Tag: Private school

MCS Halloween Carnival 2015

Written by Foothill Montessori on November 5, 2015. Posted in Blog, Community News.

S would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all of the parents, grandparents and other community members who worked together to make our Halloween Carnival such a smashing success. Thank you to those who came out to play and enjoy this great event with all of us. And, congratulations to the Uinta class on the success of their first Spook Alley.

An Early Childhood Aspens class student smiles for the camera.

As always, the reptiles and other creatures were a huge draw, exciting children and adults all throughout the night.

Two families with students in the Magnolias class enjoy the trunk-or-treat in the parking lot.

This Early Childhood student had a great time showing off her wings all night.

We had a great time watching the magician.

Hey Chris!

A Closer Look at Montessori Math

Written by Foothill Montessori on October 7, 2015. Posted in Blog, Parent Education.

The Montessori math curriculum is quite unlike the traditional approach that each of us experienced. It is based on developing a strong foundation through concrete experience and manipulation until the time a child reaches the age of abstraction, typically around nine years old. As they engage in the Cosmic Curriculum, children are given a basis for the interconnectedness of all things and encouraged to engage in the wonder and magic of mathematical concepts. Various activities and materials develop the mathematical mind, preparing the child for their inevitable explosion in to abstraction and connection to the power of relationships.

The following was written by Lower Elementary Spanish teacher, Diana Haro Reynolds.

Mathematics is the study of quantity, form, and magnitude. We live among it. It is in the position of the sun and in the shell of a snail. We carry math in our pockets, in our devices. It is what makes our communication possible. We touch and live math, whether we know it or not. It is our responsibility as Montessori guides to help the child discover this framework of mathematical order that makes up our world. This rationale proposes several reasons for teaching math in the Montessori classroom. It will explain the journey the child will take from concrete concepts through to abstraction.

Human beings have a tendency for order. Since the beginning of human origin, math has been used to unlock the mysteries of the world. It began with a man’s need to
keep track of his belongings. Then came early techniques that created the experience
with numbers of counting. After a long time, came comprehension, which led to
improvements and shortcuts. Finally, humankind reached abstraction. This same
process is seen in a child. (Doer, 2012)

Mathematical order leads to a mathematical mind. As the mathematical mind unfolds, it develops capacities such as sensorial interaction among objects, observation
of patterns, and awareness of the physical world, mental classification, abstract thinking, and knowledge of the power of relationships. Math supports understanding by encouraging order, concentration, independence, special relations, patterning, one to one correspondence, combination, difference, and similarity. Additional goals supported by math are predictability, exactness or sense of accurateness, concreteness, logic and reasoning, problem solving, and decision making skills, as well as refinement of the mind and thinking. (Stockton-Moreno, 2015)

Why the need to teach math in a specific Montessori way? There are a lot of aspects that prepare the child for math. These include the prepared environment, giving the child the power of choice. Practical life works build concentration and confidence. The child enjoys practicing a task over and over for the pure pleasure of it. The joy is in the process. This mentality is preparing him for the academic areas. Sensitive periods serve as the specific times in a child’s development where part of their needs include an insatiable thirst for specific tasks. There is a sensitive period for concrete tools of precision. We must capitalize on these sensitive periods. (Stockton-Moreno, 2015)

The aims of Montessori math are to make the child aware that math is a part of her life; to build confidence and prepare the child for life. Confidence comes from the sequential growth in which the materials are presented. It starts with the importance of the Three Period Lesson. The first period being the presentation of the concept. The
second period is where the child practices and shows that which has been presented. In math, this second period is much longer than in other areas of study. This is the time in which the child is practicing, exploring and making discoveries, day in and day out, about the concept presented. The third period is that in which the child shows understanding of the concept through teacher observation or helping someone else.

