Dealing with Dyslexia
Dyslexia is something that I've heard about my entire adult life as a teacher. But my knowledge has been fairly superficial until now.
The Story of a Gift
Most children start Montessori at an early age. They quickly grow accustomed to the beautiful materials. They grow accustomed to being treated with respect. What happens when a child who has never been in Montessori sees Montessori materials for the first time? What happens when a child who has never been in Montessori is treated with respect?
Montessori and the Child with Special Needs
Recently I have received quite a few questions about children with special needs (autism, ADHD, and others) and how they can fit into the Montessori environment. Since many of the questions were similar, it seemed like a good idea to jot down some thoughts about this topic. There are several things about the Montessori philosophy and materials that make it a wonderful option for special needs children, and several things that can cause some difficulty also. Please note that I am speaking in generalities; every school is different so there’s a lot of variation out there.
The Day Montessori Met the iPhone
Bobby and June George have been making a name for themselves in the field of Montessori education for quite a while. They are the founders of The Baan Dek Montessori in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the first school accredited by the Association Montessori International (AMI) in South Dakota. Recently, they have begun to develop iPad and iPhone applications based on Montessori materials, specifically the sandpaper letters and wooden math materials like the red rods. Called Montessorium, this idea has been met with some skepticism on the part of Montessori teachers and parents. I had a chance to ask them some questions about this new combination of Montessori and technology.
Celebrating Milestones
A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. It was hard to believe that 16 years have passed since we said “I do”, and that in a few years, I’ll have known my husband for as long as I didn’t know him (we met when we were both 20). Pretty much all I can think of when I see this picture of us is how young we look...
Can Children Be Paid to Learn?
Whether a child receives a traditional education or an alternative one, there is always a desire on the part of educators and parents to know just how much the child is learning. Test scores continue to be the holy grail of traditional education, but what happens when you pay children to get higher test scores?
Taking a Closer Look at Online Montessori Training
Recently I posted a link on Facebook to United Montessori Association, an online Montessori training program. To my surprise, several people left negative comments, along the lines of “Can’t agree with online training…sorry.” and “Online training is not possible…it requires a lot of practical learning”. I realized as I read through the comments that I actually don’t know very much about how online training works - and I decided to find out more.
Can You Get an Education in Spite of School?
A few weeks ago my family and I attended a large homeschooling conference in St. Charles, IL. This is the 13th year this conference has been held and it is attended by hundreds of homeschooling parents and children. The featured speaker this year was John Taylor Gatto, a former New York state public school teacher who now speaks out against traditional schooling. He challenged us to completely re-think our view of education and what's really important for children to learn.
An Interview with a Montessori “Kid”
I am delighted to share with you a conversation I had recently with Andrea Coventry, a Montessori-child-turned-educator. She's a writer as well, with lots of interesting articles to her credit. I felt like talking to Andrea could help us, as parents and teachers, better understand how Montessori shapes a child's mind, and what kind of adults our Montessori children will turn out to be.
The Purpose of School
For the past few years, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time studying online marketing. That’s one of the big reasons why my business has grown so quickly. As I’ve researched, one name has popped up over and over again as a thought leader in the world of marketing: Seth Godin.