Tomorrows Child January 2014

TOMORROW'S CHILD © w JANUARY 2014 w WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG 1

JANUARY 2014$8.00 Vol.22No.2

IN COLLABORATION WITH

TheInternationalMontessoriCouncilA Publication of the Montessori Foundation

Celebrations of Life Festivals of Japan

Where Do We Go from Here? Montessori High Schools

Montessori’s Youngest Students Infant/Toddler Programs

TOMORROW'S CHILD © w JANUARY 2014 w WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG2

1. What is Montessori? ❑ English ❑Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

2. Why Would You Start Your Three-year-old in School? ❑ English ❑Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

3. Montessori Nurtures Curiosity, Creativity & Imagination _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

4. What can Montessori Offer Our Infants & Toddlers? _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

5. Creating a Culture of Partnership, Kindness, Respect & Peace _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

6. The Importance of Montessori for Kindergarten ❑ English ❑ Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

7. Joyful Scholars: Montessori for the Elementary Years _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

8. Research & Montessori _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

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Credit card#____________________________________ Name on Card____________________________________Exp. date_________

EMAIL address for receipt_________________________(please print clearly) Phone number in case we have a question(_____) ____________

Mailing address and name of contact person___________________________________________________________________________SAMPLES ARE $1.00 EACH PLUS $1.44 S&H (US) ($2.44 CANADA) (S&H APPLIES FOR UP TO NINE BROCHURES). CIRCLE: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Our 3 best

sellers (right)

also available in

Spanish!

Ever wish for something to handout at community events or openhouses that easily explained or vi-sually showed some aspect ofMontessori that didn’t overwhelmthe reader? Who better than thepeople who wrote the book, TheMontessori Way, to introduce such a product!

NINE Montessori titles nowavailable. Use the form below to order & stock up now.

Each pamphlet bundle contains 50 of the same title and is incredibly affordable at $15 USD per bundle plus postage. The items are in stock and ready to ship.They may be purchased the following ways:1. Through our online publication center located at the Foundation’s website: www.montessori.org (go right into the ‘bookstore’ tab)

2. By calling Margot at 800 632 4121 (IMC school members receive a discount on this item and will need to call with credit card. Should your IMC schoolmembership need to be renewed, we will do that at the same time.)

3. Use this order form and either mail or fax your order. Make checks payable to: The Montessori Foundation and mail to: 19600 E State Road 64, Bradenton, FL34212 USA. Or Fax us at 941 359 8166. To obtain shipping-cost information for orders outside US email: [email protected].

Expedited courier service, such as FEDEX/UPS is substantially more expensive (price is determined by weight and location by the courier). We will estimate this for you if USPS can not deliver to your area, before charging out). Fed Ex and UPS cannot deliver to a PO BOX.


StayingtheCourse:TheImportanceofMontessorifortheKindergartenYearby Tim Seldin

Montessori(Grand)Parenting:EnjoySomeScienceInquiryTimeTogetherby Margot Garfield-Anderson

PychologistvsMom—MontessoriTeachers:HowDOTheyDoit?by Chelsea Howe, Psy.D.

MontessoriMoment:IJustWantHimtoBeSmart—TheProblemwithLabelsby RB Fast

QuietTimeisImportantby Maren Schmidt

WhereDoWeGoFromHere:TheMontessoriHighSchoolby Tim Seldin

15CALENDAR

17CELEBRATIONS Japanese Children’s Day (Kodomo no Hi)

24BOOK REVIEWS Montessori Reads

26DEAR CATHIE Flash Cards for Toddlers

34 CLASSIFIED ADS

38 TOMORROW'S CHILD ORDER FORM

Montessori’sYoungestLearners:Infant/ToddlerProgramsby Terri Sherrill

Tomorrow’s Child (ISSN 10716246), published four times a year, is the official magazine of The Montessori Foundation, a non-profit organization. The opinions expressed in Tomorrow’s Child editorials, columns, and features are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the magazine or The Montes-sori Foundation. Acceptance of advertising does not represent the Foundation’s endorsement of any product or service.

It is policy of The Montessori Foundation, a non-profit organization, to encourage support for the orga-nization by discounting the sale of bulk order ship-ments of Tomorrow’s Child in order that schools may make the magazine available to their families. The Montessori Foundation does NOT grant permission to reprint material from Tomorrow’s Child in any other form (e.g., book, newsletter, journals). Copies of this issue or back issues are available for purchase through our online bookstore: www.montessori.org. For Stand-ing Bulk Orders, call 800-655-5843 (toll free), use the order form on page 38, or place your order at www.montessori.org. The Montessori Foundation does not provide refunds for cancelled standing bulk orders.

Sendallcorrespondenceto:The Montessori Foundation19600 E State Road 64 . Bradenton, FL 34212-8921Phone: 941-729-9565/1-800-655-5843Fax:941-745-3111WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG

EDITOR Joyce St. Giermaine PRESIDENT Tim SeldinPROGRAM DIRECTOR Lorna McGrath EVENTS & MEMBERSHIP Margot Garfield-Anderson ADVERTISING Chelsea Howe BOOKKEEPER Don Dinsmore FULFILLMENT Michael Anderson GRAPHIC DESIGN Katrina CostedioPRINTED BY InterPrint

Note: InterPrint is now FSC,SFI and PEFC Chain-of-Custody Tri-Certified. Chain-of-custody certification offers paper that has been harvested from responsibly managed forests, then verifiably traced through all stages of print production.

Conferences&WorkshopsIMCMargot Garfield-Anderson:Phone: 941-309-3961/Toll Free:800-632-4121Fax: 941-359-8166email: [email protected]

PastIssues,Books&CDOrdersFor immediate service, use our secureonline bookstore at www.montessori.org. For questions regarding an order,email: margot@ montessori.org or Phone 941-309-3961/Toll Free: 800-632-4121

Subscriptions&BookkeepingDon Dinsmore Phone: 941-729-9565/1-800-655-5843Fax: 941-745-3111 [email protected]

Classified&DisplayAdvertising Chelsea HowePhone: 941-729-9565/Fax: [email protected]

ParentingCenterLorna McGrathPhone: 941-922-4949/1-800-655-5843Fax: [email protected]

Cover Photo: Larry Canner at Love of Learning Montessori School / Columbia, MD.

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1. What is Montessori? ❑ English ❑Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

2. Why Would You Start Your Three-year-old in School? ❑ English ❑Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

3. Montessori Nurtures Curiosity, Creativity & Imagination _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

4. What can Montessori Offer Our Infants & Toddlers? _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

5. Creating a Culture of Partnership, Kindness, Respect & Peace _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $_______

6. The Importance of Montessori for Kindergarten ❑ English ❑ Spanish _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

7. Joyful Scholars: Montessori for the Elementary Years _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

8. Research & Montessori _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______

9. Montessori in the Home _____#of bundles @$15 Total due $______Shipping Method: ❑USPS FLAT RATE PRIORITY ❑COURIER (FedEx/UPS) Shipping Amount $______

❑1 - 3 bundles $6.95 ❑4 - 12 bundles $12.95 ❑13-24 bundles $15.95 over 24 call. TOTAL DUE $______

IMC membership number ___________ for discounted pricing of $12.50 per bundle. To obtain shipping-cost information for orders outside US, call 941-309-3961 or email: [email protected].

Credit card#____________________________________ Name on Card____________________________________Exp. date_________

EMAIL address for receipt_________________________(please print clearly) Phone number in case we have a question(_____) ____________

Mailing address and name of contact person___________________________________________________________________________SAMPLES ARE $1.00 EACH PLUS $1.44 S&H (US) ($2.44 CANADA) (S&H APPLIES FOR UP TO NINE BROCHURES). CIRCLE: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Our 3 best

sellers (right)

also available in

Spanish!

Ever wish for something to handout at community events or openhouses that easily explained or vi-sually showed some aspect ofMontessori that didn’t overwhelmthe reader? Who better than thepeople who wrote the book, TheMontessori Way, to introduce such a product!

NINE Montessori titles nowavailable. Use the form below to order & stock up now.

Each pamphlet bundle contains 50 of the same title and is incredibly affordable at $15 USD per bundle plus postage. The items are in stock and ready to ship.They may be purchased the following ways:1. Through our online publication center located at the Foundation’s website: www.montessori.org (go right into the ‘bookstore’ tab)

2. By calling Margot at 800 632 4121 (IMC school members receive a discount on this item and will need to call with credit card. Should your IMC schoolmembership need to be renewed, we will do that at the same time.)

3. Use this order form and either mail or fax your order. Make checks payable to: The Montessori Foundation and mail to: 19600 E State Road 64, Bradenton, FL34212 USA. Or Fax us at 941 359 8166. To obtain shipping-cost information for orders outside US email: [email protected].

Expedited courier service, such as FEDEX/UPS is substantially more expensive (price is determined by weight and location by the courier). We will estimate this for you if USPS can not deliver to your area, before charging out). Fed Ex and UPS cannot deliver to a PO BOX.


The 10th West Coast ConferenceThe Courageous Path to Building Cohesive Communities

A LETTER FROM THE EDITORJoyce St. Giermaine, Editor

Firstofall…HappyNewYear!

It’s hard to believe that the 2013/14 school year is halfway over, but it is, and that means it’s time to think about ordering Tomorrow’s Child for the 2014/15 school year. Now is the time to SAVE BIG by ordering your school’s standing bulk order early to take advantage of our incredible Early Bird Discount.

From now through May 31, 2014, your school can order a standing bulk order for just $13.75 per family in the US. This is based on a minimum order of 50 copies. After May 31, 2014, the per-family price goes up to $16.00, so NOW is the time to order.

Compare this to an individual subscription at $30 for US subscribers, and you can really appreciate the savings to schools that provide Tomorrow’s Child for their families.

Please see our order form on page 38. If your school is already receiving a standing bulk order, watch for an invoice from our office. We will invoice your school based on the amount of magazines you received this school year, but you can always adjust your order to reflect your enrollment expectations for next year. You can also order online at www.montessori.org or by calling our office toll free at 800-655-5843.

If your school has fewer than 50 families, no problem meeting the 50-minimum requirement. Just call our office and let us know. We want to help your school grow, and Tomorrow’s Child can help your school do just that!

PS: For schools outside the US, please contact our office at (941) 729-9565 or [email protected] for shipping costs.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Go to www.montessori.org and download our full conference brochure

March 20-22, 2014Dolce Hayes Mansion200 Edenvale AveSan Jose, California, USA

TIM SELDIN & DR. ANITA AMOS

Keynote Speakers

WITH A SPECIAL FRIDAY PERFORMANCE BY THE BOWMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ORCHESTRA

Co-Sponsored by The Peace Academy

Sponsored by The Montessori Foundation & The IMC


Montessori's Youngest Students:

Infants & Toddlers

Thirty-plus years ago, at the age of two, my son was the youngest child at his Montessori school. Now, many Montessori schools have Infant/Toddler programs for children as young as 18 months. These schools usually keep a couple of spaces available in their Early Childhood class-rooms to enable toddlers (who are ready) to “move-up” if their internal biological/developmen-tal clocks are not synced to the school year schedule. Nobody wants a bored toddler!

More and more schools (probably driven by begging parents with older siblings) now have infant classes for babies as young as six weeks, which makes a lot of sense in today’s economy, where two working-parent families has pret-ty much become the norm.

Becoming a Montessori Infant/Toddler guide requires special-ized Montessori training, just as it does at every other level. More and more teacher training cours-

es, designed just for this special age group, are becoming available. If an Infant/Toddler Montessori program is not available in your school community, just hang on … it may be coming soon.

But before you get too excited, it’s important to remember that the younger the children, the lower the ratio for children to teachers. These programs also require more super-vision and involvement from your local health department. Rightly so! However, these factors contribute to making an Infant/Toddler class an expensive program to operate — but so worth it from the parents’ and children’s perspective.

We are so grateful for the faculty, staff, and parents at Love of Learn-ing Montessori School in Colum-bia, Maryland for allowing our favorite photographer, Larry Can-ner, access to their classrooms to document Montessori infants and toddlers at play, at ‘work,’ and asleep!Love of Learning was founded 28 years ago by Awildes Torres

and has truly become a family effort with her own children in the classroom and administra-tive offices (and grandchildren in the classes). At present, Love of Learning has approximately 200 children, spanning the range of infants through upper elemen-tary. It is a warm, loving environ-ment for all the students … but those Infant/Toddler classrooms are so special! I know that parents who are lucky enough to have children in this program wish they could bottle all that love and calm and bring it home with them at the end of the day!

—Joyce St. Giermaine, Editor

PS: You don’t have to wait for an Infant/Toddler class at your school to bring Montessori In-fant/Toddler strategies home. Pick up a copy of How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way (by Tim Seldin) available through our Montessori Book-shelf at www.montessori.org (or by calling 800-632-4121).

EDITOR’S NOTE:

byTerriSherrill,TeacherTrainer

Center for Guided Montessori Studies

The Courageous Path to Building Cohesive Communities


magine that you have just woken up from a dream to find yourself in completely strange surroundings. You don’t recognize a thing. Gi-ant creatures walk up to you making strange, garbled sounds (sometimes acting as if you should be able to understand them). They

also seem to have magic powers: they wave their hands… and suddenly the coverings on your body have been changed. Sad-ly, even though you would like to learn from them, they move with lightning speed and never seem to do anything the same way twice. But that’s not all. The body you inhabit changes a little in size each day. You feel rushes of powerful emotions and sometimes you hurt — or feel strange. Yet conveying this information to others is virtually impossible. While this might sound like an episode from the Twilight Zone, it is something that babies experience on a regular basis. The truth is that they must constantly navigate in a world that is unknown to them. So … what would YOU do if you found yourself in unfamiliar surroundings without any information or physical strength? Would you start exploring? Try to figure out what was edible … and what was not? Test your limits, the limits of your envi-ronment, and the limits of those around you? While the prevailing view for centuries had been that babies were egocentric and irrational, and that their thinking was concrete and limited, modern advances in technology have shown this assumption to be untrue. Alison Gopnik writes in The Philosophical Baby (2009), “Psychologists and neurosci-entists have discovered that babies not only learn more, but imagine more, care more, and experience more than we would have thought possible. In some ways, young children are ac-tually smarter, more imaginative, more caring, and even more conscious than adults are.” Of course, this would not come as news to Dr. Maria Montessori.

