Helpful News and Links About All Things Montessori
I don’t do this too often, but I thought it would be nice to share some Montessori-related news and helpful links from around the web. Enjoy!
Nienhuis launches their new website – we all know the quality of Nienhuis materials, but their older website was a bit confusing and hard to navigate. They’ve just launched a completely new site, and it looks fantastic. You’ll see it after you choose your language and region.
Michael Olaf (another longtime favorite Montessori supplier) now has ordering available from their website. I’m not sure all products are available that way, but many are. I still love their catalogs but it’s nice to be able to order online, too.
I just discovered the Wikisori project a little while ago – it’s a place where parents and teachers can come and add or edit information about Montessori (similar to Wikipedia). Tons of great stuff: albums, parent and teacher resources, and lots of helpful links.
Trevor Eissler has authored an interesting book called Montessori Madness: A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education . What I like about his book (besides the fact that it’s a fun and interesting read) is that he approaches Montessori from an outsider’s point of view; just why would a parent choose Montessori, anyway?
He encourages parents to accept the fact that traditional schools are failing students, and challenges them to observe a Montessori classroom to see the difference. This is a great book for a reluctant spouse, grandparents, or other family members who might not be convinced that Montessori is the best educational option.
As you plan for this next school year, you might be in need of some music for your classroom. A couple of Montessori teachers have put together a new CD called Songs for a Practical Day. It includes lively songs that teach the months of the year, continents, and planets as well as music for walking on the line and circle time.
I mentioned this in my email newsletter, but in case you missed that, please take a listen to this audio interview I did with John Shepard of the United Montessori Association. You’ll hear me talk about my business, Montessori, and lots of other interesting stuff.
For those of you who are homeschooling with Montessori, you’ll want to check out my friend Heather’s site, Parents Educating at Home. She’s got lots of links and information about homeschooling that are very helpful.
Kristi Perry has hit upon a great idea for artwork: Montessori Mosaic. Check out her beautiful designs!
Have a great weekend!
Lori,
Thank you for posting this information on my book Montessori Madness! You write, “This is a great book for a reluctant spouse, grandparents, or other family members who might not be convinced that Montessori is the best educational option.” Yes! It is the folks who are not already convinced that I am trying to reach. These people fall into two categories: those who are reluctant family members (and thus will be the ones one must argue against at the kitchen table in these tough economic times when the Montessori school tuition bill comes due), and those who have simply never heard about Montessori and would sneer at the thought of touchy-feely alternative education.
This book helps Montessori schools in multiple ways:
1. Strengthens the connection of Montessori families to the philosophy/pedagogy of their school.
2. Persuades others in the community to come take a look at the local Montessori school, thus building enrollment.
3. Raises money for Montessori schools (for each book sold at http://www.montessorimadness.com, I pay a $10 referral fee to the school the purchaser designates on the online order form).
It’s a win/win/win.
Hi, Trevor! Thanks for stopping by. I remember when I was teaching, there were several sets of parents in my class where one parent firmly believed in Montessori and the other acted like they were being forced to send their child to Montessori school.
Not only did it lead to tension in the home, but the child felt the negativity of the other parent and it affected their performance in school – almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think it’s a a really important issue.
Can you briefly mention your own experience, and what led you to write this book?
I agree that getting other family members on the same page is critical to support the classroom experience. Also, if you add up all the three-hour uninterrupted work periods in a year of classes, it’s about 23 “days” out of 365. The other 342 “days” are with family members or other environments besides the classroom. These environments must be as nurturing as possible, too.
As far as what led me to write the book, it was a palm-on-the-forehead aha! moment, sitting in a Montessori classroom and realizing that all of my previous educational experiences–as a child, a college student, in my career, and as a parent–were scattered jigsaw-puzzle pieces. Watching the classroom that day showed me how they all fit together. I had all the pieces. I knew them well. I just didn’t know how to put them together until that moment. That’s when we became Montessori fans. The book followed later as I started asking neighbors, family, and co-workers about their thoughts on education in order to start a conversation about this wonderful method we had found. But the conversations became one-sided when I found out noone had heard about Montessori. I was doing most of the talking and I’m not a talkative person. So that’s when I figured I could do more for my school, for my children, and for other children, then to sell sno-cones at school functions. I could make a real contribution!
As far as aha! moments, I’m in the early stages of putting together another book called Montessori Moments which will be a collection of others’ aha! moments–those moments when you have seen the beauty and brilliance of the Montessori method, as well as those traditional school moments when you have witnessed the worst that our current system brings out in us.
We must continue to find ways to reach out to those outside of Montessori and grab them by the collar.
Great story! I know I had an aha! moment early on as a 3-6 assistant, where I just knew Montessori was the place for me. I think that happens to many of us. Sounds like a great topic, and the perfect follow-up for your book.
I just finished listening to your interview. Well done! It was so nice to learn more about you & your training. I love that your family is involved with your business & what a compliment to you …that your training program uses your CD-Roms. I agree with your friend that this is what you are suppose to be doing at this time. But when things start to expand for you…how exciting your inpact will be.
Hi, Ines! Glad you liked the interview. It’s funny, because when it started I really didn’t know what I was going to say, and then suddenly I couldn’t stop talking
Thanks for stopping by!
Great list of resources. The book Montessori Madness looks like a great resource.
I am convinced that much of our educational system was designed to create reliable factory workers. As a result, it just doesn’t educate for success in our modern world.
Montessori really helps children learn and practice the skills they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world. Thanks for the resource list.
You are correct, Sue! The traditional educational system (public education) is designed to produce rabid consumers who are good at taking orders. Not really what we want for our children!
Thanks for stopping by.
Thank You Lori for posting this great information about our CD: “Songs for a Practical Day”. I’m papaGG, one of the co-songwriters. Two years ago my daughter attended “Montessori in the Park” school and that is where I met teachers (and now friends) Tara Mott and Danielle McEuen. We collaborated on this helpful CD.
This CD is perfect for the Montessori school year because teachers can now play music that fits with the activities in the classroom. There is “Roll Your Rug” which reinforces children’s task of rolling and unrolling their work rugs every day. There is “Walk the Line” which is used many mornings at Montessori schools (like Montessori In The Park, Avondale, AZ) where walking, galloping, tip-toeing, simulated swimming and flying are followed to the music. “Hello Have a Fine Day” and “Goodbye Have a Fine Day” gives the opportunity to children to learn greetings in over 20 languages! You can play “Celebration of Life” to share in a child’s birthday!
There are songs about using manners (Please, Thank You, I’m Sorry, Excuse Me), learning the names of the Continents, Days of the Week, Months of the Year and more. There are also 2 classical guitar songs from my good friend Ed Sipos usable for work background music, circle time or walking the line. There is also a short 3 minute story: “Lizzy the Lizard”, again fabulous for circle time.
There is more information at http://www.MontessoriMomsMusic.com or http://www.papaGG.com. Snippets of each song are available to hear at CD Baby or ITunes. Just do a search on “The papaGG Band” . The CDs are available at our website (mentioned above), CDBaby (www.CDBaby.com/papaGGband) or downloadable on Itunes or Amazon.
Once again, thank you for mentioning us. Our next album is coming out shortly, it is called “Skipping Through Multiplication” where skip counting songs help children to develop their multiplication skills faster. My 5 year old daughter has her “times tables” figured out through listening to these in our car.
Enjoy! papaGG
Thanks for the additional information about your CD! I hope lots of parents and teachers check it out.