18
Jan
Originally posted February 2020
The longer I work in Montessori education the more I realize that practicing Montessori is a radical expression of faith. Yes, there is an...
Posts by Betsy Lockhart
12
Dec
Discover the benefit of bringing techniques for rest into your classroom, especially amid this time of pre-vacation chaos
08
Nov
With the sugar highs of Halloween beginning to recede, the race to the end of 2024 has begun! Pressures to prepare for upcoming gift-giving holidays and end-of-year celebrations are inescapable. But between...
16
Oct
In Montessori, much of what we do involves setting the stage for children to become their best selves academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We do not normalize children; we create the environment...
01
Oct
If you are a regular reader of Lockhart Learning blogs, you know that last time, I made the bold assertion that Normalization may be the most misunderstood and underutilized concept in Montessori...
17
Sep
Normalization may be the most misunderstood and underutilized concept in Montessori philosophy. If that statement surprises you, consider this: if/when we talk about normalization, the conversation most often centers on observed behaviors...
01
Sep
Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay
Ask someone at your favorite coffee shop to describe the purpose of school, and you will most likely hear about teaching academic skills in preparation for...
24
Aug
Image by bess.hamiti@gmail.com from Pixabay
One of the first tasks for Montessorians at the beginning of the year is establishing a welcoming, beautiful physical environment. We know that...
10
Aug
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
I have been reflecting this week on the implicit difference between “welcome back” and “welcome home”: returning to where you have been vs. returning to a...
01
Aug
Happy New (School) Year! This is the time when seasoned guides and freshly minted Montessorians alike are entering into what I call The Time of Great Anticipation. I love this opportunity for creative...
09
Aug
My grandfather once told me, “The older I get, the longer the days and the shorter the years.” I guess that’s why every year I am surprised when August rolls around. ...
07
Oct
When I talk to experienced Montessorians about what is different in their post-COVID classrooms, one of the most common responses I hear is that children do not remember (or never experienced) how...
02
Sep
I have always looked forward to the first transition of the school year. The time when the class segues from the work of establishing routines to the comparatively smooth process of practicing...
25
Aug
Image by Lukas from Pixabay
Today, I spent the afternoon harvesting this year’s crop of garlic. Lifting each individual bulb from the soil gave me time to think about what an...
30
Apr
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Happy May Day - the first day of the craziest month of the school year! Did you know that May Day is the halfway point...
04
Nov
There have been a fair number of discussion threads on Montessori social media sites lately about the late arrival of normalization this year. Many are wondering if normalization (as we have known...
16
Sep
Last week, I sent messages to a number of experienced Montessorians across the country. I asked how their class was doing. The response was swift, definitive, and consistent: kids are struggling.
31
Aug
What if your children had a rock-solid foundation in the hierarchy of numbers (place value)? What difference would that make, not only in their conception of numbers, but also in their calculations (whole...
19
Aug
Welcome to the cusp of yet another new year! Some schools have already received children; others are in their final approach. We have planned and prepared our physical and logistical environments to...
28
Dec
Start your new year off right! Fall in love with Math and Geometry again with albums that lead children (and adults!) on a path of discovery. Whether you are a...
23
Dec
My grandmother was a woman full of homespun wisdom. One of the things that she said when things didn’t go according to hopes or plans was, “You can get used to anything...
21
Nov
It has been a long while since I brought you a new offering, but the drought is over! Today, we are unbelievably excited to release The Marvels of Montessori Math series. This is a body...
27
Oct
I have never run a marathon. In fact, those of you who know me personally are probably doubled over in laughter at the very idea. (You’re welcome for that image!) But even...
25
Sep
When did you first realize that the pandemic was going to change our day-to-day lives at a fundamental level? Believe it or not, here in the US, it has been about 6...
19
Aug
It always surprises me in the fall when the leaves begin to
turn. Seemingly overnight, select clumps
of leaves on a few trees and shrubs pop as if testing the conditions for the
remainder. This...
14
May
Recently, a friend sent me a reflection by Richard Rohr where he talks about being in liminal space, “where we are betwixt and between, having left one room or stage of life...
01
May
Have you heard the news? There sure is a lot of it these days!
I have come to the conclusion that whatever news you are looking for you can...
09
Apr
In the last two weeks, we have seen a change in COVID-19 coverage – a slight shift in focus from “duck and hunker down” to “what to brace for in the coming...
27
Mar
Life in recent weeks has been a bit like living in the middle of a suspense-thriller, hasn’t it? Protagonists are working tirelessly to unravel medical mysteries and to create structures to sustain...
19
Mar
“We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.” Maria Montessori
17
Mar
I am writing today with several exciting items! I hope that this will be a welcome relief from the seemingly endless stream of notifications from every company that has your contact information telling you...
06
Mar
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The other day, I jumped into the car to run errands and caught the last 30 seconds of a radio interview with a new author. ...
28
Feb
Lately, I have been particularly aware of the word “should”. It feels like this word has been cropping up more than usual, explicitly and implicitly. Perhaps it is an effect of being...
21
Feb
Every Presidents’ Weekend, interns return to our training center
for assessments, instruction, and time to share discoveries with one another. It is a harbinger of spring, a little like the
swallows returning to Capistrano. ...
14
Feb
The longer I work in Montessori education the more I realize that practicing Montessori is a radical expression of faith. Yes, there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence that The Method fosters...
07
Feb
I was recently invited to write an article for the CGMS newsletter on bullying. Since this is an unfortunately common problem and a timely topic, I am republishing the article here...
01
Feb
When my husband and I travel, we love to wrap ourselves in
some aspect of the local culture. We see
the sights, of course, but we also scour the hometown papers and watch for
flyers...