MontessoriInfantandToddlerprogramsarebased

ontheconceptsof“homeandfamily”intheverybest

senseoftheterms.I remember when I was pregnant with

our first child; we visited many differ-

ent day-care facilities, hoping to find

the ‘perfect one.’ We found several

that looked good, but none that stole

our heart. Eventually, we hired a nanny,

who was wonderful. She played with our

baby, she gave him the love and atten-

tion that he deserved, and she became

part of our home and family. What we

had was, ‘perfect,’ in our mind.

But, as our family grew, and our first

son became older, he needed more. He

craved the attention of other children,

the opportunity to engage in reciprocal

play, and the opportunity to learn each

and every new thing he possibly could.

His brain was a sponge that wanted to

soak everything in. And, his new little

brother required so much attention be-

cause, well, he was a baby. In retrospect, it

was probably too much to expect a nanny

to be able to do it all: care for a newborn

and socialize and help our older child (only

15 months old at the time) to develop his

cognitive and linguistic skills.

When our ‘perfect’ nanny gave us notice,

we were devastated. Truly devastated.

We struggled to find a new ‘second

home’ for our children, a place where

that they could experience happiness,

peace, safety, and growth. Personally, I

struggled to find the trust I felt I had lost

— the trust that someone (our nanny)

would be there (unconditionally) to care

for our children. Fortunately, there was

a silver lining: we happened upon Love

of Learning Montessori School, an actual

Montessori school with an Infant/Toddler

program that could take both of our chil-

dren. We jumped at the opportunity.

Although, I had been raised in a Montes-

sori family, nothing prepared me to send

my children off to school and say good-

bye, not to see them until pick-up time.

My babies were being cared for by multi-

ple people, who were responsibly caring

for multiple children, all with great needs

… because these students are babies!. To

put it mildly, I was nervous. Very nervous!

But, my two little ones adapted imme-

diately. My older child learned to sit at

a table with his peers and eat his food.

He participated in story time and sat in a

circle with children his own age. He came

home with new words and a new curios-

ity that I had not experienced or expect-

ed. He would talk about his friends at the

dinner table. He would say, “I love Ms.

Delizia, I love Ms. Kim,”(his two teach-

ers) all the way home.” He even began

independently pouring water for himself

and drinking it. He ran into school with

enthusiasm and zest every day and, ad-

mittedly, fought me not to go home. Our

boy was happy. Truly happy. It’s like he

came out of himself and was this new

being that just really loved life.

Our younger child (who, at ten weeks

of age was the youngest in the school)

quickly bonded to his teachers and also

his peers. He hugs them daily, gently pats

the back of a new baby to help her fall

asleep, and has also developed a sense of

independence, while still feeling secure

and loved.

That things happen for a reason is

a cliché; however, in the case of our

nanny quitting, it just might be true.

Our children are developing from their

interactions with other children, their

self-esteem has flourished, and they

are happy. At times, I watch them from

the windows that overlook their class-

rooms (where they can’t see me), and it

warms my heart that we found a place

that uniquely fosters their independent

growth while providing them the love,

kindness, and care that anyone would

want for their kids. They’re growing up

into little people; they love it and so do

we. Our ‘misfortune’ at losing our nanny

was truly a blessing.

LOVE OF LEARNING MONTESSORI SCHOOL’S INFANT/TODDLER PROGRAM: THE SILVER LINING TO OUR FAMILY’S NANNY CRISIS by C.J.Blanco


Honoring the Process of Development

Dr. Montessori wrote: “If the hu-man personality is one at all stages of its development, we must con-ceive of a principle of education that has regard for all stages.” Rather than relying on pre- conceived notions about the early years of life, she brought her med-ical knowledge of anatomy and neurology to her observations of childhood. She realized that many of the previous assumptions and responses to children were actu-ally in direct conflict with human biology, and when provided envi-ronments that were in harmony with the process of development, much of what adults had per-ceived to be ‘misbehavior’ in chil-dren … simply fell away.

Montessori was one of the first to understand that the brain (as well as the body) was still in the process of formation for the first few years after we are born – and that lasting outcomes are highly dependent on our physical en-counters and experiences during this period. Through a profound respect for the biological laws of nature and for the unique genetic blueprints, drives, and gifts of each individual, Dr. Montessori sought to understand and provide children with their daily require-ments for health and well-being.

Applied Science

A parent’s ears will often perk up when children get a little too qui-et. They know this means, more often than not, that “the kids must really be getting into something!” Making a study of what children universally “get into,” Dr. Mon-tessori discovered many sensitive

periods of brain development (the time when millions of neurons are being ‘programmed’ to per-ceive the stimulus found in their immediate surroundings, and the cognitive architecture for thought and action is being created). She wrote, “None of these sensitivities occupies the whole period of de-velopment… While it lasts, there is an outpouring of energy.”

Instead of thwarting a child’s drives, Dr. Montessori pro-vided appropriate means for their healthy expression. She noted that industrialization had radically altered the childhood experiences that had naturally oc-curred for millennia; therefore, she worked to synthesize and restore vital experiences replete with physiological benefits and implicit information. Indeed, speaking similarly, Sally Goddard Blythe, Director of the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychol-ogy, warned in 2011: “One of the greatest threats to modern society comes not from diseases of the past (which medicine and hygiene have largely controlled), but illnesses, learning disorders, and social problems, which are a direct consequence of modern living conditions, lifestyle, and ignorance of children’s biologi-cal needs.”

In her article “Assessing Neuro-motor Readiness for Learning,” Blythe laments that too many infants, toddlers, and young chil-dren find themselves in “contain-ers” (swings, infant seats, high chairs, etc.) that limit their ability to move and explore; they find themselves exposed to increasing hours of sedentary screen time; and they fluctuate between being bombarded by noise and a lack of appropriate sensory experiences. Her research suggests these cul-

Montessoriwasoneofthefirsttounderstandthatthebrain(aswellasthebody)wasstillintheprocessofformationforthefirstfewyearsafterweareborn–andthatlastingoutcomesarehighlydependentonourphysicalencountersandexperiencesduringthisperiod.


tural practices fail to support the maturation of the vestibular, lim-bic, or nervous systems and leave primitive reflexes uninhibited past optimal developmental timetables. Montessori advocated passionately for children on these very topics, using the language of her day. She connected freedom of movement to learning and overall health. She saw that children loved to challenge themselves and provided oppor-tunities for them to struggle and develop their strength and emo-tional stamina. She saw that order and proximity helped the child to categorize objects and concepts in ways that supported memory and retrieval. Order also helped the child to successfully predict cause and effect—and to pay attention to details for long periods of time.

Predictable order (of events and objects) provides a structure that allows the child to make choices, to be able to follow procedures and directions — and to relax into the joys of childhood. Yet, she did not stop at observation; rather, she created an entire applied science in response to the needs of hu-man development. Children find that materials and activities in a Montessori environment follow a sequence that proceeds in order of use and complexity (much as crafts-men might order their tools), while giving them the freedom to respond to individual talents and interests.

Modern Research

At a symposium at Notre Dame in 2012, researcher Darcia Narvaez asked if today’s societies are “vio-lating evolved expectations of care,” comparing cultures of the past to modern practices. One element of early ancestral caregiving that has received increased attention lately,

is alloparenting. [Editor’s Note: Al-loparenting is a system of parenting in which individuals other than the actual parents act in a parental role.] Unlike many other species, human beings raise their children in community. Many of us ask to “hold the baby” at the first oppor-tunity, and we pass infants around to extended friends and family members, reinforcing a sense of be-longing and social embeddedness.

While the parent-child bond is un-doubtedly essential, the “It-takes-a-village” axiom also seems to hold true. Some researchers believe that the willingness of others (in past generations) to help care for the child made it possible for moth-ers to eat and keep up her own strength (benefiting her children and the survival of the species by extension). This is not to say that all children should attend group situations; rather, it speaks to the need for us to provide care and support for mothers and families. It is the isolated nuclear family that is new. In the large family systems of the past, the responsibilities of child care were often shared, and adults and children often worked and played alongside one another.

Maria Montessori said in 1940: “The greatest mistake ever made is to isolate the child from the society of the adult, as has hap-pened in modern times.” The first part of every plane of develop-ment, according to Montessori, consists of the child taking in the environment holistically; while in the second part of the plane, it is the child’s task to isolate and refine particular observed skills. Children need to see, mimic, and internalize the rhythms of healthy and successful daily life; to observe adult work; to overhear productive problem solving and collaborative negotiations; and to acquire nu-

Shesawthatorderandproximityhelpedthechildto

categorizeobjectsandconceptsinwaysthatsupportedmemoryandretrieval.


anced ‘inner-speech’ through men-toring and example.

While we cannot turn back the hands of time completely, quality Montessori Infant/Toddler pro-grams are based on the concepts of “home and family” in the very best sense of the terms. Montes-sori elevated the “natural mother” who, rather than scold a child for getting into a basket of laundry, gives them a few washcloths of their own to work with instead. In this spirit, instead of creating ‘watered down’ Primary class-rooms and Montessorians at the Infant/Toddler level (whether at-home, or in group care) engage in cooking, cleaning, gardening, knitting (or other handcrafts), reading, exercising, and the gen-eral art of daily living — giving the upmost care to their actions and their effect on the children in their care. Child-sized tools are

provided so that youngsters may work alongside adults or continue the activity to satisfy the child’s need for repetition and practice of basic skills.

Toys or activities within the child’s reach are carefully chosen to support their developmental needs, and they are placed logical-ly within the child’s environment, so that the child can gradually ex-perience independence. Teachers speak slowly and articulate care-fully, describing shared activities and informing children about what they can expect to happen next.

Special Insight A few years ago, the neuroscien-tist Jill Bolte Taylor endured a life-changing event, as she ob-served herself experiencing ( and later recovering from) a stroke.

Itseemsthatallhumanbeings,

nomatterhowoldoryoung,have

asenseofdignityandpersonhood

thatsufferswhendisrespected

orignored.

Littlechildrenlearntocareforthemselves.


NOCRIBSORPLAYPENS

Infants sleep, play, and rest comfortably in little wooden beds, while toddlers have a

mat, pillow, and blanket for their naps. There is no risk of injury from falls, and the children

love the freedom of movement. You can do this at home in your child’s room; replace the crib with a futon; make sure the room is safe

for little hands and small objects that might end up in your child’s mouth; and install a

walk-through baby gate that allows the child to be part of his home environment instead

of being shut behind a closed door.

In what seemed like only mo-ments, Taylor was returned to the world of infancy. She would have to learn everything for a second time. Yet, unlike babies, she was able to give a voice to her experience. Taylor wrote a list of things that benefitted her recov-ery. Among her requests were for “activities to be broken down into smaller steps of action” and to be told what the next step would be next, so she could prepare herself.

She wanted caregivers to “protect her energy”; “to be aware of what their body language and facial ex-pressions were communicating to her”; and to not bombard her world with TV or talk radio. She asked that concepts be presented to her kinesthetically, and for others to be mindful that she would have to be “proficient at one level” before she could move on to the next. But, most of all, she wanted to be treat-

ed like a person, despite her dimin-ished capacity (for others to be as patient the 20th time as they were the first and to know that, if it were possible for her to learn faster, she certainly would). It seems that all human beings, no matter how old or young, have a sense of dignity and personhood that suffers when disrespected or ignored. What if, instead of helping a person to ‘recover,’ we were dedi-cated to helping those at the beginning of life to develop in ways that are optimal (respon-sive to each child’s unique genetic blueprint and a precise match for their neurological and physi-ological requirements) in the first place? This concept is at the heart of Montessori philosophy, and our prepared environments at each level do just that! r


It’s reenrollment time again, and in thousands of Montessori schools all over America parents

of four-almost-five-year-olds are trying to decide whether or not they should keep their sons and daughters in the final year of their Primary Montessori experience or send them off to kindergarten in local, non-Montessori schools.

The advantages of using the local schools often seem obvious, while those of staying in Montessori are often not at all clear. When your child can attend the local schools for free, why would anyone want to invest thousands of dollars in another year’s tuition?

It’s a fair question, and it deserves a careful answer. Obviously, there is no one right answer for every child. Often, the decision de-pends on where each family plac-es its priorities and how strongly parents sense that one school or another more closely fits with the hopes and expectations they have for their children.

Naturally, to some degree the answer is also connected to the question of family finances, al-though, we are amazed at how often families of very modest means make their children’s edu-cation a top priority and see the choice of staying in Montessori as an important investment in their children’s future.

So here are a few answers to some of the questions parents often ask about Montessori for the kinder-garten-age child.

Inanutshell,whatwouldbethemostimportantshort-termdisadvantageofsendingmyfive-year-oldtoalocalschool?

When a child transfers from Montessori to a new, traditional kindergarten, she spends the first few months adjusting to a new class, a new teacher, and a whole new system with different expecta-tions. This, along with the fact that most traditional kindergartens have a much lower set of expectations for five-year-olds than Montessori pro-grams, severely cuts into the learn-ing that could occur during this crucial year of their lives.