The main goal of Montessori math is to move the child from concrete to abstraction and helping him form a mathematical mind. In the book, A Way of Learning, Ann Burke Nerbert explains that “the mathematical mind derives from experience” (Stockton-Moreno, 2015). We must not rob the child from forming her mathematical mind. She must have ample time to experience the joy of working with the materials and for understanding and internalizing the processes and concepts. The materials are
multimodal in that they appeal to multiple senses. This aids in the “permanent wiring of the brain that will be available as your child gets older and uses her brain for analytical thinking and problem-solving” (Duffy, 2008). Knowing is not understanding. Montessori math provides the path toward understanding.

According to Michael Doer, the passage towards abstraction is done in four stages. The first is the Concrete stage. This is where the child works purely with the material. No works is shown on paper until the child is nearing the end of this stage. The second stage is Concrete Materials lead to Symbols. This is when the child works with
the materials and records the process in writing. This is the longest stage and requires
that the focus be on the process, not the end result. This is the time in which the child is “internalizing the algorithm” (Doer, 2012). Towards the end of this stage the child may begin to work with charts rather than manipulatives. The third stage is often overlooked perhaps because it is the shortest. This is the stage when Symbols connect to Concrete Material. Essentially it is the reversal of stage two. The child does the work on paper then uses the materials to check their answer. The Symbolic stage is the fourth and final stage. This is where the emphasis is on showing the written work. (Doer, 2012)

Doer also emphasizes mental calculations and mental carrying as the two key elements in reaching abstraction. Mental calculation or memorization requires that the
child know math facts with accuracy and speed. The child should take no longer than
three second to recall a fact, otherwise, memorization has not been reached and the
child is calculating. Accuracy should be no less than 98%. It should be recall only. The
second key, mental carrying, requires that the child be able to keep track of the carrying without making a mark on paper. Having the child work on other forms of memorization, such as poems or definitions, will greatly help achieve this goal.

Math is part of our society. We need it in order to function. But there is also a math phobia. Math in Montessori makes it more than accessible, it makes it real. Whenever possible, real life problems should be presented to the child so as to give her
the context for these new skills. Among with word problems, research in the area of
math is a great way to expose the child to the practicality of math. We must cultivate a love and understanding of mathematics in our children by proving the keys and allowing them to make their own discoveries.

Diana Haro Reynolds – Lower Elementary Teacher/Intern

References

Doer, M. (2012). Numbers: Montessori arithmetic for lower elementary.

Duffy, M. (2008). Math works: Montessori math and the developing brain. Hollidaysburg,

PA: Parent Child Press.

Stockton-Moreno, L. (2015). MONT. 633*01, week 1 notes [PowerPoint slides].

Uinta’s May Outdoor Adventure

Written by Foothill Montessori on May 27, 2015. Posted in Blog.

Early this month the Uinta class (Upper Elementary, 9-12 year olds) embarked on a great adventure to Fremont Indian State Park as part of their Great Outdoors Expedition. The students have spent time in the classroom studying the Fremont Indians and on GO they have given attention to human interaction with nature and so this was a great way to culminate their studies as they walked the trails and read the stories of the Fremont Indians while eating and sleeping in the out of doors. Students, teachers and parent chaperones worked together to create a comfortable camp space and prepare delicious meals to be shared.

On the first full day of our visit, we drove a short distance to Big Rock Candy Mountain Resort where we practiced making fire, zip lined, and struggled our way through the ropes course. According to BRCMR, “these activities are designed to encourage self confidence as participants work through the various challenges, and also promote working as a team to achieve goals.” Everyone had a really great time with the activities provided and definitely felt the stretch of working as a team on activities that were out of the every day comfort.

Other time on the trip was spent hiking, exploring the petroglyphs and pictographs and playing nature and team building games. The students prepared pottery before the trip to be placed in the pit fire, which produced really amazing results. On Wednesday evening Donda shared stories of Native Americans around the camp fire and Giuliana played a soothing piece on the flute. The students entertained with jokes, games and stories but it seemed that the most enjoyed part of the trip was exploring the land near the camp site during free time.

