Happy New Year from the PSA! I hope you all had a fun, relaxing break and are ready for a great 2013! Since there are many new families who have joined the school this past fall, I thought it might be a good time to send along a few reminders and updates. Feeling connected to your child’s school and teachers is something that is very important to many parents.  Below are a couple of great ways you can be involved in your child’s classroom:   From 8:30-9am each morning in the Toddler and Early Childhood classes and 8:00-8:30am in the Elementary and Middle School classes, parents are welcome to be part of your child’s class – if your schedule permits, you are invited to stay during this time and do some work with your child.  It’s a great way to feel a part of their learning experience as well as...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 19 December 2012 in School News In the midst of this Holiday Season I give thanks for our precious children, dedicated and caring staff and our supportive families. This year we have had the highest enrollment since we moved to our current location and I attribute this to the fact that we have such incredible teachers and support staff and also such wonderful families who often make financial sacrifices to ensure that their children have all the opportunities that a true Montessori school has to offer them. These children will of course grow academically in our school and in addition they will grow in so many other ways. They will learn how to learn, to respect themselves, their peers, teachers and support staff and their environment, they will learn to...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Tuesday, 18 December 2012 in School News Tags: Untagged

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Monday, 17 December 2012 in Parent Education We want to extend our deepest sympathies to the Sandy Hook Elementary community and also take this opportunity to communicate our own emergency protocols to MCS parents.  In light of recent events, we are moving forward more urgently with the plans we have been developing in conjunction with a few dedicated parents who have formed our Emergency Preparedness Committee, particularly Sara Hart, who spearheads the committee. The lockdown procedure has been a priority for us since the EPC formed last spring. As part of our Emergency Preparedness, various members of the EPC have taken FEMA courses online that provide advice about preparing for various emergency situations. At our November meeting, one of our parents brought back what she had learned from the Lockdown course...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Tuesday, 11 December 2012 in Classroom Updates   Enjoy this update from our Dance teacher, Katie Meehan, about what is happening is the Dance Classes this month. Early Childhood- We looked to the Nutcracker for movement inspiration. Observing different characters (The Nutcracker prince, the sugar plum faires, flowers and snow flakes). We listened to the dynamic soundtrack of The Nutcracker as we moved like these various characters. Taped pathways on the floor added a navigational component and spatial structure to our movement. Lower El- We explored using various props as a way to further our experience with dance composition. We worked in groups of four with each group having different props. Some props we used were scarves, hula hoops, hats, sequin fabric, etc. The students all had an opportunity to work together to...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 in Parent Education Through the years I have commonly been asked about Montessori students and their development of social skills. Some parents, when considering a Montessori education, become concerned that because of the size of the facility, the mixed age groupings, or the limited number of classrooms that their child will somehow be "missing out" on some aspects of social development. The short answer is that although there might not be as many children on our campus, the opportunities to develop socially are unlimited in the organization of the classrooms and curriculum.   Montessori herself said that "Social life does not consist of a group of individuals remaining close together, side by side, nor in their advancing en masse under the command of a captain like a...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Tuesday, 04 December 2012 in Parent Education Thank you to those parents who recently attended our Elementary Admissions Information Meeting.  Remember, if you have a child who is moving into 1st or 4th grade next year, this meeting is MANDATORY for both parents.  Also, if you are currently still in process of deciding whether your Kindergartner or 3rd grader will continue with us next year, we recommend you come to the next meeting where Margaret, our Elementary and Middle School Program Head, will answer your questions regarding curriculum as well as social develpment of Elementary age students.  Many of the attendees of our meeting last Friday were especially excited by the brief overview of the Montessori Math materials. During the meeting some questions were raised about Montessori students transitioning to schools...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 in Parent Education One question that regularly comes my way this time of year is "what should I get my child for Christmas?"  Finding developmentally appropriate gifts that will keep our children happy and entertained, but still support their growth, can be challenging.  If you are anything like me, you don't want to spend a bunch of money on toys that will end up broken, lost, or forgotten by days end.  Below we've listed some of our favorite resources for finding the perfect gift for your Montessori child.... Small Hands is a wonderful resource for choosing gifts that support the Practical Life skills your child is working on regularly in the classroom. Daily Montessori shares information about choosing the right gift for children at the right age....

