Montessori Farm School (MFS)

This book is the most wonderful mix of facts about the water cycle with humor and sweet art. It is a favorite in our classroom! Since water is one of the elements, we are inspired by this camp week, it is also afforded us a great impromptu art opportunity.

Adventures with cyanotype paper in camp today.

In this video from last year we share recommendations for enjoying your summer with your Montessori child-

Summer Tips for Montessori Families with @montessorimoxie Summer camp present challenges from a parents perspective. Watch this video to get tips about how to structure your day and how to incorporate learning and k...

There’s nothing better for plant care, water work, and gross motor than a good old-fashioned pump on a barrel!

Getting setup 🥒 🍋 🧂

Everyone IS welcome! And we will say it, write,
sing it and live it!

Sarah Inama, a sixth-grade history teacher in Idaho, has taken a principled stand against her school district by refusing to remove a poster from her classroom reading "Everyone is welcome here," even as her job is threatened. When ordered to take down this poster and another with an inclusive message of welcome, Sarah pointed out the logical fallacy in the district's reasoning that such posters are "controversial": "There are only two opinions on this sign: Everyone is welcome here or not everyone is welcome here... the only other view of this is racist." In January, school officials informed her that the posters needed to be removed. “I was just so confused,” she recalls. “I still can’t even wrap my head around what they’re referring to as far as why it’s controversial.”

Feeling pressured, she initially removed the signs but then decided that she needed to be true to her principles, reflecting, "I told my husband, ‘I have to put that sign back up.’" She then emailed the principal, telling him that "I just was not interested in taking it down. I didn't agree with why they were asking me to take it down." Her unwavering commitment to inclusivity reflects her educational philosophy that students should know "things that humans have accomplished, our time on this earth, things that they've overcome." In response to putting the posters back up, she was warned that it constituted insubordination and could result in further action.

The West Ada School District's position appears inconsistent and troubling with the district’s chief academic officer Marcus Myers attempting the justify the removal demand by stating "the political environment ebbs and flows, and what might be controversial now might not have been controversial three, six, nine months ago." This reasoning has made Sarah even more committed to her position; as she observed "It seems so gross what they're asking me to compromise about."

Sarah refuses to back down even at the risk of losing her job, explaining, "I would feel so sad to leave my students before the end of the year, and financially, it would be difficult, but... there's no way I would be able to allow myself to just take it down and roll over to what I feel like they're asking me to do." Her principled stance has garnered support from hundreds of educators across the country, and from her own students who have been making her friendship bracelets with the apparently now dangerous message: 'everyone is welcome.' It has also prompted a state-wide "Everyone Is Welcome Day" that is being organized for March 24.

Kudos to Sarah for her commitment to making all kids feel welcome at school!

Please leave a message of support for Sarah in the comments below.

UPDATES:

An "Everyone is Welcome Here" Day is being organized across Idaho on March 24. You can view the event at https://www.facebook.com/events/2037683956725193 -- and sign up to volunteer at https://www.facebook.com/groups/552686721165007

There is also a GoFundMe campaign to buy a 'Everyone Is Welcome Here" t-shirt for every student in her school at https://www.gofundme.com/f/spread-acceptance-free-shirts-for-students

This small Idaho-based t-shirt company is selling the "Everyone Is Welcome Here" shirts at cost at https://shop.tzersshirtshop.com/everyone_is_welcome/shop/home

There is also now a Change. org petition supporting Sarah at https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-a-welcoming-classroom-support-idaho-teacher-sarah-inama

For teachers looking for signs for their own classrooms, check out this banner at https://amzn.to/4ksEphd and these digital downloads on Etsy at https://tinyurl.com/wnucfm3j and https://tinyurl.com/mry7fmfx

A New Zealander supporter has also made a cross stitch pattern of the original poster available for free download at https://laurawolfbookclub.wordpress.com/just-for-fun/

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For Mighty Girl books that foster children's appreciation of diversity and acceptance of others, visit our blog post "60 Mighty Girl Books About Standing Up for Others” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=13481

For empathy-building book for young kids about the importance of compassion and being kind to others, visit our blog post "25 Children's Books That Teach Kids to Be Kind," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=19359

To inspire children and teens with the true stories of girls and women who fought for change and stood up for compassion and justice throughout history, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

To see more stories from A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free weekly email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter -- and follow us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/amightygirl.com

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To read more, visit https://www.today.com/parents/teacher-remove-everyone-is-welcome-here-sign-rcna196282

To read about the March 24 Day of Action, visit https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/local/everyone-is-welcome-day-asking-for-volunteers-as-inclusivity-movement-grows-idaho/277-b86b499e-d95f-4676-9281-2bc42a59fcf4

https://youtu.be/niPAS8KX2i0?si=pFw4wgVGa1MXEB7k
Toleration of Frustration- let’s build resilience!

Toleration of Frustration- the key to resilience

Loving our Sierra Leone 🇸🇱 puzzle from

Making chai.

With