Casita Montessori School

Angeline Lillard on Montessori and play A new article by prominent Montessori researcher Angeline Lillard (Montessori as an alternative early childhood education, in Early Child Development and Care, 191:7-8) delves into the perennial “work versus play” controversy in Montessori early childhood education, and comes up with a framing t...

Good article! I'm looking forward to reading the book. https://montessoriservices.addr2.com/url/2607564/b05d3f1a/

Alfie Kohn, one of my favorite writers for parents, and this is truly a classic!

Five Reasons to Stop Saying “Good Job!” (**) The Writings Of Alfie Kohn

A beautiful poem for these times.
Here is a beautiful poem by Adrie Kusserow:

Mary Oliver for Corona Times
(Thoughts after the poem Wild Geese)

You do not have to become totally zen,
You do not have to use this isolation to make your marriage better,
your body slimmer, your children more creative.
You do not have to “maximize its benefits”
By using this time to work even more,
write the bestselling Corona Diaries,
Or preach the gospel of ZOOM.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body unlearn
everything capitalism has taught you,
(That you are nothing if not productive,
That consumption equals happiness,
That the most important unit is the single self.
That you are at your best when you resemble an efficient machine).

Tell me about your fictions, the ones you’ve been sold,
the ones you sheepishly sell others,
and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world as we know it is crumbling.
Meanwhile the virus is moving over the hills,
suburbs, cities, farms and trailer parks.
Meanwhile The News barks at you, harsh and addicting,
Until the push of the remote leaves a dead quiet behind,
a loneliness that hums as the heart anchors.
Meanwhile a new paradigm is composing itself in our minds,
Could birth at any moment if we clear some space
From the same tired hegemonies.
Remember, you are allowed to be still as the white birch,
Stunned by what you see,
Uselessly shedding your coils of paper skins
Because it gives you something to do.
Meanwhile, on top of everything else you are facing,
Do not let capitalism coopt this moment,
laying its whistles and train tracks across your weary heart.
Even if your life looks nothing like the Sabbath,
Your stress boa-constricting your chest.
Know that your ancy kids, your terror, your shifting moods,
Your need for a drink have every right to be here,
And are no less sacred than a yoga class.
Whoever you are, no matter how broken,
the world still has a place for you, calls to you over and over
announcing your place as legit, as forgiven,
even if you fail and fail and fail again.
remind yourself over and over,
all the swells and storms that run through your long tired body
all have their place here, now in this world.
It is your birthright to be held
deeply, warmly in the family of things,
not one cell left in the cold.

Adrie Kusserow is a cultural anthropologist who works with Sudanese refugees to build schools in war-worn South Sudan. She is a professor of Cultural Anthropology at St. Michael’s College in Vermont and the author of two collections of poetry: Hunting Down the Monk and Refuge

Another good article. Enjoy!

Montessori Classroom Principles Work at Home, Too! One of your neighbors posted in Neighbor Posts. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

A reassuring read. :)
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2020/04/23/children-and-covid-19.html

A wonderful article!

Turn Your Demanding Child Into a Productive Co-Worker All it takes are a few lessons from global cultures that raise remarkably cooperative and generous kids.

https://themanc.com/news/%e2%80%8bdavid-attenborough-to-teach-geography-lessons-on-bbc-bitesize/?fbclid=IwAR0m1AVIsbkiazOrTXnEv54LpACNGRTcfSH2fJdGimCvGgSiNQfT1czmmp0

​David Attenborough to teach geography lessons on BBC Bitesize Best geography teacher ever?

Even the newest person can help tear greens for lunch. Many hands really do make light work.

Even the newest person can tear greens for lunch. Many hands really do make light work. :)