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 in Parent Education Why Montessori for the kindergarten year? Written by Tim Seldin with Dr. Elizabeth Coe   Every year at reenrollment time, and in thousands of Montessori schools all over North America, parents of four-almost-five-year-olds are trying to decide whether or not they should keep their sons and daughters in Montessori for kindergarten or send them off to the local schools. So here are a few answers to some of the questions parents often ask about Montessori for the kindergarten age child. Naturally, to some degree the answer is also often connected to the question of family income as well, although we are often amazed at how often families with very modest means who place a high enough priority on their children's education will scrape together...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 in Classroom Updates The Middle School students are at the completion of another cycle.  They have spent the past five weeks talking about how to be involved in the community and how service is a way to be involved and be supportive. During their Immersion this week the Middle School students are focusing on Community Service. They have visited Wasatch Community Garden, The Stable Place, and The Living Planet Aquarium where they have rendered different services.  They have prepared and organized independent volunteer opportunities which they will participate in tomorrow and have also planned trips to the Bicycle Collective and Camp Kostopulos.  They are expecting a visit from Tree Utah on Friday. Check back soon for a more comprehensive report of what they've been up to, what...

    The Montessori philosophy was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori through careful and thorough observation of the child.  Having studied to become a medical doctor, much of her theory was developed based on the biological growth of the child.  In developing her theory, Montessori discovered that children go through sensitive periods in their development.  What is a sensitive period?  It could be defined as a special sensitivity related to certain elements in the environment towards which the organism is directed with an irresistible impulse and a well-defined activity.  In other words, and in relation to our children, sensitive periods are periods of time in which children are directed by an inner pull towards a certain activity, impulse, or characteristic. Montessori herself described sensitive periods stating, "Children pass through definite periods in which they reveal psychic aptitudes and possibilities which afterwards disappear. That is why, at particular epochs of their...

Practical Life is an essential part of the Montessori curriculum.  Students begin as early as 18 months old working on daily living skills.  The areas of a Practical Life environment include; care of self, care of environment, grace and courtesy, and control of movement.  Activities are carefully designed to not only prepare the child to LITERALLY become independent in all areas but also to develop the mathematical and language areas of the brain. This is accomplished when a teacher in the environment sets up each activity and presents it methodically, paying careful attention to every detail.  For example, a lesson on table washing would be presented to a child starting to scrub the table at the top-moving from left to right and top to bottom.  The child moves cross-body as their washing hand literally crosses from the left side of the body, past the center, and to the far right,...

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Wednesday, 17 October 2012 in Parent Education A huge thank you to our Toddler Teachers for presenting a wonderful Parent Education Night to the parents of our Toddler students last night.  We were pleased that so many of our parents came out to learn more about the Montessori Toddler Environment and ways they can support the curriculum in their homes.     Read the article below for more information about preparing the home environment for your little ones.... Birth To Three...Preparing the Environment Learning comes from a natural interaction with the environment much more than from listening or watching another. For this reason the preparation of the environment is extremely important. Read the full article montessori.edu

Posted by Britney Peterson Britney Peterson Britney Peterson has not set their biography yet User is currently offline on Tuesday, 16 October 2012 in Classroom Updates Recently the Middle School students participated in their Team Building Immersion Week, after 5 weeks of study. The week started off with a trip to CLAS Ropes Course in Provo where they practiced many team building techniques.  The Upper Elementary students were excited to be able to join them for the Ropes Course Field Trip.  Other activities throughout the week included completing class projects, painting the “Nookery” (their mini workspace under the stairs), hiking up Mill Creek's Alexander Basin train with more team building games, and planning, shopping for, and preparing  meals for a campout on school campus.  Food from the class garden was used for their meals.  The week concluded with setting up a tent in preparation for their campout Thursday night.  At...

New research suggests that children who attend Montessori schools may have an edge over other children in terms of both academic and social development. The 5-year-old Montessori students were found to have better reading and math skills than their peers who attended traditional schools and they scored higher on tests measuring social development, researchers reported. The 12-year-old Montessori and non-Montessori students had similar reading and math scores, but the Montessori children tended to score higher on tests measuring social and behavioral development, researcher Angeline Lillard, Ph.D., tells WebMD. Read the full article CBSnews.com

Google on Friday honored Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori with a homepage doodle celebrating her 142nd birth anniversary. Google's co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both went through the Montessori education system and have credited it for their success. "I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders and being self-motivated, questioning what's going on in the world, doing things a bit different," Page said in an interview with ABC (below). PCMag.com Article