Beautiful Sun Montessori

if you are not having fun, you must be doing something wrong.

2011-12-06T15:43:00.005-05:00

"Even more important than the warmth and affection we receive, is the warmth and affection we give. It is by giving warmth and affection, by having a genuine sense of concern for others, in other words through compassion, that we gain the conditions for genuine happiness. More important than being loved, therefore, is to love."

Dalai Lama

Simplified.

2011-11-30T06:11:00.000-05:00

Reading Classification

2011-11-20T11:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I was reviewing my language album and classroom materials. When I got to my reading classification card sets I noticed that over the years my sets have become tattered, incomplete, and many of them are of different sizes and made on different templates. How nice to have a uniform set of at least the basic cards! What a luxury to have them all complete, laminated, and in pouches in good condition!

So my project this weekend has been to do just that. I've made the following sets so far and you are welcome to download them (for free) here:

Fruit- mainly fruits we eat at school
Body Parts -very difficult to find appropriate pictures on the web of body parts such as chest, torso, and to NOT get photos of diseased body parts... funny that I found myself using search terms like "healthy human head"
Transportation
Geometric Solids
Flowers- these are typical flowers found both indoors and outdoors in Aruba, so they might not be useful for people living in other countries
Classroom Furniture

Enjoy! I know I will!

This is your life.

2011-11-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I decided that I can enjoy my work even on the craziest of days.

School lunch.

2011-10-22T10:31:00.007-04:00

When I first envisioned our school, one of the aspects that gave me feelings of most happy anticipation was the idea of school made lunches. Our first year, when we had 12 children, I would make lunch every day with 3 different children. Now that our school has grown, we have an assistant who works specifically in the kitchen and in the garden with the children.

We rotate our three lunch chefs every week, and at 10:15 every morning, they wash their hands and head into the kitchen. We've arranged it so that every week one five year old, a four year old, and a three year old work together. This way, the oldest child has the most opportunity to help the others.

They first set the tables with tablecloths, plates, forks and spoons, cups, and then set up the dish washing station. Then they put on their aprons and help make lunch. Their tasks are given depending on their level of skill- cutting, peeling, grating, washing, tearing, spreading, measuring, taking out refuse to the compost bins, sticking fruit cores on the tree for the lizards and birds. What I love about the kitchen work is that it is real life practical life work.

My dream would be to have a community supported agriculture system to get our produce from, but living on a dry and windy island makes that kind of implausible. Our menu incorporates lots of fresh vegetables and fruit for dessert every day, and we try to vary it from week to week and include input from our parent community which includes a lot of international families.

Chop wood and carry water.

2011-10-21T16:50:00.007-04:00

I got my hands on this wonderful article by Angeline Lillard comparing Montessori education to mindfulness. It is my favorite Montessori research paper that I've read in a long time!

http://www.montessori-science.org/Lillard_mindfulness_in_education_montessori_approach.pdf

Living in the present.

2011-10-19T16:21:00.001-04:00

One of the things that I am grateful for in my work with children is that children keep me in the present moment.

The greatest gift.

2011-10-17T20:47:00.002-04:00

"If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself.
If you want to eliminate all the suffering in the world,
then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.
Truly the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self transformation."

Lao Tzu

Children teaching children.

2011-10-14T19:02:00.004-04:00

Here is one of our five year olds leading a game of "sound bingo". I love how she caters to both the level of skill of the different children and to their energy level. That little high five is priceless!

Loving it.

2011-10-12T15:30:00.003-04:00

We live in the world when we love it. ~Rabindranath Tagore

Conscious Discipline

2011-10-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

Living on a rock in the middle of the ocean, it's a rare opportunity to find something that speaks to me personally and at the same time is functional in my work as a Montessori educator. A few years ago I attended a parent education session on a method of classroom management called Conscious Discipline and I was delighted to find that it melded perfectly with Dr. Montessori's vision of the prepared environment. I've written about it on this blog before, but wanted to share some of the great stuff that was shared during the seminar this week.

It is especially useful in these initial months of school when much of the work with new children involves developing a connection with them, and among them.

From a 2 day Conscious Discipline seminar with Jill Molli:

"Discipline is not something you do to children, it is something that develops within them."

"Fear based discipline techniques don't work because they don't teach children the skills they are lacking. They simply damage your relationship with them."

"Our thoughts and beliefs influence our feelings and behavior. What you believe about a child influences your feelings and actions towards them. They listen to the message you give them. If you choose to see a child in a negative light, you give them no option but to follow. In order for a child to change, we have to see the child differently first."

"Eye contact, touch, presence, in a playful manner are necessary to build a connection with a child. Cooperation from them is not possible without there first being a connection."

"Shift from controlling others to connecting with others."

"The brain functions best when we feel safe."

"The way that you talk to yourself is the way that you will talk with the children in your care."

"Stop and honor kindness."

"The way we talk to our children TODAY is the way they will talk to themselves in 30 years."

"It is important to teach children how to handle disappointment and failure."

Be gentle.

2011-09-25T20:44:00.004-04:00

From our Peace Day celebration:

Peace Day Plans

2011-09-20T15:07:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow, to celebrate Peace Day, we will have some special things planned.

On Monday, we sent to parents a package with instructions for how to fold a paper crane a white square paper and a small slip. We asked them to fold the crane at home, hopefully with their child, and decide on a message to write on the slip of paper that is appropriate to Peace Day, then to string the crane and slip together with a needle and thread. Tomorrow morning, as the children get dropped off at school, the parents will hang their homemade cranes along the entrance to the building. I can't wait to see how beautiful our tree lined entrance will look with all the white cranes and positive messages.

When the moment is right, we will gather the children to play a modified version of the Osani Circle Game (pictured above) that a friend emailed me from this website. Our variation will be for the children to pick a friend to sit next to as we "build the circle with our feet touching" and then we will pass a ball of yarn from person to person and talk about how we are all connected.

And if the mood is right, at the end of the day we will offer for children who want to sit in silence together with the sand clock to stay a little longer, "because silence is peaceful."

Do you have any plans for Peace Day? Share in the comments section if you like!

Saturday morning music.

2011-09-17T08:44:00.003-04:00

People from all across the world playing one song together.

The circle is complete.

2011-09-10T15:06:00.002-04:00

This week we had our whole group and staff together for the first time since the new year began. I felt that this was an important even to honour. We all sat in a large circle and lit our special "birthday candle". I told the children that I'd like the light of the candle to travel around the whole circle, passing in front of every member of our community, until the lit candle got back to me.

I was prepared for our group to not succeed in passing the candle around the whole circle on the first try. I was thinking of the children for whom it would be a challenge NOT to blow it out, or who would have trouble passing it to the next person. But the moment was solemn enough that the candle made it all the way around, passed from little hand to little hand.

The children cheered when it made it to the end, and I heard one of the children spontaneously break out into our community song. Someone suggested we sing our "School Family" song:

(to the tune of "You are My Sunshine"- borrowed from this website)

You are my family
my school family
I feel happy
when you are here

You'll never know friends
how much I love you
When you are gone
I'll keep you here (hand on heart)

At the end I invited the oldest child to pick someone to snuff out the candle. Without hesitation, he walked to the child that had been missing for a week because of a broken arm, and gave him the candle snuffer.

To my delight, our assistant captured this lovely moment in video!

We are always looking for new community building activities or rituals- if you have any favorites, please share in the comments!

Cultural Exchange Box Project

2011-09-04T21:32:00.003-04:00

A teacher recently wrote to me from Chicago and asked if we'd be interested in setting up pen pals with the children at our schools. I've tried that in the past, and because our mail system is so slow and somewhat unreliable with small letters, the children have become quickly discouraged. Not wanting to dismiss this great opportunity I came up with a project that is making me giddy with excitement.

We have 6 eldest children in our school this year (5-6 year olds). Each of them is going to put together a box of items to represent our small Island and school. They will each write a letter, draw a picture, include a class photo and some typical food items, make a flag, and include one souvenir, and perhaps include a recording of what the native language (Papiamento) sounds like.

My big idea is that each of them will exchange their box with a school in a different continent. I have found schools who want to participate from North America (in Chicago), Asia (China), and Europe (Norway). But am still reaching out to anyone interested in exchanging with us from Africa, Oceania, or South America. Is there a teacher out there who would like to sign up for this with us?

Let me know!

The excitement of receiving these boxes from around the world will be such a special occasion for us, and a great way to reach out across the world from our small Island.

Community building, first weeks of school.

2011-08-20T17:55:00.010-04:00

Starting the year, one of my main focuses is to build the sense of community among the children. We begin the first week with only the new children coming in for half a day. This gives us the opportunity to build trust with them, and give them a gentle introduction to the general grace and courtesy of our environment. When the returning children join us, the new children have had enough lessons to be able to work independently along with the others. As much as possible throughout the day, we redirect the children to reach out to each other when they need help or a partner.

We introduce all the children to each other by playing name games and singing songs that include their names. And in the first days, we put together a "School Family" poster. We hung it this year under our school name right at the entrance of the building where children can visit it often. We include the teachers and maintenance staff (of one).

We also put up a long poster with pictures of our daily schedule. This is especially important for the new friends to have an idea of how our day goes. When they get a little homesick, we go to the schedule and can show them exactly when their parents are coming to pick them up. I try to include things that will serve as markers throughout the day, for example, somewhere during the three hours of work ("morning work") there will be writing, so I include this aspect. As well as story reading during the afternoon work period.

The calendar serves the same purpose. We write in it anything that will represent a schedule change- for example, when the returning children will join us. When full days will begin, when a returning child who is coming back late will be with us, etc.

This year we made a chart with the groups of children that will go into the kitchen to make lunch and set the tables. Last year we would let the children volunteer each week, but I think that having it on a schedule will work better. This way the children can already foresee when it will be their turn to cook.

During our first days we also have a "helping hands ceremony" (there's another post about this earlier in the blog). This year, the children picked a new friend to give their helping hand pin to and promised "I'll give you my helping hand." This sets a lovely tone of cooperation among the children right at the fresh start of the year.

We have a large blank wall in our lunch room and decided it was a great place to diplay children's work. We hung two lengths of twine from one side to the other and use clothes pins to hang the children's works. For the first weeks we will hang the children's self portraits that they made in the first days. Having all the portraits hanging is another way to reinforce the idea of us all together being a community. Also, it's nice to have them in the lunch room where we can admire them while we eat and converse during lunch.

Year #4, I can't believe it.

2011-08-20T17:40:00.008-04:00

Because we finished our third year of school, our first complete cycle, I decided this vacation to invest a good chunk of money and time into our building. To give it a breath of fresh life for the next 3 years. We spent some weeks this summer repainting the entire inside of the school, had the outside of the school painted, and renovated our porch by closing it in and making it part of our classroom. The changes have really made it feel like a new place.

I was nervous that closing off the porch was a big mistake and would rouine the flow of the classroom, but instead has given us a fourth more of beautiful classroom space to work with. Plus, it has made our lunch room 100% independent of our classroom.

It's amazing what a coat of fresh paint will do to a room. We repainted our kitchen a much lighter shade of green and it has made it feel much more spacious and cooler. I'm in love with our kitchen.

Because of our structural changes, we moved the snack table to the middle of the classroom. In it's more central location, it gets noticed so often and all the practical life hovers around it. It's awesome. Children sweep spontaneously, wash the table, mop around it and generally keep it much neater than when it was in a far corner of our room.

Pale Blue Dot

2011-07-07T23:29:00.002-04:00

I love the idea that we can be everything and nothing at the same time, and that the infinitely large and the infinitely small are practically the same.

Passing the torch.

2011-06-16T19:44:00.004-04:00

Today was our last day of school and our "moving on" ceremony. The plan for it evolved over some weeks of going back and forth on ideas and it ended up being simple, significant, and beautiful. I am so pleased with how it went, and was able to enjoy ever minute of it.

Our ceremony began with the oldest children sitting on one side of the line, and the second years sitting on the other side. Parents and first years sat in the space remaining, and anywhere else they could fit on our school porch. (I've been reading about tea ceremonies, and liked the idea of humility- the honored children sitting in chairs, and everyone else on the floor). I explained how the line is an exercise for mastering gross motor control, and that the oldest children would demonstrate their mastery by walking around it with a lit candle (Aruban trade winds permitting).

One at a time, each child walked on the line with a candle and then presented the candle to a second year child. This represented a passing of the torch. The second years, in turn, had made "garden necklaces" (a material in our class for choosing to be out in the garden) and gave one to each of the oldest children. This represented how the old children will now be "outside".

It was lovely to see the children walking solemnly with their little candle flames flickering. The sharing of the candle and necklace gifts was very sweet.

After reading them a short letter with advice for the future (1)be kind 2)take care of plants and animals...) , we all went to our lunch room to watch the graduation video (see posts below).

All this ended with a picnic in our yard. It was a perfect morning. Complete. I think this will be our standard ceremony for future years.

The master in the art of living

2011-06-10T11:06:00.001-04:00

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.”

James A. Michner

Our graduation slide show

2011-06-05T10:25:00.002-04:00

I used open source "Open Shot" to make this slide show. It was really easy to learn how to use, and very fun to make. And free.

