Montessori Elementary School and Its Influence

In 1907, Maria Montessori opened the first Casa de Bambini, or Children's House. Since then, Montessori education has spread around the planet and is now used in thousands of schools on every continent. From daycare to middle school and beyond, Maria Montessori has left a lasting legacy that is slowly changing how children are taught.

Hands-On Learning

Private middle school uses hands-on activities as the primary form of instruction. These activities are engaging and self-correcting, allowing children to build confidence and self-esteem by correcting their own mistakes. Play-based learning is gaining popularity in more traditional educational systems today, but it has always been a critical aspect of the Montessori Method.

Child Centric Development

The children themselves, not the subject being taught, are always at the forefront of the Montessori Method. From developing fine and gross motor skills to helping children develop strong language and writing skills, the focus is on each child, not on keeping the whole class working on the same lesson at the same time.

Discipline Without Punishment

Montessori does not use threats or physical punishment to maintain discipline. Instead, children learn that appropriate behavior is valued, and straying from that behavior results in unwanted consequences such as going into timeout, being left out of engaging group activities, and more. Children learn to act in preferential ways because they want to be meaningful members of the group, not because they are afraid of being punished.

 

Leadership Through Confidence

At the heart of the Montessori Method is a child who is self-confident, aware of how their actions affect others, and personally invested in their own educational progress. Maria Montessori recognized that children who feel good about themselves are more willing to do good things for others, take risks, and apply themselves to solving problems and reaching goals.

A Dynamic Triad

There are 3 major factors in Montessori education. The first and most important part is the child, but the adults-- generally parents and educators-- form an equally valuable aspect. The triad is rounded out through a carefully prepared environment that regulates activities and guides progress without hampering the individual freedoms of the children it serves. To be successful, the Montessori Method requires all 3 aspects to be present and work in unison for the good of the individual child.

Not every aspect of the Montessori Method is available in traditional schools and the name Montessori is not trademarked. Before you enroll your children in a school that claims to be Montessori, take the time to verify that you are working with an authentic Montessori facility.

Continue Reading

Considering Infant Care? Here's What You Need to Know

Infant care is a necessary part of life for most households, and the type of care ranges from dedicated family members to preschool, but a key trait of all experienced infant care approaches is that they employ some of the fundamental traits of the Montessori Method. With this in mind, the best place to begin looking for infant care may be in authentic Montessori schools themselves.

The Best Time for Enrollment

As soon as you are ready, Montessori preschool is available. Childhood development experts suggest that enrollment before the age of 7 months is best because children enter a phase when they are wary of strangers between 7 months and 1 year. Your kids can still be enrolled during this period, but may not adapt to the Montessori environment as quickly as they would if they were enrolled sooner.

Engagement Without Overload

Children can be overwhelmed with sensory input, leading to reduced performance, or resistance to appropriate behavior. Montessori addresses this phenomenon by limiting the amount of sensory input children experience, specifically by using activities that only impart limited information when it is used. Sensory input does not mean that only one form of development is being addressed, only how much data needs to be absorbed for that particular activity. Children are still working on fine motor skills, language development, and other early skills, a Montessori trait that continues throughout the educational process.

 

Montessori is a Prepared Environment

Montessori infant care facilities begin with lots of open spaces. The rooms and furniture are designed for small bodies, with accessible sleeping areas spaced for easy access by the children. Montessori daycare never uses cribs or playpens because children are expected to sleep or be active as they choose rather than according to arbitrarily assigned times. From hanging artwork at a child's eye level to well-designed developmental activities, everything about the Montessori preschool is about the children themselves.

Developmental Freedom

One of Maria Montessori's early observations was that children need to have the freedom to move if they are going to develop appropriately. To this end, classroom activities are well-spaced, children receive frequent access to an outdoor environment, and every child is allowed to move relatively freely from one activity to another at their own discretion. Far from producing chaos, this freedom of choice creates a quiet, motivating environment where children busily explore their world as they develop important physical, emotional, and mental skills.

There are many types of infant care available, but only authentic Montessori schools use the Montessori Method, prepared environment, and careful observation that have been proven to impart fundamental fine motor skills, social skills, and academic fundamentals such as language, science, and math.

Continue Reading

How to Deal with Work Anxiety

Dealing with an anxiety disorder at work can have a significant negative impact on your career. Maybe you turn down a promotion because you fear the additional pressure placed on you by assuming more responsibility. Perhaps a conflict with a co-worker explodes into an office battle for everyone to see. Do you make excuses to get out of attending social events held outside the workplace?

