“Education, as today conceived, is something separated both from biological and social life. All who enter the educational world tend to be cut off from society…People are prepared for life by exclusion from it.” – Maria Montessori One of the most crucial and large differences between Montessori and conventional schooling is in the realm of […]
Author Archive | walnutfarm
April 2021 Primary Newsletter Articles
In Montessori environments, we teach and practice three-respects: respect others, respect the environment, and respect yourself. Setting limits with freedom is closely connected to this practice. If you think about what needs to happen for us to get back to “normal,” it is all in these three- respects. We learned how important it is to […]
April 2021 Toddler Newsletter Article
Hello Toddler Families! It is hard to believe another school year is almost completed. Even with the uncertainties of how it would go with Covid-19, it has been an amazing year. Your children have all grown so much. Each child brought something special to our classroom and it has been an honor to work with […]
The Closing of a Most Unusual Year
When I first stepped into this role almost a year ago, the tasks were large and filled with many unknowns. It was not just because this position was a new experience for me, but also because of the unknowns facing our school due to COVID-19. We did not know if we would need to close […]
Transitioning to Lower Elementary
The transition in a Montessori school from the Primary level to the Lower Elementary is particularly remarkable, and requires our special attention. Maria Montessori developed an educational model to offer information and experiences during the times when it matches the child’s actual interests and ability to easily learn material. Typically, readiness for this transition happens […]
The Importance Of The Three-year Cycle
Last week, the afternoon work cycle students (third-year students) and I were looking at the photos I keep in the classroom kitchen. They are the class photos from the past four years. As they chatted about those images, I thought of the first year of the current kindergarteners: how much they have grown physically, how […]
Transitioning to Primary
Why are ages 18 months – 36 months grouped together in the Toddler environments? The new toddler has a peer to relate to, look up to, and observe in their new environment. The three-year old thrives on being a leader and helping younger students. It may be the first time this child is considered a […]
Progress, Transition and Change
“A child who has become master of his acts through long and repeated exercises, and who has been encouraged by the pleasant and interesting activities in which he has been engaged, is a child filled with health and joy and remarkable for his calmness and discipline.” – Maria Montessori January is the month where teachers […]
Fantasy and Imagination
In The Absorbent Mind, about the second plane of development Maria Montessori says, “…it is a period of growth unaccompanied by other change. The child is calm and happy. Mentally, he is in a state of health, strength, and assured stability.” There is also a newfound focus on the society, goodness, rules, and social constructs. […]
Normalization period
As the weeks have rapidly passed we have learned more and more about your children. Each child, in very different ways, has opened up to us – some quickly, some slowly – revealing a person, a personality. It is a joy to learn about (your) little humans and the potential they bring to our lives […]