Resources: Montessori For Social Justice This Rubic is incredibly helpful for self-reflection and adjusting of practices.  This is based on the research of Dr. Juliet King and Dr. Lucy Canzoneri-Golden.  For me, I'm pinning this to my workspace.

Okay.  As a trained Montessori Teacher, I admit it:  online materials are NO REPLACEMENT FOR MONTESSORI MATERIALS, but times are tough for many right now.  COVID-19 is still very present in our lives and in our communities.  Below is a list of Montessori Materials links, free for home use.  These materials can enhance a school experience or home school, but are no replacement for work in the hands of a child.  In my virtual teaching, my students each have the materials in their hands and on the screen.  Before use of any of these, please be sure access albums or a trained teacher for help.   Movable Alphabe t Bead Bars or Bead Stair Bead Bars for Multiplying Grammar Game Multiplication Bead Board Unit Division Bead Board Factor Board Square Root Board Peg Board Dot Game Fractions Checkerboard Bead Bars Large Bead Frame Bead Frame Montessori Tools:  Golden Beads, Peg Board, and Stamp Game

The Montessori Number Roll is one of my favorite Montessori activities for Linear Counting.  My classroom children go nuts for it, and now you can give it a try at home.  Our number rolls are so long they spread across the lawn!  Number rolls are so attractive to children; to write out numbers, and have the opportunity to see them go so high. The child writes the numbers in order; keeping place value as units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc. I enjoy using paper grids with the initials of the decimal order, available for free download here .  When beginning, either instruct the child to begin units at 0 or cut off one row to begin at 1.  The rest of the number roll will require understanding of place value, and exchanging.   Above is a photo of the Montessori Exchange Tray, which is helpful for children who get stuck with changing decades or exchanging for the next level.  The child can simply lay out the quantity and add one unit.  For example, f...

  There has never been more of a Follow The Child Moment for me as a mom than with remote learning.  Two of my daughters were miserable with the remote learning with Connections Academy because they craved socialization with other students and the work felt empty.  My high schooler is happy with Connections Academy, because she's been able to keep her social connections through COVID and adores independent working.  The live lessons at CA weren't like zoom calls, where you can see other kids and work cooperatively.   Every last day, they'd ask me to homeschool them.  The road block to that is that I need to work to maintain healthy finances and to continue my dream.  As luck would have it, while researching a Montessori Middle School that was virtual, I stumbled upon Higher Ground Education.  While going through the admissions process for Academy of Thought and Industry, I discovered Guidepost Montessori Virtual School.   Due to a...

 The girls are starting TEC Connections Academy on 9/1 and we are full of jitters and anticipation!  They're little work spaces are all set up, and they are connecting with their teachers tomorrow at orientation.   I'm (Mom) tutoring online using Orton Gillingham and Montessori Language this Fall, until Montessori School is ready for me again! Best of luck in the new school year, everyone.

While not all ideas are new ideas (this philosophy has been around over 100 years!), I feel compelled to share a little bit about handwriting in Primary/3-6/Early Childhood. I'm glad to share about writing, since our (Massachusetts) state is on of the last to keep it in the frameworks. Throughout my undergraduate work, Montessori Training, Graduate work, and with professional development, I've been to every possible "out of box" handwriting program the world has created for us. But guess what?  Not all children require the same tools to gain skills.  Ugh.  Is that new?  Nope!   I don't use any of those.   From where I sit, I don't think workbooks have any place in a preschool class or a Montessori 3-6.  The steps listed below can be used in whatever order the child needs. Before I share what happens in my class, please read these two blog posts about what comes FIRST.  These skills and strengths are necessary before trying to write or learn ...

Hello All! We are back at home with all three girls, using TECCA Connections Academy and following our own interests.  Our school district has given the girls the best elementary and middle school education we could ask for, but with COVID and all the mess that comes with it, we are home.  We will enter 2020-2021 with two 7th graders and a High School Freshman.  Yes, that much time has past since I posted here! Wasn't this a Montessori blog?  Yes, it still is!  I'm still a Montessori Teacher and Mom.  We will also be "following the child," with the Montessori Adolescent Philosophy. This year we will: Follow their interests in unit studies  Biology, Zoology, Geography, Politics, Health, Yoga, etc. Entrepreneurship each learner has chosen a side business to develop henna tubes slime babysitting Community Action Projects Girl Scouts Community Gardening Food Bank Tutoring services Family-focused homesteading care of environment  care of self care of f...

Children have visible cues that show concentration.  It happens at school and at play; take a peek! Iris, age 2 Signs like a tongue out, rocking, stillness, even a quickly moving leg can tell us that the child is focusing.  It’s important to know what it looks like when your child or student is concentrating.  Through recognizing this, we  become aware of this vital learning skill for each individual.  Once we learn the ways in which each child finds concentration, it is the adult's job to aid and protect it. Here are some simple ways to aid concentration in children: Don’t interrupt.   A wise woman once told me; do not interrupt the focusing child unless you observe disrespect, danger, or destruction.  I always run over that checklist in my head before engaging concentrating child.  It can be a challenge for little ones to return to focus. Set the stage.   Clear the clutter and prepare the environment .  Children can h...