In most cases, Montessori kinder-garten children have already been exposed to a great deal of learning. For example, their understand-ing of the decimal system, place value, mathematical operations, and similar information is usually very sound. With reinforcement as they grow older, it becomes internalized and a permanent part of who they are. When they leave Montessori before they have had the time to internalize these early concrete experiences, their early learning often evaporates, because it is neither reinforced nor commonly understood.

Whatwouldbethemostimportantadvantagesofkeepingmyfive-year-oldinMontessori?

Montessori is an approach to working with children that is carefully based on what we’ve learned about children’s cognitive, neurological, and emotional de-velopment from several decades of research. Although sometimes misunderstood, the Montessori approach has been acclaimed as the most developmentally appro-priate model currently available by some of America’s top experts on early childhood and elemen-tary education.

One important difference be-tween what Montessori offers the five-year-old and what is offered by many of today’s traditional kindergarten programs has to do with how it helps the young child learn how to learn.

Over recent years, educational research has increasingly shown that students in many schools don’t really understand most of what they are being taught. As Howard Gardner, a leading educational psychologist and ad-vocate of school reform, wrote: “Many schools have fallen into a pattern of giving kids exercises and drills that result in their get-ting answers on tests that look like understanding. Most stu-dents, from as young as those in

by Tim Seldin, President, The Montessori FoundationAuthor of How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way


kindergarten to students in some of the finest colleges in America, do not understand what they’ve studied in the most basic sense of the term. They lack the capacity to take knowledge learned in one setting and apply it appropriately in a different setting.”

Montessori is focused on teaching for understanding. In a Primary Montessori classroom, three- and four-year-olds receive the benefit of two years of sensorial prepara-tion for academic skills by work-ing with the concrete Montessori learning materials. This concrete, sensorial experience gradually al-lows the child to form a mental picture of concepts, such as: How big is a thousand? How many hun-dreds make up a thousand, and what is really going on when we borrow or carry numbers in mathematical op-erations?

The value of the sensorial experi-ences that the younger children have had in Montessori has of-ten been underestimated by both

parents and educators. Research is very clear that young children learn by observing and manipu-lating their environment, not through textbooks and work-book exercises. The Montessori materials give the child concrete sensorial impressions of abstract concepts, such as long division that become the foundation for a lifetime of understanding.

Butwon’tmyfive-year-oldspendherkindergartenyeartakingcareofyoungerchildreninsteadofdoingherownwork?

No, not at all! When older chil-dren work with younger students, they tend to learn more from the experience than their ‘students.’ Experiences that facilitate devel-opment of a child’s independence are often very limited in tradi-tional schools.

Five-year-olds are normally the leaders and role models in the Primary Montessori classroom.

They help to set the tone and serve as an example of appropri-ate behavior for the class. They often help younger children with their work, actually teaching les-sons or correcting errors.

Most five-year-olds have been waiting for the longest time to be one of the ‘big kids.’ The experi-ence of playing the leadership role does wonders to reinforce the five-year-olds’s sense of au-tonomy and self-confidence.

Andfinally…

Five-year-olds are beginning to reflect upon the world. They pay closer attention, notice more de-tails, ask more questions, and be-gin to explain the world in their own terms. The kindergarten year is a time when the child be-gins to integrate everything she learned in the first few years.

By the end of age five, Montessori students will commonly develop academic skills that may be quite

advanced; however, academic progress is not our ultimate goal. Our real hope is that these chil-dren will feel good about them-selves and enjoy learning. Master-ing basic skills is a side goal.

The key concept is readiness. In Montessori, if a child is not de-velopmentally ready to advance to a new skill or level of under-standing, he or she is neither left behind nor made to feel like a failure. Our goal is not ensuring that children develop at a prede-termined rate, but to ensure that whatever they do, they do well and feel good about themselves as learners.

When the time comes to decide, we hope you will choose to give your child the gift of Montessori for the kindergarten year. r


ThisyeartheOxforddictionarychose“Science”asitswordoftheyear.Imaginethat?

It was time again for my an-nual weekend visit with Blakely Jayne, my oldest

granddaughter (she’ll turn four at the end of March). Each year since she was born, my son-in-law ventures down from Rochester, New York to Sarasota, Florida, where I live. While he plays golf with his granddad, I get special time with Blakely. It’s a win-win for all.

While she’s here, I invite her to participate in experiences that will always stay with her and will build on our collective memories. She still talks about our visit to Jungle Gardens and the parade we had with the hundreds of fla-mingoes following us around, and she looks forward to our visits. Now that she’s older, some of the fun activities can be found right in our own kitchen.

The decision this year was easy because the Kitchen Science Ex-periments I chose for our time together were presented at the Montessori Foundation’s 16th Annual International Conference this past November in Sarasota. Each year, hundreds of Montes-sori teachers, guides, adminis-trators, heads of schools, board members, and parents gather for a weekend of workshops and inspiring keynotes. One of our regular presenters is Dr. Ann Ep-stein, Early Childhood/Middle Childhood Program Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin

at La Crosse. When Ann submit-ted her proposals for this year’s conference, I was immediately drawn to the science experiments, knowing these would be fun to try with Blakely. I picked a few science experiments and went ‘shopping’ in my own kitchen for the ingredients. I actually had al-most all of them.

Although I don’t have a specific early childhood environment in my house, I do have a nice, large covered lanai that made for the perfect outdoor alternative. It’s very important to set the child up to succeed, regardless of the ac-tivity, and it is important to make certain that a ‘prepared environ-ment’ is at the top of the list to achieve this goal.

As we took all our ingredients to the table, I read the questions Dr. Epstein says we should pose. These questions are geared not only to make children think be-yond their own personal space, but to help engage them in con-versation while introducing them to new words and ideas. Always remember to conclude activities before a child gets too tired. Al-ways end on a high note.

These are some of the activities we did together. Since some required precise measuring that is a bit be-yond her skill set, I pre-measured some of the ingredients, but let her do all the mixing, pouring, and transferring. We had a wonderful time with our experiments and hope that you do as well.

by Margot Garfield-Andersonphotographed by Michael Anderson

EnjoySomeScienceInquiryTimeTogether

KITCHEN SCIENCE: Inquiry-Based Activities for Early Childhood Students

Applytheseguidelinesforeachexperiment:

OBSERVATION: See if you can find 3 different colors

PREDICTION:What will happen?

COMMUNICATION:Tell us how…

CLASSIFICATION:Is this a solid or a liquid?

INFERENCE:Does this remind you of a food we might have for dessert?


Experiment 4 Oobleck(CornStarchandWater)

MATERIALS

r large mixing bowl (glass works

best)

r large box of corn starch

r pitcher of water

r newspaper to cover table

surface (or tray large

enough for bowl)

r wooden mixing spoon.

PROCESS

1. Pour about 1½ cups of corn

starch into the bowl.

2. Slowly add water, stirring

as you pour.

3. You may need to tweak these

amounts. Your goal is a honey-

like consistency.

4. Gather a small amount into the

palm of your hand. It should

form a very soft ball.

5. Clench your fist. As you do this,

the mixture will turn to liquid

and drip through your fingers.

6. Encourage children to discuss

the transitions from liquid to

solid and back to liquid.

7. Why does this occur? Surface

tension is, again, at work to

hold particles in place. Pressure

disturbs the surface tension,

turning the solid form into liquid.

Experiment 3 BlackPepperandBarSoap

MATERIALS

r flat pan or plate with

raised edges (glass pie

plate works well)

r bar of soap (‘hard’

soap such as Dial™ works

better than ‘softer’ soap

such as Ivory™)

r black pepper in shaker

r water

PROCESS

1. Pour about 2 cups of water into

pan or plate.

2. Sprinkle pepper across entire

surface.

3. Gently touch edge of bar of

soap to surface.

4. Encourage children to guess

why pepper quickly disperses to

the edge of the container.

(surface tension of water has

been broken by soap).

5. Repeat. Encourage children to

guess why pepper does not

move again (surface tension

has already been broken, so it

won’t ‘hold’ pepper in place).

Experiment 1 BakingSodaandVinegar

MATERIALS

r mixing bowl

r large metal or plastic spoon

r 1-cup measuring cup

r 1 measuring spoon

r box of baking soda

r white vinegar

r food coloring (optional)

PROCESS

1. Measure 1 cup of vinegar into

mixing bowl.

2. Measure 1 T baking soda.

3. Mix slowly and carefully; add

vinegar by tablespoons until

reaction occurs.

4. Encourage children to discuss

how the bubbles are formed

(gas is released when baking

soda and vinegar are mixed).

Experiment 2DishDetergentandWholeMilk

MATERIALS

r small dish for mixing

r Q-tips

r food coloring

r small container with

approximately half

a cup of dish detergent

r small pitcher of whole milk

PROCESS

1. Pour about ¼ cup of whole milk

into small dish.

2. Add several drops of food

coloring into dish (can be

different colors).

3. Dip Q-tip into dish detergent.

4. Gently lower Q-tip to surface of

milk and food coloring.

5. Encourage children to guess

why swirls occur (detergent

‘attacks’ fat /grease in milk).

INQUIRY-BASEDSKILLS: Observation, Prediction

Check out an amazing video at the end of this Oobleck description. Participants walk and run

across, and then jump into a pool of Oobleck! http://sciencecafe.org/content/2008/12/22/how-

to-make-oobleck (The participants are great fun to watch, but we need our Spanish speakers to

translate for us!)


Additional Kindergarten-Age Science Activities You Can Do at Home

r Simple circuits: large battery, wire, alligator

clips, small light bulb with holder.

r Sink and float

r Magnetic vs. non-magnetic

r Color mixing with shaving cream

r Sprouting seeds: lima beans work well because

they are large and will sprout in individual

sandwich baggies with a ½ sheet of paper

towel and a little water

r How plants drink: stand celery stalk (fresh cut

at bottom) in colored water (red works well)

for 2 – 3 days; watch water creep up celery

veins

r Wind experiments

r Bubble experiments

We actually created our own extension of the baking soda and vinegar experiment. We took all the mixed ingredients and scooped them onto a plate. We patted it down and felt it with our fingers. It was wet but didn’t seem to leave liquid on our hands. We set it in the sun to dry. Once the vinegar was absorbed by the sun (af-ter several hours), it hardened. It gave Blakely something more to think about.

Upon completion, I gave Blakely a pail of water and a small sponge, and she did a lot of table scrubbing. This kept her almost as busy and engaged as the experiments themselves, and she did all the cleaning up. Guiding your grandchil-dren to maintain the environment from start to finish is all part of the process they are learning in their Montessori classrooms. As grandpar-ents, we try to support, encourage, and foster these same values when we are enjoying time with them. r

Margot Garfield-Anderson is the IMC Mem-bership Director and Conference Coordinator for the Montessori Foundation’s Annual Conferences in Sarasota (Florida) and San Jose, (California). She’s grandmother to three granddaughters now, and while Blakely isn’t able to attend Montessori, we try to bring as many Montessori moments into Blakely’s life as possible. Creating traditions, memorable ex-periences, and giving Blakely a foundation steeped in Montessori principles and practices is very impor-tant to her. We hope that you will share these experi-ences with your child’s grandparents as well, so that they, too, can create special times together.

March20-22,2014Montessori Foundation & IMC10th West Coast ConferenceThe Courageous Path to Building Cohesive CommunitiesSan Jose, CA (800) [email protected]

CALENDAR

If you would like to post an event for your organization, please send information to [email protected].

March27-30,2014 American Montessori Society (AMS)Annual ConferenceMontessori: Unity in Diversity Dallas, TX (212) 358-1250www.amshq.org

November6-9,2014Montessori Foundation & IMC17th Annual International ConferenceSarasota, FL [email protected]

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Japan’s Golden Week (often abbreviated

to GW) is a Japanese term applied to

the period containing the following

public holidays:

April29

The Emperor's Birthday

Showa Day

May3

Constitution Memorial Day

May4

Greenery Day

May5

Children's Day

Japan's Golden Week

Hina-Matsuri was known as the Japanese Doll Festival. It has always been a happy holiday in Japan, especially for families with little girls. It was a day for parents to express their love for their daughters.

Prior to 1948, it was celebrated on March 3rd during Japan’s seasonal cherry and peach blos-som festivals and was a time to wish their daugh-ters happiness throughout their lives.

Japanese dolls continue to be of great impor-tance during today’s Japanese Children’s Day celebration. Traditionally, each Japanese family has a very special collection of dolls, symboliz-ing the ancient royal court of Japan. This set is usually a family heirloom, and the children treat it with great respect.

Each doll has a name and a treasured place in family history. The dolls are beautifully made and dressed in gorgeous silks and brocades. Needless to say, they are very expensive. Not all families can afford a complete set and may some-times display a single doll.

To prepare the dolls, families carefully unwrap them and set them on a special display shelf de-signed like a five-tiered broad stairway, covered with bright red cloth.

The two most impressive dolls represent the Emperor and Empress of Japan. They are placed on the top shelf in front of a small gold screen. A small lantern is placed on either side of the Emperor and Empress. They are dressed in their traditional royal robes and wear crowns.

On the second shelf are placed three ladies-in-waiting to serve the Emperor and Empress. They are also dressed in traditional kimonos.

On the third shelf are five court musi-cians with their traditional instruments: a flute, reed pipe, gong, and drum.

Dolls representing two ministers of state of the ancient Japanese court are placed on either end of the fourth shelf from the top.

Overview

K odomo no Hi (Children’s Day) is a Japanese national holiday, which takes place annually on May 5 (the fifth day of the fifth month) and is part of the Golden Week. It is a day set aside to respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness. It was designated a

national holiday by the Japanese government in 1948.

