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. ...
Normalization
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...