Dr. Maria Montessori developed her philosophy based on careful observations of the child. Much of her theory centered around the child’s “sensitive period” of development. During this particular period, the child is endowed with a special sensibility which urges him to focus his attention on certain aspects of his environment to the exclusion of others….
Making Music
The rich music experiences in our classrooms have a beneficial and lasting impact on the children! Besides the enjoyment of the rhythm, movement and fun verses, music enhances children’s brain development. Research shows that specific music activities support children’s language and literacy skills, regardless of learning style or ability! Music also gives children an important…
Positivity is Contagious
The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is that the only way to inner happiness is to practice it consciously myself. It takes a conscious effort to remain positive. It takes will power to avoid negativity. It takes practice to know how to balance others’ less-than-positive emotions and opinions; while giving them an outlet and inspiring…
Montessori and the Electronic Age
Maria Montessori was all about children learning through experiences in their environment, and manipulating their new found knowledge to help themselves and others, all for the greater good of mankind. Today’s reality is that our children are living in the electronic age. As their guides and mentors, we have a great opportunity to introduce the…
Journey to Montessori
My Montessori journey is short, but what I have gained surpasses those few years. I was introduced to the Riverview Montessori School and the Montessori Method, in July of 2012. I was immediately drawn to the beautifully arranged classroom, with even more varied and beautiful materials. I was intrigued at children taking responsibility for their…
The Normalized Montessori Environment
Today, I got to spend a quality day at one of my schools. I felt like a proud mother basking in the sunshine of a “picture-perfect” Montessori classroom. Education is a complex process and the success depends on the seamless amalgamation of the child, teacher, leadership, parent body, and the environment. It is only September and…
The Life and Work of Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori’s life and work is the epitome of the saying, “timing is everything”. She lived in an era of pioneers in the work of human development and developments of the senses. Jean Itard and Edouardo Seguin worked to establish research based evidence of the sequence of development and how to guide proper development with…
The Nature of the Business
It is no doubt that the development of young minds, and ultimately our future, is a big business. Corporate child cares are flooding the market and creating what they think are “the best” opportunities for children. At the end of the day, these corporate and franchise childcares put the implementation of the business plan first…
Heightening the Senses
Today we presented lessons on the five senses. They best way to really put focus onto one sense is to mask the others. So today we teachers were brave. We blindfolded ourselves and sat, unable to see, and felt object from our sensory box. We modeled the lesson by verbally describing what we felt, without…
The Elementary Work Plan
I spent some time with our Elementary class this past week and was so proud of what I saw. It wasn’t just the students, and it wasn’t just the tireless effort put out by the teachers. It was the coming together of the two. Our elementary teachers make weekly work plans tailored to each individual….
