Violin Days

With fall soccer winding down, we took the plunge and Humphrey began violin (Suzuki style).  I didn't really know what to expect; would this be something someone as unmusical as I, could do with her?  Would she like it?  Would we be okay with the sounds floating throughout the house, sometimes a sweet melody, other times loud screeches?  We took the plunge!  Our Montessori lifestyle has meshed wonderfully with this method of teaching.  And more importantly, Humphrey is even working with me on it...if she only knew I am only a few steps ahead of her and video-taping lessons has been a saving grace for me.

Humphrey is very thrilled to have a 1/32nd size violin (the smallest made), and it challenges her a lot--something that she needs.  All of the students had a recital last week, Humphrey played her song with incredible concentration.  She loves her teacher so very much--even enough to try and goof off a little at her weekly lesson...

A Glimpse at Independence

I had the chance to witness another glimpse at the independence of my four-year-old today.  After a long day at school, I was upstairs with Magoo for about 5 minutes, changing clothes and just unwinding...  I walked into the kitchen to discover Humphrey on the ladder in the kitchen juicing an orange.  She turned around with a big grin and states that she is thirsty for some orange juice.  She had taken it upon herself to get out a cutting board, a sharp knife, an orange, the juicer, and a glass.  She sliced the orange (she did receive a gentle reminder that I need to be next to her to use a knife--Papa keeps them pretty sharp) all by herself and was able to quite a bit of juice to have for her quick snack/drink.  As Magoo cannot pass up much that Humphrey does, she had a turn soon thereafter...

Some of our Favorite CD's

New Phase

A new phase in our lives begins tomorrow.  I officially became a "soccer mom" this past week, and tomorrow morning is the first game.  I don't think I fit into the true "soccer mom" category, maybe just the wanna-be group.  After all, I do work part-time, I have not given into the mini van lifestyle and have not over-scheduled my children (yet). 

At her first practice, Humphrey had so much fun.  She loved dribbling her sparkly purple soccer ball (5 of the 7 girls on the team had the identical ball), she loved shooting goals, trapping the ball and "learning" to fall.  The whole team, seven four-year-old girls, had a lesson in falling after another girl fell down and began to cry.   Humphrey went to make sure she was okay and then the entire team and the dad that is the coach, gathered in a circle and practiced falling into the grass and talking about how it did not in fact hurt (it is only about 2 feet). How Montessori of this father and owner of a local chain day-care facility (I did not say that to him). Following practice, Humphrey was pretty excited, but confused about the one teammate that refused to run.

Game day is almost here...finally.  Humphrey is prepared to play in the rain if need be.  We've got the cleats, shin guards, knee socks, and uniform all set to go.  Hopefully the weather dries up a bit and fun can be had for all, even the walker.

Water Fun

A low maintenance Saturday morning activity: fill a bucket with soapy water, add a wash cloth and scrub brush, allow girls to wash out the recycle bins and scrub the car tires...Humphrey and Magoo are begging for 90+ degree temps again so they can clean outside. 

Materials

This is a great place to find free downloads of materials and there is currently a drawing going on for lots of materials.  While there are lots of free materials there are inexpensive materials to purchase and make...they are inexpensive, but it all adds up and there is currently a giveaway to enter into...

Check out the Montessori Print Shop Blog for ideas to incorporate into your classroom or home
Good Luck!

Saturday Mornings at our House

A glimpse of what is happening at our house after breakfast on a Saturday morning...

Magoo watering plants
 

Humphrey working on a puzzle

Montessori Teacher Academy

Six weeks of summer are past.  I survived the past six weeks of getting the girls out the door by 7:15 each morning in order to arrive at school before the adult students and instructors in the teacher training program arrived.  We still managed to give them baths most mornings, each breakfast together as a family and not dole out too many threats about hurrying up to get out the door.

Six weeks ago I lead orientation for 5 adult students; 1 male and 4 females, a group made up of a mixture of experienced teachers and newcomers to the trade.  The past six weeks offered training in Practical Life, Montessori Philosophy, Sensorial, Child Development, Math, Language, Music, Science, Cultural Studies, Observation and Classroom Management.  Presentations were given, materials were practiced, discussions occurred. 