Many thanks to the teachers and parents who worked tirelessly to make this trip possible. The time students in our programs spend out in the greater community is of huge benefit to their experience and education.

Praise and Punishment

Written by Foothill Montessori on April 27, 2015. Posted in Blog.

“Eventually we gave up either punishing or rewarding the children.”
—Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

It’s a new year and many of us make resolutions. As parents, in spite of our best intentions, we sometimes get stuck in patterns that are no longer working or may not be the most beneficial for our children. What are some new ways to deal with the normal day-to-day challenges of being a parent?

Re-Thinking Some Common Practices

No one is really taught how to parent. We do what our parents did, or the direct opposite. Some practices enter the mainstream and are implemented by parents without much thought.

How often do you use the phrase “Good job”? Do you use a “time-out” when your child is challenging your patience? Changing some of these rote responses can make a huge difference for children and parents alike. We can communicate to children in ways that help them feel more secure and independent.

Unearned and Unnecessary Praise

The “good job” comment which seems to roll off the tongues of parents, teachers, and by-standers is said with good intentions, but gives very little acknowledgement of what went into accomplishing the “job.” Similar to every child getting a trophy whether the team wins or loses, this empty praise may discourage children from trying new activities at which they might fail. They also may get an inflated sense of self-importance and entitlement.

The adult becomes the judge, and motivation becomes external rather than internal. This “conditional parenting” teaches children to behave in a certain way in order to be loved. It becomes another method of control, just like punishment.

It’s more meaningful to have adults understand a child’s feelings and communicate appreciation of the effort and natural hard work involved in learning. Practice, trial and error, and persistence in the face of failure help your child’s brain develop.

Alternatives to false praise:

Talk about specifics: “That picture has so much red color.” “You tried really hard to make that goal in soccer.”
Solicit the child’s thoughts and feelings: “What did you do when you spilled the tray of food?” “How did you feel when you missed the goal?”
Encourage persistence and hard work: “You sounded out that word all by yourself.”

Punishment or Setting Limits

In The Discovery of the Child Maria Montessori says, “To tell a child: ‘Stand still like me!’ does not enlighten him.” She explains that such a demand is both physically and mentally impossible for a “still growing individual.” What may appear obvious and understandable for adults is not always true for a child.

Some time ago, as a reasonable option to corporal or demeaning punishments, the “time-out” method became the discipline of choice. This prevalent form of discipline makes a child experience a feeling of rejection and learn that love will be withdrawn if she does not conform to our wishes.

Misbehaving is often a call for help or some added adult encouragement and understanding. Helping your child verbalize feelings often is enough for her to continue to problem solve. Sometimes physical holding is necessary to stop a tantrum and help a child learn to self-soothe.

Discipline is about teaching, not punishing. Rather than exclude a child, we want to encourage the development of empathy and insight. We want to set clear limits while helping empower children to understand and collaborate with us so that respect flows in both directions.

Changing Time-Out to Time-In

We want to convey love and respect, letting children know it is the behavior we want to change, not the child. “Time-in” means we know where the child is developmentally and can intervene before the child seriously misbehaves. If you stay calm and spend “time-in” with your child, both of you will feel more secure and in control.

These ideas may help:

Anticipate and prepare for challenging situations. Have appropriate expectations for your child’s behavior based on his age and abilities. Be willing to adjust your plans accordingly.
Take games or quiet activities for those wiggly waiting times in the doctor’s office, a restaurant, or on the airplane.
Support your child by explaining the reasons for requests. Make clear brief explanations appropriate to the child’s age.
Spend 5 to 10 minutes with a young child when you notice frustration developing. Change the activity or just assist in making it easier to handle.

Look to the Child

What are reasonable expectations? Psychologist Madeline Levine reminds us that “the happiest, most successful children have parents who do not do for them what they are capable of doing.” This leads to independence and a strong sense of self-esteem. We need to stand back while they figure out things on their own. We as parents can give up judging ourselves when our children don’t live up to our expectations. We can instill positive values and encourage persistence while watching our children learn from the normal challenges in life.