The day was originally called Tango no Sekku and was celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th moon in the lunar calendar. After Japan’s switch to the Gregorian calendar, the date was moved to May 5. Until recently, Tango no Sekku was known as Boys’ Day (also known as Feast of Banners), while Girls’ Day (Hina-Matsuri) was celebrated on March 3. These two holidays were combined in 1948 to become Kodomo no Hi. Elements of both festivals are incorporated into the celebration.

Hina-Matsuri


Finally, on the bottom shelf, are three dolls representing members of the royal court. Miniature or-ange and cherry trees are placed

on either side of the courtiers.

The display is complet-ed with a collection of

miniature furniture. Each piece is a marvel to young

children. The set includes: a chest with a complete change

of clothes for the dolls; a dressing table for the Empress; mirrors, makeup; miniature plates and bowls; a bookcase filled with tiny books; and a carriage for the royal couple. The bowls and plates are placed between the three ladies-in-

waiting. The miniature furniture is placed between the two ministers.

The display is admired, enjoyed, and shared with visiting friends. The dolls are not everyday play-things! As the dolls are un-wrapped and set up, family sto-ries are remembered and passed on to the next generation.

Part of the ceremony involves a special tea party for the dolls, complete with real food and tea. Traditional foods associated with this celebration include: brown

beans, popped rice, colorful cakes, and a sweet drink made from sake and rice malt. The dolls are served, too, on their tiny plates.

Children are allowed to bring their everyday dolls to the tea party. The children sing to the as-sembly of dolls, play games with them, and share their food, just as if they were alive. When it gets dark, the mother helps her child/ren light the two lanterns that top the display.

Tango no Sekku Tango no Sekku (originally known as Boy’s Day) is also called the Feast of Flags or the Iris Festival and is cel-ebrated along with Hina-Matsuri on May 5th as part of Children’s Day.

Tall bamboo poles are erected in front of Japanese homes. A pinwheel is attached at the very top to make a rustling sound with the breeze. Below the pole is a rope pulley, from which the special fish kites of this celebration will be flown. The kites are designed to resemble carp, a fish that the Japanese revere for it courage and strength.

These fish kites are made out of strong, light-weight cloth decorated in bright colors. They are designed to work like a windsock, filling with wind and assuming the shape of a fish thrashing about as it fights its way upstream. They come in different sizes, the largest one, representing the father, is flown at the top, with smaller ones for each child flying just below. Often, the kites will be arranged in size according to the ages of the children, all the way down to a tiny kite for a newborn child.

Like the dolls, these kites are handed down from genera-tion to generation and are looked upon with great pride. In the evening, parents put iris leaves into their children’s bath water to represent the strength and courage of the carp.

On this day, families also display ancient artifacts of weapons and armor. Dolls representing warriors are often added to complete the display, along with a paper lantern bearing the family crest. The children hear, once again, about the bravery of their ancestors.

Traditional foods for this celebration include: sticky rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves and sweet rice buns with red bean jam wrapped in bamboo leaves.


Activities & Projects

Preparation of the EnvironmentPreparation of the ChildrenCreate a Japanese environment using:“This week, we are going to learn about Japan. Japan is in

Asia. The country is made up of two islands in the Pacific Ocean. As we learn about Japan, we are going to celebrate two very special holidays that are part of Kodomo no Hi (Japanese Children’s Day): Hina-Matsuri (once known as the Japanese Doll Festival) and Tango no Sekku (once known as Boys’ Day).

This celebration occurs each year in the spring on May 5th. This week, we will discuss many interesting things about Japan, especially how they celebrate. On the day of the party, all children may bring a favorite doll to school.

Today we will listen to a Japanese recording. We will lis-ten to children singing. The music is very different from our own but quite lovely.”

r Posters, maps, and pictures of Japan

r A real or artificial cherry tree

r Vases filled with forsythia or

other blossoms

r Paper umbrellas

r Japanese dolls

r Traditional Japanese dishes, cups, chop

sticks, and little bowls

r A traditional Japanese tea pot

r Japanese paper lanterns

r Origami artwork

r Kimonos

r Japanese children’s toys

r Japanese children’s books

and magazines

r Japanese hanging scrollwork

r Traditional Japanese art prints

r Audio or video presentations of

traditional Japanese music

r Japanese musical instruments, such as

the reed, pipe, and koto

r Japanese money and postage stamps

MAKE A FAN

Let children decorate a sheet of paper. You can use different kinds of paper and crayons or pencils. For older children, use rice paper and brushes and water-color or ink. When dry, fold, and staple.

ORIGAMI

Check the internet, your library, and Amazon for information on making simple origami with chil-dren. Better yet, if you have a Japanese family in your school, ask for help to make this a wonderful demonstration and hands-on project for the whole class.

PAPER CHERRY BLOSSOMS & A JAPANESE GARDEN

If you don’t have your own cherry trees in blossom, make lots and lots of artificial cherry blossoms from paper. Fold pink and white tissue paper into four sections, and let the children unfold and stick them onto empty branches the children have collected from around their school. Round off the edges to really get the feeling of a blooming tree. If you have a small table fountain, set it up. A few rocks and Japanese dolls can give you the feeling of a Japanese garden. You can buy a tabletop Japanese zen garden with a little rake, sand, and stones. Allow the children to work with the tools to create a feeling of serenity, harmony, and perfection.

If you have a corner of your campus where you can plant a Japanese Tea Garden, you will have a lasting garden to enjoy for years to come. Use some nice rocks, sand for the ‘river,’ and the right plants. Create a little pond with a babbling waterfall, if possible. If it will blossom in your climate, plant a Japanese Cherry Tree. Years later, the children will return to visit the garden.


The traditional Japanese fish kites are not meant to fly free like a kite on a string; instead, they work like a windsock that fills with wind to form the shape of the colorful carp. As the wind fills the open mouth of the kite, it tends to sway rapidly back and forth in the breeze, looking very much like a fish swimming.

Similar fish kites (made of much less durable paper) are normally made to be hung as decorations in the home or classroom. They are too fragile to be flown outside. To make your fish banner, you will need a large piece of heavy paper, such as craft or butcher paper. Your rolls should be at least 36 inches wide and approximately 4 to 5 feet long.

Fold the paper in half lengthwise. Draw the fish on one side of the paper so that it fills one entire side. Holding the two sides together, cut out the fish. You can keep the two sides together with a few staples or glue along the top edge. Leave the bottom open, so that you can stuff the banner with newspaper later on.

Now your banner is ready for painting. Use bright colors! After one side is painted and dry, turn the fish over and do the other side. When you are fin-ished, stuff the fish with crumbled newspaper. Stuff it lightly, so that your fish will not be too heavy when hung. Now, glue or staple the remaining opening shut. Hang the fish in your home or classroom.

Japanese children make little books by folding paper in a series of accordian folds. This requires a roll of nice, heavy paper. (White, uncoated shelf paper lining works well.) A piece of paper 60 inches long would make a good book of four double-sided pages with two leaves left over to glue to the covers.

Because the folds must be very accurate to end up with even pages, young children may find this method too difficult. You may wish to practice folding with them, or try a more simple method. The easiest method is to use the 4-inch square sheets of paper that Montessori classes prepare for Metal Inset drawings. Have the child make a stack of four or more sheets that can be stapled in between the covers.

The cover is made by decorating two pieces of construction paper the same size as the individual paper folds of the Metal Inset sheets. Japanese children typically decorate the covers of their little books by pressing leaves, flowers, or other deco-

rative objects into a paint or dye and then use them to make an imprint on the paper. You can also use potato prints in the shape of traditional Japanese symbols, such as flowers or fish. Many Asian stores (and online merchants) sell attractive rubber stamps made in Japanese designs that are ideal for this project.

When the cover has been printed and dried, glue it onto two pieces of thin cardboard for stiffness. Then, glue your two covers on either side of the folded paper. Tie a pretty ribbon or strand of yarn around the book to keep it together. Better yet, punch two holes through the two cover sheets before gluing on the paper. Once the paper is fas-tened, use a plastic yarn needle to thread a length of yarn through the holes. Tie a bow.

Children may wish to paste pictures of Japan that they’ve downloaded from the internet or cut from magazines into their little book. Traditionally, Japanese books start at what we consider the back of the book and work from left to right.

MAKE A TRADITIONAL JAPANESE FOLDING BOOK

JAPANESE FISH BANNER

DARUMA DOLLS Daruma dolls are a popular children’s toy in Japan. They are named after Daruma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, who, it is said, once sat in one place for nine years thinking and praying. After sitting for so long, he lost the ability to walk, and so he rolled himself along as he preached about his beliefs. The little Daruma dolls are made to roll back into an upright position whenever they are tipped over.

You can make a Daruma doll by attaching paper cones to a base made out of half a rubber ball. You will need a hollow rubber ball for each pair of dolls you wish to make. Cut the ball in half (adults only for this step) using an x-acto or utility knife. Fill the ball halves with modeling clay. Make two cones that will just fit on top of the half spheres, using colored construction paper. Glue or tape the sides of each cone together, then glue or tape the cones to the top of each ball. Paint a happy face on each Daruma doll and enjoy.


IKEBANA

The Japanese are famous for the delicate art of flower arranging: Ikebana. Ikebana stresses simplicity, using just a few perfect blossoms rather than an abundance, as is so common in America. The Japanese people believe that, through their art, they are able to appreciate not only flowers but also the beauty of nature.

In your own arrangements, you can use real flowers or make them from tissue paper. Try to achieve a pleasing form, working with a pretty vase or little bowl. Experi-ment with single blossoms, two or three mixed sprigs, or even buddng branches of flowering trees. You may wish to include a chrysanthamum, since this flower, with its sixteen petals, is found on the well-known crest of the family of the Japanese Emperor.

COOKING Now that we have access to the internet, there are many resources for ‘kid-friendly’ Japanese recipes. Some favor-ites you might want to include are: Sushi, Gohan, Chicken Yakitori, Gyoza, Sukiyaki, Yakisoba, and Cucumber Salad. Here’s just one of many websites to help you make your Japanese celebration a huge success: http://

main.kitchendaily.com/kid-friendly-recipes/japanese. Always remember to check ingre-dients to avoid allergens. With Asian cook-ing, half the battle is properly preparing the rice (Gohan). Here’s a website that will help: www.recipes.eat-japan.com/recipes/viewrecipe/285. Also check YouTube for step-by-step help to get the rice just right.

On the next page is one recipe from the original edition of Celebrations of Life that remains a spe-cial favorite dessert: OrangeBlossomBasket.

This is a favorite dessert at the annual Doll Festival, but it is perfect for classroom cel-ebrations. Although it requires some adult help, it is a huge hit with the children.

r Put tea in your smelling bottles.

r Use rice in your spooning exercises.

r Walk on the line with arms folded as if wearing a kimono. Bow politely as they do in Japan. Sit quietly, as for a tea party. Say “thank you” and “hello” with bows. Sayonara!

r Use a sake set for pouring exercises. Sake is rice wine. It is served in a small bottle with small cups that are delicate and perfect for small hands. Put the sake set on a pretty Japanese tray, consisting of one small bottle, four small cups, and a funnel. Let the children pour from the bottle into the cups. They can use the fun-nel to pour the water back into the bottle from the cups.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICAL LIFE AND SENSORIAL EXTENSIONS


ORANGE BLOSSOM BASKET

The Orange Blossom Basket is basically a tasty fruit salad served in little baskets cut out of whole orange skins. For each child, you will need one orange.

Cut each orange in the shape of a little basket as shown, carefully scooping out the fruit without breaking the handle.

Prepare a filling of either orange gelatin or sherbet mixed with bits of oranges or other fruits.

THE PARTY

Wear a Japanese kimono.

Set the dolls up in the corner. Give the children time to show them to their friends and talk about them.

When you sit down for your party, sit Japanese style. Go down on your knees; then lean back. Do this at circle time.

Have everybody take off their shoes. Line the shoes up neatly. This is a good tidying exercise, but allow lots of time for it.

Put a pretty centerpiece, such as a Japanese vase with cherry blossoms, in the middle of the circle. Serve snacks in small Japanese containers. If you want to be more ambitious, invite a knowledgeable parent to make sushi with the children. Serve the food from a lacquer box. It looks beautiful. Eat slowly and ceremoniously, as they do in Japan.

Read Haiku poetry to the children, with Japanese music playing softly in the background.

Tell the story of the EmperorPlantingRice. Tell it in your own words.

“Since Japan is an island in the Pacific Ocean, the sea provides the main source of protein: seafood. The other food grown on land is rice. With so many people living in limited space, the Japanese people have developed great respect for food. Even the Emperor of Japan shares this respect with his people. Every year, he plants a patch of rice in the Imperial Gardens of Tokyo, where he lives. He looks after it, just as the rice farmers do. This is a symbolic act, of course, but it reminds a whole nation of its basic health and survival crop. It also explains to us why Japanese people are appalled when Westerners leave rice in the dish uneaten. It is still treated with reverence and considered the ‘national delicacy.’ Long ago, people were paid in rice. People who had a lot of rice were considered rich and fortunate.”

The Story Of The Emperor Planting Rice

RESOURCES

When Celebrations of Life was first published more than twenty years ago, the internet was not available. There are far too many incredible re-sources online to list in this article. Plus, by the time we publish this issue, more resources will have become available. For books to add to your school’s library, spend a few minutes (or hours) on Amazon, perusing children’s books about Japan. Or visit your local bookstore or library. Our very big world has become so much closer thanks to the internet. Find great cultural resources online to share with the children in your lives.


I’m sitting at home right now, drinking my second coffee of the day. My two boys have fi-

nally given in and are taking naps (at the same time!), and all is right with the world. It is a snow day, and this morning, when I saw the cancellation notice with the name of my kids’ school go by at the bot-tom of the TV screen, I silently sighed. I love my children, but the thought of a whole day snowed in … two against one …all that ‘boy energy’ … another sigh.

