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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
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. ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Do you ever get the feeling that the Universe is asking something of you? When I get that, it feels like random people tugging on my sleeve, each whispering the same thing into my...
Tomorrow I will be with a group of fellow travelers on the path towards self-actualization: our current elementary interns. If this weekend runs true to form, they will arrive exhausted, half-sick, filled...