“No one who has ever done anything really great or successful has ever done it simply because he was attracted by what we call a ‘reward’ or by the fear of what we call a ‘punishment.'”
—Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child

by Jane M. Jacobs, M.A., Montessori Educational Consultant at Montessori Services. She is a trained primary Montessori directress and also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has taught children aged 2 to 7 years in Montessori schools, Headstart, and also in a preschool for children with developmental challenges. In her counseling practice, she helps individuals, couples, and families.

http://montessoriservices.addr2.com/view/350390d/702cd6/

Spring Cleaning as Brain Food by P. Donohue Shortridge

Written by Foothill Montessori on April 17, 2015. Posted in Blog.

The holidays have come and gone and spring is just around the corner. This might be a fine time to consider sorting through your children’s possessions. If you take a close look at the sheer volume of your child’s books and toys, you may determine that just like adults he uses only a percentage of them.

Thinning the herd, so to speak, offers much to recommed it; Its a lot easier to find things if there are fewer things to find.

A place for everything and everything in its place is a cliche’ based on sound thinking. Our brains seek order, harmony and beauty in the world, your child’s brain seeks it out too.

Additionally, there’s an essential developmental incentive to clear the clutter out of your child’s life. Providing external order for your child allows him to organize his thinking. He’s already taken in so many impressions of the world and now he is categorizing, sorting, grading and matching all these impressions. (cognitively grasping same and different as well as one-to one correspondence are pre-math and pre-reading skills.) It’s confusing, harder to make sense of everything when, right here in his room the crayons are randomly hanging out with the dolly blanket and Tonka truck wheel, if you will.

So here are some strategies you might consider:

Go through the books. If he has long since cared about Pat the Bunny, it’s time to remove it from his shelf. Likewise anything that is torn, tattered and colored on. What should remain are only those that he is now reading or is about to advance into. House the books on shelves just like in the library rather than piled one on top of the other or randomly scattered among other phylum such as toys and stuffed animals.
The impedement to finding a toy when one wants it is the toy box. No matter how cute, inexpensive, convenient or cherished, the large universal receptacle does not lend itself to everything having a place. Shelving is the best. Categorize the toys by type; each toy deserves a lidded box, then shelved.
Discard or repair anything that is broken or missing a part. Wash the comfort-blankets and stuffed animals, otherwise discard them.
Four puzzles will be used more often than fifteen. Likewise dolls, toy cars, stuffed animals, Lego sets, board games and coloring books. You get the idea. Young children can easily get overwhelmed with too many choices.
If your mom sent something that you may have determined is inappropriate, give yourself permission to remove it. You are the final arbiter of what is appropriate for your child.
If you are having a harder time than your child letting go of some of his possessions, that’s ok. You get to cry about it, but certainly not in front of your child…and pare them down anyway.
Create a place in the garage for your child’s outdooe equipment such as balls, scooters and anything else you’d rather not have your child using indoors.

Here are a few more considerations:

Your child wants to, and for his optimal development needs to be responsible for his own possessions. Make sure that he can put every toy away where it belongs. Don’t make the tub for the blocks so heavy he can’t move it into place himself. Is there a home for his trains? Bags, totes and backpacks all deserve wall hooks hung low enough for your child to hang up by himself.

You probably already have a child-size table and chairs. A child-sized rocker and/or a reading chair might be nice. How about an easel for chalking, painting and drawing? Generally, the younger the child, the more he wants to make large sweeping circular arm motions. You might even consider getting some butcher-block paper for large mural creation.

Sibling fights can be minimized if each person in the family, no matter the age has personal property rights. If your five year old doesn’t want to share some of his toys with your toddler, I suggest that that is his right. However, you might work with your five year old to go through some of his possessions and together determine which toys he might be willing to share. Further, many of his no-longer-used toys can be ceremoniously bequeathed to his younger sibling. His most prized possessions, however, should have a place in his room.