Discovery: lap harp.

2011-06-01T16:23:00.003-04:00

This weekend I was at a friend's house and on a shelf she had a rusty old looking dulcimerish type of instrument that had been given to her by her Russian grandfather. A trapezoidal box with 18 strings that looked fairly complicated. When I was little, we used to accompany my mom's piano playing with an auto harp (which is the instrument that June Carter Cash played, I think) and even with our amateurish playing it sounded beautiful. So I was intrigued.

I asked my friend about the thing, and THEN... she showed me how the music score (sheet?) fits in just so under the strings, and it shows you exactly where you have to pluck the strings with a pick to make the music. So easy! Even in it's rusted state, it garnered my applause when she played.

Immediately I thought, this would be a GREAT addition to a Primary music shelf. How to ask her for her family heirloom?! Of course, I didn't ask. But went home and researched and sure enough, there was the lap harp. For sale kind of anywhere (meaning, on Amazon.) And coincidentally later that night, when looking through the Montessori Services catalog, there it was again. Why I failed to notice it before? The exact same one, at a better price than the other places (meaning Amazon), and extra sheets of music also at a better price.

So I ordered one. And I am the person sitting at the desk impatiently tapping my fingers waiting for it to arrive. I can already picture the very musical five year olds playing songs on it. The addition of a string instrument to our percussion and bells and xylophone orchestra will be very very exciting.

I will update on the results.

What is good.

2011-06-01T16:03:00.004-04:00

Point three on the "10 Commandments of Montessori" is as follows:

"3. Concentrate on strengthening and helping the development of what is good in the child so that its presence may leave less and less space for the bad."

There is so much wisdom in this one sentence.

I think about the individual child who struggles. Stopping to celebrate the small progresses, no matter how small. Encouragement. Tirelessness. Patience. And much hope.

Today I was thinking about this in collective terms instead of the individual child. The development of what is good in the group... It was interesting to ponder, "What are the strengths of our group?" "How can I make them aware of and help them develop them?"

And then on to how I treat myself and my shortcomings and errors. Can I focus on the good in myself to leave less and less space for the bad?

Gentleness

2011-05-17T19:10:00.001-04:00

"Non-violence is a very deep philosophy. Not only does it require me to harm no one physically, but also to avoid harming anyone's self-respect. Such an ethic requires tremendous awareness and sensitivity. When I have learned to be gentle with myself, I can be the same with others."

"Believe in the child."

2011-05-01T13:02:00.006-04:00

We are getting to the end of our Spring Break and preparing for the last seven weeks of school. At this point, I reflect on the journey we've had this year at school and on the individual progress each child has made since August. During the break, I meditated on each child, especially on those with who for some reason or another this year I had moments of disconnect. Instead of leaving this work for the end of the school year, I thought it might be fruitful to stop now and acknowledge each child in my mind while there are still some weeks left in the school year.

Recently, our Conscious Discipline teacher, Helen, visited me at school and we discussed the subject of "positive intent." It is one of the pillars of the CD program, and basically means that if we dedicate ourselves to seeing the best in others, and in cultivating a vision of the child's best self, it is possible that they may see it too. We both agreed that it is a challenging but crucial part of our work as teachers to foster the best mental image of a child as we can. Children are developing their self image based on the messages they are receiving from the world around them. I'd like my message to be one of genuine encouragement, even at my worst moments.

Perhaps this was instigated by reading "The Creative Development in the Child" chapters 26-29 where Montessori discourses at length on children's possible deviations and gives examples of what they look like in the classroom: "a child who is disorderly in movement", "who is very noisy", "speaks in a very loud voice",""putting the Buttoning Frame around his neck", "runs from one side of the room to another jumping over the Long Rods" familiar to anyone?

Contemplating each child in a beneficial way and giving myself the same treatment as well, it was reassuring to read:

"How long does this correction [normalization] take? It all depends upon the child. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes a month, sometimes even a year."

There is still plenty of time.

"She must believe in the child, she must understand that the child loves to work. She must have in front of her eyes, the impressive picture of a child who when left free to concentrate on work, gives every atom of energy to the task upon which he concentrates."

("Creative Develpment in the Child, chapter 29)

Happy Moments Journal

2011-04-07T16:33:00.002-04:00

Because I've caught myself focusing a little intensely on some negative aspects of the day at school, I've decided to help train myself. Today I started a happy moments journal, where at the end of each day of school, before I go home I will write at least 3 moments where I felt deeply happy or where I noticed something wonderful. And these are the things I will put into my pocket and take home to reflect on at the end of the work day. (I can see myself in the classroom next week, when one of those moments happens, giving it a bit more importance simply by thinking to myself "Ah, this is worthy of writing in the book at the end of the day.")

The clumsiness of power spoils the key, and uses the pickaxe. - Tagore

2011-04-05T17:11:00.003-04:00

How often it's happened that I go to a child, and am so excited to show them something, and when I offer the lesson and the child says "No." Worse yet, he recoils and makes a disgusted face when I kneel down to touch the material that I'm going to present. And inside of me there is a slight panic that says "You're not supposed to be rejecting this- it has been scientifically designed for you to like it!" And I have a split moment where I decide if I'm going to overrule the child ("YOU WILL SWALLOW THIS MEDICINE! IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!") or smile mildly (sometimes it hurts) and say "That's ok. We'll do it at another time." It happens to me. Still. After years in the classroom, that I still wage an internal battle at certain moments when this situation comes up.

I picked up "Creative Development in the Child" and there was a passage that addressed this exactly. And it's not wishywashy about it at all.

"It is necessary that we obtain the deep felt consent of the child before doing the exercise. [] When these exercises are not done of the child's own will, they have no success, and are of no use. So the teacher must not only prepare the material but also suceed in establishing this contact. Without this spiritual contact, without the spiritual assent of the child and his eager collaboration, these exercises have no value at all. "

"The teacher may be prejudiced. She may say- What? Must I teach only what the children consent to? Where is my authority, and my dignity? We must understand however, that we can use our authority in many ways, but no one will force a child to do an exercise which he does not choose. Force will only awaken the disgust of the child towards the means of education given to him. By authority, which forces the child who is helpless, to do something we wish him to do because we are powerful, we put out a vital flame of light in the soul of the child. It then becomes impossible to make the child do these delicate exercises."

"A good teacher therefore is one who succeeds in opening the roads to furnish the child with the means he seeks, who can call down the spirit of the child. "

(Maria Montessori, Creative Development in the Child, pg 152-153)

I know that the result when I push the child is most likely going to be negative- usually the child will not repeat the lesson. Give up halfway. And usually lose interest. That's a steep price to pay. But I admit I sometimes wield the pickaxe.

It's good to be reminded why it has to go into the storage. For good.

Parent Participation

2011-03-02T15:58:00.003-05:00

Every year, we schedule 3 parent conferences (30 minutes during the pickup time in the afternoon in Nov., Feb., May) and 3 observations (30 minutes during the morning after dropping the children off). All sessions are made optional, but last year I noticed a waning in the number of parents who signed up for observation in the middle session.

Since parents often, perhaps I imagined this, ask me if and when they can come in to work or interact with the children, I decided to change the second session of observation/conference into a participation/conference. For the last 30 minutes of the day for a month, any parent who wants to come in and give a lesson, read a book, teach a song, cook, demonstrate something is invited to.

We had a huge turnout for the participation and it's been really interesting seeing the types of lessons parents have come up with. We've had fly fishing demonstrations, group painting, craft works, book reading, a presentation about Togo... It's nice as well to give the children an opportunity to get to know the parents a bit better and they are enjoying it!

I'm thinking this will be a permanent change in our calendar because it's a great way to improve community spirit, a learning opportunity for both children and adults, and it's actually been great fun.

Mirror Neurons and Empathy

2011-02-28T22:04:00.004-05:00

I love the idea of Homo Empathicus from this video. In my A to I training the most fundamental idea that struck me was that humans are hard wired to WANT to socialise, we are social animals, we learn not just by doing but by socializing and observing each other. A major emphasis on our work must be not just on the transfer of the ideas and knowledge/information, but on the RELATIONSHIPS among the children, among the families, the staff. The parts about mirror neurons are a great reminder of our role as primary models of behavior in the classroom.

Since watching this, I have tried to be much more self aware of my expression while I'm at school. What my face is communicating when, for example, I come into a conflict situation between two children or a hurt child can already affect the situation considerably.

Less is more.

2011-02-23T14:42:00.005-05:00

I had been experimenting with dramatic reductions in the amount of materials available to the children for the last month. Then, at the AMI refresher course this weekend, the presenter, Annette Haines, said something that really struck me:

"Repetition comes naturally IF the environment is limited enough."

We have a large group of new children this year, all very young three year olds and although it's February, I had been leaning on a lot of transitional materials that I still felt these new children needed to sustain a 3 hour work period. Of course, as it happens with transitional materials (Legos, puzzles, etc.) the older children also end up working with them instead of with other materials. A few weeks ago I decided to just "see what happens" and took away all of the transitional materials, including some of the art works that are ALWAYS out. Not necessarily because I have anything against these materials (ie. clay, crayons, blocks) I still feel that they do have a place in the classroom and are educational, but what would happen without these staples?

I saw someone choose the red rods for the first time in AGES. That was one thing that happened. Explorations with the pink tower and brown stair deepened as children began to work with them more freely (the kind of exploration they had been doing with blocks.) A return to practical life happened when there were none of the automatic "go to" materials on the art shelf. And yes, aside from all these very positive occurrences, there was a slight fluctuation in amount of works out during the day (it took some children time to wander to rediscover the materials on other shelves that they had forgotten were there.)

I had thought that the refresher course was going to end up being a reminder of how all the Montessori materials are woven together into a perfect web of indirect preparations and interconnectivity. I guess what I wanted was the lecture that my trainer at MINW gave us in our last session of training, which inspired me to trust in the value of each material as part of an inter related whole that is the Montessori classroom, without needing to rely on additives.

Yesterday I returned to my classroom feeling strongly about the outcome of the past week's experiments. Feeling more emboldened in the pruning of the shelves, instead of the ever adding-on. Reaching out and not feeling a limit to the depth that the materials presented to me so many years ago have to offer. I am welcoming the mystery of all I have yet to learn about what is right in front of me.

Open

2011-02-02T19:03:00.001-05:00

"Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable,
unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual."

Nisargadatta

The circle is complete.

2011-01-14T14:58:00.001-05:00

This is the one and only

firmament; therefore

it is the absolute world.

There is no other world.

The circle is complete.

I am living in Eternity.

The ways of this world

are the ways of Heaven.

Allen Ginsberg

(Keri put this on her Facebook today, and it made so much sense to spread it. )

One day I'm going to whistle?

2011-01-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

The Real Work

2011-01-03T17:45:00.001-05:00


by Wendell Berry

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Observation and Record Keeping

2010-12-28T12:39:00.007-05:00

(Jessica with observation clipboard, after helping the child will write down what the child had difficulty with.)

I am very pleased so far this year with the observation format and record keeping that Jessica and I have been using. Part of it was passed along at the AMI Refresher Course last year by Molly O'Shaughnessy and modified somewhat for our classroom. I have needed quite a bit of help in the organizational department to keep a solid record of daily/weekly observations and after many years in the classroom, feel more confident than I ever have with our record keeping system.

My trainer Ginni said different things work for different people, and then described in a little detail her method of using index cards and recipe boxes to keep track of what was happening in her room. I've tried different approaches during the year, but feel most comfortable with what we're using now.

For daily observations, we have form that we put on a clip board that we keep with us in the classroom during the day. On it I write the works I see used with deep concentration, general works chosen, issues, moments of distraction, lessons given and possible lessons for the future. This is what it looks like.

Once a week or so, we also chart the work flow of the group during the 3 hours of uninterrupted work. This gives us a general idea of how the days are developing, and at what time we should be ready to give small or whole group lessons. The work flow chart is can also be found in the book The Absorbent Mind.

On the clipboard also goes a sheet of possible individual and group lessons, taken from a master work plan that I keep in a bound book. I refresh this sheet about every two weeks adding to it as the weeks progress. I use it as a reminder of what possible lessons to give children who are free or need help making choices during the day. (this is what it looks like: weekly lessons form) At the end of the week, I track the lessons given to each child in the book, and this serves as my master individual work record.

At the end of the week, I meet with Jessica and go over our observations sheets of that week. I used to file these observation sheets, but more recently I admitted to myself that I NEVER refer to them again and that I needed a more structured weekly summary to help me with lesson planning and general history of the work going on. So I made up a weekly summary sheet where we are filling in the most useful bits of information filed in a binder that I feel will be useful also for future reference. This is what it looks like.

In the end, what I keep as permanent record are the master individual and group lessons book, the weekly summaries, and the work flow charts. It sounds like a lot of bureaucracy but in the end, I do feel like I have a grip on what's happened, and a useful tool for preparing for the future.

I'd love one day to find and learn to use a digital record keeping device that could magically spit out a paper that details the work each child has done that week, and the lessons they've received and mastered with exact dates, and even suggest the lessons for the next weeks but until that magical Montessori app is developed and made free (heck, I'd even pay for it!) I will settle on my old fashioned whole bunch of semi organized papers.

