director of our school and advocate for children and families that are getting "younger and younger", I am compelled to jump into the real world here. You can always rely on the infinite wisdom of Dr. Dave and Erin at Mind Positive Parenting. If you want the straight dope, go there to get it.
I recently downloaded the Primary app from Montessorium. I did this primarily :) because I would like to write for it and, as always, stay true to keeping Montessori vibrant and applicable to today's families. The people at Montessorium and Baan Dek Montessori school in Sioux Falls certainly do just that. If you check it out please let me know what you think.
I consequently dug in a bit to the app scene for parents in China and found that it is a growing phenomenon. As I've written about before on this blog, Montessori is fast becoming the early childhood education method of choice in China. I think it is time for these two worlds to meet!
The world is indeed more connected now and the possibility of connecting on behalf of children everywhere is inspiriting. I'm sure Maria would agree.

Meet the Staff!

Mr. Tickles says, "when will this school year start?"
The glorious promise of fall is wafting through the air here at Montessori Children's House. We are joyfully preparing the environment and very much looking forward to welcoming all the children and their families for the beginning of our TENTH year!

For the 2016-2017 school year here are our Magnificent Seven:





MEGAN DURKIN
Head of School

SHANA HODEL
Primary Teacher
Classroom 1

EMMA KLEESE
Primary Teacher
Classroom 2








PATTY GALLIVAN
Assistant Teacher
Classroom 1





LINDSEY BOSER
Assistant Teacher
Classroom 2, Administration








PAT ROGNE
ASC Teacher 1

MARIANNE MOSER
ASC Teacher 2




SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!

A Walk With Animals--there's a hedgehog where?

Montessorians love animals, right? Classroom pets are a part of every authentic environment and not just because they provide one more practical life activity. These creatures are there to harbor in the child an empathy and appreciation for other inhabitants of the earth. Experiences in respect and care for pets give a child dividends that are immeasurable. This tenet holds true even more so in the home environment. Some of my writing projects focus on the glorious experiences (maybe an overstatement) of children and their animal friends. Have you noticed how the animal world has quite a lively presence of late in the world of children's literature and film? While I've been working on a collaboration with my artist father about the joys of a household full of pets I have come across so many examples. Perhaps I'm more attuned to what's popular right now or perhaps others are becoming more aware of the special bond between children and pets. There are even several new books about the animal human connection for adults. Secret lives...? I think we all want in on a bit of that.

On the nightstand:

A Walk in the Animal Kingdom
by Jerry Dennis, drawings by Glenn Wolf, Big Maple Press

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
by Frans de Waal, WW Norton

On the school bookshelf:

How to Raise a Wild Child
by Scott Sampson

What Pet Should I Get?
by Dr. Seuss

There's a Hedgehog in the Hallway
by Megan Ray Durkin, illustrations by Ken Ray

Sir David Attenborough, the great naturalist and BBC wildlife presenter, has often been asked, "How did you become interested in animals?" His response was always the same: "How on Earth did you lose your interest in them?"--Scott Sampson from How to Raise a Wild Child.

Graduation Time

As the end of the school year drew near we reflected on the future of our young graduates. Where will they go to continue their learning? Will their independence be respected? Will their inner motivation be fostered?

Montessori children tend to be very flexible and adaptive with strong social skills. Yet we caution parents to look out for certain things that a traditional kindergarten experience may bring.

Comparing children (gold stars, etc.)

Fostering competition instead of giving opportunities to socialize

Sitting in front of a computer

Less and less recess/outdoor time

Some research into what methods most traditional educators employ yielded unimpressive results. The Common Core exacerbates the developmentally inappropriate practices on the rise since NCLB. Teachers report having to post the standards in the room before every scripted lesson, as if 5-year-olds can read or care what they say. They time children adding and subtracting, and train them to ask formulaic questions about an “author’s message.” All children are trained in the exact same skill at the same time. One teacher lamented that “there is no more time for play.” Another wrote “these so-called educational leaders have no idea how children learn.”