The easy part is over for them.  Six weeks of class, 5 days per week, 8 hours per day is pretty intense.  However, now is when the real work begins.  Most of them have a couple of weeks before the school year begins.  All of them will be interning for a year, some are self-directed, some are also working as  assistants. Along with the classroom portion of the year, they will all be writing their Montessori Manuals, attending weekend institute classes, writing rationales, journaling about their experience and hopefully falling in love with the Montessori Method of teaching.

Here's to you MTA class of 2011-2012--May your coming school year be a wonderful introduction into Montessori!

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Montessori Madness!

Observation

This week I am teaching Observation in the teacher training program.  While this will be most theory and different styles of observing I am always amazed at how the class goes. 

Course Description

This course will answer the question “What is Observation?” &“What is the role of the teacher?”.

Other areas to be discussed are normalization, interactions, what affects the atmosphere of the 

classroom,and how to manage observers in the room.  Also to be explored are the design and 

operation of a Montessori pre-primary classroom.   It will present useful ideas on scheduling and 

planning, preparing the environment and lesson strategies.

At the Completion of this Course the Student should be able to:

• Arrange the classroom areas, sequence the materials in a natural progression and order
• Develop an age appropriate curriculum, set goals, implement class plans, and develop seasonal subject themes
• Develop skill in making materials for all areas of the classroom
• Develop a technique of observation to recognize how the interactions in the classroom affect normalization
• Develop skills to evaluate, reflect and formulate in written form what we observe
• To internalize the social, emotional, physical, and academic development of a child to meet his/her individual needs
• Develop awareness of how outside influences will affect the atmosphere of a classroom

Leadership or Management

I'm teaching in the teacher training program tomorrow, five hours of Classroom Leadership.  The first couple of years I taught this course it was titled, "Classroom Management".  How to manage a room of 24-30 three through six year olds in a Montessori setting.  The name has evolved, the ideas behind it have not and I find myself still calling it Management.  I see it this way: the entire training course is a course on Montessori Classroom Leadership, but I am going to cover topics of management.  Covering topics about: scheduling, planning, discipline, communicating with parents, environmental design, conflict resolution, etc.

My texts are:
1.)  A Teacher's Bag of Tricks, Greg Nelson
2.)  Think of Something Quiet, Clare Cherry
3.)  Please Don't Sit on the Kids, Clare Cherry--recommended
4.)  Montessori in the Classroom, Paula Polk Lillard
5.)  Positive Disciple, Jane Nelson--recommended

Summer ?

Five more days of school (When I began writing this post--we finished up this morning).

Humphrey is thriving in her 3-6 class and Magoo is moving right along in toddlers at Montessori.  Does summer break really need to come and disrupt this great rhythm of life we have going?

Humphrey is a little sponge these days, trying to soak up any knowledge she can possibly wrap her little brain around.  Just this week she began the cubing chains, yesterday following an incredible temper tantrum before school, she working so diligently on the 4 chain that she didn't even want to take a break for snack.

 
She is extremely interested in age right now and is constantly asking others how old they are and then translating that into how many ten bars and units they are.  For example, "Mama is three ten bars and six units".

What this summer has in store for us...

• summer camp at school (while I work)  the themes for the summer are: dinosaurs, pirates, fun in the sun and Eric Carle.
• lots of swimming in the pool
• play dates at the park or in our pool
• U2 concert at MSU--the girls get to spend time with their cousins and grandparents that weekend
• the birth of another boy cousin...baby Matthew, Humphrey is tired of waiting.
• I have a new boss starting July 1 and The Montessori Teacher Academy to keep me busy.

Birthday #2

When Humphrey discovered that the Toddler Room at our school did not do a Birthday Celebration like the Early Childhood classes, she decided to have one at home for Magoo.  It kinda makes me laugh, she spent 2 years in the Toddler Class and only after experiencing her own Birthday Celebration did she realize that was her first one at school. 


When I walked into the living room the other day Humphrey and Magoo were each in a chair along with 2 naked baby dolls talking about Magoo's life. 
I mentioned that I have a copy of  On the Day You Were Born and Humphrey immediately requested we read it to Magoo.

A little while later Magoo helped make her birthday cupcakes, she loved pouring the ingredients and mixing them together.
                                                              

The big day finally arrived and we began the day with balloons and cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Our first of many renditions of Happy Birthday occurred at this time.

 After a morning at school, a long nap, and Papa's softball game in the evening we made it to unwrapping the present.  She unwraps just like her older sister...all bits of paper off the box before opening the box.