This is snow day number two. My husband stayed home with them yesterday, and I received several texts from him reassuring me that they were alive (though he was only barely). Then, hours later, I received another text tell-ing me that he was going to get Hudson’s head examined after a mishap with a ‘monorail’ that they had constructed in the house. Sometimes it’s just better not to ask. My husband has a degree in engineering, so a monorail run-ning through the house is entirely possible. Anyway, an hour later, my 15-month old’s forehead was super-glued back together and as good as new. Nothing surprises me with these boys, NOTHING.

I don’t know how their Montes-sori teachers do it and remain posi-tive and upbeat every day. I drop my children off in the morning,

wish them a good day, transition through my own busy work day, and am worn out by the time I return to pick them up. They, on the other hand, are not worn out. I return to school and find my children happy, playing outside, and not ready to go home! In fact, I often get a tantrum about their intense desire to stay at school and play with their friends. And, I get it! I’m not nearly as cool as their peer group.

But, I wonder how these teach-ers do it. I once asked my older son’s teacher if she is exhausted at the end of the day, and she said, “No, they are great.” Either she is a great liar or that woman drinks more coffee than I do! But, I’ve been given the opportunity to observe her, and she is genuinely loving, caring, kind, compassion-ate, and warm. She speaks to the kids firmly but as though they are people, not kids. When one of them behaves badly, she explains what was wrong with their behavior and shares that they need to apologize. She has a heart of gold and wears it up and down her sleeves. And, the kids love her.

One day, I came to pick up my kids, and she shared with me that my lovely child hit another child (as if I ever thought he was an an-gel). I asked her how she handled the situation so that I can model

my behavior based on hers. She shared the following: “I sat down, eye-level, and said, ‘That is not nice. These hands are made for hugs and helping other people, not hitting other people. These hands can do amazing things without hurt-ing others.’” She had him sit in a chair until he had calmed down, walked him to the little boy, and the two hugged while my son said he was sorry.

Seriously?!?!?! How does she do it? At home, my older son will hit my younger one (or vice versa), and he laughs and snickers at me when I attempt to discipline him. But, that’s just it! His teacher attends to him and sees it as an act of communication rather than a reprimand. I have come to real-ize that we are constantly learning from our teachers, even when they are no longer OUR teachers. These teachers are setting the example of how to interact, inter-personally and intra-personally … with the children and with the parents.

The main lesson that I continue to learn about parenthood is that it is not easy. It is particularly not easy if you put on your parent goggles and reject the idea of asking for and receiving help. No matter how much you think you know, there will always be ideas and solutions that are new to you and may just be exactly what you and your family need to make life a little bit less stressful.

I may be exhausted and sleep deprived, but I am still able to appreciate life’s little lessons that creep up on me, daily. My kids are no angels. But, they are kids. And, I am reminded about the care that their teachers (who actually spend more time with them than we do) give my children when I observe their private moments: laughing, continuously hugging, consoling, and loving them. This is co-parenting at its best. r

by Chelsea Howe, Psy.D., The Montessori Foundation

Montessori Teachers: How DO they do it?


Boundaries in an Overconnected World: Setting Limits to Preserve Your Focus, Privacy, Relationships, and Sanity

by Anne Katherine

Years ago, in the 90s, I read a book

titled Boundaries: Where You End

and I Begin by Anne Katherine. It

was a book that really helped me

take a closer look at myself and

my relationships with friends, fam-

ily, and co-workers. When I received

an advance copy of Boundaries in

an Overconnected World by the

same author, I was thrilled! Being a

Montessorian and trying to figure out

how to help parents and children with

the ‘new’ grace and courtesy lessons

that we must create in our techno-

logical world, I am always looking for

guidance from others … and now it

is here!

Therapist Anne Katherine specializes

in helping with boundaries, eating dis-

orders, and food addiction. She wrote

the first simple book on boundaries

and was talking about food addiction

twenty years before most people had

even heard of it. She holds a MA in

psychology from Vanderbilt University

and has forty years experience as a

therapist in agencies, hospitals, and

private practice.

Now, she has once again “hit the nail

on the head” when it comes to man-

aging our boundaries and privacy in

a world, where so many people feel

overwhelmed by social media, emails,

and our ‘smart’ phones. Read what

Monique Muhlenkamp has to say

about Ms Katherine and her latest

book:

“Over the past decade, 24/7 con-

nectivity has given us not only

convenience and fun but worries

about privacy, interruptions while

working or trying to enjoy fam-

ily or other downtime, and new

compulsions – from shopping to

tweeting and cute-cat watch-

ing. Anne Katherine, one of the

authors who brought bound-

ary setting to a mass audience,

has now written a book on how

to set healthy boundaries with

technology.… Learn to protect

yourselves online in every way

– from predators and data min-

ing as well as time-devouring

friends and acquaintances (with

emphasis on preserving and op-

timizing meaningful personal

connections). Anyone who has

ever wondered if their cute little

gadget was actually an enemy in-

vader will welcome Anne’s strate-

gies for ensuring that your life is

truly your own.”

In this book you will find answers to

questions about:

§§ Intrusion violations versus gap

violations

§§ Fencing Goliath – tips on keeping

focused at home and at work

§§ Matching the message to the

medium

§§ Tools for diagnosing a viola-

tion and setting appropriate

boundaries for preventing a next

occurrence

§§ Kids and technology

§§ How to put a stop to ‘data mining’

§§ The top five ways, without know-

ing, we weaken our boundaries

§§ Before you share; appearance

and intention and how to protect

your reputation

§§ Constant pecking and

checking: what to do if you can’t

set boundaries for yourself.

Parents! This book is another ‘must

read’ for your sake and the sake of

your children! You can purchase

it now. Guess where? Online or

in bookstores.

— Reviewed by Lorna McGrath

A Persistent Vine

by Han Tran and Christinia CheungIllustrated by Hsiao-Yen Chi

This gorgeously illustrated book is

a fictional story about a young girl

whose identity becomes merged with

the morning glory flower. The story

line of this book will probably cause

some interesting discussions about

the girl and her family.

A Persistent Vine is part of a series of

books designed to be used with the

Botany Cabinet, which is found in

Montessori classrooms. Its intention is

to enhance the use of the cabinet and

to integrate many other areas of study

through making connections between

leaves and plants, connecting plants

to stories, increasing awareness of in-

ternational geography, reading stories

from many historical periods, stimu-

lating reflection on various issues,

discovering a range of art media, and

encouraging a multi-dimensional in-

tegration of literature and visual arts.

I was most impressed by the colors

and artwork in this book. I also ap-

preciated the pages in the back of the

book for further resources and study.

One of the pages illustrates other

plants that have cordate leaves as

does the morning glory. [Editor’s note:

Cordate leaves are shaped like hearts

… just in case you didn’t know!] The

other page offers additional ideas

for teachers and parents to explore

areas related to the story. I am look-

ing forward to seeing and using the

complete series in our classrooms. The

books would be wonderful additions

to home libraries as well. The series

of four stories can be purchased at

www.hands-on-prints.com.


Ella’s Kitchen: The Cookbook

Created by Ella’s Kitchen and Harris + Wilson

This cookbook is for anyone from in-

fancy on up; however, it is especially

designed for parents of babies and

young children to have fun creating

yummy, healthy foods for lunches,

snacks, quick dinners, and light meals.

There are 100 yummy recipes that

include everything from “First Foods

for Tiny Taste Buds” – mush, mash,

and beyond; “Yummy Lunches and

Speedy Snacks”; “Dee-licious Din-

ners,” such as Lovely Lasagna, Quick

Quesadillas and Teeny-weeny Turkey

Burger Bits; and “Perfect Desserts.”

The recipes are designed to allow

children to participate, and there are

color-in pages, as well as stickers in-

cluded in the book.

BOOK REVIEWS


Weshouldn’tteachgreatbooks;weshouldteachaloveofreading. —B.F. Skinner

The creators of Ella’s Kitchen, the fast-

est-growing name in organic baby and

toddler’s food, “think it’s important to

always approach things from a child’s

point of view.” The book is filled with

wonderful photographs of young chil-

dren enjoying life, as well as mouth-

watering photos of the foods that you

and your child can create together!

Ella’s Kitchen: The Cookbook is

packed with clever twists, shortcuts,

and imaginative alternatives, and it is

full of ideas for getting kids involved!

You and your family will really enjoy

the creating and eating!


Father to Son and Father to Daughter

by Harry H. Harrison, Jr.

Mother to Daughter and Mother to Son

by Melissa Harrison and Harry H. Harrison, Jr.

Four little books packed with humor,

common sense, and timeless lessons

for parents. They would make great

gifts for new parents or soon-to-be

parents. Each page contains a snippet

of wisdom for moms and dads.

The following will give you a quick

sampling from each book.

FathertoSon

§§ Encourage the joy of learning.

§§ His favorite game will be playing

with you. Be available.

§§ Give him responsibilities. It sepa-

rates boys from men.

§§ Let him grow up.

§§ Teach him to be on time and

to call if he is going to be late.

Always.

§§ Believe in him.

FathertoDaughter

§§ Ask her about her day every day.

Share her wonder.

§§ Be prepared to be amazed by her

accomplishments.

§§ Always remember that the most

sacred thing shared between a

father and daughter is trust.

§§ Teach her not to be afraid of boys

but to challenge them.

MothertoDaughter

§§ Be her mother, not her best friend.

§§ Have a girl’s night with her once

a month: a night when you paint

toenails; watch silly TV shows;

laugh; and have fun.

§§ Be a strong, confident woman.

§§ Be a good wife. You’re shaping

her future relationships with men.

§§ Help her learn the art of conver-

sation. It will take her everywhere

in life.

MothertoSon

§§ He will want a bike. He will fall

off it. He will live.

§§ As wild as they may be, little boys

need hugs for security. So give

big ones.

§§ Right around the age of three, he

will heroically start to think he’s your

protector. This never goes away.

§§ He’ll always look for you at his

game. Sit where he can see you.

You’ve got the idea. Wonderful, little

inspirational books that parents can

always pick up and open to just the

right page!


Jack Goes to Montessori School

by Allyson CollinsIllustrated by Lindsey R. Smith

This charming book was written and

illustrated by two Montessori moms

from Texas. It is an enjoyable read for

Montessori children and an educa-

tional read for grown-ups.

Written through the eyes of Jack, a

young Montessori student, children will

recognize their Montessori materials and

relate to a day in the life of a fictional,

engaging four-year-old child with whom

they share common experiences.

It is a fun way to explain Montessori to

grown-ups who are considering enrolling

their child in Montessori or for friends,

neighbors, and grandparents who have

questions about this mysterious thing

called the “Montessori Method.”

It is available through Amazon.

— Reviewed by

Joyce St. Giermaine, Editor

BOOK REVIEWS

The Montessori Foundation is always looking to share great reads with parents and teachers. If you have a book you would like us to review, please send a copy to:

LornaMcGrathc/o

TheMontessoriFoundation

19600EastSR64

Bradenton,Florida34212

(bookscannotbereturned)

Content of books should be relevant to all things Montessori and good parenting. Please remember to include either the website or publisher's information, indicating where this title can be purchased.

Read Any Good Books Lately?


I applaud your enthu-siasm and decision to do everything you can to help your daughter

reach her potential! I can tell that you are a person who is well-read on parenting and education. As a parent, you will hear about and consider many techniques, ideas, and suggestions regarding your parenting. While each of these may be worth reading about and reflecting upon, not all will be things you will embrace or even try! It is good to ponder such things from many angles, and I am happy to share my thoughts.

Glenn Doman developed the idea of using flashcards to ‘teach’ infants and toddlers. His work began with children who had brain damage, autism, and developmental delays. His institution, The Institute for the Advancement of Human Potential, grew out of this

work, and he began applying these techniques to children who were developing normally.

While there is nothing in-herently wrong or damaging about using flashcards with your child, you should con-sider some aspects of this ap-proach. For example, a flash-card program is a program that is administered to the child by the parent. It is done on the parent’s timetable and at the decision and will of the parent. While it is a way for parents and children to spend time together, it is scripted time in which the child has very little input or control. Al-

though the child may indicate that he enjoys the flashcards and the special time with his parent, he is not choosing that activity. At the heart of the Montessori Method is the belief that children inherently know what they need to do to develop themselves.

All children enjoy one-on-one time with their parents, and most parents have a limited amount of time to spend with their child. So, while doing flashcards might be interesting and fun (even productive), is that the best way to spend your limited time with your child? Might your time be better spent doing an activity that lets you really see and experience your child’s personality, interests, curiosity, or creativity?

Flashcards are externally ad-ministered. An adult chooses

which flashcards to use, how many cards to present in a ses-sion, how fast to change them, and how often to practice them. Time spent using flash-cards does not allow the child time to explore, make sense of his environment, or practice developing his own interests.

My last concern is that chil-dren who have had significant experiences with flashcards may see information as something that is decided upon and presented to them from the adults in their lives. While this is one way to get information, in the Montes-sori Method, we encourage

children to learn from their interaction with activities, as well as by experimentation.

These thoughts do not apply to older children using flash-cards to master math facts or other information. Many students find this a useful technique and even create their own flashcards. This is positive when it is student ini-tiated and self-driven. Many Montessori classrooms have flashcards as part of their shelf work, and the students enjoy quizzing themselves and each other.

So, while it will not hurt your typically developing infant or toddler to spend some time with flashcards, I suggest it is not the best use of your time, your child’s time, or your spe-cial time together. Spend time together experiencing nature, visiting museums, playing games, sharing cooking expe-riences, reading books, build-ing something, or doing a craft or a science experiment! You and your child will find this time more fulfilling education-ally, and you will have shared experiences and memories.

