Becoming

"The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one's self."

                                                                                         --Maria Montessori

The Practical Life area of the Montessori classroom provides opportunities and activities that aid in the development of the skills that allow children to feel capable and confident.

Gross motor coordination,

fine motor coordination,

concentration,

and independence are needed 

to follow directions and

complete a task.

Self-discipline,

precision,

and a sense of order develop over time.

Grace and courtesy lessons include greeting,

 helping others,

and taking care of our environment

as all learn how to work and play together as members of their Montessori community.

Practical Life Exercises encourage cooperation, initiative, responsibility, and self-mastery. They build a foundation for learning and and in the process create smiles of satisfaction at finishing a task or handling a challenge or helping a friend.  Listen and you will hear,"Look! I can do it myself!" What a sense of accomplishment!

At home there are additional opportunities for "practical life" work, especially if child-sized tools are available:

Setting the table

Buckling one's own car seat

Bringing in the mail

Sorting socks and pairing them

Cutting coupons

Folding clothes

Raking leaves

Sweeping the sidewalk

Shoveling snow

Weeding

Cleaning the sink

Putting the silverware away

Hosting a play date

Becoming a successful learner takes time, patience, and practice in a safe and caring environment where mistakes are considered opportunities and effort is valued. In Montessori we say,"Practice makes better."                                                      

"Adults work to finish a task, but the child works in order to grow and is working to create the adult, the person that is to be."                                           ----Maria Montessori

"Dreams take patience. They grow and flower in their own good time."

Potential

This year's Little League World Series had some magical "behind the scenes"stories last month in addition to some great baseball from South Chicago to girls pitching 70 mph! Then, an article by Sally Jenkins on the topic was published in The Washington Post. It concluded:

"For a few brief days, Mo'ne Davis caused some powerful men to think in a different way about sport, to see exciting new potential in a little girl. She was so viscerally striking that she shifted their perceptions of female capacities. Maybe that will lead them in turn to another visceral perception: of how much female aspiration gets suffocated daily by inevitable narrowing of access, opportunity and attention and the small, deadening, devaluing assumption that because her body isn't as big as a man's, her talent, by definition, can't be as important."

Sally Jenkins raises some valid points, but there are even larger questions to be asked: How, when, where, and why do parents, teachers, and communities limit the possibilities and opportunities for all children--not just girls in sports or science or leadership and not just boys in writing, arts, or social skills? Can we think differently?

There could be limits in experiences,

language

education,

athletics,

parenting values,

economics,

hopes,

and dreams--ours,

and their own.

Parents and teachers are cheerleaders, emotions coaches, and keepers of dreams!

"Open your hearts, fling your hopes high, set your dreams aloft. I am here to hold your hand."

                                                                                                   --Maya Angelou

Maria Montessori said the goal of education is "to educate the human potential." Join us to honor the potential in every student this year by nurturing endless possibilities.

Welcome to Montessori at The Woods!