Good Search it!

Have a favorite charity? Next time you want to research Montessori information online, help to raise money for the charity by using goodsearch.com. I love the idea that I every time I use this search engine, proceeds go to the charity of my choice. I chose the Human Rights organization, Priests for Life, as my charity and you can too. Looking for another charity to benifit from using the goodsearch search engine? There are 66,000 plus non-profits listed to choose from! Check it out at http://www.goodsearch.com!

The Montessori Parent

The following was taken from the AMS (American Montessori Society) website and is a short little guide to help us in using the Montessori method in the home:

As a parent you are a role model and teacher:
Know your child well
Be a patient observer and careful listener
Place your confidence in your child
Provide simple, safe and consistent rules encouraging your child to take responsibility and to contribute to his or her home and family.

As a parent you prepare your child's home:
Provide safety (physical & emotional)
Provide organization, consistency, a reliable routine
Prepare areas that are child sized — a place of her/his own
Provide your child age-appropriate responsibilities in your home
Provide "real life" experiences
Provide age-appropriate choices and opportunities to make positive decisions

As a parent you set the limits:
Offer protection from objects and ideas that can hurt
Always encourage your child to be capable and confident
Limit toys and games to a workable number (rotate toys)
Monitor television and other forms of media (inappropriate exposure can negatively affect social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth)
Develop consistent routines which encourage your child to develop self-control (self-control, responsible behavior and freedom are outcomes, not starting points)

As a parent you support and encourage your child:
Offer great possibilities for exploration in the home environment
Encourage children to do for themselves ("Let me do it myself!")
Encourage your child to be an active agent of his/her own education

HABA Toy Recall

FYI: Haba toys is recalling some of their infant rattles and toys. Please see their website at http://www.habausa.com/ for more information. We are having to send back the toy pictured above and our baby loves it! Oh well! Safety first :)

Saturday Night Eye Candy...

The Montessori Prepared Environment 036, by sew liberated.

Meg over at Sew Liberated has so many great pictures of her Montessori journey in Mexico to share. I particularly like this little art setup here because it has a great view to the outside and it looks very inviting. She also provides us with the great idea of putting paint inside old elmers glue containers so that the children can squeeze out their own portions! Great idea Meg! You can follow her adventures in crafting and Montessori Here.

This is what she has to say about the above photo, posted on Flickr:
"Our painting station works quite well. To the left, you will see rolled-up, pre-cut-to-fit paper for the easel. Each roll is secured with one paper clip, which the child removes and places on a little plate on the small, pink "painting provisions table." The child then hangs up his paper. Then he can serve himself paint. Generally, we provide red, yellow, and blue paint, although right now we only have one color available because it's the beginning of the year. We use old Elmer's glue bottles, with the label rubbed off, so the child can serve himself paint. The child squeezes a bit of paint (we have a TINY little bowl for each color.) Now we have to options - you can use a paint brush, or a sponge with which to paint. I suggest changing the painting tools to keep the level of interest high. When the child is done, he hangs up his painting to dry, rinses off the paint brush and little bowl in the the pink bucket, dries them with the towel hanging on the right of the easel, and replaces the material so another child may paint. At the end of the day, one of the older children empties out the dirty water in the bucket and cleans the easel to prepare for the next school day. "

A Montessori Podcast for Your Listening Pleasure!

I just found a great podcast featuring Angeline Stoll Lillard, the author of Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius. You can listen to it HERE.