"Y'all, my kids eat dirt. They do. Sometimes they eat dirt." I hastily informed Samara's entire class and their parents on the most recent class field trip.
"They also never wear shoes. Well, unless we are around people, but ... even then it's not a guarantee."
Hudson's binky had fallen under the picnic table while digging into his vanilla yogurt. I viewed his calm demeanor during a chaotic lunch as a triumph, so I just let it go. Later, Samara, his (responsible, caring, perfectly bred) sister retrieved the lost binky and returned it to its rightful owner. He proceeded to immediately stick it in his mouth, still covered with (gasp) dirt.
There were lots of gasps. In fact, so many gasps that I was a caught off guard. So many gasps that I confessed, right then and there.
I owned up to the dirt eating. Yup, sometimes it happens. In fact, just minutes before the binky episode, I myself had picked up a dirt covered apple off the ground (Hudson's), wiped it off on my jeans, and had bitten right in.
Like mother, like ...
I felt light from the first confession, so I threw in the shoe bit off the cuff. It wasn't relevant to the situation, but somehow seemed appropriate.
No one really responded, but as I gathered my dirt eating, shoeless children to take them to the sand box, a mother kindly offered a wipe for Hudson's yogurt covered face. Without even thinking, I replied, "Oh, he'll be fine. The sand will make such a mess anyway. We'll just take care of it all at once."
What was I doing to myself? Samara'a reputation? Hudson's skin?
First dirt and now yogurt residue!
In all honesty, I kind of thought that's what moms were supposed to do. I read so many blogs about simplifying that I assumed everyone recognized that messes compound, making it easier to clean the sticky, stinky, and salty once a day ... right before bed time!
Guess not.
The funny thing about the whole ordeal was that my own mothering actions did not cause me to feel pride (for being such a chill mom) or insecurity (for being such a reckless mom).
Rather, I laughed out loud and thought, "We all sure do this parenting thing differently."
As I looked around the tables of sweet, budding children, loved and cherished children (mine included), I thought to myself, "I think that's ok."
Lesson Learned: Maybe all those articles entitled "Overcoming Mommy Competition" are working.
Disclaimer: The parents of Samara's friends were wonderful today. I had a great time on the trip with them all, fun conversation, beautiful weather, and awesome education. This story just made Mark laugh tonight, which is why I blogged about it!
Showing posts with label Montessori. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montessori. Show all posts
October 16, 2013
August 29, 2013
Lesson 89: We Chose Montessori Because ...
As I alerted you yesterday, Samara had her first day of school today! She loved it!
For those who have asked and would like to know a little more, Mark and I have decided to send Julia to a small Montessori school nearby.
Why Montessori?
1. Well, my cousin, Becky, sent her children to Montessori school and her children are awesome. (In Montessori they are called children, not kids, and so we will use the appropriate terminology.)
While this sounds like sort of a shallow reason, it is the reason that our interest was first peaked to Montessori education. From the get-go, my cousin and her husband seemed to parent with quality. They give their children beautiful books to read and read with them often. They include their children in outdoor projects, digging in the yard and riding on tractors. They eat healthy food and have soup parties with their neighbors. They participate as a family in charity walks and fundraisers. Becky sews a lot!
It's all good stuff. There's a healthiness, a wholeness, and a sense of community to a lot of their practical routine, and I really admire that.
And as I said, they sent their children to Montessori preschool.
This is why I initially began researching Montessori.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I am not going to give you a full history of Montessori or all of its tenets and philosophies. It is so easy to find a million other resources for that on the internet. I am now merely going to give you the ways in which I think that some of the Montessori philosophy fits with Biblical ideas and a few other reasons for why we chose it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Children were created to work: One of the foundational principles of Montessori is that children are made to work, just as grown-ups are, and that they should spend their time being engaged in meaningful work.