Jamming- Child made holiday gifts for parents

2010-12-12T11:46:00.010-05:00

This year, we made placemats and orange jam for holiday gifts from the children to the parents. It took several days to make them, but they were well worth the effort.

For the placemat, the children drew a picture of their family and colored it on one side, and on the other side, the children's handprints in paint. Then I ran the cardstock through the cold laminator and rounded the edges with scissors.

The orange jam is marmalade, technically. We had orange grating available as a work in the classroom for several days and I showed it to four and five year olds.

Then eventually we peeled the grated oranges as a group, sectioned them, and removed seeds.

And then the cooking part was made with mostly teacher assistance. Children could do all the measuring though.

We collected jars for putting the jam in and the children decorated their own labels.

I super recommend this easy and yummy gift for the holidays. In the future, I think we'll give a small loaf of child made bread to go with the jam.

Recipe (tripled for 22 jars):

2lb Oranges/Rind
4lb Sugar
2 pints water/collected orange juice
2 lemons

Wash the oranges thoroughly.

Grate the peel off of as many as you can.

Peel off the remaining white parts, remove seeds, section by hand (keep all the juice).

Squeeze two lemons worth of juice.

In a very large pot, cook the oranges, juice, and water for about 40 minutes- rolling boil (we cooked it for about 1 hour because it was 3x the recipe).

Add the sugar and boil again for about 30 minutes. (If you don't trust the setting or the jam, add a few boxes of gelatin- I did.).

Let it stand for about 15 minutes and the ladle into very clean jars.

Butterflies and Moths

2010-11-15T19:01:00.004-05:00

(Caterpillar observation station, plus coloring moth life cycle)

You have to be flexible like that and work with what comes. We had planned to focus for some weeks on conservation and had a trip to the recycling facility scheduled, and a beach cleanup, but in the middle of it, one of the children brought two ENORMOUS moth caterpillars and that was that... the children were consumed with interest in the moth life cycle. It was prime time to study insects.

We have collected a few more butterfly caterpillars and begun a "unit" on butterflies and moths. This is how it's developing:

*Identification of local butterflies and moths (with classification cards)
*Identification of caterpillars (classification cards)
*Identification of pupae (classification cards)
*Matching of caterpillars and host plants (with live samples of the leaves when we can find them)

*Life cycle of the moth/butterfly (true story and in our observation station with live caterpillars)
*Parts of a butterfly/moth (with a labeled chart and coloring booklets)
*Differences and similarities between moths and butterflies (comparing two pictures)
*Sorting butterflies vs. moths (with mixed classification cards)

*Planting a simple butterfly garden at school (I've been collecting seeds of local butterfly host plants, and small flowering plants for nectar)

*Field trip: visit to the Butterfly Farm

We are lucky enough to have a lovely Butterfly Farm on our small rock in the middle of the ocean to bring to life all of the identification preparation we will be doing in the next days. And because two years ago we visited the butterfly farm, our third year children are ready for new classification cards (hence the pupae and caterpillar cards). I am as excited to learn about these insects, plant our butterfly garden, and visit the farm as any of the children are!

For You:
If you'd like to print our butterfly/pupa/caterpillar cards you are welcome to! Find them HERE. They are related specifically to the species we encounter locally, and the ones we will see at the Butterfly Farm.

From The Happiness Project

2010-11-02T21:08:00.001-04:00

Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness?
There are three happiness killers - doing work you do not love and are not passionate about, surrounding yourself with people who you do not really like (someone who just fills time), and living somewhere that does not let you be you. Just stop it. Life is far too short. Also, materialism. We know that experiences matter so much more to happiness than material goods, stop the madness. That's why your place, community or neighborhood is so important - it is not just where you live. It is the center-piece or should I say center-place of your experiences.

Do you work on being happier? If so, how?
Yes, each day, every day. Someone once asked me, "What is my perfect day?" Every day I try to have one.

(I copied this off of Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project blog a while ago and found it in my notes. Unfortunately I didn't copy who was asking and who was answering the questions. In any case, the words plain work for me.)

Parent Conferences

2010-11-02T20:44:00.003-04:00

At our school we have parent conferences three times a year. It is not obligatory for all parents to sign up, so we send out a sign up schedule for observation times in the morning, and conference times right after school and parents pick whether or not to come for one or both. Usually I have about 75% of parents sign up for conferences, and 50% sign up for observations. If I have any child that is really struggling with something, I usually make sure that parent finds a time for conference.

As much as conferences represent extra effort and time in my part both during school hours and after work, they are well worth it in terms of the impact they have on the smooth running of the school. A thirty minute session (or more if necessary) to address any concerns, to give suggestions for the home, to ask for suggestions for school, and to highlight the child's strengths works wonders on both the parent/school relationship and ultimately influences the child in the classroom. The way I see it, conferences are an investment that can make my work in the classroom a lot easier (by helping the parent work WITH me).

The way that I structure conferences in general is the following:

1) Invite the parents to talk about their impressions of their observation. Clear up any questions or concerns. I usually offer a clip board with written observation guidelines and suggestions that really helps direct the parents attention while they observe. This keeps their hands off of their cel phones (believe it or not), and usually helps translate what they are seeing.

2) Ask parents if there is any subject in particular, or aspect that they'd like to focus on during the conference. Address it if they have one.

3) Go over the conference notes. These are usually a two page written "report" that highlights the child's development as follows:

General development comments (this is where I talk about sensitive periods, transition times in development, etc.)
Motor development (both gross and fine)
Practical life (including bathroom, nutrition, clothing issues)
Sensory development
Language development (spoken, reading, writing)
Math work
Social Development
Independence

As I go over each topic, I try to suggest ways in which they can parallel what we do at school in the home. If the child is having difficulty in any area, I ask a lot of questions about if they see the same thing at home and if so what their response is to it.

My goal is to make the conference feel as much as possible like a conversation instead of it feeling like an evaluation in any way. I like to notice the all the areas of progress that I see, especially if there has been prior difficulties with the child. I like to think that when parents leave the conference, they feel proud and inspired about their child (at best) and that they have new ideas to work with at home (at the least).

In the end.

2010-10-28T21:30:00.002-04:00

I read this on a shirt somewhere:

Everything works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.

Choices.

2010-10-25T20:12:00.003-04:00

"Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Forgive everyone for everything."

It has been an introspective time, and the quote above sums it well for me. Pondering roads not taken is like comparing my life to other people's- who knows what the troubles would have been then? I am working on forgiving myself for everything I chose, and didn't choose. There is a difficult acceptance that when we choose one thing, we are not choosing another (sometimes I mourn the loss of a road not taken). I run into the inescapable fact that choices come loaded with consequences (there is a price). I'd like to meet my life deciding in full awareness and with full acceptance of what I have chosen.

Appropriately timed, in the last Conscious Discipline session we touched on the subject of choices- it was my favorite session to date. Choice being the realization that we are responsible for our own situation. Or at the very least, for our reactions to our own situation. Like Dr. Viktor Frankl puts it:

‎"The last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

As regards to working with children, I have to remember that choice is an internal power. The only person that I can change is myself. The choice I have is to decide how I will respond to the moments of the day. (I have been asking myself at different moments of the day, "What is the quality of this moment?" and touching base on my feelings and interpretations.)

I can create the conditions for a child to learn and thrive, but I cannot do the learning for the child. He must ultimately make the choices. Creating the conditions means preparing the environment for children to make the choices that we'd like to see them making: through materials we offer, the structure in the environment, encouragement, and modeling.

These thoughts are a comfort when I am confronted with a child who has made a not so good choice. I am not responsible for his choices, but I can help him realize the consequences (the price) and responsibility that his choice carried. I can also find a way to adapt the environment to his needs to help him make a better choice in the future.

Making choices takes effort and carries a great responsibility- it is easy sometimes to lose sight of our own power and just let life happen at us. But I think about the children in the classroom, and how sometimes the four year olds get lost and all of a sudden lose the power to decide and come to me for help, "Help me choose a work".

During the CD session, I celebrated our Montessori environment privately among the group of teachers and felt so fortunate that in our environment choice is built in naturally. Children generate will power and self worth every day when they come in and take the responsibility for their own education. I think of Montessori's idea of internal obedience, it is the ultimate product of conscious choice making.

A perfect film

2010-10-16T07:29:00.001-04:00

"A few times in my life I've had moments of absolute clarity, when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem so sharp and the world seems so fresh. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. I have lived my life on these moments. They pull me back to the present, and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be."

A Simple Man

Peace Week and Independent Conflict Resolution

2010-09-25T10:34:00.005-04:00

This past Tuesday we celebrated International Peace Day. We marked it on our calendar in advance, and when the day came, we had a large group lesson on peace. I made a small book with about the meaning of peace to read to the children and to talk about. The pictures and words were to make a very abstract concept, such as peace, more tangible and relative to the children and to school life.

Here is what I wrote in the book:

Peace is solving problems with words.
Peace is taking care of everyone in our community.
Peace is playing together and helping each other in the game.
Peace is wishing well for others.
Peace is letting others have a turn.
Peace is helping others understand.
Peace is waiting your turn.
When we are peaceful, we feel safe and happy.

I illustrated each sentence with a photo from the internet, but ultimately the best thing would be to have pictures of the children themselves illustrating these concepts. We left the book all week in our book corner for the children to look at and read.

This week we also reintroduced the peace flower back into our classroom. This year is more challenging with the peace flower routine because we have a lot of non-English speakers. Because of this as well, we have been practicing a lot more using the peace flower in large group lessons.

Our peace flower is a plastic flower that sits on our tiny "peace shelf". The way I introduce it to the children is during a large group lesson I tell them that it is a material for helping them solve their problems with words. Then I show how to use it by inviting one of the children to stand with me (I pick an old friend who knows what they are supposed to say) and say:

Me: "Henry, I don't like it when you rip my paper."
Henry: "What can I do to make you feel better?"
Me: "Help me fix it and don't do it again."
Henry: "Ok." (carries out the solution)

This is for simple conflicts. But as the weeks progress, we give lessons on how to solve more difficult problems like when two people have done things to each other that they don't like.

At the beginning, the peace flower use requires some adult supervision (especially for the new and younger children) but in time, the children use it independently. I have had some families tell me that their child has asked to have a peace flower at home as well to solve problems with their siblings (or parents).

Of course, there are myriads of complexities when it comes to children's problems and this is just a very simplified template for dealing with all of it. But it is one of the tools we choose to give to the children in our room to help with the day to day difficulties.

Our use of the peace flower use tied in perfectly to our Conscious Discipline session, which was about Assertiveness. Here's the low down about conflict resolution that they gave us:

WHEN A CHILD DOES SOMETHING TO ANOTHER CHILD:

Go to victim first
Validate their feelings (You look very angry about that, you look like you are feeling very sad...)
Ask the child if they liked what the other person did.
Go with them to the other child. And have them say "I don't like it when you..."
Help them find a solution: "At school you may not ... because it is not safe (or whatever the reason)... If you want to ... what could you do next time?

The bottom line is that, whether we use a prop or not, our job is not to be the judges or detectives of what happened, but to help children solve their problems in a peaceful manner.

Aside from practicing conflict resolution as part of grace and courtesy in the classroom, teaching children how to use an assertive voice when something happens that they don't like, as well as making pictures of the rules of the classroom and explaining them clearly can help as well.

more tv.

2010-09-21T18:16:00.000-04:00

Who loves kindergarten pop music? Um... I do.

2010-09-17T18:34:00.001-04:00

Softness and Safety

2010-09-13T19:28:00.004-04:00

"Softness triumphs over harness" Lao Tzu

It rained a lot this morning, which is unusual here and which brings back a lot of memories of home in Costa Rica where it really RAINS (not our meager 5 minute sorry sprinklings) for about half of the year. While I was driving, I was remembering when I was little. I grew up in the rural mountains of San Jose and sometimes when it rained I would impermeate myself: putting on my very synthetic material sweat pants and sweater (so synthetic that they were virtually waterproof), my black rubber boots (they didn't make the nice patterned colorful ones that we have now back then), socks on my hands, and a small purple umbrella. And I would go and slosh around the puddles under the clusia trees.

For some reason, remembering this triggered a feeling memory. An emotion memory. I remember what it felt like to be home in the afternoons after school, on raily ones in my "waterproof" gear, on worn corduroy couch, watching TV, or playing with my brother and sister. The feeling of safetly and softness.

I thought about those two feelings and how perhaps they sum up what children WANT to be feeling at all times. Safe and soft. And that perhaps, especially during these first weeks of orientation at school, especially for new and very young children, those two feelings are very important. To trust me and to trust the environment they have to feel safe. And I can help them do that through many ways (routines, patterns, rules, consistency, etc.- hard ways), but also I can help them develop that feeling that by exuding a softness that means "everything is ok."

I will try, even when the little chaos is erupting, to be firm and clear, but also make sure that I make that softness accessible to them.

Silence as a Celebration

2010-09-10T19:02:00.004-04:00

See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~Mother Teresa

During the recent ceremony for the passing of a dear friend, a group of us sat together to observe a moment of silence. It was a very powerful and bonding experience. The silence brought us closer together and through it, we acknowledged the loss more eloquently than with anything that could have been spoken.