Every activity (just like life) has a beginning, middle and end. Teach your child how to get something out, use it in the place designated for its use and then put it away. If he moves on to the next thing before putting the last activity away, you can say, “in this house, we always put our belongings away.”

And finally, the most effective way to gain his cooperation is to model what you teach. Maybe it’s time for some spring cleaning of your own.

Written by Donohue Shortridge

Donohue, a Montessorian since 1980 speaks and writes on topics related to children and their families in the American culture. pds@pdonohueshortridge.com

Raising Your Successful 35-Year-Old: Motherlode, New York Times

Written by Foothill Montessori on April 13, 2015. Posted in Blog.

What do we mean when we say we want to raise “successful” children? Too often, especially around this time of year, that conversation centers on college or the kinds of academics and activities that lead to college. “Success” is hard to measure, and those external markers make for comforting milestones along the way.

Comforting, but dangerous. Because when checking off the achievement box is what defines success, it’s too easy to forget that it’s the qualities in our children that might lead to those accomplishments that matter — not the goals themselves.

Achievements, from the A on the science project to the letter of acceptance from Big U, can be the gold stars for parents. They’re the visible signs that we’re doing something right, and that makes it tempting to push our children forward, just a little (or maybe a lot) by stepping in when it looks as if they might not quite get there on their own. The working model of the water cycle was her idea; we just “helped” build it. She did the algebra homework; we just corrected it. He wrote the essay; we just added some structure to the argument.

Click here to read more….

By KJ DELL’ANTONIA
APRIL 9, 2015

“Go Outside and Play”

Written by Foothill Montessori on March 17, 2015. Posted in Blog.

“Children will be smarter, better able to get along with others, healthier and happier when they have regular opportunities for free and unstructured play in the out-of-doors.”
—American Medical Association, 2005

Spring has arrived! I can’t help but be excited by the thought of sunshine, hikes, water and fresh air! This article written by Jane M. Jacobs, M.A., a Montessori Educational Consultant at Montessori Services spoke to me in considering how outdoor time is such a powerful tool for our children. In the article, Jane offers a variety of ideas for making the best of your outside time with your little one.

Enjoy!

Were you told to “go out and play” when you were a child? Now, as a parent, do you give your children the same instructions? Perhaps not, but even for the urban, over-scheduled family, there are ways to give our children more opportunities to explore the outdoors.

For centuries it was common wisdom that children needed several hours of outdoor activity daily. As Dr. Benjamin Spock said, “It’s good for a baby (like anyone else) to get outdoors for two or three hours a day.” Some say we now suffer from “nature deficit disorder.” Children spend more and more time indoors with bright toys, beeping computer games, and flashing screens. A more contemporary pediatrician, Harvey Karp, similarly tells us that “there are exhaustive studies showing that time outdoors, particularly in nature, benefit us in myriad ways… while staying inside is over-stimulating and at the same time boring for children.”

Click here to read entire article.

MCS’ Annual Kid’s Clothing Swap

Written by Foothill Montessori on March 16, 2015. Posted in Blog.

Spring cleaning? It’s that time again to bring in all of your children’s gently used clothing that is too small, or unworn and swap it for something that fits. Please drop off your gently used items in the bins located in the MCS gymnasium. You may drop off items March 16th – March 20th.

Then, during school hours, March 26th and March 27th, you may come browse the tables in the gym. Clothes will be separated into size and style. If you are looking for volunteer opportunities, please contact the office, as the Green Committee would love help sorting, folding, and displaying the clothes.

Rhombus, Reniform and Rembrandt

Written by Foothill Montessori on March 10, 2015. Posted in Blog.