Workplace anxiety can be a career changer, and not for the better. Undergoing adult therapy that focuses on the issues that trigger your anxiety can help you cope with anxious moments.

In a national research study conducted on workplace anxiety, employees that live with an anxiety disorder mentioned several obstacles such as meeting deadlines and maintaining personal relationships that are difficult to do because of anxiety symptoms.

Let’s see how you can deal with work anxiety.

Discuss the Issues with Your Manager

Not every worker feels confident enough to speak with a manager to discuss anxiety issues, but opening up to your manager might lead to a few solutions that help you cope with stressful workplace situations. Your manager might refer you to the company human resources manager to determine whether you qualify to receive workplace accommodations as mentioned in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Let a Trusted Professional Peer Know

Not every employee has developed a level of trust with a manager to reveal sensitive information such as dealing with anxiety at work. Telling a trusted co-worker about what you are dealing with at least gives you peace of mind knowing that you have support outside of attending family therapy sessions. Family therapy allows you to work on your work anxiety issues with the support of your family.

Know Your Limitations

One of the biggest hurdles to get over for professionals that suffer from an acute anxiety disorder concerns understanding how to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. Knowing your limitations can help you deal with anxiety symptoms in the workplace. For example, if working on multiple projects at the same time causes you to stress out, change the game plan and break down one project into smaller steps, and then finish the one project before you move on to another project.

Take Care of Your Mental Health

You have many strategies that you can use to combat the negative symptoms of an anxiety disorder. Some employees listen to music at work to relax and concentrate on the matter at hand. Taking a walk during a break is great therapy for the brain by slowing it down and removing negative thoughts. Whenever you feel an anxiety attack coming on, take a break from what you are doing and close your eyes to focus on something else.When the negative emotions associated with an anxiety disorder begin to come to the surface, know that you have several tools including adult therapy to diminish the impact of the negative emotions on your career.

Continue Reading

5 Fun Summer Snacks That Preschoolers Can Help Prepare

Snack time is a great opportunity to keep daycare children engaged. Instead of preparing those snacks for the little ones, enlisting their assistance promotes activity, encourages critical thinking, and offers an opportunity to work on practical skills that impart real-world experience. These 5 snack ideas were selected because they offer all of these benefits-- and taste great as an added bonus.

 1. Snack Cracker Sandwiches

This fun snack time activity helps Montessori daycare children learn to identify shapes, gives them experience with cutting, and offers a healthy snack that is high in protein and low in sugar. Start with snack crackers that have different shapes such as round, square, and rectangular. Have your child slice lunch meats and cheeses to fit the cracker shapes. It's OK to place the meat and cheese on top of a cracker and trim around the edges at first, progressing to free-hand cutting with practice.

 2. Fun Fruits

Fresh fruits provide essential summertime hydration, tasty snacks, and ample opportunity for slicing (with a butter knife!), sorting, and counting. You can use any fruits you or your child wish to use, and the activity can also include as-you-go lessons on food origins, cultural favorites, and more. From bananas to watermelon, there are many types of fruits available, and each one has its own texture, flavor, and story to be told.

 3. Celery Dip Activity

As a practical experience, slicing and dethreading celery prior to eating it are excellent for helping children develop fine motor skills. Once the celery is prepared, put small amounts of various "dips" such as ranch dressing, peanut butter, or onion dip on a dish for dipping.

 4. Fancy PB&J

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are among the most common lunch and snack meals for small children, but their usefulness in developing fine motor skills and gaining important household experience are often overlooked. Allow your little ones to spread their own peanut butter and jelly or jam, and then coach them in carefully cutting away the outer crust.

 5. Yogurt Popsicles

Yogurt popsicles are one of the simplest snacks your child can make. All you need is one or more favorite flavors of yogurt, some popsicle cups and sticks, and a spoon. Using the spoon, have your children pack the popsicle cups, place a popsicle stick in the end, and freeze the cups for a least an hour before serving. You can introduce other variables if you wish, such as adding fruit, having popsicle taste tests, and more.

Inclusion is an important part of early development, and allowing your kids to help you with repairing snacks is an inclusive activity with many benefits. You may have to do most of the work at first, but children learn quickly and will be able to prepare their own fun snacks after only a few tries.

Continue Reading