Best Wishes,

CathieCathie Perolman is an experienced Montessori guide at the 3-6 level. She is a Montes-sori teacher educator and publisher of educational materi-als. Cathie lives in Columbia, Maryland. She can be contacted through Tomorrow’s Child at: [email protected].

DEAR CATHIE Flashcards for Toddlers

Dear Excited Mom,

So,whileitwillnothurtyourtypicallydevelopinginfantortoddlertospendsometimewithflashcards,Isuggestitisnotthebestuseofyourtime,yourchild’stime,oryourspecialtimetogether.

DEARCATHIE,

Ihavebeenconsidering

usingflashcardswithmy

youngtoddler.Ireadthat

childrencandoamazing

thingsbyusingthe

flashcardmethod,and

Iwanttogivemychild

everyopportunitytoreach

herpotential!Someof

myfriendsaredoingthis

andsayitisagreatway

tospendtimewiththeir

childandensurethattheir

childislearningwhatshe

needstoknow.Whenis

thebesttimetostartthis

teaching,andwhatarethe

bestflashcardstouse?

—An Excited Mom


Quiet Time is Important

PARENTING 101

by MarenStark-Schmidt

e get so busy do-ing that we neglect to stop and con-sider our being.

A quote from Kurt Vonnegut reminds me of that innate hu-man need to maintain balance between doing and being.

“To be is to do - SocratesTo do is to be - Sartre

Do Be Do Be Do – Sinatra”

When we get the balance be-tween do and be, life is improvisa-tional. Doing gives us experience. Being helps us take the time to assimilate all that we have learned through doing. Taking the time to reflect about what we have done and where we are going lets us decide what to do next. It gives us time to make sure we are do-ing what we want to do and mak-ing the progress we want – not just keeping busy. If we’ve taken a wrong turn, pausing to ‘be’ will help us make some important re-alizations; if we’re headed in the wrong direction, we don’t need to go faster. We need to stop. Our be-ing informs our do-ing.

Quiet time is important for our children to take their experiences (their doing) and assimilate those experiences into their being. We (child and adult) need a place and time to simply ‘be’ – a place where we can stop in solitude and gather our thoughts while having time to examine those thoughts.

Children need opportunities to simply sit, rest, observe, quietly explore, and be. We need to of-fer a balance between activity and tranquil, undisturbed time.

Children bustle off to gym class, to swim, to dance, to lesson after

lesson in order to maximize their learning or prevent them from being bored. Instead of trying to cram learning with activity after activity, it is better to have an environment where children can quietly explore, investigate and inquire with help from a guide. If a child is interested in looking at rocks, an adult can offer a bit of information by perhaps pointing out the different structure of the rocks (igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic) and then retreat, offering the child the quiet oppor-tunity to do further exploration, think, or simply consolide new and old information.

If we each look at our individual style of learning, we’ll perhaps see that we learn best when we choose our activity, do it to our satisfaction, and then have a pe-riod of rest or contemplation to unify our thoughts. When I’m mentally stuck during a project, a quiet walk helps me consolidate new ideas and incubate my im-pressions into intentions.

Children’s learning and growing also need this time to consoli-

date new experiences and then to choose what activity to do next to create meaningful learning. By the process of selecting what to do, our children reveal to us who they are. With time to choose, learning becomes personal and powerful. Through their choices, our children are telling us their likes, their dislikes, their interests, their passions, their weaknesses, and their strengths. It all begins with being quiet and having time that is unencumbered with activi-ties that aren’t evaluated, judged, or prioritized by adults.

When we fill our children’s days with busy work that does not tap into our being’s powerful way to learn through quiet reflection and choice, we do our children a disser-vice. Our children need quiet time to let actions and thoughts sort out and result in robust learning and growth. For optimum devel-opment, we each need quiet time,

to sit and think, and time to do nothing. Quiet time is important.

Do Be Do Be Do. A reminder to take some time to simply ‘be.’ r

Maren Stark-Schmidt is an award winning teacher, writer, and founder of a Montessori

school. She holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College, has over 30 years experience working with young children, and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Inter-nationale. She currently writes a syndicated parenting column, available at www.KidsTalkNews.com and is author of Understand-ing Montessori: A Guide For Parents, and Building Cathe-drals Not Walls. Contact her at [email protected]. and visit MarenSchmidt.com.

Achild’slearning

isdeeperwhen

itcomesfrom

withinversus

beingforcedby

usingflashcards,

worksheets,

questioning,and

onandon.


As parents we all have the same primary, long- term concern for

our children: we want them to be successful people who lead ful-filling lives. As a society, we have collectively defined those qualities that we most admire in others, and we have used them to define what makes a person ‘successful.’ Some of those qualities include: being smart, attractive, friendly, strong, and creative. Although these are all positive qualities that we regularly see in people, we have turned them into something more concerning: labels.

The 1970s marked a turning point in the culture of parenting in America. This is when the con-cept of parenting for self-esteem became the norm. Parents began to teach their children to feel good about themselves and believe in themselves so that they could see the infinite possibilities for suc-cess in their lives. This practice has resulted in parents working to give their children positive labels to live up to. At this point, I would like to clarify that I think self-es-teem is fantastic and important, but it needs to be built in a way that is intentional and approaches the child as a whole being.

When a child is given a label, be it positive or negative, the child be-gins to define himself as that label. The child will work very hard to ensure that everyone can see that he can live up to his label, and he will shy away from any situation that might challenge that label. It is easy to see this example when it comes to the way children are sometimes negatively labeled. For example, the class ‘bad boy’ would be the last person to volunteer for a school improvement activity, even if it involved something that

interested him. This is because it would compromise the niche that he has, and it is a very scary thing to step out of a social niche, espe-cially in school. The same situa-tions can arise when we put ‘posi-tive’ labels on children. We are so concerned with helping our chil-dren feel good about themselves that we talk them into situations where they feel so imprisoned by their label, that they ultimately end up restricting the possibilities of their own lives out of fear.

One of the most common positive labels that we use in our culture is ‘beautiful’ or ‘pretty.’ We are especially focused on developing strong self-esteem in our girls when it comes to their physical self-image. An easy way to try to do this is to repeatedly tell them how pretty they are. It is true that the child will believe that she is pretty, but she will also begin to believe that this ‘pretty’ thing is very important, because people tell her about it all the time. This, then, becomes so important to the child that she can become afraid to ever not be pretty. This fear shows itself in the form of young girls who won’t be seen in public without full make-up, won’t eat in front of boys, or won’t partici-pate in activities that they would enjoy because of fear of how their body might look while do-ing it. Most often, these girls are extremely ‘pretty’ people, but they are paralyzed by their need to maintain the perception of beauty, and it causes them to struggle in other areas of their life.

The other label that can be incred-ibly hurtful to a child’s long-term success is ‘smart.’ We all want our kids to be smart. The fact is all of our kids are smart. They are inquisitive and creative, and they

absorb all of the knowledge we give them with a full acceptance of it as the truth. There was a very interesting study about using the ‘smart’ label with fourth-grade children. These children were given a very simple puzzle to com-plete. One group of children was told that they must have complet-ed the puzzle successfully because they were smart; one group was told they were successful because they tried hard. Then they were given a second puzzle that was much more difficult. Most of the children in the ‘smart’ group re-fused to try the puzzle. All of the children in the ‘tried-hard’ group tackled the puzzle enthusiasti-cally. The ‘smart’ label seemed to create a fear in the children that if they weren’t successful at the diffi-cult puzzle, people wouldn’t think they were smart anymore, so they chose to not compromise their label by not trying.

We want our children to be happy, well-rounded, successful people. However, our job is to let them know that we believe in them and allow them to define themselves and their place in the world. I want my daughter to tackle her life with enthusiasm, and it is my hope that she never stops her-self from trying something new because she fears that it will alter someone else’s definition of who she is. We can all work to empha-size hard work and good choices with a respect for self, others, and environment. Then, we can rest assured that our children are constructing themselves with genuine self-esteem. r

“The word education must not be understood in the sense of teach-ing but of assisting the psycho-logical development of the child.” –Dr. Maria Montessori

MONTESSORI MOMENT

I Just Want Him to Be Smart: The Problem with Labelsby RBFast


Thanks to people just like us, my grandchildren (and your children) will

have the opportunity to graduate from a Montessori high school. Our youngest grandchild, Hud-son, is only 15 months old. He has been a Montessori student since he was 10-weeks-old, and he is blossoming. Fifteen months old? Why are we thinking about his high school education now? For that matter, why should you? The answer is simple. Today, there are only about 100 Montessori high schools in the US, compared to more than 5,000 Montessori schools in America as a whole. This means that most Montessori students will have to transfer to a conven-tional public or private middle or high school when they ‘outgrow’ the programs offered in their Montessori schools.

Will they be successful? Yes, in terms of grades, but for most, before long, the light in their eyes will fade away and school will become what many educational professionals refer to as a ‘race to nowhere.’ Assignments and tests will come, be done, and soon be forgotten in an endless blur.

Many ‘good’ students get tired of running on a treadmill, burn out, and ask, “Why am I working so hard to get a job that I may not even enjoy?” Burnout may hap-pen in high school; it could come in college; or it may show up in mid-life. Burnout happens for many bright and supposedly ‘suc-cessful’ young people much more often than most of us want to admit. On the other hand, in more and more schools, like the NewGate School in Sarasota, Florida, stu-dents have a choice. [Editor’s Note: NewGate is The Montes-sori Foundation’s Lab School.]

Students at NewGate can start in Montessori as toddlers and go all the way to graduation in 12th grade. Nationally and around the world, students who are able to remain in Montessori seem to never lose their sense of wonder and love for learning, creating, and building. They innovate. They collaborate. They celebrate their lives. If you’ve known any Montessori graduates, you’ve probably seen this for yourself. In Montessori high schools like NewGate, we are working to revolutionize the way we educate teenagers in America and abroad.

Here’s a shockingly simple con-cept: Secondary education does not need to dehumanize adoles-cents any more than early child-hood and elementary programs need to destroy children’s creativ-ity and joy for learning! That’s why we spend so much time and energy working to

ensure that, when he is ready for high school, there will be a Montessori high school program ready for Hudson and for all

Where Do We Go from Here?TheMontessoriHighSchool

Secondaryeducationdoesnotneedtodehumanizeadolescentsanymorethanearlychildhoodandelementaryprogramsneedtodestroychildren’screativityandjoyforlearning!

by Tim Seldin, President, The Montessori Foundation


our Montessori children, across America and around the world.

A growing number of Montessori schools have gone a step further and also offer Montessori high school programs that are integrat-ed with the International Bacca-laureate (IB) Diploma Programs, giving students the opportunity to receive an IB diploma that is recognized and welcomed around the world.

A bit of historical perspective …The first Montessori secondary schools were founded in Europe in the 1930s. In the United States, a number of secondary programs organized along Montessori prin-ciples developed as early as the 1940s, but they did not openly use Montessori’s name.

In the 1970s, a number of early adolescent programs, openly identified as being “Montessori influenced,” were established in

the United States, including: The Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland; Near North Montes-sori in Chicago, Illinois; the Ruff-ing Montessori School and Her-shey Montessori School outside Cleveland, Ohio; Lake Country Montessori School in Minneapo-lis, Minnesota; and the Columbus Montessori School in Columbus, Ohio. Two early Montessori sec-ondary programs are no longer in operation: the Montessori Farm School in Half Moon Bay (Cali-fornia) and the Erdkinder School near Atlanta (Georgia).

In 1982, my alma mater, the Bar-rie School outside Washington, DC, became the first Montessori High School program to be offi-cially recognized by the American Montessori Society. That year, the Institute for Advanced Mon-tessori Studies in Silver Spring (MD) and the Dallas Montes-sori Teacher Education Program in Dallas (TX) opened the first Montessori Secondary teacher education programs.

SOMEBASICELEMENTSOFSECONDARYMONTESSORIPROGRAMS

Montessori high schools are organized into small communities (often re-

ferred to as ‘houses’) ranging in size from 30 to 75 students. Each ‘house’

will typically have a team of Secondary Montessori teachers, who work with

this community of learners on a full-time basis. While students may also

take courses from other teachers, this team of adults serves as their advisors,

mentors, and primary teachers. Ideally, each house will have its own suite of

classrooms and common meeting areas.

Montessori Secondary programs are typically organized in one of two ways.

If the program is organized into three ‘houses,’ each covers a two-year grade

span: ages 12 to 14 (7th & 8th grade); ages 14 to 16 (9th & 10th grade); and

ages 16 to 18 (11th & 12th grade). A different choice would be to organize

the Secondary program into two ‘houses,’ each covering a three-year grade

span: ages 12 to 15 (7th to 9th grade] and ages 15 to 18 (10th to 12th grade).

While students normally have friends at every grade level, each ‘house’ is a

small ‘school within a school.’

Daily Meetings: Students and teachers gather every day in a Town

Meeting, where they learn how to work together as a team, present their

thoughts honestly and effectively, resolve disagreements, compromise, and

reach consensus. This creates a real sense of community.

Curriculum: Faculty and students typically follow a carefully considered

core curriculum in the humanities and sciences, designed to both prepare

students for college and help them form a sense of the big picture of our

world and culture: how knowledge was discovered; how it is used in every-

day life; and how apparently separate ‘subjects’ fit together. The goal is to

help our students learn what we cover in depth, rather than skip through

material so quickly that it is soon forgotten.

Secondary Montessori teachers begin with respect for the child, respect for

the family, and respect for all life. Respect permeates a Montessori school.

It produces the warm, comfortable tone for which our schools are best

known. We assume that our students are responsible and capable, that they

have within them the ability to succeed, and that our task is not simply to

teach from the book, but to facilitate their learning and help them get the

most from their education. While our standards are high, we don’t believe

that competition and stress are the best ways to motivate learning. Over and

over again, students hear us say that our primary goal is to challenge them

to think — really think!

