» Archive for the 'Montessori' Category

This Morning

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 by Stacie

In between the two temper tantrums he had before 8AM (count ‘em - TWO) J decided to refill the cat’s food dish. He brought her bowl over to the cupboard, pulled out the bin with the cat food in it, took off the lid, scooped her dish in the bin to fill it, replaced the lid, put the dish back where it belonged and put the bin back in the cupboard. Then he emptied her water bowl in the sink, pushed his step-stool up to the sink, turned on the water, filled her bowl, turned off the water and placed the water bowl back next to the food bowl.

Have I mentioned before how very fabulous Montessori is? Because, I assure you, this isn’t my doing.

Talking About School

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 by Stacie

driving to school
Me: So, what are you going to do at school today?
J: My work.

pulling into the parking lot
J: Shake Chrissy! Shake Chrissy! (Chris is the teacher whose hand J and F shake each morning on the way into the building.)

getting out of the car
J: There Tommy! There Tommy!

First Day Back at School

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 by Stacie

Today was our first day back at the Young Children’s Community at the Montessori school. I was prepared for separation anxiety and at home F did ask that “Mama stay” when I talked about school. However, once she was in her classroom she was off and running and didn’t even give me a good-bye kiss. J did when I reminded him but he was already thinking about the puzzles.

Montessori Young Children’s Community Progress Reports

Friday, May 30th, 2008 by Stacie

These are the end of the year summary reports from the kids’ school.

———-
F

Social Behaviors: F greets everyone with a warm smile. She is gentle with others. She usually engages in solitary play but has recently been engaging more with others in parallel play.

Language: F is using more words to express her needs. She asks for help or more of something at the snack table or gives the names of different objects. We encourage her to converse and acknowledge everything she says.

Grace & Courtesies: F is learning to share and take turns. We encourage her to use her manners at the snack table, “please”, “may I”, “please pass the” and “excuse me.” She sits nicely for snack and music time.

Fine Motor Skills: F is learning to manipulate many of the materials in the classroom. She has mastered the velcro frames, zipper frame and beading. She loves to paint and paste.

Gross Motor Skills: F has been practicing carrying trays with objects and pitchers and buckets of water. She is spilling less as her movements have become more controlled and balanced.

Self Care/Toileting: F has become more independent in her ability to dress, undress and use the toilet. She does not often initiate using the toilet but will sometimes urinate while sitting on the toilet when reminded.

Care of the Environment / Practical Life: F enjoys watering the plants, germinating seeds, cleaning the tables with the sponge, cleaning her shoes and polishing wood. She likes to prepare her own snack. She sometimes makes the flower arrangements for the snack table.

Work Cycle: F chooses her own work and stays busy all morning. She has been sitting and concentrating for longer periods of time. She brings her own work to a table and sits with it but we sometimes have to remind her to clean up.

F’s Plan: We are happy to have F return to YCC in the fall. We will encourage her to help the newer students. We will continue to introduce activities that require longer sequences of tasks and greater fine motor dexterity. We look forward to spending more time with our cheerful friend F.

———-
J

Social Behaviors: J comes in every day with lots of energy and stays energized all morning. He usually becomes self-absorbed in what he is doing. He often takes an interest in what another child is doing and cannot see what the big deal is when he grabs it to take a closer look and the child gets upset. If only everyone was as understanding and accommodating as his sister.

Language: J usually uses single words to express himself. We encourage him to ask for help when he needs it and use words to express what he wants.

Grace & Courtesies: J is learning to bring his work to a table and sit with it and put his work away.

Fine Motor Skills: J has been practicing slicing bananas for snack, spreading apple butter on bagels, opening containers and doing puzzles.

Gross Motor Skills: J likes to keep moving. He also loves to throw anything that has the slightest curved edge. We try to discourage him and say things like, “J, we throw balls outside and in the gym…that’s not a ball.” He hears us but…”

Self Care/Toileting: J has become better at dressing and undressing himself. He does not yet recognize the need to use the toilet.

Care of the Environment / Practical Life: J likes to water the plants, clean the chalkboard and mop up spills. He enjoys any kind of food preparation activity. J sets up his place setting himself but often needs encouragement to clean it up.

Work Cycle: J chooses his own work and usually brings it to a table. He can sit and focus for a short time but usually needs to get up and move.

J’s Plan: We look forward to having J return to YCC in the fall. His energy and passion are admirable. We hope he gets to throw to his heart’s content this summer. We also hope he is encouraged to use the toilet and wear underwear as much as possible.

My Kid is More Gifted Than Yours. So There.

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 by Stacie

I survived the Mommy Wars over breastfeeding, managing to be both a fraud who supplemented and a freak who is nursing toddler twins. There aren’t many areas in life I’ve achieved both fraudhood and freakdom. I survived the working vs. stay-at-home debates utilizing the aggressively nutty choice of trying to start my own business in a totally new field for me. But the educational arms race may do me in.

When I was interviewing to teach at private schools one administrator warned me that parents, upon enrolling their child in that particular school’s kindergarten, sometimes asked if this would increase their child’s chance of getting into Yale. Seriously. I attended a workshop on brain development at my kids’ school because I am the kind of dork who finds child development interesting and several parents asked questions that boiled down to “tell me that spending all this money on tuition will make my kid smarter/more successful/more likely to get into Yale.”

Everyone thinks her kids are gifted. Spend time on parenting boards and almost every single child seems to be ahead of the curve. Women whose kids are well within the bounds of normal developmental milestones get worked into a tizzy because someone else’s kid is counting to ten in three languages by one. Everyone has to be gifted. If your kid isn’t gifted he must be plain old dumb because those appear to be the only choices. You have to have a gifted kid who is super duper smart, so smart he makes you worried in that braggy kind of “whatever am I going to do - junior is playing Mozart again” way or you may as well give up. Not reading Tolstoy at 2? You’re doomed to a life digging ditches in Albania.

How do you determine giftedness at 1.5 anyway? Who smears paste in her hair with the most grace? Who eats, or doesn’t eat, the fingerpaints?

We’re in an educational arms race towards a time when all children are gifted and we are already scurrying about like madwomen trying to grab onto whatever advantage we can scrape up to get our kids into the very bestest colleges no matter what. It’s insane. And you have to consciously fight to not get sucked into it. Flashcards, DVDs, they are out there, taunting you with the possibility that if you just used this product your kid might be counting in Urdu too.

Mine of course, already does. Or maybe it’s Gaelic. It’s hard to tell what with all the fingerpaints in her mouth.