January, 2018

• 16 January

  The Fundamental Needs of Humans

  

  One of my favorite lessons for lower elementary students is The Fundamental Needs of Humans. It is designed to help children understand that people everywhere have the same basic needs even though those needs are fulfilled in different ways by various cultures. This worldview is at the core of Montessori …

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• 16 January

  The Benefits of Cooperation and Teamwork

  Was your child eliminated from the spelling bee and came home in tears? Have you heard of an athlete who took steroids to win? How did you feel when you were chosen last in a game because you were not as “good” as the others? All of these events reflect …

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• 16 January

  Montessori Classroom and Beyond!

  As Montessori teachers, we start the school year by teaching grace and courtesy to the children. We know that grace and courtesy lessons help children become oriented to the prepared environment. We know these activities serve as tools for functioning in the classroom, using the materials, and interacting respectfully with …

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• 16 January

  How Children Get the Most from Celebrations

  

  How does your classroom mark holidays? Which do you celebrate in class? How do you decide? There are as many perspectives on holidays in the Montessori classroom as there are teachers! As a community, we’ve come up with so many unique and creative ways to address “special days.” Yet classroom …

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• 16 January

  Many Ways to Give

  

  Helen Keller was only seven years old, yet she had already grasped a universal spiritual truth: “For it is in giving that we receive.” (St. Francis of Assisi) How do we help foster in our students the human tendency to want to give to others? What are some suggestions we can give …

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• 16 January

  Walking on the Meandering Line

  

  Sanford Jones and Jean Miller* both recall that when Maria Montessori’s son Mario and his wife Ada visited America in the early 1970’s, they were puzzled to see children doing the Walking on the Line exercises on a line in the shape of an ellipse (used in many classrooms for …

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• 16 January

  The Importance of the Silence Game

  To Montessori’s surprise, when she experimented with this very first Silence Game, the group of over 40 children waited quietly and patiently to hear their names whispered. After they refused the sweets she thought they might need as a reward, Montessori reflected, “They seemed to say, ‘Don’t spoil our lovely …

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• 16 January

  Outdoor Activities for Late Winter / Early Spring

  Outdoor play in winter is not the carefree puddle-stomping of summer, to be sure, but the extra supervision needed can also be an opportunity for extra family time. Start by dressing children for success. Choose coats and hats with closures children can manage on their own and show them how …

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• 16 January

  The Ground Was Our Very Own Writing Board

  Lakshmi Kripalani: An Authentic Montessori Legend I have had good fortune and a bit of serendipity in my Montessori career, from listening to the legendary Elizabeth Caspari lecture to working for the most amazing trainers and directors who, though not famous or even well-known, definitely qualify as “legendary” by the …

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• 16 January

  The Outdoor Prepared Environment

  

  Even outdoors, you are still the third point of the triangle! When we take the children outdoors, where it seems so easy for them to function, we tend to forget that the magic of the Montessori prepared environment depends as much on the teacher as it does on the materials and the …

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