Structure of the School Day: A typical aspect of Secondary Montessori

programs is that the school week will be designed to encourage students

to learn how to plan and structure their time. The schedule almost always

includes unscheduled work periods for individual and group tasks, as well as

labs, seminars, lectures, and group projects and committees.

Montessori recognizes that people learn in different ways and at different

paces. While much of our learning involves group discussions and projects,

when possible, the programs allow for a great deal of flexibility. Students

can often spend more time on areas that they find difficult and move ahead

more quickly in those subjects in which they excel. Beyond that, we encour-

age students to pursue areas of special interest. We encourage them to

collaborate and work together.


During the 1980s, a number of other programs for young ado-lescents opened in the United States and Canada, including: the Franciscan Earth School in Port-land (Oregon); the School of the Woods in Houston (Texas); St. Joseph’s Montessori in Columbus (Ohio); the Toronto Montessori School in Ontario, Canada; and the Athens Montessori School in Athens (Georgia).

Today Montessori Secondary programs have developed in hun-dreds of public, charter, and inde-pendent Montessori schools in the United States and Canada.

Redefining Adolescent Education

Montessori education is the fast-est growing organized system of education in the world. Even though Montessori is best known for its success with younger stu-dents, Montessori Secondary edu-cators are working to design rep-licable programs that will spread around the world. We are literally re-writing the playbook on how middle and high schools may look tomorrow, and we are doing it our way ... the Montessori way!

One of the most basic principles of Montessori education is the call to design schools that truly meet the developmental needs and personality of children at each stage of human development. We believe that schools should be centered around their students as people, rather than organized around the demands of adminis-trative efficiency.

As a physician doing pioneering work on brain development and child psychology, Dr. Montessori recognized that the primary de-velopmental tasks of adolescence are social, emotional, and spiri-tual. She observed that teenagers often find it difficult to concen-

Montessori Secondary teachers believe in letting students know their goals and objectives for successful learning right

from the start. Together, teachers and students develop the best path to achieve these goals in accordance with their

individual learning styles. Students learn how to pace themselves and take responsibility for their work — skills that

are critical to success in college.

Learning in Montessori rarely involves passively sitting back and listening to a teacher talk. We do sometimes lecture,

but, more often, Montessori Secondary teachers facilitate learning through hands-on experiences, seminar discus-

sions, and individual research. There are all sorts of activities at the high school level: field trips; internships; special

projects; research and investigation; and dramatic ‘re-creation’ experiences. This kind of learning asks students to get

involved, question, and think! Above all, it is rarely boring.

Immersion Learning: Most Montessori Secondary programs build immersion-learning experiences into the school

year. This allows them to extend the curriculum through full-day or week-long integrated projects and experiences

that would never be possible in a traditional schedule. Some schools build one ‘extension day’ a week into the school

calendar; others may work on a rotating calendar with a week of immersion experience scheduled every six weeks.

There are many ways immersion-learning experiences can be designed, but the purpose is to get students and teach-

ers out of the classroom and into the community: to museums; galleries; the theater; university libraries; courtrooms;

local governments; laboratories; and outdoors! These experiences lead students to see society in the making and

learn first hand from the men and women who are making history. Most Montessori schools use immersion-learning

programs to work on special projects or to study issues in-depth. Students contact and visit government agencies,

public-interest groups, and relevant industries. They pour through public records and interview key public figures. They

assemble information and attempt to interpret the big picture. Students form their own opinions and defend them in

class in spirited debates.

Lessons in Practical Life/Occupations and Student Businesses: Lessons in practical life skills continue

from early childhood through secondary. In adolescence, the skills that we teach focus on real-life situations, from

interpersonal relations to cooking; making repairs; working with tools; planning parties and events; packing for trips;

running businesses; managing money; bookkeeping; caring for animals; and so much more. These experiences vary

from school to school, but (by definition) they are ultimately lessons that students enjoy, respond to, and find em-

powering. Naturally, they are always appropriate to the situation and culture that surrounds the school. Some schools

sponsor student-run businesses, such as the fully licensed “Wake up Montessori” breakfast café run by the middle

school students at Sun Grove Montessori School in Fort Pierce, Florida. Others run a full-scale farm program, such as

the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Huntsville, Ohio.

One of the great lessons during these years is to work together in teams and as a community. Students need to learn

to be dependable, to plan and follow through, to be good leaders and followers, and to work with integrity. If part of

the task is to care for the chickens, the consequence of forgetting to feed the chickens will have serious repercussions.

The counterpoint is the lesson that everyone plays important roles completing meaningful work and that we are all

interdependent. Adolescents need to feel connected to others, and cherish the feeling of belonging to a caring com-

munity. This is one of the key elements that makes Montessori Secondary so special, and it is often the inspiration of

students’ self-confidence and internal motivation to succeed.

Community Service and Internship Programs: Community service and internship experiences are other as-

pects of Montessori Secondary programs. At certain points of the year, students engage in internships in the business,

professional, or public-interest communities. They can be found: interning at a local charity; volunteering at the local

zoo; assisting in doctors’ offices, architecture firms, veterinarians’ clinics, radio stations, newspapers, hospitals, retail

businesses; volunteering in shelters for the homeless, day-care centers for victims of Alzheimer’s disease; and assisting

in the school’s elementary classrooms. Many students develop long-term relationships at their internship sites. Stu-

dents also begin to think about their career interests; as they discover their ability to make a difference in the world,

they become more self-confident and independent.

Travel: Many Montessori Secondary programs take at least one major out-of-town field-study trip over the course

of the year. These trips could be somewhere within the country or an international adventure. Montessori education

is worldwide, and we have sister schools throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. With our strong orientation

toward ecological studies, Montessori Secondary programs also tend to sponsor camping, canoeing, and sailing ex-

peditions during the course of the year. Students typically use the profits from their school businesses to help defray

the costs of travel.


trate on their studies; their lives are not centered on school work, but on learning how to be com-fortable around one another. If you have any doubt of the truth of that premise, observe the impor-tance of social media in the lives of our teens. She proposed that the ultimate objective of secondary education must not be limited to preparing students to enter col-lege or the workforce; instead, we need to give them an ‘education for life.’ The primary goal of middle and high school education must, therefore, be to help teenagers to discover, accept, and confirm their self-worth as individuals.

Brain Development

Contemporary insights into ado-lescent brain development show that, in teenagers, the prefrontal cortex (the brain region respon-sible for making complex judg-ments and considering outcomes) is not yet mature, which explains why many teenagers can be so impulsive and illogical. The poor judgment and impulse control of teenagers can be explained by normal processes of adolescent brain development. In addition, compound the situation with ad-olescent hormonal changes, and it is easy to see why adolescents are profoundly influenced by peer-group pressure. If they fall in with the wrong crowd, young people may find themselves mak-ing some very poor choices. This is much more common than most parents of teenagers realize or want to accept; however, in small, close-knit, and supportive set-tings during this very vulnerable period, adolescents are given a better opportunity to grow into confident, warm, accepting, and supportive adults.

Montessori Secondary programs can take many forms. In general, most tend to have a few hundred students at most. The defining element is the creation of a pro-tected community of students

and adults, a social laboratory in which adolescents can clarify their values, build strong inter-personal relationships, and learn to communicate their thoughts and feelings articulately and ma-turely to one another.

Why Large High Schools Are Not Designed to Meet the Needs of Adolescents

Most people assume that large high schools are a basic part of growing up. I disagree.

Even though most Americans take them for granted, large contemporary middle and high schools are poorly designed to meet the developmental needs of adolescents. Adolescence is a period of life, where the primary challenge is to become much more independent, mature, emo-tionally balanced, socially skilled, and responsible.

The schools in which we place teenagers tend to be large, im-personal, and filled with bored, apathetic, over-worked, and over-stressed, students. We ignore teenagers’ developmental needs and focus as if they were already

in college—ready for serious academic life. We try to motivate them with the fear of not getting into good schools, while attempt-ing to distract them with athletics.

WASHINGTON MONTESSORI INSTITUTE AT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY MARYLAND

“

“

As we continue the Montessori approach to education and more and more children and families are exposed to it, communities will begin to change and as the communities change, the nation will change.

That’s how I drive education forward.

RHONDA LUCAS-SABATER, M.ED. ’08

Founder and Principal, Shining Stars Montessori Academy, PCSWashington, D.C.

LOYOLA.EDU/MONTESSORI 410-617-7777

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PRIMARY AND ELEMENTARY ACADEMIC YEAR PROGRAMS

INFO SESSIONS: Jan. 9 and Feb. 6, 2014

IN AFFILIATION WITH ASSOCIATION MONTESSORI INTERNATIONALE

HOW WILL YOU DRIVE EDUCATION

?

Sheobservedthatteenagersoftenfinditdifficulttoconcentrateontheirstudies;theirlivesarenotcenteredonschoolworkbutonlearninghowtobecomfortablearoundoneanother.


The Marriage of Two Good Ideas: Montessori and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program is recognized worldwide for academic excellence. It provides structure, credibility, ac-countability, and flexibility. Montes-sorians understand the needs for pro-viding the environment and guidance necessary for adolescents to flourish, giving students the tools that speak to them in human terms at times and in ways when they are developmen-tally ready to process and make the most of their secondary educational experience. Merging the best of what both programs have to offer results in a transformative experience.

The Montessori Foundation is com-mitted to finding a better way to meet the needs of our adolescents. We know that we need to prepare them for the future, but we are also committed to preserving what their early years in Montessori have given them to help them develop into the human beings we so desperately need for our next generation of in-novative leaders and peacemakers.

At our lab school (NewGate) we are literally re-writing the curriculum. We are almost there and hope to an-nounce our accreditation as a Mon-tessori-IB Diploma program this year. When that happens, we will share the challenges and outcomes with readers of Tomorrow’s Child and Montessori educators around the world.

At NewGate, and more and more Montessori schools across the Unit-ed States, Canada, and the world, there is an answer to the question that Montessori parents ask us ev-ery day: “Our children’s Montessori school ends at the eighth grade. Where do we go from here?”

Montessori High School, of course!r

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MontessoriTeachers(Toddlersthrough12thgrade)(FL)The NewGate School in Sarasota, the Lab School of The Montessori Foundation, continues to grow, and we anticipate that we will have openings available on our faculty at every age level from toddlers through the 12th grade. We are always looking for out-standing Montessori educators who would like to join our close-knit Montessori learning commu-nity. Interested in learning more? Visit NewGate online at www.newgate.edu or learn more about the work of The Montessori Foun-dation at www.montessori.org Write to Tim Seldin, President of The Montessori Foundation and New Gate School at [email protected].

MontessoriTeachers&AdministrativeDirector(FL)Turtle River Montessori in Jupi-ter, Florida, a well-established Montessori school with two beautiful campuses serving over 250 children ranging in age from 2 years old through Middle School is currently accepting ap-plications. Located in a beauti-ful beach community north of Miami in a state-of-the-art Leed’s certified building.

Teachers Pre-primary (2-3), Pri-mary (3-6), elementary (6-9 and 9-11) and Middle School profes-sionals. Interested candidates must have Montessori teaching credential and a Bachelors De-gree, experienced preferred.

Administrative DirectorWe are seeking a dynamic, enthusiastic individual with strong administra-tive and interpersonal skills, along with a track record of leadership. A Bachelor’s Degree and expe-rience is required. Montessori background is preferred.

Competitive Salary and benefits provided. Send resumes and cov-er letters to lazarian@turtleriver-

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MontessoriAdministrator(NC)Immediate opening for experi-enced Montessori administrator in an established Montessori and charter pre-K-8 school in Morris-ville, NC.The successful applicant will possess initiative, leadership, management, and organization-al skills. In addition, the ability to problem solve and communicate effectively with staff, parents, children, and board of directors is imperative. Position requires at least 5 years as a lead teacher and 3 years as an administrator and is designed to lead to Execu-tive Director position on the re-tirement of the current ED. Salary commensurate with experience. Please visit our website at http://armstrongmcguire.theresuma-tor.com/apply/TdnT6X/Assistant-Executive-Director.html for more information. CampusDirector/AssociateHeadofSchool(beginningJuly1,2014)(VA)The Montessori School of North-ern Virginia (Annandale, VA) is seeking a Montessori certified Early Childhood leader with significant teaching and admin-istrative experience. We are a non-profit, dual campus school located outside Washington, D.C. The Campus Director over-sees all operations at our Valley-brook Campus and works closely with the Head on whole-school planning, decisions, and imple-mentation. For details seehttp://www.msnv.org/about_jobs.html. HEADOFSCHOOL(CO)Children’sGardenMontessoriSchool,Denver,COContact: Jayne Palu, Search Com-mittee Chair [email protected]. Start Date: June, 2014.

Children’s Garden Montessori School (CGMS) is seeking a tal-ented leader and educator as its

Head of School (HOS), commenc-ing with the 2014/15 school year when our current Head of School retires. We are in our 40th year, providing nurturing and child-centered Montessori education to students aged 18 months to 6 years. The HOS serves as the school’s chief executive, respon-sible for overseeing all aspects of the school’s operation and imple-menting its educational mandate and strategic priorities. The new HOS will join a successful, vibrant preschool and will work with dedicated teachers, experienced administrative and admissions personnel, and committed board members in guiding CGMS into its next chapter. To learn more about this opportunity, inter-ested candidates should visit the school’s website at http://cgmontessori.com/our-school/head-school-search/.

Director(CT)The Montessori School, located in Fairfield County, CT, seeks a committed Director to lead a community of children, ages of fourteen months through eighth grade, 39 faculty, and 12 staff. The position description may be accessed at http://www.car-neysandoe.com/web/positions/Montessori.pdf.