24
Jan
Last weekend, we visited the Poeh Cultural Center, a museum and research gallery honoring the Tewa people of Northern New Mexico. Tewa is the language that connects people from a half-dozen pueblos...
17
Jan
As schoolchildren around the US know, Monday is set aside for the celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a martyr for the cause of racial...
10
Jan
I have been thinking a lot lately about hearing and being
heard.
Yesterday, while working at my kitchen table, I heard a dove. I couldn’t see it, but my...
20
Dec
It has been said that family is the people who, when we knock on the door, have to let us in. I like that - it reflects the unquestionable value of the...
13
Dec
This is the time of year when posts start popping up on
social media commiserating with teachers in the last days before winter break
pop up, proclaiming, “There’s no tired like teacher-before-winter-break tired,” or...
06
Dec
Anyone who has tried to create an “elevator speech” to explain Montessori education has experienced both the power and the challenge to our method: it is so multi-dimensional that it is impossible...
22
Nov
Years and years ago, a colleague returned from a Montessori conference with a list of the qualities that our interactions with one another can take on. It was expressed as a scale...
15
Nov
I love the Sunday funnies.
Give me the color comics and a perfectly made cappuccino and I am guaranteed
30 minutes of bliss - and some occasional pearls of wisdom. Two weeks ago, there...
08
Nov
Occasionally, I have an experience that is so profound that I feel I simply must share it. Sunday evening’s All Souls Procession in Tucson, Arizona was one of those occasions.
01
Nov
Last week, I was honored to speak at a gathering of Montessori teachers from the British Columbia Montessori Teachers Public School Association - a Montessori teachers' union. This inspiring band of teachers...
25
Oct
In broader educational circles, October is sometimes thought of as a time of the doldrums, when everything becomes a bit too routine. It is midway between the exciting start to the school year...
18
Oct
Have you ever had your feelings hurt? Of course, you have – it is part of life! Every time we put ourselves “out there” we risk having someone respond in an unexpected way. Sometimes, the...
11
Oct
Last week’s blog talked about creating opportunities in the classroom for good drama, lessening the need for bad drama; this week we begin a series of blogs addressing specific “bad drama” behaviors...
04
Oct
October! Already! By now we are seeing not only a change in the weather and in the flora and fauna, we are seeing a change in our classrooms; we are settling into a routine. Just...
27
Sep
In the past week or so, I was lucky enough to spend time with delightful teachers and administrators at Selkirk Montessori in Victoria, BC, Canada and at The Montessori Academy of Colorado...
20
Sep
Complete the sentence: Montessorians are ____________________.
Have you ever pondered how many completely different, absolutely accurate ways there are to complete that sentence (…some more irreverent than others…)? I suspect...
13
Sep
Saturday, September 21, is International Day of Peace. As Montessorians, we strive for everyday to be a day of peace, but this day, set aside by the UN in 1981, gives us an opportunity...
06
Sep
Last Monday, we marked the date on the calendar that
once-upon-a-time marked the beginning of the school year in the US: Labor
Day. Of course, nowadays schools start
back up at various times from the...
30
Aug
This weekend marks the 149th anniversary of Maria Montessori’s birth – an occasion for which I am deeply grateful. Just think how our lives would be different if she had not been...
23
Aug
One of the great joys in life is unexpectedly experiencing something that animates us, that prompts us to an elevated or exalted place, that breathes new life into us. We tend to...
16
Aug
When reading the title of this week’s blog, did your brain automatically
reply “Who’s there”? If so, you have a tell. You work with elementary-age children, an age
that we might laughingly refer to...
09
Aug
As a child, I always looked forward to the beginning of the school
year. I think that is partially because
my mom put us (mostly) in charge of our own summers. We determined how...
10
May
Endings. And beginnings. They tug at my heartstrings and make me a bit
sentimental. Or maybe I am sentimental by nature - maybe endings just legitimize
those emotions. Either way, they trigger
feelings of gratitude...
03
May
Today’s blog is a continuation of last week’s topic of attending
mindfully to transitions that are about to happen for our children. Last week we looked at practices that
preserve normalization in our classrooms...
26
Apr
Have you noticed? Mere days from
now we will turn the calendar to May – the crazy month filled with culminating
projects, Mother’s Day gifts, final report cards, graduation preparations and
celebrations, and a score...
19
Apr
Last week, I was blessed to attend a reunion of Montessorians; we all had taught at one particular school in Colorado over the past 30 or more years. Many of us had...
12
Apr
Last week, I hopped into my car to run an errand and tuned into the middle of a radio interview of a woman who works with adolescents; I was just in time...
05
Apr
Anyone (child or adult) who has ever been in the classroom with me has heard my discussion about the importance of monitoring self-talk. It goes something like this: when you make a...
29
Mar
Who is in your tribe?
Last week, I was with my tribe – 4,000 passionate Montessorians from around the globe, all focused on improving our individual and collective practices....
15
Mar
Maria Montessori often spoke in analogies. One of my favorites encourages teachers to view the child as a fertile field in which we sow and tend seeds of interest, waiting to see...
08
Mar
Today’s post continues the discussion started last week on unanticipated and often unrecognized side-effects of a season focused heavily on standardized testing and test prep. Last week addressed the impact to classroom...
01
Mar
I grew up outside of Chicago where, back in the day, they put cinders on slick roads in the winter. By February, the sidewalks and gutters would be full of ash-infused slush...
25
Jan
Welcome to the third in a series of blogs on creating an authentic working environment. Last week’s blog was all about shifting our paradigms to support a classroom culture that overtly values learning,...
18
Jan
How was your week? Since today is Friday, if you are like most teachers, what you are feeling right now is relief that the weekend is here! But when you think about...
11
Jan
“You are not the boss of me!” I remember the first time I heard a feisty, bedazzled, pig-tailed, 4-year old say this to an older boy in her class. I was as...