Your child’s education in Montessori is different – so different that it makes you shake your head in wonder and say, “Is this something my child is really learning?” As parents we want our children to excel at reading, writing and math. Yet their Montessori education leads them through strange and esoteric materials. (At least they are foreign to most adults.)

Why would a three year old need to be versed in geometry? Fine, a nice circle, a square and maybe a triangle but what purpose for an isosceles triangle, parallelogram or a rhombus? Then if that is not enough esoteric learning, your child moves on to the botany cabinet. How many three year olds need botany? They are introduced to leaf forms like spatulate, orbiculate, sagitate and reniform. Most of us adults can’t even pronounce them let alone know what they are.

If that is not enough diversity in the curriculum, Montessori education then introduces them to the whole world of art. They meet Picasso, Monet and Rembrandt. What in the world was Dr. Montessori thinking? And where is the math and reading?

There is a unique method (no it is not madness) in this approach. Your child is absorbing a tremendous amount of learning and stimuli and beginning to gain the skills of observation and visual discrimination – which is the ability to see differences. The Montessori child is effortlessly gaining a lifetime skill – the ability to see. Yes, we are born with sight but sight is passive where all the images come to us. When we observe, we actively focus our sight. But even focusing our sight does not always let us see what is there. For example, we have all seen pictures that if you look at them long enough the image changes into something else – like the two faces and the goblet or the old woman and the young girl. Skills and even talents need to be trained and refined. A Montessori classroom provides an unending panorama of activities that train and refine the ability “to see”.

Though education is primarily reading and math based, life is about having a clear vision of what is present (and what could be). And though the introduction to geometry (rhombus), botany (reniform) and art (Rembrandt) is rudimentary, it is absolutely foundational to clear-eyed success. For your child everything is new and exciting. To be able to put a name with a form or a shape not only gives great intellectual satisfaction but is the beginning of power to organize, define and categorize the world that is seen.

Enjoy the voyage of discovery as your child, with bright new eyes, sees the world for the first time. It is this power of visual discrimination that gives strength and focus to the power to read. It is also this power that breaks the world of math into distinguishable pieces with the ability to see patterns and processes.

Montessori truly gives your child the gift of sight!

Edward Fidellow

www.crossmountainpress.com

Silent Journey & Discovery 2015 – With Thanks

Written by Foothill Montessori on February 10, 2015. Posted in Blog.

Marcus tongs plastic cubes in the Toddler Suns classroom. This work develops small motor coordination, prepares the hand for writing, and encourages control of movement and independence.

Kenzee places pictures on the Timeline of Life in the Lower Elementary Oquirrh classroom.

Margaret presents the Checkerboard to Rebeka and Mary.

Bobbi engages with the Long Chains, used for skip counting, squaring and cubing work, in the Lower Elementary Oquirrh classroom.

Rebeka and Corey analyze a square in the Upper Elementary Uinta classroom.

Mindy gives husband, Aaron, a knitting lesson.

Melissa identifies and analyzes the Seven Triangles of Reality.

Jeff researches Land Forms as part of the Lower Elementary Geography curriculum.

Margaret shares a lovely extension of the Pink Tower, a very popular and well recognized piece of Sensorial material which refines visual discrimination, preparing the child for further reading and mathematical work while developing a sense of order, concentration, and control of movement.

Dear 2015 Silent Journey and Discovery Participants,

Our staff would like to express our deep appreciation for you taking the time to learn more about the Montessori curriculum and philosophy with us on Saturday. We hope that the experience was meaningful and that your understanding of our program was made more clear. We invite you to ask additional questions as you see fit and to share your experiences with us via email. This event is meant to give an overview of the entire Montessori curriculum but it would be impossible to share the entire curriculum in four short hours. We hope that your observations in the classroom, your participation at additional MCS Parent Education events, and the conversations you have with your child about school will also shed light on the experience we are working to offer our students.

Thank you for your time and efforts.

With gratitude,

MCS Administration and Staff

Please e-mail your experiences to britneypeterson@mcsslc.com.