Wouldn’t it be much healthier to shape piñatas like seasonal symbols of non-sentient beings – Easter eggs, pumpkins, stars, pineapples, watermelons, fancy cakes, rockets, ice cream cones, cupcakes, sombreros, giant numerals of the child’s age, etc.? Read more »
This is why Montessori homes and schools are so important; they are more collaborative than competitive, they mediate and reconcile rather than punish, they find ways to strengthen the communal bond while bringing out the best in individual members, and they celebrate variety they forged as a whole. Read more »
Freshman big brother (Montessori alumnus) home from university for the holidays reads aloud to his sister in Montessori early elementary. He plays a vital role in keeping a nightly family tradition going. These practices are powerful for keeping the rich and healthy family culture strong and happy. Read more »
No screens available in the home for children means more life to live! This child went from eager laundry helper to enthusiastic writer of reports. Screens interrupt a child’s life, keeping her mind constantly pulled away from whatever else she’s doing and back toward them through their hypnotic power. They distract her from developing her body, mind, and spirit.
The kindness of strangers – we should all be so blessed. And we could each learn enough about the spiritual practices and music of one another to provide that kind comfort – and receive the blessings of serving one another. Children in Montessori elementary communities explore the shared values and particular practices across cultures and over time. Read more »
Quite the opposite of the Montessori approach which emphasizes maximum effort, concentration and responsibility for the development of independence and coordination – we see here instead the easy way out! The perpetual and ubiquitous sippy cup develops carelessness, distraction, laziness and clumsiness.
Competition and judgment, absorbed from our environment or intentionally instilled from birth onward, steals from us our pleasure and joy in the process of doing and replaces it with comparison of our products and performances with those of others. Such a waste, the loss of many big chunks we could be enjoying in life! Read more »
A demonstration, a protest, should be gracious, responsible, compassionate, persistent, persevering, and boldly enduring. It should be an extreme effort of non-violent struggle that transforms – an evolution, not a revolution! Read more »
Montessori schools support children to develop and educate themselves for independence and interdependence, initiative and effort, collaboration and enlightened competition, self-advocacy and advocacy on behalf of others. Montessori gives children boots with bootstraps to pull themselves up by. Read more »
Montessori schools follow the healthy drives of children to explore, self-develop, and self-educate. Read more »