Please send a cover letter ex-pressing interest, a resume, a statement of educational philos-ophy, and five references to [email protected] or [email protected]. PartTimeMiddleSchoolMathTeacher(CA)Casa di Mir Montessori School (Campbell, CA) is seeking a credentialed Montessori teach-er. The ideal candidate will pos-sess a current California teaching credential in math or related sub-ject and have at least two years’ experience teaching adoles-cents. We are seeking a mature

and enthusiastic individual with excellent English-language com-munication skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team. Please visit our website at www.casadimir.org to learn more about our school. Please email your letter of introduction and resume to [email protected]. ATTN: Karen Schuler. MontessoriTeacherforPrivateTutor/Nanny(UnitedArabEmirates)A private family in Abu Dhabi (UAE) requires a qualified Mon-tessori teacher as a full-time tutor for their 4-year-old son. The can-didate must have experience in Montessori methods/equipment and early-childhood care, be fluent in English with excellent communication skills, a positive demeanor, be trustworthy and reliable. This is an amazing lifestyle opportunity to experience a cul-turally rich and diverse part of the world for a 1 or 2 year contract.

To be considered you must have:¡ Montessori Teaching Qualification¡ Early Childhood teaching experience

Remuneration:¡ Salary USD $40,000 (paid tax free), negotiable on experience¡ Accommodation Provided¡ Annual Air Ticket¡ Medical Insurance

Start Date: Immediate / ASAPTo Apply: Send your CV and a recent photograph to: [email protected]. MontessoriTeachers(FL)Come be a part of our dynamic teaching team! Palm Harbor Montessori Academy is located on the beautiful west coast of Florida close to shopping, air-ports, cultural activities and san-dy beaches. Located on a beau-tiful 5-acre campus, we serve children ages 1-14. Our ideal candidates should be Montessori

CLASSIFIEDS


trained with a background in education. Please send resume, letter of interest and salary requirements to [email protected] . FoundingHeadofSchool(AZ)This is an exciting opportunity for a Founding Head of School

Creo = “Creativity:”The Creoō Mon-tessori School will open in the fall of 2014. It is being founded by a small group of committed Montessori parents, who are working closely with The Montessori Foundation to develop a world-class Montessori school from the ground up. Gilbert, Arizona is a town that flourishes as a forward-looking, family oriented community with a small-town atmosphere. Gil-bert has the resources to grow as a quality community. It is wel- educated, and young families are finding in Gilbert a perfect place to raise their families. Creo has chosen Gilbert as its lo-cation, since there is a great need for private, secular, forward-thinking schools. Creo will be one of the only private schools in the area and the only Private Montessori Elementary School within a 10-mile radius. Creo plans to open with Early Childhood and Elementary, ex-tending upward through the Secondary level. The school is affiliated with the International Montessori Council and the American Montessori Society. Creo is looking for a Montes-sori educational leader with the right balance of charisma, vision, professional education, and ex-perience in Montessori leader-ship, recruitment, community building, and public-relations skills that will ensure that he/she will lead the Creo Montes-sori School through its crucial first few years and beyond. The

position begins July 1, 2014.Please send your resume to Tim Seldin, President of The Montessori Foundation, at [email protected]. ElementaryGuides(AZ)Creo Montessori School (see above ad) is looking for Lower and Upper Elementary Montes-sori teachers to work in a bilin-gual English/Spanish program. Our plan is for at least one Mon-tessori guide in each class to be a native (or fluent) Spanish speak-er. Our school will be a close-knit and stable community, and we particularly value a balance of charisma, patience, energy, vision, professional education, and effective communication skills. Positions require AMI/AMI or IMC Elementary Montessori certification, a 4-year college de-gree, and successful Montesssori teaching experience. We will be-gin August 1, 2014.

Email your resume to Tim Seldin, President of The Montes-sori Foundation, at [email protected].

Questions? Feel free to call Tim’s cell at 941.914.4103.

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CLASSIFIEDS (cont.)

The MontessoriFoundationBookshelf offers a wide collection of hard-to-find publications, videos, and software about Montessori education and of special interest to Montessori school administrators, board members, teachers, and parents.

Here are our 4 top sellers:

The Montessori Way by Tim Seldin & Paul Epstein, Ph.D.The book is what we refer to as the encyclopedia of Montessori. It’s so well read that it’s used in training centers around the globe and always a favorite gift for new parents.

The World in the Palm of Her Hand by Tim SeldinThis oldie but goodie was updated a few years ago. It's a fabulous cur-riculum resource book for brand new teachers to seasoned guides. It’s a History and Geography curriculum for ages 2.5-7. Also mandatory read-ing for most training center students.

How To Raise An Amazing Childby Tim SeldinThis book makes the perfect baby-shower gift to new parents. Writ-ten from the heart, Tim recounts Montessori lessons he learned along the way as a parent himself.

The Observer’s Notebook by Paul Epstein, Ph.D.For any classroom guide, regard-less of years in the classroom, this book is a must. It’s being used by training centers around the globe and is being translated into other languages.

To purchase any of these books, just go to www.montessori.org home page and enter the bookstore or contact: [email protected]. Training centers get a discount on bulk orders and need to contact Margot.


Montessori schools, teachers, and chil-dren since 1992. Through our leadershipworkshops, conferences, books, andjournals (including Tomorrow’s Child,one copy of which is provided free ofcharge to all Montessori schools in theUS and Canada ), we help bring the ben-efits of Montessori education to schoolsbig and small. Through our nationalmodel school, we share everything thatwe learn and develop with all Montessorischools, in order to enhance the pro-grams that they offer for their children.

Charitable 501(c)3 organizations, likeThe Montessori Foundation, need finan-cial assistance from people like you tocontinue our work. These gifts can be

It’s during the hard times that we are reminded that we must continue todemonstrate to children the value inpositive acts of human kindness.

Montessori schools do this every day intheir classrooms around the world. Inlarge cities and undeveloped countries,for more than one hundred years, thework of Dr. Maria Montessori has in-spired many thousands of children tolive lives of purpose and integrity, know-ing that each one of them is a member ofa global community and each one ofthem has the ability to change the world.

The Montessori Foundation has helped

Dr. Maria Montessori1870-1952Italy’s First Female Medical DoctorCreater of the “Montessori Method”Educational ActivistChild AdvocateNobel Peace Prize Nominee

No act of kindness, no matter howsmall, is ever wasted.

— Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse

Establishing lasting peace is the workof education; all politics can do is

keep us out of war.— Dr. Maria Montessori

MontessoriTHE

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By making bequests and other “plannedgifts,” you continue to make an impor-tant difference in the world. What betterway to thank the people or organizationsthat have had an impact on your life, orthe life of your child or grandchild, thanto make a contribution from your estatethrough a bequest?

Gifts large and small are important. It isa way to demonstrate your values and be-liefs to your family. It reinforces what youhave done during your life and sets anexample of kindness to people you wishto help. By donating, you become an immortal philanthropist.

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Life is a challenge. Most of us need help at some point along theway. Maybe we received a college scholarship from an “angel”benefactor. Maybe a nurse held our hand in the emergencyroom when we were afraid. Maybe a kind word from a strangergave us the strength to forgive an injustice. Maybe a teacher recognized our value when we couldn’t see it ourselves.

The Montessori Foundation always strives to help schools and par-ent organizations provide the most cost effective ways to get

Tomorrow’s Child magazine into the hands of parents. At the sametime, in oureffort to conserve natural resources and save trees,we’d like to introduce Tomorrow’s Child, the electronic version.

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Standing BulkOrder &

ElectronicSubscribers

Tomorrow’s Child OnLine, the par-ent resource center provides youwith many other free articles andvideo presentations on effectiveparenting and how to incorporatea Montessori way of life into yourdaily family routines. Hosted bythe Foundation’s Parent EducationDirector, Lorna McGrath, there aremany short video clips on criticalissues of parenting. This addedbenefit is available to bulk sub-scribers and electronic subscribers.

Contact Information:Make checks payable to:

The Montessori Foundation.Mail to: 19600 E. State Road

64, Bradenton, FL 34212. Fax: 941 745 3111.

Schools needing invoices, please contact:

[email protected]

Standing Bulk Orders forthe 2014/15 School Year

Tomorrow’s Child magazine is thebest way for schools to help parentsstay connected on key issues inMontessori. Articles on parenting,research, how Montessori is done in-ternationally, schools showcasingtheir uniqueness, graduate achieve-ments and valuable calendar ofevents make this one of the mostwidely read Montessori resourcesworldwide.Administrators who put the cost ofthe magazine into their tuition un-derstand that the benefits far exceedthe minimal cost. When parents areinformed and embrace the time test-ed & proven results that aMontessori education can bring totheir families they will thank you! We greatly discount the print ver-sion to our schools. In the US a stand-ing bulk order costs just $16.00** perfamily per year. 50 minimum in astanding bulk order. That’s just$800.00** annually! (Should yourschool have fewer than 50 familiescall our main office at 800-655-5843to get approval for a smaller quan-tity.) Standing Bulk Order subscriberswill also have access to Tomorrow’sChild OnLine (see inset).*

**TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL ANDPAY JUST $13.75 PER FAMILYFOR THE YEAR. Orders must bepaid in full before 5/31/14.

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The Foundation always strives to keep printing costs under control as well as conserve resources and, therefore, we nolonger keep an inventory of back issues nor large quantities of the most current issue. We will always try and fulfill newstanding bulk orders with the most currently released issue. If that isn’t possible, we’ll start your order with the next one inthe cycle and pro-rate your order.

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Order FormStanding Bulk Orders (SBO) for the 2014/15 school yearOrder Now & Take Advantage of Our Early Bird Special (Offer Expires 5/31/2014)❒ For USA Orders_____subscriptions X $16.00 $13.75 US funds

TOTAL DUE____________ Your SBO will start with the September 2014 issue ( subject to availability).SBO’s are for schools with 50 or more families. Schools with fewer than 50families need to call our main office at 800-655-5843 for approval. Schoolsrequesting a PO or located outside of the USA please call 800-655-5843or email [email protected] for pricing information.

Individual Subscriptions: Print VersionI would like an individual subscription starting with the most current issue.❒ For USA Orders_________subscription X $30.00 per year, US funds❒ For Outside USA Orders_____subscription X $45.00 per year, US funds

TOTAL DUE_______Individual Subscriptions: Electronic Version❒Yes, please send me the electronic version of Tomorrow’s Childmagazine. I understand I will need to provide a unique email ad-dress that will accept the notices announcing a new issue is readyto be read. For anywhere, worldwide _____subscription X $20.00 per, US funds

TOTAL DUE______

Montessori 101: Special Expanded Version1-34 copies 35 copies in a box Special

USA $15 Now $7 (plus s/h) $225 (includes USPS Shipping)Outside USA $15 Now $7 (plus s/h) $280 (includes USPS Shipping)

#Copies_____________ x General Price $__________ = TOTAL DUE______________Credit Card Number:__________________________________Expiration Date:__________

Email Address (please print): _________________________________________________

Name on Card:___________________________________________________________

Shipping address: (For orders over 35, we reserve the right to ship using FEDEX or USP and will quotepricing before sale completed)

Contact Person’s Name:____________________________________________________

School Name:___________________________________________________________

Mailing Address:_________________________________________________________

City:_____________________ State:______ Country_______ Zip Code:__________Daytime phone number, in case we cannot reach you by email: (We never sell your information. But ifwe have a question regarding your credit card we will call.)_______________________

For your convenience, we continue to acceptpayment by credit card: Visa, Mastercard,Discover or American Express.

Please remember: Tomorrow’s Child is acopyright-protected publication. Duplicationof the magazine in any form without permis-sion is prohibited by law and prevented byyour integrity.

Newly Revised Special Expanded Issue!!!!!Our special double issue that combines our two most popular publica-tions: Montessori 101: What Every Montessori Parent Should Knowand A Guided Tour of the Montessori Classroom. 72 pages with morethan 200 pictures was updated and reformatted and in stock ready for

you to order.

Tomorrow’s Child ...is published four times per

year: September,November, January,

and April.

Special Sale ... While Supplies Last!

TOMORROW'S CHILD © w JANUARY 2014 w WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG40888-619-2229 | www.MontessoriCompass.com

www.facebook.com/MontessoriCompass.com | www.twitter.com/MontCompass

Montessori Compass is the user-friendly online record keeping system you have been searching for!

Record daily classroom activity & observations in mere seconds from ANY web-enabled device! No cumbersome steps, no needlessly long learning curve. MC is a great solution for busy Montessori Educators who are seeking a record keeping solution that just works. All record keeping data is saved and tagged to student pro�les in real-time. Progress reports can be generated instantly and parent communication has never been easier. MC includes a comprehensive Montessori Scope & Sequence (Infant - Age 12) with CCSS alignment. In addition, parent-friendly descriptions & photos of Montessori materials are available to help educate the parent alongside the child.

Online Montessori Record Keeping SoftwareClassroom Management | School Administration | Parent Communication

*Includes Comprehensive Scope & Sequence with Common Core Alignment!

iPad

Classroom Management Features:Record Keeping

Classroom ObservationsAttendance

Lesson PlansCustomized Trackers

& Much More!

School Management Features:Student Pro�les

MessagingSchool Calendar

Real-Time Student MetricsStandards Alignment

& Much More!

Parent Communication Features:Online Parent Portal

Classroom PhotosDaily/Weekly Activity Reports

Comprehensive Progress ReportsSchool Directory

& Much More!

The Montessori Foundation 19600 E SR 64 • Bradenton, FL 34212

Tomorrows Child January 2014

Documents

Transcript of Tomorrows Child January 2014