Steps to Parenting the Montessori Way: Part 5

• Learn to wait.  Some things people want to give their children or do with them are more appropriate at a later age.  Be patient;  the optimal time will come.  Stay focused on where they are right now.

• Help your child start a collection of something interesting.

• Help them learn to sort: the laundry, silverware, etc.

• Watch at sunrise.  Watch a sunset.

• Analyze your child's wardrobe, and build a wardrobe aimed at freedom of movement, independence, and freedom from distraction.

• Make regular trips to the public library, become familiar with the librarians and how the library works, and enjoy books together.  Borrow books and help your child learn the responsiiblity for caring for them and returning them.

• Arrange time for both parents to attend parent-teacher conferences.  Speak together in preparation for the conference, and write down questions.

• Assign regular, age-appropriate household tasks that need to be done to maintain the household (perhaps setting silverware and napkins on the table, sorting, recycling, dusting, watering plants, etc.)

• Refrain from replacing everything that gets broken.  Help children learn the value of money and the consequences of actions.

• See that your child learns to swim (the younger the better).

Excerpt from Tomorrow's Child Magazine, September 2012

Valentine's Day



February is approaching quickly and everywhere we see displays of pink and red hearts in the spirit of Valentine's Day. At TMA, the young children share their friendship with each other by bringing in valentines for everyone. (While we know this is a special time, at TMA we dwell on it only briefly at school.) We encourage you to talk with your child about 'being a friend' or 'acts of kindness' toward others especially at this time.

Whether your family participates in giving valentines or not, each child will have a bag for collecting valentines others may bring in.  All valentines need to be marked To: Friend   From: _____ (insert your child's name). 

The normal schedule for the day is:  Arrival 8:20 - 8:35,  individual bags will be placed around the line and as the children enter their classes, the may distribute their valentines to the bags and then go about their work.  The whole process is wrapped up no later than 9:00 and then the children are able to go about their normal day--participating in Spanish, library, and classroom activities.  The teachers will make sure each child has a bag in their tote to go home.

Thank you for following these guidelines and allowing us to continue on with this way of acknowledging this day of friendship at TMA.

Kindergarten Work Time

Mrs. Shelley giving a lesson on "the article"

Taking a moment to read a book

Natural or Polished Stones

Writing Numerals

Exploring Gemstones

Labeling an environment
 

Diagramming the article, adjective and noun

Reading with an older friend

Writing

Labeling the Farm Animals
 

Examining Gemstones

Addition Facts

On January 14th the full day kindergarteners started holding Monday and Tuesday afternoon classes in Room 105 in the Elementary Building.  They have been working on a full complement of math, language and cultural materials.  Much of the work is the same as the work in their classrooms in the EC Building which allows for the comfort of continuity.  They have also had the opportunity to interact with the Lower Elementary children and teachers.  We hope that this continued exposure will make the transition to 1st grade in the Elementary Building next year a smooth one.

 

Submitted by: Lindsay Turner



 

Steps to Parenting the Montessori Way: Part 4

• Talk to your child clearly without talking down.  Communicate with respect, and give the child the gift of language, new words, and expressions.

• Teach your child his/her address, phone number, and parents' names

• Together, do things to help others (e.g., take food to an aging or ill neighbor, contribute blankets to a homeless shelter, give toys to those who have none, etc.).

• Take a rain walk.  Wear coats and boots to be protected, but then fully enjoy the rain.

• Alert children to upcoming events so they can mentally prepare, e.g. "In ten minutes, it will be time for bed."

• Laugh a lot.  Play with words.  Tell jokes.  Help your child to develop a sense of humor.

• Provide your child with appropriate-sized furniture: his/her own table and chair for working; perhaps a rocker in the living room to be with you; a bed that can easily be made by a child; a stool for climbing up to sink or counter.

• Memorize poetry and teach it to your child and recite it together.

• Learn to say no without anger and with firmness and conviction.  Not everything children want is appropriate.

• Understand what Montessori meant by "sensitive periods."  Know when your child is in one and utilize it.

Excerpt from Tomorrow's Child Magazine, September 2012

Steps to Parenting the Montessori Way: Part 3

• Take the time to stand back and observe your child carefully, and note the characteristics he/she is displaying.

• Make sure your child gets sufficient sleep.

• Refrain from physical punishment, and learn ways of positive discipline.

• Have a special shelf where you child's books are kept and replaced after careful use.

• Count!  Utilize natural opportunities that arise.

• Construct your child's biography, the story of his/her life.  A notebook is ideal, so that it can be added to each year.  Sharing one's story can become a much-loved ritual.  It can be shared with the child's class at birthday time.

• Play games together.  Through much repetition, children learn to take turns, to win and lose.

• Teach your child safety precautions (Deal with matches, plugs, chemicals, stairs, the street, how to dial 911, etc.)

• Allow your child to collaborate with food preparation and encourage your extended-day child to take at least some responsibility for preparing his or her own lunch.

• Hug regularly, but don't impose affection. Recognize the difference.

Excerpt from Tomorrow's Child Magazine, September 2012

The Montessori Advantage

Not sure whether to keep your child in a Montessori environment for elementary or beyond?

 

Never considered Montessori anything more than a preschool?

 

Is it really worth the additional tuition cost to send you child to TMA?

 

Do Montessori students score well on standardized testing and succeed in high school?

 

Ever wonder how our Montessori students measure up in a competitive world?

 

Please join us for an evening specially designed to answer any questions you may have about a continued Montessori education through the eighth grade for your child.  A panel of TMA alumni, parents, and teachers will discuss the benefits of a Montessori education, share their own personal experiences, as well as answer any questions posed.  This is an evening you won’t want to miss!

 

Thursday, January 17

7:00 p.m.

Steps to Parenting the Montessori Way: Part 2

• Make both going to bed and getting up a calm and pleasant ritual.

• Teach grace & courtesy in the home.  Model it.  Use courtesy with your child and help you child to demonstrate it.

• Look at family pictures together.  Help you child be aware of his/her family, names, and relationships.

• Refrain from laughing at your child.

• Teach your child about your religion and allow them to feel a part of it.

• Spend quality time with people of different ages.

• Always tell the truth.

• Alert the teacher to anything that may be affecting your child--lack of sleep, exposure to a fight, moving, relative visiting in home, parent out of town, etc.

• Teach your child his/her birthday.

• Talk about art, visit statue gardens, and make short visits to museums and look at a couple of paintings.  Make it meaningful and enjoyable.  Don't overdo.

Excerpt from Tomorrow's Child Magazine, September 2012