Tell me this doesn't just scream Gen 2 to you! Built into our framework as humans is the idea that we were created to work. God put the man in the garden to work it and keep it. This is prefall. This is before sin had entered the world. Before things went downhill, God had always intended that man should work. Montessori thought definitely taps into this most basic human principle.
The children engage in practical work at school. They care for the classroom, wash themselves properly, tend a garden as a class, and prepare snacks for one another.
The children engage in mental work at school. Based on each child's own pace, they learn about letters, numbers, art, music, and the world.
The children engage in meaningful work at school. This is crucial to the Montessori philosophy. Children get frustrated if they are instructed to do tasks over and over without accomplishing anything. The work the children are engaged in has worth.
3. Children should work hard simply because it is a good thing to work hard: The children at Montessori schools are not given rewards for completing tasks. Rather, they are taught that the expectation is to work hard and to do one's best, simply for the sake of doing one's best, not just to receive a reward at the end. Again, this taps into the idea that we are created by God to work, and that doing our work to the best of our ability brings glory to God. We should seek God's affirmation, not man's.
4. Children must be taught to focus: At Montessori schools, the children are rarely interrupted while they are in the middle of a task. Each child sets about her work and remains with an activity until she is ready to move onto something else. She learns to focus and to take her time. Because there is no ending time, she does not feel the need to rush to get something done. Thus, her quailty of work should be better.
Similarly, all the children in the classroom are doing their own work and focusing. So, the children are learning to focus and work well in the middle of a lot of moving parts. This is a great practical life lesson.
5. Children should be encouraged towards appropriate levels of independence: Maria Montessori believed that children developed in a series of peaks and valleys. Thus, at particular stages of a child's development, she is predisposed to learn specific lessons easier. You can read about this elsewhere, but one of the lessons I have taken from this observation is that children should be given responsibility appropriate to their ability and developmental stage. Parents should not keep doing everything for their children, but should rather be encouraging their children towards taking care of themselves. In some ways, we should be working ourselves out of a job.
Now, clearly, I am not advocating giving up parental obligations. Throughout the entire course of their lives, we should be nurturing and guiding our children, particularly in matters of faith. However, Samara is capable of getting her own dishes out for meals, setting the table, clearing the plates, and so on. I wrote this post a while ago, when I first began to think about this type of thing.
6. Children should think about and respect others: What are the two greatest commandments? Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.
a. I see the "love your neighbor as yourself" happening in two ways in the classroom. First, the way the curriculum is set-up, the children learn about the world first. They spend a lot of time studying different countries, looking at maps, and learning about various cultures. The lessons then move inward, first to one's own continent, country, state, town, school, family, and finally, self. The idea is that by beginning broad, the child gains a larger perspective which will hopefully combat the naturally tendency to focus intently upon oneself.
As I said, I certainly see a benefit to opposing self-centeredness. Thus, this principle of Montessori is not entirely in conflict with a Biblical worldview. However, for Christians, a child's understanding should begin with God being God. The world as a whole is not our foundation, the Lord is! He is the one we are to be loving first and foremost, with all our heart, strength, and mind. Out of our relationship with him, we are able to love others. We know this! This is not spoken about about at Montessori school; therefore, this is one area where Mark and I are aware that we need to focus on during the time that Samara is at home.
b. Each class has children of a range of ages. Samara's class has 3 - 5 year olds. The idea is that as the class learns together, the younger children come in, without as much experience and know-how. They look up to their older peers, watch the ways they act (hopefully, with a bit more maturity), and are encouraged to try new things. Similarly, as the child gets older, she then becomes a leader in the class. Thus, the children learn to follow and to lead, which I think is really cool!
7. Children should respect their environment, because aestethics are of some importance: Again, this is Biblical. The Lord did not just create, but he created a beautiful world, with interesting animals, bright colors, and a variety of backdrops. Similarly, the children are taught to keep their classroom clean and encouraged to make it beautiful. Each child donates a plant to the classroom, which she is responsiblity for watering and keeping dust free, for the good of the whole class. Once a week, a different child brings fresh flowers for the classroom, and that child receives a lesson on flower arranging. The children are taught to put their materials back exactly where they belong. The classroom is a light, airy environment, and the children are free to get on with the business of their work because it remains so.