Making silence together as adults is usually reserved for special moments, and unfortunately in my life, it has been mostly reserved for times of grief. Silence has become a consciously important part of my life this year, and as a meditation practitioner, silence in my mind as well as from my mouth has become a haven that I turn to at the end of most days. In this way I've found there is a very joyful side to silence.

I've been thinking recently about the importance of regular practice of the silence game in the environment and how, if done consistently, it can also be a very bonding experience for the group. (The best example of the silence lesson I have ever seen was at the Colegio Montessori San Juan in Puerto Rico, where the master teacher Rosemarie raised her small chalkboard that read "Silence" and there was immediate and absolute stillness in the room. It was textbook "The Secret of Childhood." Lots of tears from me when I experienced it sitting in my little observer's stool. It scarred me with an image of what quality Montessori can look like. )

Today it occurred to me that as much as I like to share moments of silence with the children, I could share it with the adults of the school as well. Our celebrations at school (birthdays, special events) tend to be quite boisterous with lots of song and rowdiness (it doesn't get more boisterous than the end of "Happy Birthday" in Dutch where everyone stands up and shouts HOORAY!!!! three times.) How about introducing silence also as a way to celebrate? Along with adults as well... As an experiment, I will try a modified version of the silence game with the adults at our first parent evening next week. I am curious about how it will feel.

Bumper sticker

2010-09-09T16:27:00.003-04:00

Multiplication

2010-09-06T21:04:00.001-04:00

Togetherness

2010-09-06T20:46:00.006-04:00

During the first week of this school year, as a way of introducing the new children to the returning children, we once again had a "Helping Hands" ceremony.

To further kindle a feeling of togetherness among the group, we invited all the children to bring to school a photograph of their family. We sat together at the end of the day and each child introduced their picture and said, at the very least, the names of the people in their family. I took the opportunity also to share about what I feel that family means. We bound the portraits together in a small book and made it available to the children to look at in our book corner. This helped the children get better acquainted with one another, it helped bridge the school and home, and also served as a great language prompt in the book corner.

Later in the week, I invited the older children to take the "Family Book" to a table as a work and make a portrait of their family on large white paper with color pencils.

Last week, we once again discussed the meaning of family and I mentioned that our community at school is like a family. After the discussion, each child took a turn taping small photographs of themselves into the heart we posted at the entrance of the school to symbolize our school family. At the end of the exercise, we noticed that we have a large school family, and that we are fortunate to have one another for friendship and assistance.

Kindness

2010-09-06T06:06:00.001-04:00

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

Naomi Shihab Nye

Kinesthetic Intelligence

2010-08-29T07:50:00.003-04:00

"control of one's bodily motions and capacity to handle objects skillfully"

"a sense of timing, a clear sense of the goal of a physical action, along with the ability to train responses so they become like reflexes"

"the abilities to watch, observe keenly, imitate, and re-create"

"working skillfully with objects, both those that involve the fine motor movements of one's fingers and hands and those that exploit gross motor movements of the body"

from Howard Gardener "Multiple Intelligences"

Grace and Courtesy at the Beginning

2010-08-22T20:00:00.005-04:00

(With week 1 under the belt and feeling like the anxiety has turned into enthusiasm.)

It was a good thing that I've saved the lesson plans for first days of school of the last couple of years. These help me to compare and plan and remember about first weeks and what I'm supposed to be focusing on, which is (in my case), mainly practical life and grace and courtesy.

Since we have so many newcomers this year (11 new children and most of them just 3 years old), at this point it's all about laying the foundation for future work.

Someone out there asked me for it, so here is the general grace and courtesy list that I'm using (and of course modifying according to the need I see in the classroom):

How to enter the classroom
How to wash hands at the sink
How to have snack
How to use the bathroom
How to work on a table
How to work on a rug
How to observe someone working at a table
How to observe someone working at a rug
How to come to group lessons
How to sit for group lessons
How to stand in line to wash hands, wash dishes, use the bathroom
How to walk around a rug
How to get the teacher's attention (hand on the shoulder)

This is most of what we worked on last week. I enlist the help of the returning children when giving these lessons #1 to remind them of the lessons #2 acknowledging a bit of seniority to the older children (I put a word in about the responsibility of being role models for the new children)

Now our second week is coming up, so after observing the results of these lessons I refine these basic grace and courtesies and add what we saw problems with. So this week, for example, I'll be showing how to get up and sit down gracefully from the floor, how to tuck in your chair soundlessly, and try to fix the glitches like "how to turn the bathroom sign back to "GO" after you use the bathroom."

And from here on it's all refinement and continuing to strengthen the foundation all while trying to keep things fun... adding movement games here and there certainly helps me keep the youngest ones with me.

Every day I'm adding a few more materials onto the shelves now that I see that the new children are understanding the rule of not taking something they don't have a lesson with. I pick carefully what to add each day because it is like resurrecting a material... things like the shoe lace frame which in my classroom was gathering dust for weeks at the end of the year is being used with love when there are no other dressing frames available. (Insert evil laughter here)

Practical Beginning Stuff

2010-08-19T20:38:00.005-04:00

(tasting lesson with some of the new children- food is a great indirect motivator for learning how to join and leave a small group lesson)

I inevitably get anxious at the beginning of new school years. I struggle with the uncertainty and feel a bit like a rusty teacher after the long vacation. The comfortable (if I am not romanticizing it) atmosphere that we ended our school year with undergoes a makeover- the new group of oldest children and the new children change the society every year.

To prepare, there are "rituals" that help me feel more ready for the change: Writing a letter to both new and returning children about how I am excited sharing the coming year with them, visiting the new children in their home, reading the chapter in my album about the first days in the classroom, and of course, setting up the environment.

At our school, only the new children come for the first 2 days of school. This gives me the opportunity to focus on them exclusively and make sure they get all of the introductory grace and courtesy lessons. I strip the classroom of materials and leave out plenty of transitional materials and just a few of the very basic and indestructible Montessori materials.

In those two days we try to prepare the new children enough to be able to function somewhat independently. We shorten the work period considerably and give lots of group lessons. On the second day of only new children, we focus on grace and courtesy such as not taking a material if you haven't had a lesson with it (in preparation for lots of other materials that "appear" on the shelf the following day, when the returning children arrive.)

Everything shifts once again with the return of the "old" children. A really nice thing is that since the old ones are used to a 3 hour work period, and are eager to be back at school, they really INJECT a surge of work force in the environment. I could feel this yesterday (it's our 4th day today) how the new children were able to work a little longer, and a little more carefully because of, I guess, the "energy" in the room.

Tomorrow will be the end of our first week of school. And by next week I will add a considerable amount of materials on the shelves for the "old" children to get back in gear from where they left off last school year.

It is great being in an environment that is so dynamic and changing, and to work in a field where things are in constant flux. Just when you think you've got the formula right, something or someone comes along and you have to modify it again. Observation, observation, observation. Flexibility. Enthusiasm. Love.

Beginning

2010-08-19T20:24:00.002-04:00

Some excerpts from Pema Chodron's book "When things fall apart" which has been uncannily appropriate literature for beginning this new school year:

"The main point is that we all need to be reminded and encouraged to relax with whatever arises and bring whatever we encounter to the path."

"Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news." (This may be out of context but it makes me smile a lot to associate it to classroom life.)

"Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic- this is the spiritual path."

"Just be with your experience, whatever it is."

"This is the liberation that naturally arises when we are completely here, without anxiety about imperfection."

"Beyond all that fuss and bother is a big sky."

Shelves Setup

2010-07-23T16:00:00.020-04:00

This summer, because I decided to stay on the Island, I got a chance to do something I had been wanting to do for a couple of years now: a deep review of each area with it's corresponding theory and purposes.

I set EVERYTHING out on the shelves to make sure there is still a space for everything. In our classroom, I don't think we've ever had ALL the materials out at once so it was a good opportunity to take a picture of the complete classroom so that I can remember later on in the year where I had planned on putting everything.

I thought this might be useful for someone so I'm posting the pictures of my work in progress. Mind you, cultural objects are missing as well as all of our plants which are outside under intensive care from my week off at sailing school. The shelves are not in their "final form" but it was a good moment to take the pictures.

Like my trainer taught us, materials are arranged on the shelf in order from simple to complex, and grouped sometimes by purpose or by activity. Not everything is exactly where I will put it eventually, but in general the shelves are organized as they will be.

Practical Life 1: This is one side of my main practical life island.

From top left: objects for waking on the line, and then some random stuff that I didn't put away before taking the picture.

Second tier: opening and closing containers, opening and closing matroshka dolls, opening and closing locks and keys, opening and closing nuts and bolts, stringing large beads, stringing medium beads, stringing seed beads, spooning with a spoon.

Third tier: transferring seeds with tongs, transferring water with a sponge, transferring water with a dropper, dry pouring, pouring a glass of water (with various pitchers behind it that I have to store together).

Fourth tier: wood works. Opening and closing wing nuts, using an Allen key, using a flathead screw driver, using a Phillips screw driver, (sanding: missing), (hammering: missing).

Practical Life 2: "wet" works on the other side of the island.

Top of the shelf from left to right: Folding cloths, folding socks, folding clothes, folding laundry cloths. (all of these available for washing, hanging up to dry, and ironing.)

Tier 1: dusting a table, dusting a material, brushing a rug, washing windows, washing an underlay, washing the paint easel.

Tier 2: table washing, washing the floor, washing dishes, drying dishes.

Practical Life 3: mostly plants and polishing works.

Top of shelf from left to right: wood objects to polish, watering plants.

Tier 1: dusting a plant, cleaning a plant, misting a plant, flower arranging.

Tier 2: polishing a mirror, polishing a table.

Tier 3: polishing brass, brushing shoes, polishing shoes.

Not pictured because they're not on a shelf: handwashing stand, dressing frames stand.

Sensorial 1: early sensorial works.

Top of shelf : Cylinder blocks and markers.

Tier 1: Brown Stair, Pink Tower. (I'm trying to find a setup where my pink tower can be vertical, but haven't been successful yet).

Tier 2: Red rods.

Sensorial 2: sense of touch.

Top of shelf: geometric solids, bases, geometry cabinet cards, geometry cabinet, and on it are the blindfolds.

Tier 1: touch board 1, touch board 2, sorting 1, sorting 2, baric tablets.

Tier 2: Fabrics box, thermic bottles, thermic tablets, touch tablets, pressure cylinders.

Sensorial 3: visual sense, and other senses that fit on the shelf. :)

Top of shelf: puzzles of animals, animal labels and cards, botany puzzles, botany cards and labels.

Tier 1: color box 1, color box 2, color box 3, smelling jars, sound cylinders.

Tier 2: knobless cylinders, tasting bottles.

Tier 3: constructive triangles.

And that's it for sensorial. I have a geography setup that's apart (we made a new shelf this summer for it). And a science shelf for botany that's apart as well.

Language 1: pre reading and beginning of writing.

Top of shelf: sandpaper letters, phonograms.

Tier 1: sand tray, small chalkboard, brush and water, sounds bingo.

Tier 2: classified objects (I use them for the sound game), classification picture cards, sounds box (matching sounds to objects), sounds cards(matching sounds to cards).

Tier 3: word tray (phonetic objects and letters cut out to make the words), moveable alphabet objects, moveable alphabet cards, moveable alphabet.

Language 2: reading.

Top of shelf: phonetic objects box, pink reading cards, blue reading cards, phonetic sentence and picture cards (matching), phonetic books.

Tier 1: phonogram bingo, phonogram box, phonogram booklets, phonogram cards, phonogram sentences and picture cards (matching), books with phonograms.

Tier 2: alternate spellings booklets, most common reading words lists, labels for the environment and sensorial area, puzzle words.

Tier 3: (missing on the trays) reading classification cards, definition booklets, definition in stages, word study. (I am making a lot of these materials, so all of it is in a jumble in my office.)

Language 3: writing, grammar and sentence analysis.

Top of shelf: writing materials.

Tier 1: farm setup, noun, article, adjective, logical adjective.

Tier 2: preposition, conjunction, verb labels, verb with object, double commands, adverb, logical adverb, grammar symbols box, grammar pencils box.

Tier 3: This is where sentence analysis goes. (I don't have trays that I like for this work yet.), message game, project box.

A lot of my material making this summer is in the language area- the work never ends.

Math 1: numbers 1-10, and fractions.

Top of shelf: small number rods, cards, sandpaper numbers, wooden numbers 1-10 puzzle 1, and numbers 1-10 puzzle 2.

Tier 1: spindles box, animals/dots and number cards game, cards and counters, memory game of numbers.

Tier 2 and 3: Fractions, fractions labels, fractions equations.

Math 2: Continuation of Counting and Decimal System

Top of shelf: bead stair, teen beads, teens beads hanger, tens beads, square chains bingo.

Tier 1: 100 board, dot game, stamp game.

Tier 2: introduction to the decimal system, large number cards, tray of 9, small number cards.

Tier 3: thousands, hundreds, tens, units, trays.

And right next to that shelf we have a small wall shelf with the teens boards and tens boards.

And on the other side of that we have the square chains and then the bead cabinet. (That Yair built.)

