I was thinking of you all this morning as I was taking a leisurely stroll to the office with two of my very sweet yet very inquisitive children. You know the type. The never-ending “why, why, why, why” type. I truly believe it consists of 75% curiosity and 25% subconscious knowledge that it will eventually drive the adult batty. As I was randomly spitting out answers that would satisfy their curiosity yet entertain me I realized that I have been giving out a lot of answers lately.

I would like to share with you a new Montessori Blog by Miss Donna Bryant Goertz who is the founder of Austin Montessori School in Austin, Texas, and who also acts as a resource to schools around the world entitled "Instead of Punishment."  She gives us an insight into what happens when two friends at school get into a situation when one of them becomes hurt.  What do we do then, as the adults, trying to resolve

I would like to give you a few tips on how you can prepare a Montessori environment at home.

                Maria Montessori (1870-1952) noticed that young children are naturally drawn to the types of things that allow them to put their sense of order to use. They also have an inner developmental need to gain independence. This certainly seems to be true for most toddlers that I know.

       I enjoyed seeing all of you at our Parent Information Night and hope you discovered a lot about what we do here, and what your child will be doing here in the years to come.  I highly encourage all of you to attend as many Parent Nights as possible since we try to make them all different even year after year.  It’s for your benefit that we offer these events so that at parent conferences we can discuss your child rather than only going over Montessori theory and lessons.  However, as most of you have ex

       What a week! This hot weather certainly crept up on me and although I'm grateful for the sunshine, I wasn't prepared for such a great leap in the temperature gauge. Unfortunately, unexpected heat waves can create unexpected personality changes. Heat can make both adults and children impatient, cranky, and even a little lackadaisical. This came to mind as I was negotiating with my 10-year-old over a simple matter that required no negotiation. I was frustrated with her behavior yet found myself making excuses for how she was acting. Do you ever do that? Get annoyed yet make excuses?

  I would like to talk about freedom and discipline and how it affects you and your child(ren).  Internal discipline is what we are interested in and what will be achieved by the child. It takes a certain number of years for this internal discipline to occur.  It is a result of concentration, which in turn, comes from the child's interest in work.  This work is manifested through repetition and freedom of choice.  Freedom of choice comes through the fundamentals of knowledge that have been provided for the child by you (at home) and the teacher (at school). I wi

In a random "poll" I did with the children last week, there were many who had watched TV on a weeknight and who watch TV, use an electronic device, and or have a TV in their room that was also the same children who had trouble finding work and being settled that day.  I realize this is not a study, but merely an observation of mine, but it's rather interesting. I then asked who played outside and it truly was those children that had dedicated and focused work that morning. 

So, with that, I want to leave you with some wonderful websites and some reading to do at your leisure. 

As school begins to wind down for the school year, expectations in the class begin to change.  In some cases, the older children are being held to a higher standard because they have had the time and experience in the classroom to become role models.  In other cases, the "little ones" get away with a bit more because it's almost time for summer vacation.  One ongoing theme that reappears every year, both in my home and in the classroom, is "it's not fair!"

       I’d like to empower you to start teaching our children about community and a good way to start is water conservation. This is an incredibly important topic especially here in the Southern California region and it's really pretty easy to get your child thinking about it.

Water conservation includes keeping water safe from pollution as well as minimizing water use. Teaching preschoolers about water conservation guides them to become environmental stewards rather than taking clean water for granted. Here are a couple of tips to get the conversation started.