8. Children should be taught healthy habits: Montessori education emphasizes healthy eating, lots of fresh air, drinking water, and exercise. Each day a different child brings in either a fruit or vegetable for the class to share. They eat lunch outside whenever the weather is nice enough.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, basically, this is why I like Montessori education. A few additional reasons are that the children listen to classical music while they work, their system for learning math is really cool, and as I mentioned in a previous post, the teachers are awesome, loving, and intentional.
I do not think that Montessori is the only way to educate children. When we were still considering this option, a retiring (Christian) teacher friend of mine said that "She appreicated any type of education that really sought to think about children. Montessori education certainly thinks about children."
Similarly, our ethics professor advised us "to make sure to consider the pros and cons to whatever type of schooling you choose for your children. Pray about your decision. Be sure to seek the Lord for wisdom in selecting the best option for your family and child."
I would like to make clear that if there is an area where we sense that the Montessori philosophy conflicts with Biblical teaching ... the Bible wins. Every time.
We are so excited for Samara! We feel like the classroom that she will be going to everyday is a place where she will thrive. She will be loved, and she will learn to love to learn.
I welcome questions concerning Montessori and will do my best with my limited knowledge to answer them. We are obviously new to the whole thing!
Lesson Learned: My research into the Montessori classroom has helped provide practical goals and desires for the way I run my home, including a fleshing out of the purpose of a child's day, fostering opportunities for growth in independence, thought to our environment, and an encouragement of healthy habits.
For those who have asked and would like to know a little more, Mark and I have decided to send Julia to a small Montessori school nearby.
Why Montessori?
1. Well, my cousin, Becky, sent her children to Montessori school and her children are awesome. (In Montessori they are called children, not kids, and so we will use the appropriate terminology.)
While this sounds like sort of a shallow reason, it is the reason that our interest was first peaked to Montessori education. From the get-go, my cousin and her husband seemed to parent with quality. They give their children beautiful books to read and read with them often. They include their children in outdoor projects, digging in the yard and riding on tractors. They eat healthy food and have soup parties with their neighbors. They participate as a family in charity walks and fundraisers. Becky sews a lot!
It's all good stuff. There's a healthiness, a wholeness, and a sense of community to a lot of their practical routine, and I really admire that.
And as I said, they sent their children to Montessori preschool.
This is why I initially began researching Montessori.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I am not going to give you a full history of Montessori or all of its tenets and philosophies. It is so easy to find a million other resources for that on the internet. I am now merely going to give you the ways in which I think that some of the Montessori philosophy fits with Biblical ideas and a few other reasons for why we chose it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Children were created to work: One of the foundational principles of Montessori is that children are made to work, just as grown-ups are, and that they should spend their time being engaged in meaningful work.
Tell me this doesn't just scream Gen 2 to you! Built into our framework as humans is the idea that we were created to work. God put the man in the garden to work it and keep it. This is prefall. This is before sin had entered the world. Before things went downhill, God had always intended that man should work. Montessori thought definitely taps into this most basic human principle.
The children engage in practical work at school. They care for the classroom, wash themselves properly, tend a garden as a class, and prepare snacks for one another.
The children engage in mental work at school. Based on each child's own pace, they learn about letters, numbers, art, music, and the world.
The children engage in meaningful work at school. This is crucial to the Montessori philosophy. Children get frustrated if they are instructed to do tasks over and over without accomplishing anything. The work the children are engaged in has worth.
3. Children should work hard simply because it is a good thing to work hard: The children at Montessori schools are not given rewards for completing tasks. Rather, they are taught that the expectation is to work hard and to do one's best, simply for the sake of doing one's best, not just to receive a reward at the end. Again, this taps into the idea that we are created by God to work, and that doing our work to the best of our ability brings glory to God. We should seek God's affirmation, not man's.