Math 3: Memorization work.

Tier 1: addition snake game, addition strips boards, flash cards.

Tier 2: addition charts.

Tier 3: subtraction snake game, subtraction strips boards.

Tier 4: subtraction charts.

Math 4: memorization work and passage to abstraction.

Top of shelf: multiplication bead bars, multiplication bead board, and the two bead frames. (I wish I had a different space to put these but math is so HUGE.)

Tier 1: multiplication charts.

Tier 2: division bead board, division chart.

Tier 3: division chart.

There are a few other shelves for other things in the classroom and I might post those some other day.

summer voyage

2010-07-21T08:41:00.003-04:00

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

Shyly venturing into online learning...

2010-07-08T14:34:00.005-04:00

Since I decided to spend the rest of the summer here, on the rock in the middle of the ocean, a few weeks ago I enrolled in an online course with the Center For Guided Montessori Studies.

I've never before taken an online course, and had been very skeptical about them in general. However, since my assistant at school completed the NAMC online Primary Training, I've found that a guided online study can complement work done in the environment. Obviously, there is nothing like attending a course in flesh and blood, especially an AMI course, but when you are "geographically disabled", to put it in discreet terms, the online world can certainly have its benefits. It is nice to have the foundation of AMI training, and be able to supplement areas such as Art and Science through other means. I'd really love to create a coherent Art and Science album for my personal use.

I'd been getting a steady flow of messages from Tim Seldin from the CGMS (online groups sure have a thing for long acronyms) and had for the most part skimmed them with not a lot of interest. As summer approached, one of the courses mentioned caught my eye: "Adventure in the Arts". It is offered as part of their "Professional Development" series.

The course is 6 weeks long, 4 weeks for art and 2 for music. The art part is meant to supplement the art curriculum in the classroom through 4 components:

Color Theory
Studio Art
Art Appreciation
Projects

Getting any guideance at all in the art area was the deciding factor for me when enrolling in this course. I enjoy art personally outside of the classroom, but have had trouble keeping our art shelf cohesive and fresh. I do a lot of extensions with art in the other areas- Sensorial and Language in particular, but felt strongly like I could use more practical knowledge and suggestion of materials and techniques to offer.

I'm 2 weeks into the course and it has been thorough, organized, and clear so far. I put in about an hour a day online (5 days a week) for it plus time making materials. The lessons are presented sequentially, in short videos accessed online. Each lesson begins with an introduction to the material, it's purpose, and when and to who to present it to. After the introduction, there is another short video of the presentation being given to a child.

What I've been gaining so far, is a sequential understanding of art theory and studio techniques broken down and made accessible for children of different ages. I'm feeling confident in what I'm learning and am sure that it will translate nicely into my classroom next year.

A cool technological experience was our first online meeting yesterday- with course students from all over the world coming together in a chat room to discuss relevant topics.

You are nothing. You are everything.

2010-07-04T09:25:00.004-04:00

“We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality.
When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all.”

Buddha

Time to listen.

2010-07-04T08:56:00.003-04:00

Another thing I love about the summer is that I have AMPLE time to listen to podcasts. I listen while I walk my dogs, in my car, sometimes while I cook, and sometimes while I eat what I cooked. However, I'm not constantly with the earphones on ignoring the world while I'm cradled in good radio bliss. I promise, I value human contact!

Although I'm probably the only person I know who doesn't own an ipod, and wouldn't know how to use one anyway, I have a regular mp3 player. I have to say itunes does come in handy for quick and easy downloading of each week's new episodes. I've subscribed to them via itunes and each week they get automatically updated into a folder on my desktop where I simply copy/paste into my mp3 player. Oh the smug feeling of mastering some technology.

Instead of guarding my precious list of favorite podcasts like a wide eyed Golum, I'll share my list with you:

Non Fiction:

This American Life- True stories revolved around a topic. Danger, you will be late for things if you subscribe to this.

The Moth- live stories told onstage with no notes. I cry and laugh and look insane to others as I wait in line at the bank listening.

Great Speeches in History- often the live recording of the speech. I love to hear the scratchy recordings of significant people in history riling up others with words.

To the Best of Our Knowledge- pieces, both fiction and non, about a specific topic. Just the opening theme of this show makes me giddy with excitement.

Ted Talks- audio version of a TED conference. Probably the most thought provoking, best quality media time possible that I've found.

Radiolab- from WNYC. Pieces on a question in science. I suggested this to a friend of mine and now she wants to major in college in something that will lead her right into the Radiolab studio. It's great science radio.

BBC World Book Club: I don't know what it is about the host of this show, but I would really like to be her, just for one day. She seems like the smartest woman on radio.

60 Minutes: Good old fashioned news reporting just so that a person like me who doesn't regularly read the news can me somewhat informed of things that are happening in the world.

Lies:

Selected Shorts: 2 or 3 excellent stories read by professionals, sometimes it's classics of short story and other times very avant garde pieces.

New Yorker Fiction-I don't think this needs an introduction.

About meditation and mindfulness:

Zen Cast: Never fails to inspire me to be a better human.

Audio Dharma: Much like the above, so I get a double dose of dharma talks weekly.

If you have any podcasts that you love and want to share- please DO! I can't get enough.

Wooden Boat School

2010-06-28T16:41:00.004-04:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

~ Mark Twain

What I look forward to the most in the Summer is to be a student. There is nothing quite like just sitting back and having your only responsibility be TO LEARN.

This year I was fortunate enough to start my vacation with a week long course in Seamanship at the Wooden Boat School, in Maine. The United States is a very beautiful country, I have to say. And that school, in Brooklin, Maine is a very special place. It is situated in the middle of acres of wild Maine land, complete with a lake, gorgeous waterfront, and bears.

Students of all ages and walks of life congregate to either build wooden boats or sail them, and everyone is happy. My teachers, Jane Ahlfeld and Jenny Bennet gave lectures in the morning and then stood back or gently guided us in the craft of sailing, much like Montessori directresses... observing and tailoring lessons to individual skill level and interest.

The school, in general, follows many of the principles that I love about Montessori:

- Hands on education
- Learning at one's own pace
- Excellent guidance, but you have to do the work yourself
- Trust in humans (lots of things are done in the old fashioned, honor system way)

I learned a lot, sailed a lot, made new friends, and loved every minute of it.

"Happiness, knowledge, not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour."

--Walt Whitman

Be good, be happy.

2010-06-17T19:57:00.008-04:00

There is simple kind of wisdom...

A six year old at school today dispensed the same wisdom (among other things) that my friend Dan, who is many years my senior, dispenses to me in his letters when he writes:

"Be good, be happy."

These are some of the notes she shared with friends on her last day of school... They are a gift. She shared them with friends. I share them with you.

Be good, be happy.

Susanne

"This year you are going to be one of the oldest. Be just like me."

"You are the second youngest friend. Behave well."

"This year you are going to be an older friend. Be good."

Let it go.

2010-06-17T19:42:00.004-04:00

Today was our last day of the year at school. It tends to be a day of a lot of emotion for me, and this morning I tried to prepare myself by reminding myself to breath and remain aware.

It is another cycle that closes. Our second year together at our school.

A big part of today was about letting things go...
letting go of the children that are moving on,
letting go of all that went undone this year,
letting go of the plans,
letting go of the mistakes,
letting go of the successes too,
all of it, go.

(This way we make space for the coming year.)

Like e.e. cummings:

"let all go
dear

so comes love."

2010-06-14T21:11:00.000-04:00

"If you're not learning, then you must not be teaching very well."

John Francis

Sing and dance while the music is being played.

2010-06-12T07:06:00.001-04:00

A Peaceful Classroom

2010-06-10T05:58:00.003-04:00

"There cannot be peace just because we want peace:"there SHOULD be peace because I am agitating for it". This does not happen. We cannot agitate for peace. When we become agitated we lose our peacefulness. Let there be no agitation. Purify your mind. Then every action you take will add peace to the universe.

Work for your own peace, and you will find that you have started helping the atmosphere around you to become more peaceful."

S.N Goenka "Meditation Now"

Friendliness with Error: Conan O'Brien addressing Harvard Graduates

2010-06-09T21:17:00.003-04:00

"And when all else fails, you always have delusion."

About Praise

2010-06-05T12:32:00.006-04:00

At school, I've been trying to keep to the rule of thumb: avoid all forms of rewards and punishments. (Alfie Kohn's book on the subject is all one needs to read to be convinced of their ineffectiveness.) While this is pretty straightforward in terms of not having sticker charts, grades, time out corners, and other typical classroom methods of control, I find it trickier when it comes to praise. It can be hard to find the right words when confronted with a beaming child!

For me, the bottom line with praise is that there is a right and wrong way to do it.

I find the arguments against using praise convincing:

-It is ultimately a form of "sugar coated" manipulation
-Children can become dependent on it
-It messes with children's motivations
-It can often belittle a child's success or joy (it can be kind of patronizing)
-It can create a pressure to "perform"
-It can rob a child of their sense of accomplishment
-Often it's just a habitual reaction instead of a genuninely thought-felt comment

(If you're not convinced by my bullet points, here's a great little article with more details about why a certain kind of praise is not the best way to acknowledge a child's achievement.)

At our Conscious Discipline meeting today, we touched on the subject of verbal encouragement. I liked the way our teacher, Helen Guda, spoke about the messages we convey when we praise and her suggestions on how to offer praise consciously.

- You can simply describe what the child did. ex: "You finished the addition tables!"

-Connect what the child did with the feelings of joy and satisfaction they got from their accomplishment. ex: "I can see you are feeling so proud about learning how to play that song on the xylophone."

-Describe what you see. "You put on your shoes all by yourself and you look very happy."

-Notice the effort and progress of the child. ex: "The last time you tried, you walked around half of the line before the water spilled. This time you made it all the way around."

-Notice the contributions that children bring to the group. ex: "You washed the snack table and now everyone will get to eat snack on a clean table."

-Consider if it's really necessary to say ANYTHING AT ALL. Sometimes just a smile is enough recognition.

Wherever you are, be there.

2010-05-30T11:47:00.001-04:00

"We must start from where we are
not from where we want to be.
For where we want to be
is to be content
with where we are."

Ian McCrorie

just trying it out to see what happens.

2010-05-26T07:32:00.007-04:00

So much of starting a new school is just making shots in the dark and hoping your good intentions will guide them. Cultivating an attitude of adventure/curiosity ("let's just try it out and see what happens") often followed by a disclaimer ("if it doesn't work out, we won't do it anymore") has become a big part of my personal journey as director and teacher. It's the friendliest way I have found to deal with the fact that so much of what I do is completely new to me, and often out of my field of experience. Ranging from simple things like making new recipes that I've never tried with the children, to the more complicated world of handling situations with a child or parents, or the often mystifying world of school finance and accounting.

When I stumble on quotes, blog posts, songs, books, mug quotes, that celebrate the process over the final product/ simply trying as succeeding, I find it really encouraging.

"Enthusiasm, a sense of fun, and high energy are more engaging than skill. William Blake observed, “Exuberance is beauty.” from Martha Writes

"Trying is the same as succeeding." from Molly O'Shaughnessy

"I remind myself of the important lesson for any creative pursuit, “No one cares about my mistakes. What’s important is to do what I want to do.” from The Happiness Project

"Do one thing every day that scares you" Eleanor Roosevelt- from the mug that Sayenne gave me

Routine Books

2010-05-25T16:27:00.009-04:00

Our school staff (of 2) is participating in a 7 month long "Conscious Discipline" workshop. I couldn't be happier. This came about after we attended a morning long session intended for parents back in November and found it to be so complementary to what we do in the classroom that we signed up for the long term workshop that is geared specifically for teachers. (Whoo, that's one long sentence.)

The group gathers once a month and discusses a specific aspect of the technique. And for that month, you work CONSCIOUSLY to integrate that aspect in your classroom. A lot of it, so far, has to do with cultivating friendliness with error in yourself.

If you are not familiar with "Conscious Discipline" you can refer to their website, or to the post I wrote previously on the shorter workshop. The book that is on the cover of that post is what this long workshop is based on. It has been a very helpful book with classroom management this year.

This month, we were assigned a homework in which we had to create a material for use in the classroom that would visually remind children of all the steps included in a daily routine.

We made a set of "Routine Books" for our room. The materials needed were basic photo albums, camera and printer. We made a list of all the routines we carry out in the classroom that involve multiple steps and that could be broken down into pictures.

The main ones we included are:

-Arriving at school
-Choosing Work
-Using the bathroom
-Lunch Routine
-Clean up

But we expanded: Using the book corner, Using the outside necklace, Working in the kitchen...

For each of these, we made a small booklet that has a pictures of a child carrying out each one of the steps involved in the procedure. It was really fun for the children involved to mock the process so that we could take the pictures- and yet another great reminder of the lesson without us actually giving the lesson.

Here are some excerpts from the bathroom routine book (Sorry about the neck craning, I didn't realize I had uploaded these twisted):

We also decided to write simple text on the opposite side of the books for engaging readers.

I presented the booklets as stories during small group lessons. My oh my! The children LOVED seeing their classmates in the "illustrations." They listened and looked very attentively as I told each story. And then many of them promptly went on to re-enact the stories. ("Miss Susanne! Look! I'm flushing the toilet like Cristina in the picture!")