Yet current educational policy banishes play in favor of damaging practices such as direct instruction of inappropriate academic content and testing; practices that are ineffective for young children. We are ever hopeful that educators in our small town will meet MCH graduates where they are in their journey and respect them as the independent and motivated learners we know them to be. Our wish is extended to every child in this country and the world.
“This is education, understood as a help to life; an education from birth, which feeds a peaceful revolution and unites all in a common aim, attracting them as to a single centre. Mothers, fathers, politicians: all must combine in their respect and help for this delicate work of formation, which the little child carries on in the depth of a profound psychological mystery, under the tutelage of an inner guide. This is the bright new hope for mankind.”
--Maria Montessori, (The Absorbent Mind)

The Peace of Wild Things

by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Celebrations

The honoring of the celebrant never gets old.
We love Montessori and our Montessori celebration traditions.

Celebrating MONTESSORI EDUCATION WEEK!

Ten Reasons to Love Montessori

1) Cultivates students’ natural love of learning by allowing them to follow their own interest and direct their own exploration

2) Provides beautiful, stimulating mixed-aged learning environments

3) Nurtures each students’ learning style and interest

4) Gives students access to scientifically-based, hands-on learning materials

5) Students work at their own pace through core academic concepts and skills with the guidance of highly-trained adults

6) Curriculum is individualized and used by teachers as an educational guide rather than an educational rule

7) Classroom atmosphere fosters a sense of acceptance, responsibility, respect, and community

8) Encourages freedom of movement and positive social interaction

9) Develops a deep connection to the natural world and promotes exploration and experiences in nature

10) Focuses on character development as well as academic excellence

COSMIC EDUCATION, The Child’s Discovery of a Global Vision

Here are some excerpts from the always enlightening Michael Olaf newsletter. Perfect for snowy day reading:

Age 3-6 Years

The child’s world at this age moves from the family to the primary class. The world is brought into the class rather than the child taken out into the world at this age. We do not believe in pushing a child toward early intellectual studies, however if presented correctly, young children show an amazing interest in a wide range of subjects, something that can be hard to believe...

Before age six, the child absorbs—totally, easily, without effort, and with deep love—all the attitudes and impressions in the environment. It becomes a part of him and forms his mind, so parents and teachers as models are the strongest element in these years. If kindness and patience, enjoying reading, having good manners, enjoying math and biology, for example, are in the environment at this age, these attitudes and actions will be of great value to the child. If they are not part of the early environment many of these things can be learned later, but they will not make up the basic personality of the child.

Before age six, the lessons and experiences of Cosmic Education are carried out by means of a lot of movement and sensorial experience. But along with the basic and extremely valuable practical life and sensorial lessons, the child begins to learn about the earth and water, physics, plant and animals, the variety of humans on earth, art, dance, music, geometry, math, and language. By the end of this first plane of development, the child has a lively curiosity about and love of all of these areas of study.

Maria Montessori understood the child's built-in receptiveness to all these areas of interest and found that the young child could comprehend what was considered far beyond a child's reach, given the right environment, the right equipment, and a teacher who was skilled at putting the child in touch with this environment.

Madame Montessori,
Even as you, out of love for children, are endeavoring to teach children, through your numerous institutions, the best that can be brought out of them, even so, I hope that it will be possible not only for the children of the wealthy and the well-to-do, but for the children of paupers to receive training of this nature. You have very truly remarked that if we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children, and if they will grow up in their natural innocence, we won't have to struggle, we won't have to pass fruitless idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace and love for which, consciously or unconsciously, the whole world is hungering.
— M. K. Gandhi, 1943
Today our world is shrinking and we have finally learned to cherish diversity—economic, racial, all kinds—to prepare children for living in the real world. Gandhi's desire is coming to pass.
michaelolaf news cultural geography

The Third Year--Montessori Kindergarten

It's that time of year at MCH when parents of our second year students begin the decision making process for re-enrollment. We applaud and support them in this important process. It can seem like an overwhelming responsibility to choose the best class for your child. We hold a special meeting just for them at our school to offer guidance and explain which choice we feel is the best for our Montessori students. While not everyone can stay for the third year at our school, our hope is that those who can will do just that. It is a gift that will pay huge dividends in the child's outlook on learning. We feel so strongly about it that all of our scholarship money in the past has gone to making the third year choice an easy one for parents. As an authentic Montessori school, we are committed to the three year cycle in the classroom and to offering the best possible Montessori primary education to each child. We serve the Watcher (3 year old), the Worker (4 year old) and the Teacher (5 year old). It is both our mission and our pure delight.
Here are some of the videos we'll share at the information meeting: