<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' version='2.0'><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:38:28 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>My Montessori House</title><description/><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/my_montessori_house_at_home.html</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>26</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-7846956283947441391</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:31:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-03T09:38:28.259-07:00</atom:updated><title>Montessori Sensitive Period for Language:  Introduction</title><description>Do you have a child under six?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Take advantage of this sensitive period for language and introduce reading aloud, books your child can read, and spoken foreign languages!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Time spent reading aloud to your child every night reaps great rewards as a lifetime love of reading is developed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Short of money?  Have you seen the copyright free eBooks at &lt;a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/"&gt;www.gutenberg.org&lt;/a&gt;?  Here is a quick link to their &lt;a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16/16-h/16-h.htm"&gt;Peter Pan&lt;/a&gt; edition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;More coming up shortly on sensitive periods of development, so please check back soon!</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/07/montessori-sensitive-period-for.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-7885485825679536009</guid><pubDate>Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-02T08:35:47.158-07:00</atom:updated><title>Sensorial Development Exercise</title><description>The Sensorial section of the Montessori classroom is designed to help children refine, develop, and explore their sensory abilities ranging from taste to touch and sight to sound.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Try the Sound Boxes (shown below) to give your child the opportunity to work with his or her sense of sound.  There are six sets of matched cylinders in the box that have different contents to make varying degrees and types of sounds.  Your child will shake them to listen to the sounds and then match them based on the sound.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/sound-cylinders-montessori-760789.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/sound-cylinders-montessori-760782.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Learn more about the Montessori curriculum by &lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Newsletters.html"&gt;subscribing to our monthly newsletters&lt;/a&gt;.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/07/sensorial-development-exercise.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-6462914600514594593</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:22:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-07-01T14:27:11.650-07:00</atom:updated><title>Practical Life:  Pouring</title><description>A classroom favorite in Montessori classrooms for children under six is pouring water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Start here for younger children and prepare two child-sized pitchers and a tray.   You can fill one pitcher 3/4 full of water, place both pitchers on the tray, and put everything on a shelf. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Show your child how to use one hand to hold the handle while placing the other hand on the opposite side of the pitcher to pour it.  He or she can pour the water from one pitcher to another.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once your child is comfortable with the mechanics of pouring, you can provide glasses for the exercise so your child can refine his or her pouring techniques and accompanying fine and gross motor skills.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/07/practical-life-pouring.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-902651524644353615</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-25T07:20:11.321-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori reading</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>vocabulary development and children</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Learn to Read</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Geometric Cabinet Shapes</category><title>Help Your Child Develop Good Vocabulary</title><description>One important part of the Montessori educational program is that we always use precise and accurate vocabulary with children. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For those of you with infants and toddlers, this may seem silly.  Why describe an oval as an oval and not just a funny circle?  The reason is that that children under six years of age soak in language at an amazing rate of speed.  Everything that they hear gets absorbed and goes into their vocabulary base. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For older children, this language use process continues to be important and key to developing good vocabulary and reading skills.  Explain to your child why a decagon is a decagon and not an octagon, for example.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Accurate language also helps your child learn how to describe and understand his or her world. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Montessori curriculum for parents to use at home (newsletter format) on our site &lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Newsletters.html"&gt;here.&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/06/help-your-child-develop-good-vocabulary.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-9052314327848203206</guid><pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-24T06:34:24.364-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>montessori and technology</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>montessori for infants and toddlers</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Using the Pink Tower</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>leapfrog</category><title>Technology and Children:  So Young, and So Gadgeted</title><description>Reading the online article &lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/technology/personaltech/12basics.html?ex=1229140800&amp;amp;en=ffea15b9a786ada4&amp;amp;ei=5087&amp;amp;WT.mc_id=TE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M048-OP-0608-HDR&amp;amp;WT.mc_ev=click&amp;amp;mkt=TE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M048-OP-0608-HDR"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;So Young, and So Gadgeted&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; on the New York Times website brings to mind a few comments on technology for children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Technology aimed at 0-2 and 3-5 year olds is created to sell using an educational twist.  For those of you who want your child to be super tech literate as early as possible, these baby tech toys are not the equivalent of training wheels on a bike in that they do not really help children move to that next stage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The equipment is generally just a toy with some features to entice parents.  It's preferable to focus on reading real books to your child, building a &lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/04/sensorial-knocking-down-pink-tower.html"&gt;Pink Tower&lt;/a&gt;, working with sandpaper letters and movable alphabet sets, and then going outside for some physical play.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When your child is interested in using your laptop or a PC, introduce a real one with some practical and fun applications such as emailing a relative, using skype to place a video call to the grandparents.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/06/technology-and-children-so-young-and-so.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-3941528242727286752</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:37:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-19T08:21:01.167-07:00</atom:updated><title>Montessori Math for Toddlers:  Sandpaper Numerals</title><description>Sandpaper Numerals, Spindle Boxes, Red Rods, and Red and Blue Rods are all designed to give young children hands-on exposure to counting, quantities, and relative sizes of numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Sandpaper Numerals are designed to be traced in the direction they are written.  Your child uses his or her pointer and index fingers to lightly explore the configuration of each numeral.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/sandpaper-numerals-nienhuis-montessori-752868.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/sandpaper-numerals-nienhuis-montessori-752856.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Here are the Sandpaper Numerals.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You will see that the set includes 0 through 9 (as do the Spindle Boxes).  The concept of ten and teens will be introduced in the next stage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can use cardstock, fine-grained sandpaper, and stencils to create DIY Sandpaper Numerals (or you can usually find a good used set online).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Photo credit&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://montessori.nienhuis.com/html/01_products_introduction.php"&gt;Nienhuis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/06/montessori-math-for-toddlers-sandpaper.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-8421117460371693090</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-18T05:52:12.704-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori  Practical LIfe exercises</category><title>Practical Life for Summer</title><description>Practical Life exercises are a staple of the Montessori classroom because they help children develop fine and gross motor skills that promote brain development.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These exercises include such activities as pouring, carrying, squeezing, polishing, learning how to zip or button with dressing frames, and other specific activities that use equipment for small hands.&lt;br /&gt;As summer brings the promise of outdoor activities, we start to move these exercises outside.  You can include child-sized gardening tools, water buckets, and small shovels for a host of activities that help children work on Practical Life skills in a healthy outdoor setting.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/06/practical-life-for-summer.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-2638494155484924146</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:53:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-06-16T06:55:02.474-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>bilingual chinese english flash cards</category><title>Bilingual Chinese - English Dinosaur Cards</title><description>&lt;div class="post-body"&gt;&lt;div&gt;Our first bilingual Mandarin Chinese and English Montessori material is now available.  We even have dinosaur cards!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Using original material from &lt;a href="http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/"&gt;Montessori for Everyone&lt;/a&gt; (a great source for printable and printed Montessori material for all topics ranging from language to biology), we put together beautiful color-photo cards with Chinese characters, pinyin (for pronunciation), and English.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Children can mix and match cards, practice writing characters, or work on their pinyin. You can join in, too, even if you speak no Chinese yourself because our master card set has all the words and characters written down.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Mandarin_Chinese_Children_Language_Montessori_for_Everyone.html"&gt;See the Bilingual Cards here...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;     &lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/06/bilingual-chinese-english-dinosaur.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-6206976528824010897</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2008 03:54:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-19T21:07:11.795-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>sugar</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>montessori for infants and toddlers</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>infant nutrition</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>similac</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>organic baby formula</category><title>Are They Serious?  "For an All-Organic Formula, Baby, That’s Sweet"</title><description>Baby formula packed with sugar is the equivalent of giving your baby that new Oreos breakfast cereal.  Noooooooo!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Kudos to the New York Times for their &lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/19formula.html?em&amp;amp;ex=1211342400&amp;amp;en=cd695521d70a0cce&amp;amp;ei=5087%0A"&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; on the topic.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are some useful tidbits from the original article:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;“When I saw the organic at Publix, I bought it, no questions asked,” said Ms. Chase, a self-described “yoga mom” in Atlanta.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lesson:  Read the label and be alert.  Products for kids are a profitable sector!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;“I would be very concerned about this as a pediatrician,” said Dr. Benjamin Caballero, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert in risk factors for childhood obesity. “The issue is that sweet tastes tend to encourage consumption of excessive amounts,” Dr. Caballero said. Evidence shows that babies and children will always show a preference for the sweetest food available, he said, and they will eat more of it than they would of less-sweet food.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;All &lt;a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/infant-formulas/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Infant formulas."&gt;infant formulas&lt;/a&gt; contain added sugars, which babies need to digest the proteins in cow’s milk or soy. Other organic formulas, like Earth’s Best and Parent’s Choice, use organic lactose as the added sugar. Organic lactose must be extracted from organic milk, the global supplies of which have been severely stretched in the last three years, driving up the price of the lactose.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lesson: The experts are warning you.  The only reason to cram lots of cane sugar into baby formula is because it is &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;cheaper&lt;/span&gt; than lactose sugar and you can put in tons of it and babies prefer the formula.  Some mothers put Coke into bottles and babies like that, too.  If you would not put Coke into your baby's bottle, compare the labels.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/05/are-they-serious-for-all-organic.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-2855600302511645873</guid><pubDate>Sat, 03 May 2008 03:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-04T19:42:32.668-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Brain Development</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook</category><title>Brain Development &amp; Montessori</title><description>Through the years, Montessori equipment has become an entity in itself.  Attractively assembled, interesting to the eye, and very expensive, this equipment has become a focal point of classrooms and the idea of Montessori.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the original intention of the equipment was simply to use precisely-crafted materials that would allow children to employ their sensory abilities to learn.  Using the senses of touch and sight, a child can order a set of ten knobbed cylinders that vary only by height.  It is the process of trying to fit these cylinders into their holders that is the point of the exercise.  Many teachers and parents mistakenly focus on having children succeed in the getting the cylinders into their holders and, unfortunately, lose focus on the key value of the exercise, namely, the process itself that is key to brain development!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, forget about having your child "learn how to use the equipment" or "getting the exercise right" and let him or her use the equipment for it's original purpose.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/05/brain-development-montessori.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-4489330092015191608</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2008 05:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-25T03:51:20.733-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Books</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Colors</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Metal Insets</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Learn to Read</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Geometric Cabinet Shapes</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Plane Shapes</category><title>NEW: Colors &amp; Shapes DVD</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/images/New_Colors_Shapes_Site.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 199px;" src="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/images/New_Colors_Shapes_Site.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Our brand-new Colors &amp;amp; Shapes DVD is now ready to order!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Colors include all of the first and second Color Tablet colors ranging from primary colors to secondary colors as well as gray and pink.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The shapes section of the program introduces all the Metal Inset shapes such as the circle, square, ellipse, and quatrefoil and then goes on to present Geometric Cabinet shapes such as the trapezoid and rhombus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Adorable short stories are included for all the sections, too!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Enjoyable spelling review for all of the colors and shapes allows beginning readers to work on their vocabulary as intermediate students practice spelling.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/DVD_Intermediate.html"&gt;Learn more about our Colors &amp;amp; Shapes DVD&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/05/announcement-two-new-montessori-dvd.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-4713079480851718792</guid><pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 13:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-01T06:39:06.933-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Maria Montessori</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori homeschool curriculum</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>The Montessori Method</category><title>The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori:  Online</title><description>Has everyone found this free digital version online?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If not, here's the link to A Celebration of Women Writers's posting of the book&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/montessori/method/method.html"&gt;The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori online&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It's written in the language of the time, 1912, so some of the phrasing is a bit different, but it's super interesting for those of you who already know about Montessori and are curious about her work and method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you can get around the phrasing, you will find brilliant observations, pithy quotes, and lots of good ideas!</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/05/montessori-method-by-maria-montessori.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-4055947457622284336</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-01T04:38:03.439-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori autism and Asperger's</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Using the Pink Tower</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori homeschool curriculum</category><title>Sensorial:  Knocking Down The Pink Tower</title><description>Here is a very pithy quote from Maria Montessori herself in her book "Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook" regarding the Pink Tower:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;"Ten wooden cubes colored pink.  The sides of the cubes diminish from ten centimeters to one centimeter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With these cubes the child builds a tower, first laying on the ground (upon a carpet) the largest cube, and then placing on the top of it all the others in their order of size to the very smallest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As soon as he has built the tower, the child, with a blow of his hand, knocks it down, so that the cubes are scattered on the carpet, and then he builds it up again. " (p. 72)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This makes a lot of intuitive sense!  But it's not popular with Montessori schools -- a combination of the high cost of equipment and the general desire to keep kids quiet.  Not such a big problem for many children, but it seems especially unfair for children who are especially active or physical.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, quote Maria Montessori to your child's teacher next time.  For all your Montessori homeschoolers out here, keep up the good work!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The book, &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook&lt;/span&gt;, is, incidentally quite a good bargain because the language is a bit old-fashioned, it has an unglossy jacket cover, and the photos are in black and white.  Since such things matter tremendously in book sales, you can find a used copy very cheaply!</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/04/sensorial-knocking-down-pink-tower.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-1029764347588928924</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-05-01T04:40:48.263-07:00</atom:updated><title>" Heart exam, EKG recommended before children get ADHD drugs"</title><description>This article from the AP reported on Yahoo caught our eye. Check out the full article &lt;a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_he_me/adhd_drugs_heart;_ylt=AlIFKYjlqgJCin4I8KxTp5NH2ocA"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are some key points made in the article:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;"Children should be screened for heart problems with an electrocardiogram before getting drugs like Ritalin to treat &lt;span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1208819188_0"&gt;hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder&lt;/span&gt;, the &lt;span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1208819188_1"&gt;American Heart Association&lt;/span&gt; recommended Monday.&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;We don't want to keep children who have this from being treated. We want to do it as safely as possible," said Dr. Victoria Vetter, a pediatric cardiologist at the &lt;span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1208819188_3"&gt;University of Pennsylvania School&lt;/span&gt; of Medicine and head of the committee making the recommendation."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;The article then goes on to say:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;"The label warnings were added after a review by the &lt;span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1208819188_4"&gt;Food and Drug Administration&lt;/span&gt; of its databases found reports of 19 sudden deaths in children treated with ADHD drugs and 26 reports of other problems including strokes and fast heart rates between 1999 and 2003. There were also reports of heart problems in adults; the committee didn't look at adults."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;"Dr. Steven Pliszka, a child psychiatrist at the University of Texas in &lt;span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;" class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1208819188_8"&gt;San Antonio&lt;/span&gt;, is quoted as saying he is "baffled by the EKG recommendation." The article quoted him as saying "there's no evidence that sudden death is a bigger problem for children taking stimulants than for children who aren't taking the drugs."  &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Interestingly, the author also states that this psychiatrist has received research support or served as a consultant for makers of ADHD drugs.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;We're not in the medical business here at Montessori House.  Bits of the article just leapt out and we wanted to share them with our readers.   The University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine is as well-known as our Johns Hopkins alma mater, so it's noteworthy that a pediatric cardiologist there has issued the statement she did.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As always, we'd love to hear from you!</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/04/heart-exam-ekg-recommended-before.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-4035892810749690889</guid><pubDate>Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-21T20:09:11.039-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori classroom schedule</category><title>Classroom Schedules:  Montessori, Autism, Asperger's</title><description>Due to the cost of outdoor play areas, the extra staff needed to supervise children outdoors, and other practical administrative matters, the classroom schedule such as Maria Montessori proposed has been dramatically altered.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nowadays, children spend a lot of time sitting still in the classroom.  This can be an especially big disservice to children with Autism and Asperger's.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I find this original classroom schedule put together by Maria Montessori to be a fascinating contrast with classroom programs today!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt; Opening at Nine O'clock–Closing at Four O'clock&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 9-10.  Entrance.  Greeting.  Inspection as to personal cleanliness.  Exercises of practical life; helping one another to take off and put on the aprons.  Going over the room to see that everything is dusted and in order. Language.   Conversation period  Children give an account of the events of the day before.  Religious exercises. &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Note that religion and life in Italy during this time were closely intertwined&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; 10-11.  Intellectual exercises.  Objective lessons interrupted by short rest periods.  Nomenclature, Sense exercises.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 11-11:30.  Simple gymnastics:  Ordinary movements done gracefully, normal position of the body, walking, marching in line, salutations, movements for attention, placing of objects gracefully.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 11:30-12.  Luncheon:  Short prayer.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 12-1.  Free games.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 1-2.  Directed games, if possible, in the open air.  During this period the older children in turn go through with the exercises of practical life, cleaning the room, dusting, putting the material in order.  General inspection for cleanliness:  Conversation.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; 2-3.  Manual work.  Clay modelling, design, etc.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; 3-4.  Collective gymnastics and songs, if possible in the open air.  Exercises to develop forethought:  Visiting, and caring for, the plants and animals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As soon as a school is established, the question of schedule arises.  This must be considered from two points of view; the length of the school-day and the distribution of study and of the activities of life&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Definitely not a day full of sitting indoors quietly!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/04/classroom-schedules-montessori-autism.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-3717780307384243105</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-04-21T20:06:31.728-07:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Practical Life exercises</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>infants and toddlers</category><title>The Value of Practical Life Exercises</title><description>&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;In every new Montessori class, there are a few parents who wonder, "Why am I paying thousands of dollars a year for my child to learn how to polish shoes?" &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why indeed?  Well, polishing shoes are part of the assortment of Practical Life exercises that are a staple in the Montessori classroom for children under six because these early years are the time in which the relationship between the brain and body needs intensive nurturing.   &lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;The fine motor skills, refined hand movements, hand-eye coordination, and gross motor skills practiced in these simple exercises are key to preparing your child for the next phase of life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;         &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/03/value-of-practical-life-exercises.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-736454516841792068</guid><pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-03-05T21:19:12.833-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>TV and kindergarten</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori and television</category><title>A Child's Environment:  No TV in the Bedroom!</title><description>A key part of the Montessori method is the environment we provide for children, both at home and in the classroom.  While child-sized furniture and a touchable home (meaning few or no items that require "Don't touch!") are staples of the concept, issues such as television in the bedroom are even more important.  Just to get this straight, no television in your child's bedroom! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is a pithy article by Tara Parker-Pope (March 4, 2008, NY Times online) with a few excellent discussions of data to back this up with scientific findings.    &lt;a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/04well.html?em&amp;amp;ex=1204866000&amp;amp;en=381c41b6dd370cc7&amp;amp;ei=5087%0A"&gt;Should Children Have Television in Their Bedrooms?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If television watching is an important staple of your home life, reap the benefits by making it family time...and remember to comment cynically on things onscreen that deserve it.  Teaching your child how to manage his or her television time can best be shown by example.  Watch your favorite family program or the news, look at your watch, and announce that the television has been on long enough! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Television also keeps the brain awake, so it is detrimental to your efforts to  help calm your child before he or she reaches that magical bedtime hour.  Even if everyone has been watching television, you can show your child how to wind down with a pre-bedtime hour of reading and a bath.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/03/childs-environment-no-tv-in-bedroom.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-2024137424610833654</guid><pubDate>Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-03-05T20:43:59.957-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori autism and Asperger's</category><title>Autism and Asperger's: A Great Video and Article</title><description>Midway through this video, Amanda Baggs, the woman shown here, begins to speak using a voice synthesizer for her typing.  Wait for her "translation".  For those of you working with children with autism or asperger's, this is a must-see!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JnylM1hI2jc&amp;amp;rel=1&amp;amp;border=0"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JnylM1hI2jc&amp;amp;rel=1&amp;amp;border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In "&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;The Truth About Autism: Scientists Reconsider What They &lt;em&gt;Think&lt;/em&gt; They Know&lt;/span&gt;" in Wired online by David Wolman on 02.25.08,  there is a great quote:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;Mike Merzenich, a professor of neuroscience at UC San Francisco, says the notion that 75 percent of autistic people are mentally retarded is "incredibly wrong and destructive." He has worked with a number of autistic children, many of whom are nonverbal and would have been plunked into the low-functioning category. "We label them as retarded because they can't express what they know," and then, as they grow older, we accept that they "can't do much beyond sit in the back of a warehouse somewhere and stuff letters in envelopes."&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Does Montessori work for children with autism and Asperger's?  I have never seen it work well in a classroom setting, but that may be because the constant movement and noise of children with autism and Asperger's leaves traditionally-trained Montessori teachers at a loss for what to do.  For parents who are considering Montessori, this is definitely something to consider because traditional Montessori teacher training focuses on achieving a certain type of classroom environment, one with quiet and self-discipline that shows itself through lack of noise and absence of physical distractions.  Obviously, if you watch the video, it would be a horrible disservice to children with autism and Asperger's, if you did try to enforce a standard Montessori classroom environment on them!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Montessori equipment and presentation methodology is, however, successful when presented differently with an open mind.  (If anyone is looking for specifics, please post a comment and we'll respond.)  For Sensorial material such as the Pink Tower or Colored Tablets, be ready for things to be handled and tasted.  Expect the Pink Tower to be possibly destroyed after or before it is built.  Did you know Maria Montessori intended the tower to be knocked over when it was finished being built?  Montessori classrooms present a careful deconstruction of the tower these days...probably due to the price of equipment.  What an unfortunate change!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You will need to take care that small pieces of equipment, such as the Golden Beads, do not get choked upon, but generally good quality material can take a bit of a beating.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think this video is wonderful because it reminds us not to judge what we do not know.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/03/autism-and-aspergers-great-video-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-6958514875795562956</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-02-23T20:16:34.718-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Junior Class Reading Curriculum</category><title>Elementary School:  Vocabulary and Reading</title><description>As you progress from Montessori projects for children under the age of six to more advanced work, it can be harder to make and find material, so we have included a few of our favorite links:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.oed.com/learning/word-stories/"&gt;Oxford English Dictionary's Word Stories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The word stories are wonderful to read aloud to your child or a group of children in a class.  They are also good for children to read independently. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.teachit.co.uk/sat1.asp?currmenu=263"&gt;Teachit's Poetry Page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a resource site for parents, teachers, and older children.  There are links to well-known poems, so it's a convenient source.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com"&gt;Merriam-Webster Online&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Show your children how to find reliable resources for facts online.  Merriam-Webster or similarly reliable online dictionary sites are invaluable for independent study.  Younger children can look up words from a word list and older children can do more difficult projects such as researching word etymologies.</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/02/elementary-school-vocabulary-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-6549252308997852169</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Feb 2008 03:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-02-23T20:06:06.203-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Grammar Boxes</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Junior Class</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Elementary</category><title>Montessori Elementary School:  Grammar Boxes</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/Grammar-Boxes-Nienhuis-737341.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/Grammar-Boxes-Nienhuis-737338.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Grammar Boxes are a staple piece of equipment in the Montessori Junior Class.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are homeschooling your child, you definitely need a set of these.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That said, this is a perfect DIY project, so here are the photos for reference and inspiration!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Teachers:  You can keep your Grammar Box content fresh by letting older children create new sets of cards for rotation into the boxes.  This lets older children practice and review basic skills in a fun and enjoyable way, too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Photo credit: Nienhuis Montessori&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/02/montessori-elementary-school-grammar.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-364188037904337889</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-02-17T19:47:47.311-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Multiplication Board</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori multiplication</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>two unit multipliers</category><title>Math Problems:  Making Material for Multiplication</title><description>In response to a comment on our &lt;a href="http://montessorihouse.blogspot.com/"&gt;earlier blog&lt;/a&gt; that asked about dealing with two unit multipliers:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When you are working with a problem that involves inches and feet (or centimeters and meters), create a visual representation of the problem.  For example, how many times does 10,000 square inches go into two square feet?   If your child is having trouble seeing what is happening, create grids on Excel (or with grid math paper) and make grids for square inches and square feet that your child can physically handle and move around.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can create grids that represent 1,000, 100, 10, and 1 square inch each (so you do not have to make 10,000 tiny squares!)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If your child is just starting to learn how to multiply single digit numbers (for example, 8 x 5), start with the Montessori Multiplication Board:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/Multiplication-Board-Set-Nienhuis-754074.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/uploaded_images/Multiplication-Board-Set-Nienhuis-754071.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;Photo:  Nienhuis Math Equipment at www.Nienhuis.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you look at the board's layout, the problem was 2 x 5  -- children mark 2 places on the top of the board, put down 5 beads for each place, and count the result.   This hands on practice helps children internalize exactly what happens for equation, allowing them to make the transition to solving written equations quickly and easily. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Questions?  Please let us know!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our Montessori weekly curriculum newsletters include step-by-step instructions for all Montessori equipment!  &lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Newsletters.html"&gt;Sign up here&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/02/math-problems-making-material-for.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-6225184655945731574</guid><pubDate>Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2008-01-02T00:00:25.294-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>montessori</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>ADD</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>ritalin</category><title>Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success?  Start Earlier!</title><description>Reading the January 1st online edition of the New York Times, I was struck by Alan Finder's article "Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success" and the ages of the children in the article.  If you haven't read it, the article is definitely worth a read.  Even if your child is still a toddler or, perhaps, especially if your child is still a toddler, the article has some valuable points. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From a Montessori perspective, we'd say this is what happens when you do not foster independent activities and thought at an early age.  For those of you who haven't read the article, there is a new business involving consultants who work with teen boys (and some girls) to get them organized in life.  From helping them sort the materials in their backpacks to figuring out how to apply to colleges.  The consultant's work sounds very solid and good, but why is it needed ...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Those of you who subscribe to our &lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Newsletters.html"&gt;weekly curriculum guides&lt;/a&gt; will have already noted the importance Montessori places on independent action, whether for a toddler choosing a piece of equipment to handle or a third-grader deciding how to best choose an essay topic. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many parents, teachers, and schools look for the perfect fix.  That combination of curriculum and material that will yield the best results.  Montessori teachers frequently find themselves in a bind.  Why is it important for a three or five year old to learn how to guide his or her morning activities independently?  Why don't we just direct them to finish the most projects the fastest way possible so they can move on to the next level?  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What goes missing from the observation is that we are teaching the children.  They are learning how to make solid choices independently (It's not as if a Montessori classroom gives playing in traffic as an option.... children make choices between such topics as math, sensorial development, fine motor skill exercises, language, reading, writing, physical exercises, music, and art)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A few tips to start:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Streamline your home (or classroom) environment so your child can reach everything safely, work at a child-sized table or desk, and have a place for equipment, toys, and clothing.   Your child should be able to use his or her belongings and then put them away easily (no jumping up to put them in the top of the closet or in an overstuffed toy chest).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Is your child's room jam packed with toys and junk after the holidays?  Work with your child to discard, give to charity, and organize.  If your child's room is a disaster, he or she will not have a chance to get organized mentally.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;If you are homeschooling children under seven, set up an easy-to-follow schedule starting with getting up and getting dressed, meals and snacks, outdoor play, and quiet indoor activities and study.  Leave three hour blocks for indoor work, do not break them up into 45 minute segments as schools are prone to do. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Show your child how to prepare easy and healthy snacks such as sliced apples with cheese or celery with peanut butter.  Once your kitchen is set up for children with low tables and child food on a low shelf in the fridge, let your child decide when he or she needs a snack.  Let your child make the snacks instead of shoving the food in front of them and exhorting them to eat.  Children adore being able to do things on their own and they'll be delighted to make snacks for everyone to share. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Healthy food.  If your child eats sugary breakfast cereal in the morning, you'll have to drug them with ritalin to get them to sit still.   No, we're not advocating ritalin.  Get rid of the "super chocolate chip frosted flakes" cereal.   Same goes for snacks and other meals.  No soda, either!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2008/01/giving-disorganized-boys-tools-for.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-7305961603135581216</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-12-28T03:02:23.367-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori classroom setup</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Maria Montessori</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>The Montessori Method</category><title>Montessori Classroom Setup: Environment and Art</title><description>&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: times new roman;font-family:Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;"  &gt;                             An inspiring quote from Maria Montessori in her 1912 book, The Montessori Method! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: times new roman;"&gt; &lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" &gt;“Above the blackboards are hung attractive pictures, chosen carefully, representing simple scenes in which children would naturally be interested. Among the pictures in our "Children's House" in Rome we have hung a copy of Raphael's "Madonna della Seggiola", and this picture we have chosen as the emblem of the "Children's Houses" (a long very paragraph, continued on our site).  