We then made the booklets available in the book corner and the children look at them a lot, read them, and tell each other the stories.

This is like a grace and courtesy lesson that keeps on giving itself!

I am impressed at how quickly routines have become smoother in the classroom with the help of these booklets. Toilets get flushed more often, clean up gets done more efficiently, morning greetings are less frequently forgotten.

It is a great way to reinforce these lessons without having to invest a lot of time in re-giving the lesson. I super recommend it!

I took pictures of the formats that other teachers in our workshop used for making the routines "visual". Some of them made a visual "schedule" of the day. And others focused more on micro routines instead. Here's some of what they brought:

Chinese Evening- Rolling with the punches

2010-05-14T09:56:00.005-04:00

I had been planning our "Moving On" ceremony for the end of the school year for months, when parents let me know that 4 out of my 6 oldest children would be leaving early for vacation (one of them 4 weeks early!). It would be very tricky to honor the "graduates" if only 2 of them were present at the end of the year! So I scratched that plan, and I found another way of honoring their confidence and skill before they all move on.

The oldest children are putting together a performance for a "Chinese Evening". The whole school will be decorated with red lanterns and Chinese characters! The whole idea started with the intention of having them put on a play for their younger peers. Out of several choices, they chose the book "Tiki Tiki Tembo" to base the play on. And little by little, the idea grew until we now have a performance in 5 acts!

We will have the "Chinese Evening" on a Saturday, from 4-6 pm. It will also serve as our first fund raiser for the school (we are planning on purchasing a dish washer for our kitchen, and some more outdoor play equipment.)

The five acts of the performance:

1) The two oldest girls will give a short presentation on some basic facts about China (they are independently preparing their poster to go along with it)

2) One of the boys will teach the audience how to count from 1-10 in Chinese (with big flash cards that he is making, that have the numerals 1-10 on one side, and the Chinese symbols for 1-10 on the other)

3) Two boys will do a short Chinese inspired dance

4) The children who are taking violin lessons after school will do a demonstration of how to stand, hold, and play notes on the violin.

5) All the oldest children will present the play "Tiki Tiki Tembo". They have been painting the scenery for the play in the mornings, and practicing their lines and blocking in the afternoons. It has been such fun!

The play will include a song in the middle from the movie "Big Bird In China", which is my niece's and mother's favorite movie to watch together. The clip is unbearably cute, and now to have all the children in the class singing it is even more so! Here it is:

For the fund raising part: We will be selling popcorn, baked goods (that the children will bake at school during the week), school stickers, and we are having a raffle for which lots of parents have donated prizes and teachers have donated baby sitting services.

It will be the first event of its kind at our school and I'm really excited about it!

PS. Here's a post from NAMC Training Center with some really nice ideas for "Moving On" ceremonies.

Amazing things.

2010-05-13T18:36:00.003-04:00

"...if you work really hard
and you are kind, amazing things will happen."

Conan O' Brien

What Lies Within Us

2010-04-29T15:28:00.011-04:00

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are all small matters compared to what lies within us." Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week I experienced one of the many rewards of being a Montessori teacher. Two of the oldest girls at school self initiated a research project completely on their own, and proudly delivered it to the class some days later. They were able to do this for so many reasons that are related to the genius behind the Montessori environment. Among them: they were free to choose their work, they were free to work on what they selected for as long as they wanted, they've had 2 years of experience confidently communicating with other children and felt comfortable and supported by the group, they've developed interests and have had the freedom to pursue them, they have independently developed the skills to allow them to carry out a work of this nature.

It was a pleasure to watch these girls bring their unique gifts to the project.

The girls are five and six years old, and all they said to me was "We want to make a project", so I said "Ok, make me a list of what you will need." (The oldest children often make me materials lists for things they have in mind for making.)

They found all the library books in our library about dolphins and read them to each other. They then wrote out a presentation, including the way they would introduce each other to the group.

Then they illustrated a poster and brought dolphin pictures they'd printed out from home to glue onto it (the poster also had jellyfish with bows on their heads drawn on it).

They then locked themselves in our little school library with the xylophone for a long time. It turns out that they were composing a song on the topic for closing the presentation. And at the end they wrote out invitations to the presentation and handed them out the morning of the presentation.

(I got invited too!)

The children were asked to bring chairs onto the porch if they wanted to watch the presentation. Everyone came.

The girls read their presentation with glowing faces. It was funny and interesting, and very inspiring! At the end, they performed the song they'd composed. It starts "Dolphins are so sweet, they like humans..."

To me, this was a testament of how, when given the right conditions, a child can rise to their true potential.

Telling True Stories

2010-04-28T16:04:00.005-04:00

It has become a habit for the children to ask me at lunch time to tell them a story about what I did the day before. This started on a day I told a true story during lunch about how I locked myself out of my house the previous day while leaving a pot of rice to cook on the stove. The silence in the lunch room as I recounted how I unsuccessfully tried to climb in through the tiny bathroom window, from where I could see the smoke starting to rise from the burning rice in the pot, how my feet got murdered by mosquitoes as the daylight quickly faded, how I had the (brilliant) idea of turning off the gas tanks therefore cutting the gas from the stove. It was one of the best true stories I've told this year and I often get asked to tell it again.

I am impressed at how much attention a good true story will garner from the children. It is hands down the best way to get their undivided attention during a group meeting. And they remember every detail- as I find when I review the story with them through the "Question Game". At night, I'm often thinking way back into my past trying to find a good story to tell them about when I was their age, how I saw things, mistakes I made, things I found valuable.

It reminds me of the importance of oral tradition as a way to pass on culture, values, and beliefs. Also, how in a world that overly stimulates the visual sense, what a treat it is to listen to a good story and find that the pictures from the story start to appear in your own mind!

I love stories and am a huge fan of podcasts such as The Moth, This American Life, and Selected Shorts , particularly the first, where people tell stories live and without any notes.

Touching back on training and the purposes of a true story in the classroom, they are a great way of modeling to a child how to express ideas clearly and in logical sequence (and the concept that stories HAVE ENDINGS.) And what I see most clearly reflected back to me from our own work with true stories, they are a preparation for the child to tell their own stories in oral or written form.

I also love it when I get my own story told back to me, from the point of view of a child. It's as if sometimes, just because you were able to imagine you were there, the story becomes your experience too.

No rush.

2010-04-25T13:16:00.003-04:00

I really liked this:

am thinking about
looking inward
and not outward.

knowing that you, alone,
are enough.
do all that you can
with all that you have.
in your space
in your time.

do not wish to be
in someone else's shoes.
they will not fit.
be brave
go barefoot.

(from here )

Inspiration.

2010-04-19T16:58:00.001-04:00

I watched this clip some weeks ago and haven't been able to get over it. There is something so special going on there...

Vipassana and Montessori

2010-04-14T11:34:00.004-04:00

It is hard to put life changing experiences into words sometimes. When I try, it feels like I'm devaluing the experience somehow, or am not making it justice by defining it. But with the intention of sharing what was one of the most important events of my life, I will try!

The spiritual preparation of the teacher has been on my mind since taking Montessori training in 2003. The idea that you have to work on yourself first so that you can fulfill the more important aspects of education (modeling character, love of life and learning) has been an aspect of Montessori training that really appeals to me. At the refresher course last February, which was on the topic of Observation, the parts related to self observation really fundamentally impacted me and I've been thinking about them ever since.

Spring Break was coming up, and instead of staying home to file all the children's finished work that is bulging out of their individual folders, I decided to enroll in a meditation course. I went to North Fork in California for a 10 day Vipassana course. I have to say that before the course, my experience with meditation was very limited- basically sitting for short periods trying to keep my mind free of thoughts. And I'd never attended any kind of silence retreat, or meditation program in the past. All of it was new to me.

I heard about Vipassana from the wife of a friend of a friend (= very randomly), she mentioned it during a hike we went on, and for some reason the name stuck. She described it as a silent retreat where you get to know your mind very well, and you learn a technique for how to observe it without reacting. She said it helped her cultivate mindfulness in her life. Sounded like something that could be very useful for work (and life!).

I researched it when I got home, and found that the course is a serious, pragmatic, and non sectarian introduction to the very ancient technique of meditation called Vipassana, which means "to see things as they really are". These kinds of phrases on the website called my attention:

"This direct experience of our own inner reality, this technique of self-observation, is what is called Vipassana meditation."

"Whenever negativity arises in the mind, just observe it, face it."

"Those who regularly practice Vipassana become more sensitive to the sufferings of others, and do their utmost to relieve suffering in whatever way they can—not with any agitation, but with a mind full of love, compassion and equanimity. "

It sounded very complimentary to the idea of spiritual preparation of the teacher described by Montessori:

"The training of the teacher who is to help life is something far more than the learning of ideas. It includes the training of character; it is a preparation of the spirit. "

"It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it. "

"In their dealings with children adults do not become egotistic but egocentric. They look upon everything pertaining to a child's soul from their own point of view and, consequently, their misapprehensions increase. "

Many aspects of the course are easily associated with ideas commonly used in Montessori...

Work through the Senses

The technique taught revolves on the observation of sensations on the body. That means that during meditation, instead of imagining or visualizing anything, you are just observing what you feel on your own skin without judging it. Tie in to Montessori: "There is nothing in the intellect which was not first in some way in the senses", and senses being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge." By practicing equanimity when you observe the sensations (at a very refined level), this is practice for observing outside occurrences and likewise remaining equanimous.

The Prepared Environment

The environment in which the course is taught includes physical and mental aspects. The location for the course was a beautiful campus on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park. It included a peaceful little lake, mountains all around, a little orchard, and lots of wildlife. Men and women were in separate living quarters and only met for group meditation. And the mental aspects of the environment included taking a vow of Noble Silence (of speech, and mind) and following a rigorous schedule that included about 10 hours of meditation per day. All of it is designed to really facilitate the work (self observation) and deep concentration necessary of each participant so that they may really benefit from the course. It is a perfectly prepared environment conducive to that work.

Concentration and Individual Work

Meditating involves cultivating a deep concentration and presence. When you are doing it for 10 hours a day, after a few days the mindfulness spreads to all of your activities. You begin to observe yourself when walking, eating, and even when trying to go to sleep. The emphasis on the transformative powers of concentration reminded me not only of Montessori, but of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, "Flow" where he talks about "how to live life as a work of art, rather than as a chaotic response to external events..." All of your mind energy is focused on the internal occurrences, rather than on what is happening outside. Through silence, and lack of any type of communication with people around you, it becomes an extremely independent work.

It is stressed during the evening discourses (more about that later) about how only you, yourself, can do the work conducive to your own development. I remember thinking a lot about the phrase "You have to walk your own path", and in retrospect it reminds me of how I think about children at school needing to make their own choices, and how their development is also exclusively dependent on them doing things themselves. The teacher, Goenka (more on him later), also stresses that we should only accept an idea or teaching after we've experienced it for ourselves. He suggests, contrary to the popular parent reaction or teacher attitude of "because I said so", that independent experience of the benefits of a practice are necessary before adopting it.

Development of Character

One of the contextual aspects of the course which was very striking to me is that everyone and everything involved in the creation of the course is funded through donations from participants who have completed the course. It is free of charge to anyone who wants to apply. At a physical level, every meal (and they are delicious and varied fresh meals), the dormitories (which are simple but clean, heated, include hot water), the meditation hall, the natural grounds, this is very impressive. But the part that was inspirational was that all the people working there were also serving as volunteers. Even the assistant teachers and managers are not remunerated for their work. The generosity and care shown by the staff is moving. All the people that manage the course really make it clear that they are there to help you succeed. The atmosphere that this kind of attitude generates moves one to feel impelled to mirror it in ones own life. It is easy to understand the concept of giving at an intellectual level, but to see it and experience it in practice all around you is very touching- and it definitely creates a momentum!

Of course, this type of deep introspection can be very painful at times, frustrating, and emotional. And the body is not used to sitting for such long hours in general, and you do experience a degree of physical pain. Assistant teachers are available every day to answer questions regarding your practice, and managers are there to help with alternatives when there is difficulty with the sitting. Another one of the main precepts underlined in the course is the law of impermanence. Understanding that all of it, the mental pain, physical pain, and even the experience at the course itself will pass is an important part of the work. You really get to experience the truth of that statement in all kinds of ways, and begin to take real respite in that fact.

The discourses given at the end of the day (the only form of media that you are exposed during the 10 days) are the most helpful guides to the personal experience one is having. They are imparted by S.N. Goenka, the leading worldwide teacher of Vipassana meditation. He is an excellent speaker and his lectures are delivered in a manner that is very logical, clear, and with humor (which is so necessary when you are dealing with so much mentally and physically). He also introduces the concept of "Dhamma", which is a term that has no sectarian connotation, but means "a path to enlightenment." It can be seen like a method that includes the teachings of Buddha, laws of nature applied to the human experience, and as a support to the work one is trying to cultivate through meditating. Goenka is an inspiring and wonderful teacher.

Of course, I am sharing all of this as my own particular experience of the course, and other people may have internalized it in a completely different way. I read many reviews of the course before I signed up, and some of them were very negative (though mostly from people who didn't complete the course, and thus missed out on really seeing the whole picture of it), and some of them were extremely positive. It is stated time and time again, that one must complete the 10 days in order to get a complete idea about the technique- and I found that to be very true personally! In order to give the experience a full trial, it is not possible to do only part of the course- it really all comes together in the end.

Emerging from the course, immediate results I see are:

- Increased mindfulness about myself and others. I am more aware of my actions, words, and intentions.

- More patience with myself and others. Patient with mistakes, with things happening outside of me.

- Less restlessness and anxiousness. My life has slowed down quite a bit, and I have cut down on a lot of activity that I was doing in the past as a form of distraction from the mental distress.

- Increased desire to serve others without needing anything in return. I am becoming more aware of other people's needs.

- More balance in my emotional responses. I am feeling less extremes in my emotional life.

In order to continue to benefit from the course, it is recommended to the participants to continue to practice daily. Quickly I found the times I sit to meditate at the beginning and end of the day to be necessary for my wellbeing (just as before, and still, I find at least an hour of physical exercise a day are necessary for me to feel good).

I am so grateful that this kind of opportunity is available to anyone who wants to experience it, and recommend this course to anyone really, but especially as an extension or manifestation of the spiritual preparation of the Montessori teacher.

Here is the course website: http://www.dhamma.org/

PS. Coincidentally, the assistant teacher to the course I took in North Fork, Karen Donovan, is also an Elementary Montessori teacher. When I asked her questions about the practice during the interviews, not knowing about her background but her knowing about mine, she tailored her responses and framed them in ideas about child development, which made so much sense to me!

"The opposite of play is not work, it's depression."

2010-03-26T23:41:00.001-04:00

Hard Times

2010-03-26T23:35:00.002-04:00

"The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world." Lao Tzu

("When times are the hardest is when you have to be the softest.") (Especially with ourselves.)

Words.

2010-03-24T06:41:00.003-04:00

I attended a new yoga class yesterday, and some phrases are still lit in my mind. I thought they were perfect for working with:

"Observe the quality of your being in this moment."

"Take in the totality of the landscape before you, accept it."

"You are free now."

"Be light with yourself."

Let's Get Together and Sing

2010-03-21T11:35:00.010-04:00

Last week we had our yearly Sing Along at school. It is really my favorite school event of the year.

In preparation for the Sing Along I chose the songs we'd sing this year early on and we have been organically incorporating them into our daily singing since August. By the time the Sing Along neared, we just had to decide who wanted to sing what because the children all knew the songs well. Children naturally identified with a specific song and you could tell by the enthusiasm in their voice when they sang.

So that families would know the songs as well, I burned CD's for them with the main songs and added it to the invitation for the evening two weeks prior to the event. It was touching to see the parents drop off their children at school in the morning and hear the songs blasting from their cars!

There were 13 songs in total, and for some songs, one child would solo the song first, then the group of children would sing with the child, and finally all the parents and friends would sing the song together. Some songs were sung only once by one child, or by a small group of children.

This year we invited friends to join the families for the evening. Our tiny school was packed!

Jessica's father is a professional musician and we were lucky to have him join us on his electric guitar. This really added depth to the music, since my guitar playing is fairly simple.

I have added our song list and chords HERE. Commentary from parents was very positive about how the songs chosen were very uplifting and really made us feel a sense of togetherness.

There are few things that bind people's hearts together like singing!

We lined up our school walkway with lanterns, and decorated the entrance of our school:

Inside, the chairs with children's nametags were lined up and ready. The parents and friends were aranged in a circle around them.

After the program, we celebrated the school's second year with a beautiful cake(donated by a parent- never seen anything like it- with the children's picture lasered onto the icing!) and sang Happy Birthday.

Working with wood and tools

2010-03-06T15:23:00.008-05:00

I'd love to have a shelf in the classroom devoted exclusively to materials related to tools and wood working. It's so hard to resist when I go to the hardware store and there is a tool that looks like it's made for small hands. I've had my partner make us some materials based on the function of some tools and hardware and they are really popular in the classroom. The control of error is really clear, the materials require lots of concentration and careful work with the hands, and since there are usually a number of screws to put in or take out, repetition is built into the material. And although you can't see it in the picture, each set of blocks has a builder's triangle chiseled out on one side so that the children know how to join the blocks so that all the screws will fit.

If you like this kind of thing too, there is a fantastic little book called "Children Can Build" by Susan Scheibenzuber from Laughing Star Montessori complete with presentations to be given on a little classroom workbench for projects using wood and real tools. It includes presentations such as:

Sawing Sticks
Sawing Foam Core
Using a Hand Drill
Using a Sanding Block
Using a Vise

I dream that one day we'll have our own workbench too!

In the meantime, this is what we have:

Using a Philips screw driver to join two blocks of wood:

Using a Flathead screw driver to join two blocks of wood:

Using a hex key to join two blocks of wood together (Warning- this is a dangerous one to teach the children when most of your furniture comes from Ikea):

Putting two blocks together using bolts, washers and wing nuts:

Not pictured because they are yet to be put on the shelf:

Hammering into a block of wood and removing the nails.

Polishing wood with linseed oil.

Inner Observation

2010-03-02T15:59:00.006-05:00

Observation takes some serious self discipline. It is hard to stay focused in a room that is sometimes loud, when a child is rolling around the floor, when the three hours go by so fast and lessons could be given! I have to hold my energy back and my judgment. Sometimes what I really "need to be doing" at those moments is to just sit there, observe without judging, see what is really there. In the end, that is a much better starting point for responding to the children's needs than my sometimes frantic putting out of fires.

Based on the fantastic lecture given by Molly O'Shaughnessy at the AMI Refresher Course that took place a few weeks ago in Florida, Jessica and I have put together a list of self observation tasks that we will practice and discuss at each weeks end.

Concentration takes practice! I think that beyond that, focused observation takes humility, friendliness with error, and honesty. Especially when it comes to self observation. Whatever we find within ourselves by the end of the weeks, we will try to improve on by practicing deliberately. Repetition, just like the children.

Tasks:

Notice words and phrases that you repeat a lot each day. Notice how you are saying them. Write them down. Are they effectively communicating your intention? Is there a better/clearer/more respectful way to say what you are trying to say?

Notice exactly what you are modeling when you are taking to a child. Visualize being/feeling how you want the child to behave/feel.

Notice what you are saying to yourself during the day. Notice how the hour and your level of energy. If you are noticing yourself becoming tired/anxious/impatient is there something you can do to help yourself? Ex: take a break, take out the yoga mat, have a snack, go outside for a minute, do the individual silence exercise. During those moments, practice thinking new and positive thoughts.

Examine your preconceived notions and assumptions about each child. Notice what you say about each child. Notice your judgments and recognize that they may be erroneous. Practice visualizing the child at his best. Recognize the child's progress, regardless of how minimal.

Attend to your own focus, mindfulness and attention. What are you concentrating on? Practice paying attention to everything that is going beautifully.

Create space for observations. Take time to observe each other and the opportunity to learn from each other through these observations.

What the world needs.

2010-03-02T05:15:00.002-05:00

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -- Dr. Howard Thurman.

Non Verbal Signals.

2010-02-21T16:25:00.007-05:00

Using non-verbal signals in the classroom cuts down on the noise and on possible confusion. It is a clear and direct way to get the children's attention, or to let them share something with me or others without having to tell us. Here are some signals we use:

Signals for the whole group:

The triangle: One high pitched strike on the triangle means stop your work and come to the line. We use this when we have whole group lessons or when it's time to gather for something. It is a whole group signal.

The soft voices bell: When the volume escalates a bit too much, I touch two little Sri Lankan bells together and it's supposed to remind the children to use a softer voice when talking.

"Silence": When written on a small chalkboard and shown across the room, the children know we are starting a whole group silence game.

Bird in and out of the nest picture: my friend Annie has a picture of a bird in a nest that flips to the other side where the bird is out of the nest. She uses this as a signal for going outside.

Individual signs:

Bathroom sign: The bathroom may be used by one person at a time and when you go in, you turn the sign to "stop" and when you leave, you flip it to "go".

Garden Work Necklace: One person may choose to work outside by donning the Garden Work necklace. It lets me know someone is outside when I don't see it hanging on its hook.

Walking on the line necklace: One person may walk on the line at a time with the necklace on. This prevents the confusion of two people approaching the line at the same time.

The lunch chefs chart: Lets the children know which three people will be working in the kitchen making lunch that day.

(If you have signals for other things, post them in comments!)

" Look around and you will see a family, community, we are brothers sisters all"

2010-02-07T16:13:00.003-05:00

This week we had our second parent evening of the year and instead of what I'm absolutely more comfortable with (a lecture, bullet points, powerpoint- yes, I know it can be boring, but)we had a "Community Building Night".

I think the activities of the evening were perfectly fitting for a first parent night of the year, but better late than never.

There were three parts to the evening, that was scheduled from 7:30-9:30 on a Friday night.

Post it wall: Upon arriving, parents were given a post it note where they were asked to write something that perhaps not everyone would know about them. The wall we used was in the middle of our room where everyone would kind of saunter by and read and comment on what others had written. It was interesting to find out that some of the parents in our community are or used to be very proficient at certain sports, speak all varieties of languages, have special talents and skills. This worked well for conversation starters.

Introductions: I've never done this before because I always dread it when I'm at a function somewhere and they ask each person to stand and say something about themselves. But finally I caved in. The introductions are done for a reason! With that brief bit of information you do get to know the person a little better. Interestingly enough, since we did this six months into the school year, parents decided to speak about what their experience at the school has been. This was a wonderfully bonding experience. Parents compared their prior school experiences to what their children are going through now (thankfully everyone spoke very positively).

Trivia: And to end the night, I had written up a set of trivia questions. Parents had a number on their name tag which is how the teams were made up. There were two topics: Montessori Theory and Practice, and Classroom Life. The first set of questions was based on information that I thought would be valuable for the parents to know (ex: According to Dr. Montessori at which age are children the most capable of absorbing information?) plus some popular culture questions related to Montessori (ex: who was Not a graduate of Montessori school: Bill Gates, The founders of Google, Anne Frank, Hugo Chavez). The second set of questions was specifically about the children in the class, the teachers, and school policies (ex: What is the latest time at which you are supposed to pick up your child from school every day?) There were prizes (visors that light up, just in time for Carnival!) and it was loads of fun.

Parents had brought appetizers and drinks which made it much easier for us. They also took home fresh baked bread that the children had made earlier that day.

It was the most successful and happily attended parent night I've ever hosted and truly felt like a room full of friends by the evening's end.

Pure Joy

2010-02-03T05:11:00.004-05:00

from OK Go- Of the blue colour of the sky - This too shall pass

"You can't stop these kids from dancin'.
Why would you want to?

'Cause if your mind don't move and your knees don't bend,
well don't go blaming the kids again."

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

The Power of Focussing on the Positive

2010-01-29T18:42:00.004-05:00

"The universe is created by what you choose to focus your attention on." from ZENCAST podcast titled "Choices"

We've been trying a little experiment in the classroom, Jessica (my assistant) and I, where we try to keep our attention on the positive elements of the environment. We are trying to notice more during observation the moments of concentration and of discovery. When we meet at the end of the day, we first share the highlights we witnessed in the day. Children who are notoriously mischievous are praised after spells no matter how short of normalized-like behavior. We are keeping the negative talk to a minimum. And in communication with parents, I am trying to accentuate the progress aspects rather than the areas needing work. During a meeting with a parent about some seriously troublesome behavior from her child, all of my suggestions revolved around her giving him attention for his constructive behavior, no matter how short spanned, and cutting to a minimum the scolding/nagging/pessimistic comments.

This practice is changing my life. I am feeling better every day. More motivated to go to the classroom in the mornings. Happier. Feeling better about our school.

Sure, realistically speaking there are many shortcomings, mistakes, problems at school, but choosing to celebrate the small affirmative moments makes the time and effort feel worth it.

Reef fish and creatures cards- for you!

2010-01-27T19:47:00.004-05:00

In preparation for a snorkeling field trip to the beach, we're learning all about the wildlife of the coral reef. This is the first set of cards I'll be presenting, and coming up later will be the types of reefs cards. Mind you, these are pretty specific to the Caribbean and to our region in particular, but I'd guess would still be interesting for any group doing things related to the ocean.

Patience, Humor, and Self Forgiveness

2010-01-24T16:23:00.004-05:00

Awakening Now

Why wait for your awakening?
The moment your eyes are open,
seize the day. Would you hold
back when the Beloved beckons?
Would you deliver your litany
of sins like a child's collection
of sea shells, prized and labeled?
"No, I can't step across the
threshold," you say, eyes
downcast. "I'm not worthy"
I'm afraid, and my motives
aren't pure. I'm not perfect,
and surely I haven't practiced
nearly enough. My meditation
isn't deep, and my prayers are
sometimes insincere. I still chew
my fingernails, and the refrigerator
isn't clean." Do you value your
reasons for staying small more
than the light shining through
the open door? Forgive yourself.