She got a tiny wiffle ball bat (lightweight) a regular mitt & ball so she can play with Humphrey, and a bike helmet. 

Overall a successful day.

Remembering

When touring potential families at our school I find it difficult to be concise in my delivery, especially when they have not researched "Montessori Education" and the philosophy behind it.  When individuals or couples come and have specific questions I am relieved and am able to address their particular needs as well as expand upon what they may know or are observing through the viewing windows.  I can talk Montessori all day long...remembering to hit the key points in order for parents to sign on the dotted line without overwhelming them is the tricky part.

I am currently reading: Montessori in Practice--Observations from a First-Generation Montessorian,  and am reminded of many key points that I am excited to share in staff development meetings, in the courses I teach in our teacher training program and with tours.

• Maria Montessori did not create a "method of education", she devised a way "to help the children help themselves".

• The Montessori approach is not a "cure", but rather a "prevention".

• Not specifically from this book, but the underlying principle is there.  The main goals for the children educated in the Montessori approach between the ages of 0-6 are: to be independent, to have confidence, to be able to concentrate, to display coordination and have a sense of order about them.  Academics are wonderful and a large part of the Montessori classroom, but not the direct goal.  When the children are shown respect, are given the chance to be individuals and develop the five main goals, the acquisition of academics occurs naturally.

As I continue to read and develop this pattern of thought I will add to this post.

Language Activities That Enrich Children’s Exploration

As you have most likely noticed in your son or daughter, young children love words.  The sensitive period for language development is strong throughout the birth to six year period.  The natural ability for children to absorb the totality of language is observed in the child’s correct use of grammar, syntax and vocabulary.  Children also have a tendency for exploration and the discovery of the unknown motivates them to strive for more information and knowledge.  Children explore with their senses as well as with language.  The interaction between sensorial exploration and language acquisition forms a strong foundation for intellectual growth.

           

The following activities require little preparation and are those that you can enjoy doing with your children.

Auditory Discrimination is very important for listening, following directions and preparation for reading.

· With eyes closed, the child listens and identifies various sounds in the environment, such as running water, feet crunching in the snow, egg beater, ringing bells, clapping, singing, knocking.  Ask questions about the sounds, such as level of loudness or softness.

· Matching sounds of such things as rhythm instruments; identifying those that are the same, different, louder or softer.

· Identifying beginning sounds of words by playing I Spy with my eyes something that starts with the sound of ‘c’ and child points or names ‘cup’.

Listening / Direction Games helps children remember and process auditory directions or instructions.  This skill is very essential for many academic lessons throughout the school years.

· Give the child a simple one or two step command such as open the cabinet and select a glass.  Before child moves, ask, “What are you going to do?”  When child finishes the task, ask, “What did you do?  What did you do first?  What did you do next?”

· Gradually add steps for practice with three or four steps as appropriate for the age of child.

· Tell a story by making a statement and asking questions to form the story.  For example, “Grandma is baking a cake”; “why is she baking a cake?”  Add the child’s answer to the story, “Grandma is baking a cake for my birthday.”  Other questions are “when did she bake the cake?” “How did she bake the cake” “where did she bake the cake?”  With each response add to the story to form a simple story.

· Describe a sequence of actions such as the process for brushing teeth, getting dressed, making a sandwich or similar actions that are familiar to the child.  Ask the child a series of questions about the order or sequence of events, such as “What did you do first when you made the sandwich?”  Continue asking the ‘next step’ in the process, helping the child describe the sequence of actions.

Reading and Telling Stories   Interactive story telling even when ‘reading’ the book helps the child focus on details, gain expressive language that adds to the meaning of the story, and encourages a love of reading and a foundation for reading comprehension skills.

· Identify the title, author and illustrator for each book.

· Spend time looking at the pictures and noticing details of expression, action and other clues that reveal something about the content or characteristics of the characters.

· Read the story with expression which helps the child understand the meaning of the story, sequence of events, cause and effect, and the personality of the characters.

· As often as possible ‘tell’ the story even if you don’t remember all the words in the sentence.  By telling, you can make eye contact with the child or watch expressions or reactions to the story.

· Talk about the story – point out relationships between the story and the pictures and discuss the story, particularly giving the child time to reflect and share ideas.