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: times new roman;"&gt; &lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" &gt;“The children, of course, cannot comprehend the symbolic significance of the "Madonna of the Chair", but they will see something more beautiful than that which they feel in more ordinary pictures, in which they see mother, father, and children. And the constant companionship with this picture will awaken in their heart a religious impression.”  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="font-family: times new roman;"&gt;  &lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" &gt;Remember that the context of this quote was Italy in the early 1900s, when religion was a part of everyone’s daily life. Whether your family is religious or not, we find this quote extraordinary because it shows the deep thought that Dr. Montessori gave to the artwork she chose for her first classroom.           &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2007/12/montessori-classroom-setup-environment.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-3273879956100777663</guid><pubDate>Fri, 28 Dec 2007 04:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-12-27T20:41:57.896-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>primary class</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>independent work</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>kindergarten</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>montessori</category><title>Independent Work in the Montessori Classroom</title><description>When we speak of independent work for three year olds, many teachers in traditional classrooms look  dismayed.  They assume that our Montessori classrooms must be full of chaos and disaster.  Nothing could be further from the truth!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the Primary class (ages 2 1/2 to 5), children sit together in the morning circle to have brief discussions about their weekends and the coming day, and then go about their morning activities of choosing material with which they would like to work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New material is presented to a single child or group of children, depending on the type of material.  Once children see how the material is used, they will work with it independently on their own whenever they decide they want to do a particular exercise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A point of fascination for visitors is often the fact that children choose to do serious work.  Left to their own devices, they do not choose to finger paint all day!  Rather, work with the Movable Alphabet (for writing leading to reading), long addition with the Golden Beads, or sensorial material such as the Red Rods prove most popular. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are working with your child at home on the weekends, homeschooling, or just want to add a bit of Montessori  to your daily life,  try introducing new things in a simple way and set material up so that it is child-friendly, and let your child take the lead in deciding what to do at home. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Child-friendly options can be as easy as making sure your child can reach everything he or she needs to make basic snacks in the kitchen or putting small sturdy steps up to the washing machine, so your child can put in a small load of things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Questions?  Send in a comment and let us know!</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2007/12/independent-work-in-montessori.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink='false'>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5409157052348159247.post-3958479282325050436</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Dec 2007 02:23:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2007-12-07T18:25:33.080-08:00</atom:updated><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Mandarin Chinese for Children</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Montessori Foreign Language for Children</category><category domain='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#'>Sensitive Period for Language</category><title>Montessori Method Chinese Language for Children</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.poppingpandas.com/uploaded_images/Montessori-Mandarin-Chinese-Children-771874.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 156px;" src="http://www.poppingpandas.com/uploaded_images/Montessori-Mandarin-Chinese-Children-771830.jpg" alt="" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;We are announcing our new Chinese language program for children that is designed using by bilingual Montessori teachers using the Montessori Method for teaching language. to young children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Our goal for the program is to spark your child's natural love of learning and curiosity about language and writing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Children absorb languages, tones, and accents easily and quickly, so we have tailored the program around this focus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a brilliant and easy-to-use program with which we have had lots of success with children between the ages of 2 to 15.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The key features of the program include:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Beginning vocabulary words that build up issue by issue to create compound words and key phrases&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Step-by-step phrase building presented using a Montessori approach to language.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Self-practice material even for the youngest of students.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tones and pronunciation designed to help children soak in native-speaker level accuracy.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Notes for Mom and Dad, so you can work with your child whenever you want.  No experience with Chinese needed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;Price:  US$39.99 a year for monthly subscription.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.poppingpandas.com/Mandarin_Chinese_Curriculum_for_Children.html"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/Montessori_Mandarin_Chinese_for_Children_Bilingual.html"&gt;Learn more about our Mandarin Chinese program for children!&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://www.mymontessorihouse.com/2007/12/montessori-method-chinese-language-for.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Montessori House)</author></item></channel></rss>