4. Children must be taught to focus: At Montessori schools, the children are rarely interrupted while they are in the middle of a task. Each child sets about her work and remains with an activity until she is ready to move onto something else. She learns to focus and to take her time. Because there is no ending time, she does not feel the need to rush to get something done. Thus, her quailty of work should be better.
Similarly, all the children in the classroom are doing their own work and focusing. So, the children are learning to focus and work well in the middle of a lot of moving parts. This is a great practical life lesson.
5. Children should be encouraged towards appropriate levels of independence: Maria Montessori believed that children developed in a series of peaks and valleys. Thus, at particular stages of a child's development, she is predisposed to learn specific lessons easier. You can read about this elsewhere, but one of the lessons I have taken from this observation is that children should be given responsibility appropriate to their ability and developmental stage. Parents should not keep doing everything for their children, but should rather be encouraging their children towards taking care of themselves. In some ways, we should be working ourselves out of a job.
Now, clearly, I am not advocating giving up parental obligations. Throughout the entire course of their lives, we should be nurturing and guiding our children, particularly in matters of faith. However, Samara is capable of getting her own dishes out for meals, setting the table, clearing the plates, and so on. I wrote this post a while ago, when I first began to think about this type of thing.
6. Children should think about and respect others: What are the two greatest commandments? Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.
a. I see the "love your neighbor as yourself" happening in two ways in the classroom. First, the way the curriculum is set-up, the children learn about the world first. They spend a lot of time studying different countries, looking at maps, and learning about various cultures. The lessons then move inward, first to one's own continent, country, state, town, school, family, and finally, self. The idea is that by beginning broad, the child gains a larger perspective which will hopefully combat the naturally tendency to focus intently upon oneself.
As I said, I certainly see a benefit to opposing self-centeredness. Thus, this principle of Montessori is not entirely in conflict with a Biblical worldview. However, for Christians, a child's understanding should begin with God being God. The world as a whole is not our foundation, the Lord is! He is the one we are to be loving first and foremost, with all our heart, strength, and mind. Out of our relationship with him, we are able to love others. We know this! This is not spoken about about at Montessori school; therefore, this is one area where Mark and I are aware that we need to focus on during the time that Samara is at home.
b. Each class has children of a range of ages. Samara's class has 3 - 5 year olds. The idea is that as the class learns together, the younger children come in, without as much experience and know-how. They look up to their older peers, watch the ways they act (hopefully, with a bit more maturity), and are encouraged to try new things. Similarly, as the child gets older, she then becomes a leader in the class. Thus, the children learn to follow and to lead, which I think is really cool!
7. Children should respect their environment, because aestethics are of some importance: Again, this is Biblical. The Lord did not just create, but he created a beautiful world, with interesting animals, bright colors, and a variety of backdrops. Similarly, the children are taught to keep their classroom clean and encouraged to make it beautiful. Each child donates a plant to the classroom, which she is responsiblity for watering and keeping dust free, for the good of the whole class. Once a week, a different child brings fresh flowers for the classroom, and that child receives a lesson on flower arranging. The children are taught to put their materials back exactly where they belong. The classroom is a light, airy environment, and the children are free to get on with the business of their work because it remains so.
8. Children should be taught healthy habits: Montessori education emphasizes healthy eating, lots of fresh air, drinking water, and exercise. Each day a different child brings in either a fruit or vegetable for the class to share. They eat lunch outside whenever the weather is nice enough.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, basically, this is why I like Montessori education. A few additional reasons are that the children listen to classical music while they work, their system for learning math is really cool, and as I mentioned in a previous post, the teachers are awesome, loving, and intentional.
I do not think that Montessori is the only way to educate children. When we were still considering this option, a retiring (Christian) teacher friend of mine said that "She appreicated any type of education that really sought to think about children. Montessori education certainly thinks about children."
Similarly, our ethics professor advised us "to make sure to consider the pros and cons to whatever type of schooling you choose for your children. Pray about your decision. Be sure to seek the Lord for wisdom in selecting the best option for your family and child."
I would like to make clear that if there is an area where we sense that the Montessori philosophy conflicts with Biblical teaching ... the Bible wins. Every time.
We are so excited for Samara! We feel like the classroom that she will be going to everyday is a place where she will thrive. She will be loved, and she will learn to love to learn.
I welcome questions concerning Montessori and will do my best with my limited knowledge to answer them. We are obviously new to the whole thing!
Lesson Learned: My research into the Montessori classroom has helped provide practical goals and desires for the way I run my home, including a fleshing out of the purpose of a child's day, fostering opportunities for growth in independence, thought to our environment, and an encouragement of healthy habits.
August 28, 2013
Lesson 88: A "New" Night Before the First Day of School
I've done "the night before the first day of school" before. A whole lot of times. In fact, I'd say ... if I had to count ... I've personally not slept through about 20 of these types of nights.
Last year, I wrote about what I thought would be my last first day of school. I was super emotional.
Last year was nothing compared to this.
Tonight isn't my own "night before the first day of school."
Tonight is my daughter's first "night before the first day of school."
And so, (since it's my blog) ... tonight is my "first time as the parent of a child on the night before the first day of school."
Do you see what I did there? Do you understanding the nuancing? I'll spell it out just in case.
Tonight is the last night that my daughter is simply my daughter. Tomorrow, she also becomes someone else's pupil.
She's basically gone forever.
Big motherly sigh.
Oh get it together and tell the story, Katherine.
You see, I'm mostly being dramatic with all this heaviness. In truth, tonight was not one of the most gut-wrenching nights of my life. In truth, it was rather fun.
Samara and I had a few last minute details to attend to. This included a trip to the grocery store to pick up apples for her teachers, because ...
"Kids have to bring their teachers apples."
Oh really. Don't we already have apples in the fridge that you can take?
"No, these apples have to be the reddest of red."
Of course they do. And who gave you this information?
"The Little Critters book."
So, out we went to purchase the reddest of all the red apples.
At the store, Samara
1. found the child-size cart in the corner,
2. chose the apples,
3. set them on the counter for the cashier to ring up,
4. (I paid.)
5. carried the bag to the car, and then again into the house,
6. placed the apples in the fridge to keep them cold,
7. and threw the plastic bag into the trash can.
Friends, I think she's ready!
As I gave Samara her bath tonight, washed her hair, helped her lay out her new dress for the morning (and hair accessories), tucked her in with an extra long squeeze, I wondered to myself ... am I?
Am I ready to trust someone else to spend this amount of time teaching my daughter?
Am I ready to spend this many hours away from her?
Am I ready for her to understand the words I slyly spell to her father?
Am I ready for her to have so many new and interesting experiences that I'm not around to know about?
Am I ready for time to just speed up and get away (as all seasoned parents have warned me that it does from this moment on)?
I mean really people, we are one step away from college.
Wait a minute, I'm being overly dramatic again.
Her teachers are awesome, loving, and intentional.
The hours at school will fly, and she'll be home everyday before I know it.
It'll be a while before she can spell.
Experiencing life on her own is part of independence and growing for both of us.
Time passes whether she's here or there, and she will grow up and leave, but not quite yet.
God is sovereign and good ... and she was never mine to begin with. She has always been His.
In fact, Samara (which is actually my daughter's middle name) means "guarded or protected by God." She was aptly given the name after a terrifying emergency birth. A TEB (terrifying emergency birth) in which she came out unscathed. A TEB in which she was perfectly guarded and protected by God.
From the beginning, Mark and I have been aware that Samara is a gift and a responsibility that we have been entrusted with. In parenting her, we are merely serving the Lord.