I read all the education journals and magazines, so I'm finding the 'latest trends' in education to truly be 'old trends' from a method developed over one hundred years ago.  An article written just this May, lists 12 Education Terms To Know in 2015 .   I read them, and I smile.  Then I think, oh yeah- we (Montessori Teachers) do that!  Here's to the "Progressive" schools, I thank you for thinking outside the norm, and I wish these things below for all children. Looping. The practice of one teacher keeping the class of students for more than one year.  In Montessori Schools, it's for three .  Imagine a child not having to readjust to new expectations, new classmates, new adults.  The month of September would be full of learning.  Imagine the adult, greeting students in the beginning of the year, knowing them inside and out- on a very individual level.  Teachers get to see the full transformation of the child.  It's beautiful. ...

I promise not to use food for anything else but consumption.  And r epurpose our water usage for nature.  Sounds like a funny promise?  Well, think hard, teachers..... For eleven years I have been using beans for my pouring work .  Quinoa for my spooning work.  Cereal for necklaces.  Flour & Salt in my special play dough.  It has to stop in my class and in my home.  This is food, and it's being wasted.  That's a shame, and I promise to stop.  Can you? When I rethink anything about the classroom, and it requires a change I always tell my students, "Teachers are always thinking" to avoid lengthy over-their-heads-teacher-talk.  This one, I will be sure  to explain my answer.  I will be sure to tell my little 3-6 year olds that not everyone has the food they need.  So, I'll have to think of something else.  Here's a small list (keep in mind, children who put things in their mouths should not be around ...

Teachers need renewal, just like any profession.  Montessori Teachers require a bit of a different 'up keep' of sorts, and sometimes it's an active choice to maintain our particular level of self-care.  Below is a small list that helps me in my teaching practice. Find an outlet.  For creativity.  For inspiration.  For decompressing.  Being a teacher (any type of teacher!) requires that you leave all of your outside-of-the-classroom baggage at the door.  Able to greet each child- each and every day- with a warm and open heart.   It takes an active plan within each of us to keep that magic going.  Try:   art music volunteering yoga & meditation reading writing dancing hiking cooking sewing/knitting building and tinkering Go to a Montessori Conference or Session.   American Montessori Society , Association Montessori Internationale , North American Montessori Teachers Association .  Or, go visit your tra...

The work found in Montessori Schools in the Practical Life Area aids inner construction, discipline, independence, self-esteem, and sense of order.  These traits and virtues are gained from concentration on a precise material.  It has been said that this type of adaptation to our work, the do-it-yourself capabilities we instill, is the very foundation for education. Everything in the Montessori environment is painstakingly prepared for the success of the child.  In particular, the teachers prepare activities for each type of practical life work. 1) Physical Skills:  Pouring, Scooping/Spooning, Squeezing, Twisting, and Bead Stringing/Lacing 2) Care of Self 3) Care of Environment 4) Grace and Courtesy 5) Food Preparation The area of Practical Life for today's post will be Physical Skills, all with the them of Fall .  Activities that involve pouring, spooning/scooping, squeezing, twisting, and lacing help train the child for writing, and r...

Many schools are opting for a greener, healthier lunch experience.  Is your child's school asking for Waste-Free or Trash-less Lunches? Why Waste-Free? Waste-Free Lunch for Preschool The average American discards 7.5 pounds of trash each day.   To reduce this number in your community, you can help reduce the waste at school. A waste-free lunch is likely to be a healthier lunch, containing fewer prepackaged or processed foods .   When unpacking after school, parents can see for themselves what their child consumed or didn't consume during lunchtime.   It is helpful in knowing what they prefer in their lunchboxes!   It’s fun and cool! What is a Waste-Free Lunch Like? Waste-Free Lunch for a 1st grader:  Yogurt/Berry/Kale smoothie, bagel with egg salad, babybel cheese, cocoa crackers, yogurt raisins, blueberries, and sliced carrots in a reusable bag.  Ice water to drink.    A Was...

In honor of Daughter's Week, I write this letter to my girls:  Madeline, Iris & Sarah regarding their education with love and with the humble honor of being part of it.  xoxox, Mom. Please know that I only wish for your perseverance, your dignity , and your caring . Please keep this with you as you go through your varied education levels:  You are an asset to this world and the following generations.  Don't let the world's placement of you get in your way.  I simply do not care about test scores, grades, your school's rewards and punishment programs, your GPA, your graduation standing, your weight, your wins and loses in sports, your trophies, or any way your worth is measured monetarily, by numbers, by silly traffic light codes, or by status.  I don't need these measurements to know you are amazing.     I mean it.      Hold me to this please, society is sitting on me.  I love you. Please keep this in your heart a...

I've been reading so much lately about the idea of 'flow' and concentration within the daily lives of both children and adults.  The whole idea wrapped into the concept of Montessori Teaching is seamless, and it's something I just can't stop pondering.  Below I'm sharing two articles/blog posts regarding this exact issue.  Happy weekend, everyone! My little one, age TWO (now 5!) 5 Ways To Aid Concentration Foster Concentration, from Let's Lasso The Moon

Very excited to announce that you can now purchase Practical Life Sets made by me :)  It's been very fun already! Please visit the link below: https://www.etsy.com/shop/montessorimornings The work found in Montessori Schools in the Practical Life Area aids inner construction, discipline, independence, self-esteem, and sense of order.  These traits and virtues are gained from concentration on a precise material.  It has been said that this type of adaptation to our work, the do-it-yourself capabilities we instill, is the very foundation for education. Everything in the Montessori environment is painstakingly prepared for the success of the child.  In particular, the teachers prepare activities for each type of practical life work. 1) Physical Skills:  Pouring, Scooping/Spooning, Squeezing, Twisting, and Bead Stringing/Lacing 2) Care of Self 3) Care of Environment 4) Grace and Courtesy 5) Food Preparation Although eac...