What is it that every child needs that parents don't seem to have? (Lifetime passes to Disney World and unlimited shoe budgets don't count!) You can fill in your own blanks. It is something that a Montessori school can help offer. Of course a good education comes to mind but that is not even the greatest gift your Montessori school can offer. What ...
I love what a Montessori education does for a child's love of learning. I love the enthusiasm that it engenders. I love to watch the understanding that dawns on a child as a concept makes sense for the first time. Montessori children learn to read – often very early. They learn their numbers – not just counting but understanding that seven is one m...
Talking about hard things is... hard! Sometimes we avoid for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and making things worse. We are so very grateful to Cherie Mockli for helping us understand how we can offer support and provide comfort when needed. Cherie's perspective is so very grounding. Her advice is practical. Thank you Cherie! The recording...
It is ironic that one of Montessori education's biggest strengths (socialization) is often misconstrued as a weakness. This misperception starts from another Montessori strength – individualization. The argument starts from a true premise (the individualization of education) and ends with a false conclusion that children don't get a chance to socia...
Parent participation is a key part of a thriving Montessori Classroom. As a parent, your involvement reassures your child of the strong connection between the home and the school. While certain restrictions may inhibit on-campus parent participation, there are many ways to get involved. Some parents join one of our committee's (Healt...
Many parents are attracted to Montessori because of its tremendous reputation for giving their children a great academic education. Parents are willing to spend impressive amounts of money to give their children this academic advantage. But as often as parents are impressed with Montessori excellence, they are a little bewildered that their childre...
A concern of parents is that a Montessori environment is too protective, that children may not be prepared to face the real world. After all, a Montessori environment is made for the child, (the real world isn’t.) Everything in the environment is child size. Again, the real world is made for adults. A Montessori environment is constructed for the child to succeed – the real world doesn’t care. So, is the Montessori environment an effective preparation to learn to swim in the real world or are children better off to be thrown into the deep end? A Montessori education is designed to master the deep end – but not today! It is designed to step by step to prepare (and help create) the future adult to master all the challenges of adult responsibility. The environment affords the protection for the child to safely build the adult they will become. The child...
Webforms on FACTS are used to update information for the student, parent, emergency contacts and pick-up contacts. Once you update information here, the school will be notified about the change.Once you are logged into FACTS Family Portal using these instructions, continue to Webforms with the following instructions: Click on the Hamburger menu at the top left of the screen and on the menu choose School > Web FormsOnce you are on Web Forms click on Parent & Student Information UpdateYou can now choose what to update on FACTS, as soon as you update it here it will be updated on your profile in FACTS and the school will get notified to update it in other places (this could take 1-2 school days)
Once you are logged into FACTS Family Portal using these instructions, continue to Enrollment with the following instructions: Click on the hamburger menu in the top-left corner next to Montessori Community School, click the down arrow next to Apply/Enroll and choose Enrollment / Reenrollment and Click here to open Enrollment When the Enrollment / Reenrollment forms have been opened up for the coming year you will be able to click Start Enrollment Packet for your child.
We often refer to the 3rd year a child is in a Montessori program as the Capstone Year. But what is it that really makes the year so special and important? We invite parents of our current 2nd year students in Early Childhood and Lower Elementary and 4th year students in Upper Elementary to consider the following reaso...
A common concern for Montessori parents is how their child will transition out of Montessori into a traditional setting. The question is valid but the concern may be overblown. Yes, there will be transition challenges. Those are an integral part of life – preschool to elementary, elementary to Jr. and Sr. High, to college, to a job, to marriage, to...
The Montessori early childhood classroom serves children from the age of 3 to 6 years. Ideally, children spend three years in this classroom. In Montessori, the 3rd year is often referred to as the Capstone Year. This year is equivalent to the traditional Kindergarten year. MCS strongly recommends that a 3rd year student fo...
It is amazing to observe the breadth of accomplishment that a Montessori environment fosters. Courage is not traditionally thought of as an educational outcome but then again Montessori is not traditional. For children, courage is the ability to try new things even if they are afraid and as they mature courage becomes the ability to do what is righ...
As parents we have to judge what makes a good educational program for our children. We ask our friends, we look at the school – is it clean and orderly and bright? We look at the children – do they seem happy? We observe the teacher - are they engaged and interested in the children? These are things that we can judge. And then we remember that we'v...
The parent teacher partnership is different from any other professional relationship you enter. You call the electrician to your house. You tell him what you think the problem is. He then uses his expertise and experience to diagnose and fix the problem. He doesn't need your help (nor does he want you to get shocked in the process). When he is fini...
Parents sometimes use far too much praise in a well-intentioned attempt to build their child's self-esteem: 'You're an awesome climber, you're a great artist, you're great at sitting quietly.' However, often these remarks are not really sincere and they teach children to depend on praise for motivation to do something. When we praise children for d...
The Encouragement of Eliminating Obstacles by Edward Fidellow The best encouragement you give is often the kind that is not seen – eliminating obstacles. This action is a hallmark of a Montessori education. Eliminating obstacles is not obvious – because you have removed them but it is essential for the amazing accomplishments that ch...
There are seven simple steps to becoming a Montessori parent. When we say simple we don't mean that they are not challenging. It is a lot like the definition of bull riding. "The object is to keep the bull between you and the ground." Simple – but challenging. The first step to becoming a Montessori parent took place when you enrolled your ch...
While mothers and fathers are often celebrated around the world, there is also a special day that celebrates children. El Día de los Niños (Children's Day) is a celebration of children that takes place annually on April 30 in Mexico. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.Why celebrate Children's Day? In the struggle to provide for their kids, parents may sometimes forget that confidence and creativity isn't nurtured by fear and discipline. It's a happy childhood that helps kids really succeed in their adult lives. Where is Children's Day celebrated? Today, 86 countries - or most of world's nations - celebrate Children's Day to publicly promote the idea that "children are our future". In Mexico, Children's Day is celebrated on April 30. In Japan, May 5th is recognized as Children's Day. In Canada, Egypt and Finland, November 20 is National Children's Day. The...