We love her. We think a lot about her. We do our best to do our best. But ultimately, the Lord loves her more than we could ever even fathom. His will for her life is perfect for her good and His glory.
His will includes her heading out to school tomorrow.
Away from me.
And it will be good.
What a sweet and hard thing it is to be a mama!
I best get some sleep now. I have a big day tomorrow.
Lesson Learned: Who knew "the night before the first day of school" was more of a rollercoaster ride for the mama's than for the littles? Say a prayer for me?!?!
* Linked up at Living Well, Spending Less
Last year, I wrote about what I thought would be my last first day of school. I was super emotional.
Last year was nothing compared to this.
Tonight isn't my own "night before the first day of school."
Tonight is my daughter's first "night before the first day of school."
And so, (since it's my blog) ... tonight is my "first time as the parent of a child on the night before the first day of school."
Do you see what I did there? Do you understanding the nuancing? I'll spell it out just in case.
Tonight is the last night that my daughter is simply my daughter. Tomorrow, she also becomes someone else's pupil.
She's basically gone forever.
Big motherly sigh.
Oh get it together and tell the story, Katherine.
You see, I'm mostly being dramatic with all this heaviness. In truth, tonight was not one of the most gut-wrenching nights of my life. In truth, it was rather fun.
Samara and I had a few last minute details to attend to. This included a trip to the grocery store to pick up apples for her teachers, because ...
"Kids have to bring their teachers apples."
Oh really. Don't we already have apples in the fridge that you can take?
"No, these apples have to be the reddest of red."
Of course they do. And who gave you this information?
"The Little Critters book."
So, out we went to purchase the reddest of all the red apples.
At the store, Samara
1. found the child-size cart in the corner,
2. chose the apples,
3. set them on the counter for the cashier to ring up,
4. (I paid.)
5. carried the bag to the car, and then again into the house,
6. placed the apples in the fridge to keep them cold,
7. and threw the plastic bag into the trash can.
Friends, I think she's ready!
As I gave Samara her bath tonight, washed her hair, helped her lay out her new dress for the morning (and hair accessories), tucked her in with an extra long squeeze, I wondered to myself ... am I?
Am I ready to trust someone else to spend this amount of time teaching my daughter?
Am I ready to spend this many hours away from her?
Am I ready for her to understand the words I slyly spell to her father?
Am I ready for her to have so many new and interesting experiences that I'm not around to know about?
Am I ready for time to just speed up and get away (as all seasoned parents have warned me that it does from this moment on)?
I mean really people, we are one step away from college.
Wait a minute, I'm being overly dramatic again.
Her teachers are awesome, loving, and intentional.
The hours at school will fly, and she'll be home everyday before I know it.
It'll be a while before she can spell.
Experiencing life on her own is part of independence and growing for both of us.
Time passes whether she's here or there, and she will grow up and leave, but not quite yet.
God is sovereign and good ... and she was never mine to begin with. She has always been His.
In fact, Samara (which is actually my daughter's middle name) means "guarded or protected by God." She was aptly given the name after a terrifying emergency birth. A TEB (terrifying emergency birth) in which she came out unscathed. A TEB in which she was perfectly guarded and protected by God.
From the beginning, Mark and I have been aware that Samara is a gift and a responsibility that we have been entrusted with. In parenting her, we are merely serving the Lord.
We love her. We think a lot about her. We do our best to do our best. But ultimately, the Lord loves her more than we could ever even fathom. His will for her life is perfect for her good and His glory.
His will includes her heading out to school tomorrow.
Away from me.
And it will be good.
What a sweet and hard thing it is to be a mama!
I best get some sleep now. I have a big day tomorrow.
Lesson Learned: Who knew "the night before the first day of school" was more of a rollercoaster ride for the mama's than for the littles? Say a prayer for me?!?!
* Linked up at Living Well, Spending Less
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