Now is the only time you have
to be whole. Now is the sole
moment that exists to live in
the light of your true Self.
Perfection is not a prerequisite
for anything but pain. Please,
oh please, don't continue to
believe in your disbelief.
This is the day of your awakening.

Dana Faulds

Dark Room Time

2010-01-13T14:58:00.003-05:00

I was always fascinated by the idea my 3-6 trainer mentioned about children needing a quiet time for processing information after a long spell of concentration in order to "incarnate" the new knowledge. She called it "dark room time" after the idea that it's much like processing of film.

It's not uncommon to see a child after an intense work choose something a little lighter, or wander around for a little before they can commit to something else. Like they're working through what they just experienced.

For our school this year, I chose to have a lengthy 3 week winter break, finding it a good time for both the children and the staff to really separate from school and recharge. Today I was thinking that the break is also like a dark room time. Everyone has come back to the school this week seemingly more than they were before.

And curiously, where I have personally experienced this feeling of dark room processing time the most recently has been in my kite surfing training. Maybe it's most obvious with motor skills... Two months ago I decided to give this new sport a try. It involves lots of new movements with my body, simultaneous awareness of body and kite, and awareness of the wind. All of it jumbled together into a very intense learning process.

I take one two hour lesson only once a week because I think it's almost necessary to have a whole week go by without kiting for my body to process what it's learned. When I come back to the beach that many days later, I feel that I understand completely what I did the past lesson. Never more so than during what felt like a qualitative leap when I took 3 weeks off from the lessons during these vacations. I returned to the kite feeling like I had mastered it during our time apart!

It makes me reflect on the importance of quality rest and sleep, and time apart from school in order to fully gain the understanding that comes from our work.

Old New Stuff from another Montessori prodigy

2010-01-11T17:35:00.001-05:00

Calm, happy and wonderful.

2009-12-17T17:49:00.003-05:00

With experience growing, organizing family events at school is becoming increasingly enjoyable and less stressful. On Tuesday we had our first Holiday Picnic and children's performance at school. Because we have children of multiple religious denominations, we kept the Christmas aspect of it more low key and focused more on the end of the year and a time together before the holiday break coming up.

Early in the day, the children helped to put all of our classroom tables and chairs outside under the trees. We laid out a couple of picnic blankets as well in shady areas of the garden and invited the parents to come to the school at lunch time.

The children had come dressed out of uniform that morning which already lent things a very celebratory air. We had practiced a set of songs and poems for a couple of weeks that the children were going to present to the parents. We chose songs in English, Dutch, and one in Spanish to reflect the languages of the school. And each of the oldest children had memorized a poem (with the help of their parents) and presented them individually after each song. It was a short and happy performance, very relaxed.

Parents each brought a dish to share for the picnic and the spread was amazing. After the performance everyone went outside with plates of food to eat in the nice weather. And after lunch, families went home.

I loved this gathering because it reflected a communal effort (parents bringing food, helping oldest children prepare their poems) and a really calm and happy get together. The children and adults enjoyed it equally.

I'd never before wanted to organize something at this time of the year feeling that families were hectic enough with the holidays coming up, but after this year's event, we will surely repeat next year.

Community gift

2009-12-17T10:48:00.002-05:00

This year, with the idea of community in mind, as the gift for the parents for the holidays we made family portrait refrigerator magnets. We traced 2 inch circles on cardstock, and each child got one circle for each member in their family. For a couple of days, we set a table with a pencil and color pencils for drawing a portrait of each family member in the circles.

I cut out the circles and laminated them, and then glued a small magnet behind each one.

We had our Holiday Picnic on Tuesday morning, and instead of wrapping the little portrait magnets, on our big whiteboard we outlined all of the family trees of the children in our class. It looked so full and pretty!

Each child has such a unique drawing style and the magnets were a success.

Last years gift was a silhouette of each child, and they were beautiful as well. But entirely teacher made. It's nice to give a gift that the children have really made themselves.

Community

2009-12-10T17:50:00.004-05:00

I've been reflecting on the importance of inspiring a sense of community and responsibility towards the group in the children at school. I'm interested in presenting or bringing to the children's attention a grace and courtesy lesson, book or true story daily that meditates on some aspect of life as part of a group. Or finding further ways of incorporating this idea into our daily routine.

I often feel like I'd like to emphasize the ideas of helpfulness/community/respect/generosity/kindness, but sometimes find the topics too daunting or too vague to approach practically.

Specific activities we do already to inspire a sense of community:

- We have times during the week when we all sit together and children have the opportunity to share something they brought from home or tell a story about something related to their home.

- At some point in the mornings we come together as a group and sing a song and recognize the absence of whoever is not at school that day. (To emphasize that even though you are not there, you are still a part of the group)

- At lunch we join hands and sing a "Community Song" before we eat.

- We have a set of "Community cards" that have a picture and the name of all the children and staff members of our school. We use them on special occasions (birthdays, important gatherings) and they are available for the children to look at individually as well. (They live on the peace shelf)

Things I'd like to do more of:

- Involve the children as a group in problem solving or decision making related to our life together in the classroom.

- Find books, and tell true stories related to life together as a group.

- Reflect back to the children verbally more of what I see that is positive about our day together in the classroom.

- Start a "heart journal" where anyone can write something positive that happened to them that day and read the entries at the end of the week.

I'd greatly appreciate any ideas/feedback on further ways of incorporating a sense of community in our daily routine!

Thankful

2009-11-29T19:58:00.003-05:00

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others.
Thich Naht Hanh

If you can't beat 'em...

2009-11-25T18:57:00.003-05:00

Movement games we have been playing to secretly drive home the points I keep trying to make with grace and courtesy lessons (insert maniacal fake evil laughter here):

- I roll out all the classroom rugs in different parts of the classroom. I play music on the cd player and the children walk #1 always walking #2 without touching any of the rugs. When the music stops, they must freeze. As they get better at it, I put rugs closer and closer together and limit the space where the children may walk. (This is to help with walking in the room, and with rugs with or without materials on them that become jumping challenges.)

- Walking around the room with the bead cabinet chains. I invite the children to each take a square or cube chain. I do the same as above with music. They must #1 only walk #2 the chain is held correctly. (This is to help with walking in the room and with the occasional chain that becomes double dutch.)

- Walking around the room with different materials in your hands. I invite the children to pick a material to walk with. I do as above with music, but I play it very softly. They must #1 only walk #2 their material may not make any sounds as they walk. (This is to help with walking in the room, and with materials that become maracas on their way back to the shelf.)

I challenge them further, push them to their limits, by choosing Harry Belafonte as the background music for the games. Oh to be able to resist "Jump in the line, rock your body in time, OK I believe you!"

Conscious Discipline

2009-11-22T18:42:00.008-05:00

This Saturday I attended a seminar for teachers and parents about the "Conscious Discipline" method, based on the work of Dr. Becky Bailey. It was presented by a child development expert on the Island, Helen Guda, who gave a really excellent and well timed workshop.

Since I've been fretting about the ideas of freedom and limits in the classroom so much lately, the seminar came as a opportune blessing. A lot of what was said was familiar from the bits about classroom management given to me in training, or from the parenting books I've read, but it's always good to be reminded of why certain things work better than others. And that when faced with a frustrated tantrumy child there are ways of handing things respectfully without helping the situation escalate.

Here are some notes on the lecture:

If we always do what we've always done, it would be crazy to expect a different outcome. Most adults (me sometimes) use fear based discipline techniques when managing conflicts with children because that's how most of us were raised. We do it institutionally.

Fear based discipline involves:

- motivating a child through fear/punishments/threats (ex: "If you do that again I'm going to...")
- focusing on the behavior that you DON'T want (ex: "don't throw pencils...if you throw the pencil... why did you throw the pencil?"- all child is hearing is THROW THE PENCIL!)
- manipulating or trying to control the child with rewards/punishments
- believing that a child must feel pain in order to learn, usually through some kind of repentance based method (like time out or other equally inefficate punishments)
- believing that we can change or make another person behave a certain way (ex: If I keep reminding him, he will eventually learn to do it...)

Positive/Conscious discipline involves:

- motivating the child through connecting with him
- focuses on the behavior that we DO want
- focuses on respecting the child and connecting with him to create cooperation
- stimulates self regulation in the child
- the child does things out of internal motivation
- believing that mistakes are necessary in order to learn (friendliness with error!)
- believing that the only person we can make change is ourselves

Conscious Discipline is based on research of the development of the brain. It uses knowledge about how the brain works to offer a way to connect with children at moments of conflict so that both parties may be enriched in the process of finding a solution.

It is based on the idea of helping the child work through the different natural reactions until they are at the point where they can register what you say, think, and find a solution to the conflict. The child moves from the survival mode (fight or flee), to a place where they can empathize or at least understand the situation. In order to carry out the process the adult has to want to connect with the child and be fully present.

When a child experiences fear or stress their primal response is to fight or flee. This is the body's natural defense mechanism. The responses of the body are triggered from the stem of the brain which is basically in charge of survival. The child under stress (very angry, having a tantrum) is operating under conditions that allow him only to choose between fighting or running away. It's not very effective to use reasoning with the child at this point. When approaching a child in this state the adult can calmly state what they see in the child (be a reflection of the child). Ex: "You are so angry, look at your brow, and you are red and stomping your feet..." You can even, the instructor suggested, imitate the child- this will either distract him or (my guess) drive him totally bonkers.

It is important at this point (when the child could be yelling and possibly cussing at you) to remember that no on can make you angry without your permission. We choose or not to get crazy and frustrated. The point here is to show the child a way out of their emotional mayhem into a more peaceful state. We have to be calm ourselves to do this. In the course they said that using affirmations such as "I am safe", "I am calm", or "I can handle this" is useful along with being aware of our breath.

Ok, so not judging the child, or getting into it with him about his tantrum is supposed to already help alleviate the situation a little. The child feels a little safer, you are not towering over him or yelling at him, so he moves up to the place where the limbic system (responsible for feelings) can be active. At this point you can talk to the child about how he feels: "You got so angry when Fred took your pencil and threw it, you were furious, it made you feel hurt." This is where a connection can be made with the child, he feels that you understand and trusts you.

Once out of that stage, the child is calmer and clearly ready to listen, you can approach him for problem solving. This is where the prefrontal cortex, that part of the brain where we make decisions based on choices (the CEO of the brain if you will), comes in. At this point you can talk to the child about finding a solution to the problem: "You got angry with Fred because he took something from you. What could you say to Fred so that he knows that you didn't like that?" It is only at this stage that the child is capable of reasoning with you and learning by making better choices.

With children who you have difficulty connecting to the following things are also helpful:

-build rapport with the child during positive moments by showing affection, conversing, showing interest and giving attention to the child

-it is possible to encourage the child by noticing out loud when he does things the correct way (a SUPER book about how to use praise effectively is "The Kazdin Method" by Alan E. Kazdin)

-creating a "safe place" or "quiet place" in the classroom gives the child the option of knowing where to go when he is angry or sad. (More on creating these spaces in "Nurturing the Spirit in Non-Sectarian Classrooms" by Aline Wolf)

-being assertive in our own communications with the children especially when it comes to limits (More on this in "Non Violent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg)

Beautiful Sun Montessori

if you are not having fun, you must be doing something wrong.

Simplified.

Reading Classification

This is your life.

School lunch.

Chop wood and carry water.

Living in the present.

The greatest gift.

Children teaching children.

Loving it.

Conscious Discipline

Be gentle.

Peace Day Plans

Saturday morning music.

The circle is complete.

Cultural Exchange Box Project

Community building, first weeks of school.

Year #4, I can't believe it.

Pale Blue Dot

Passing the torch.

The master in the art of living

Our graduation slide show

Discovery: lap harp.

What is good.

Gentleness

"Believe in the child."

Happy Moments Journal

The clumsiness of power spoils the key, and uses the pickaxe. - Tagore

Parent Participation

Mirror Neurons and Empathy

Less is more.

Open

"Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable,unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual."

Nisargadatta

The circle is complete.

One day I'm going to whistle?

The Real Work

Observation and Record Keeping

Jamming- Child made holiday gifts for parents

Butterflies and Moths

From The Happiness Project

Parent Conferences

In the end.

Choices.

‎"The last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

A perfect film

Peace Week and Independent Conflict Resolution

more tv.

Who loves kindergarten pop music? Um... I do.

Softness and Safety

Silence as a Celebration

Bumper sticker

Multiplication

Togetherness

Kindness

Kinesthetic Intelligence

Grace and Courtesy at the Beginning

Practical Beginning Stuff

Beginning

Shelves Setup

summer voyage

Shyly venturing into online learning...

You are nothing. You are everything.

Time to listen.

Wooden Boat School

Be good, be happy.

Let it go.

Sing and dance while the music is being played.

A Peaceful Classroom

Friendliness with Error: Conan O'Brien addressing Harvard Graduates

About Praise

Wherever you are, be there.

just trying it out to see what happens.

Routine Books

Chinese Evening- Rolling with the punches

Amazing things.

What Lies Within Us

Telling True Stories

No rush.

"Stay without ambition, without the least desire, exposed, vulnerable,
unprotected, uncertain and alone, completely open to and welcoming life as it happens, without the selfish conviction that all must yield you pleasure or profit, material or so-called spiritual."