Since it has been … necessary to give so much to the child, let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions…. All things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. The idea helps the mind of the child to become focused, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied having found the universal centre of himself with all things.
– Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential
Category: Montessori
Teaching Peace
Originally, the post I had planned for today was how to celebrate feasts and festivals without appropriating culture. That still may come. But I woke up this morning to the news of (yet another) mass shooting and, as a good friend of mine pointed out on Facebook, for the fifth time in my life saw headlines declaring it the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. And I wept.
Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and Montessori: Where Methods Meet
As I’ve been thinking about this “sweet spot” where Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia meet, I’ve been trying to pull out where exactly those intersectionalities occur. This is, undoubtedly, a partial list, but it’s what I am able to come up with in the noisy lobby of my kids’ arts school.
- The aesthetic. Let’s face it, this is the first thing people tend to notice about all three of these “lifestyles” (if there is such a thing). Natural materials, muted colors, an ethereal glow. Toys are often handmade with love and knowledge of the child and are imbued with meaning. Toys tend are beautiful, open-ended, and multi-purpose.
Intersection
I’m at an interesting point in my life right now. I am finding that there is this fascinating sweet spot where Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia all meet. I’m at the thinking stage, sorting it all out.
Montessori Apples
Last week’s internet outage means I’m playing catch up with posting the rest of last week’s apple posts today.
Apple week has been the perfect opportunity to keep apples out for a healthy snack– I meant for us to make crock pot applesauce as well, but sadly, that will have to be non-thematic and wait for another week– and also introduce the children to using the apple slicer. Daniel is in a public magnet Montessori school this year, and I am hoping that eventually the twins will be as well. I’ve always had a deep admiration for Maria Montessori and her work, and will be introducing the twins to some of her lessons when appropriate. This one was easy as pie.
Grace and Courtesy
We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. ~Maria Montessori
This year I have six children in three different schools. The oldest three are all at the local public arts magnet, one as a vocal major in the middle school, one as a vocal major in the high school, and one is a senior (!!!!) cellist in the instrumental department. The two youngest are at a local public charter school that has a strong arts focus. While I am not crazy about charter schools, I also struggled because our local neighborhood school has become progressively more and more focused on state testing and punitive discipline than actual education. I was happy to have the twins out of it, but was worried because Daniel had two more years there.