Naming, Matching and Grading  The skill for identifying similarities, differences, gradations and matching is a basic pre-reading skill.

· Memory-picture type games can be modified for different ages and improves memory and recognition of like identities.

· Use pictures of peoples of all ages to discuss emotions and gain the language for self-expression and needs.  Move beyond the basic sad and happy to such words as excited, concentrating, thoughtful, and contemplative.  Children easily grasp the meanings for emotional language when words and pictures are combined.

· Comparing size, shape, colors such as grading crayons by shades, grading silverware by size or finding shapes in common items, such as rectangles in doorways, cylinders in cans are means to focus attention on details and build analytical skills.

· Sense explorations – Make food tasting an adventure with small samples which compare sweet, sour, salty, bitter tastes.  Explore smells with teas, herbs, seasonings, fruits by using a blindfold and describing the smells.  Tactile explorations also offer opportunities to refine vocabulary in the use of adjectives to describe the experiences.

· Music and art explorations can be combined by playing different types of music and providing a variety of art media for creative self-expression based on the tone and rhythm of the music.

· Music and movement explorations are great opportunities for word games and simple action stories.  For example, “We are going on a bear hunt” with descriptions of actions and corresponding movements.

           

Any of these activities can be improvised and incorporated into many routines such as car travel, getting dressed, before meals and waiting in line.  Although many similar activities are presented in videos and on television, the interactions between the adult and child have a stronger impact on the child’s developing brain.  There is a personal and natural link between a child and an adult that stimulates the emotional and intellectual learning processes.  Young children, especially, gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of words and stories when watching the face and mouth of the adult.  Enjoy the discoveries of your son or daughter as you explore language.  It is through language that cultures, societies and families are united across the ages; it is through language that humans have always expanded knowledge and it is through language that emotional and personal bonds are formed between peoples.

Dirt is fun!

It seems that there is a lot of discussion about children and outdoor free play, getting children back into playing in the natural world and allowing them to simply get dirty.  I remember playing in a sandbox for hours on end and sometimes even flooding it with a hose in order to make it a constructions zone for Tonka trucks.  Have we made the world too sterile for our children, always ready with the hand sanitizer or wipes to keep them free of dirt or germs?  This spring Magoo has enjoyed digging with a spade in our huge pot that we use for tomato plants.  I knew that in order to prevent the plants from being dug up I needed to offer her an alternative for something dirty and messy to do outside.  We live on a very wooded lot, but that does not mean I want the girls to be digging holes all over the place.  After a discussion I had concerning Sensorial ideas for toddlers I happened to be in a store that had big tubs in with all of the summer stuff (Walmart). 

Transferring Dirt

Materials Needed:

 

2 Tubs ($4 each at Walmart, in a variety of colors)

Dirt or Potting Soil

Scoop, Spoon or Ladel

 

 

 

 

Strawberries for Snack

This afternoon Humphrey and Magoo took part in preparing their own snack.  I was washing off some strawberries and Humphrey brought her step stool over to see what I was doing; she then asked if she could remove the stems.  While I busied myself with unloading and loading the dishwasher, Humphrey hulled the entire container of strawberries.  After the last one, she leaned over to wash her hands and proclaimed herself done. 

Minutes later, Magoo climbed up to see what was going on and asked if she could slice them.  How could I argue, I had purchased this nifty little set from Amazon a couple of months ago and they like to use it every chance they get.  So...Magoo busied herself with slicing all of the strawberries, one at a time in our nifty strawberry slicer and removing each one into a serving dish. 



While it took most of an hour for the girls to prepare their late afternoon snack, they were able to prepare it themselves...perhaps they enjoyed this yummy spring treat a little more then when it is just sitting out waiting for them to come and eat--something to ponder.

Making a Masterpiece - Montessori Art

A couple weeks ago our school hosted a parent education night that incorporated a brief power point about the role of art in the Montessori early childhood classroom and then offered a time for parents to create or "Make a Masterpiece" alongside their child/ren.  Turnout was decent, it seem like attendance is always less than we anticipate.  Micheal Olaf graciously allows schools to share much of their printed information with parents and friends...

 

Art and Montessori

Art in Montessori does not mean coloring books or group projects imitating a model created by the adult. It is about true creativity, expression, joy, and it is connected with all other areas of study such as biology, history, music, math, and so on. The child's original work is the goal.

 

                        

Cinco de Mayo

Today was the big day...Humphrey had her first Montessori birthday celebration.  She was thrilled to have mama &  papa both there to witness her walk with the earth around the sun.  After her walk around the sun four times; she made a wish, blew out the candle (sun), we listened to On The Day You Were Born, by Debra Fraiser and and the class sang "Happy Birthday" by Tom Chapin.  She then gifted the class with the book Elmer, a book we picked out yesterday--we sat through that reading and class time was over.

 

Other fun things we did today...  

• Blueberry muffins with candles at breakfast 
• Birthday Balloons  
• Papa came home for lunch--panini's were the lunch of choice for this birthday girl 
• Super-yummy delicious Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake
• Nap time in a super-duper present -- sleeping bag

My 1st sleeping bag...I'm so excited!

Imagine a World Without Bottles

Earth Day 2011

Our Earth Day Activities included...    

1. Stopping by Starbucks for a free coffee on the way to school--free fills with a travel mug.

2. Driving to school we had considerable less stops because there was no other traffic, it's also Good Friday and we were the only school in town to have classes.  My husband saved on gas also--no work for him today.

3.  Earth day tattoos on Humphrey & Magoo's hands.

4.  Tissue paper earth craft.

5.  Remembering to get Magoo to the toilet, so we had less laundry to do & a diaper free nap. (The diaper free nap was due to her running out of cloth diapers at school, me not taking the diaper bag to school today, and her falling asleep on the way home from school).

6.  Noticing all of the new flowers and buds on the trees outside the window.

7.  Leftovers for lunch.

8.  Singing a song about recycling.

9. Discussing with Humphrey "why we recycle", seemed a better topic for the way to school than the death of Jesus--she's not yet 4.

10.  Magoo coloring her hands with markers rather than paper--way to be green (literally).  I think the whole plan was negated by the water she left running after washing her hands though.

--the day is not done--

HAPPY EARTH DAY

More Books

I picked up two more books about Montessori last week at the conference.  This morning I began reading:

This book is a great reference guide for parents looking for a preschool for young children or more specifically a Montessori preschool. There are  great guidelines for parents to look for when visiting schools and questions to ask. The explanations are thorough and easy to understand. The vignettes about children, teachers and families are superb. I would highly recommend this book!




The other book that I cannot wait to get started on is:

This book is "hot off the press"...I am eager to spend some time with it over spring break this week.

I hope you have the opportunity to spend some time reading more about Montessori also.

Normalization

What is Normalization?  It's a term we use in Montessori to describe a child or children that display the following characteristics while engaged in the classroom.

• profound concentration
• love of order
• love of work
• spontaneous self-discipline
• attachment to reality
• independence & initiative
• love of silence and being alone
• obedience
• pure joy (joyfulness)

It was fun to discover that Humphrey is Normalized in her classroom...when did that happen?

Tonging...the beginning stages

Magoo turned 22 months yesterday...not that I am keeping track, but yesterday was March 19 and that's an easy date to remember--can't get much closer to the exact 22 month mark unless I had written this yesterday.

While Humphrey was still napping today, I had the chance to observe Magoo with a beginning tonging work.


Materials Needed:

Tray
Bowl
6 pom poms
tongs
a second bowl or a tray with indentations (6) is what is show in the video and pictures.

.

AMS Conference

Next week Wednesday I am heading to Chicago for the AMS Annual Conference. I have two days with meetings prior to the meeting/conference proper begins. Last year, about this time, I submitted a proposal to present...and it got accepted. So, the long and short of it is that I am trying to finish up my powerpoint for my presentation. While the thought of talking for 90 minutes scares me to death, I know it will go quickly and this challenge is good for me.

My session is titled: Practical Life: Beyond Scooping, Spooning, and Pouring

Friday, March 25 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Presenter: Julie Gabrielse

Interest Group: Early Childhood

Looking for advanced Practical Life materials to reignite your older students’ interest? This workshop will begin with a refresher on the essential elements of quality Practical Life experiences and the characteristics—concentration, coordination, confidence, independence, and order—that they inspire. Then you’ll explore fresh ideas, including food preparation, tool bench, sewing, and environmental care activities, that will reinvigorate your approach to compelling Practical Life.

If you happen to have any great ideas that I can add last minute, I welcome the ideas.