What the Evidence Says About Montessori Education

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It’s been more than 100 years since Dr. Maria Montessori first developed the Montessori method of education, which focuses on building children’s resourcefulness and natural abilities through practical play.

Today, Montessori is the most widespread alternative to traditional education. There are thousands of Montessori schools across the globe where students practice daily life skills, learn through hands-on activities, and explore the interdisciplinary nature of science and social studies.

Two main tenets of a Montessori education are mixed-age classrooms and no grades or homework. At Montessori schools, younger children have long blocks of time—up to three hours at once—to freely interact with specially developed learning materials. As children get older, they participate in extensive research projects, which they present to their class. At all ages, you won’t see rows of desks or assigned seats; students are welcome to move about classrooms freely and make choices about what to work on.

Clearly, Montessori takes a different approach compared to traditional education. But is it better for kids?

Read more on Psychology Today

Defuse Angry ADHD Behavior in Your Child: Reflective Listening

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“You just don’t understand!” Sound familiar? If so, then your child’s meltdowns might stem from his inability to properly express his feelings. Learn how reflective listening and staying calm can help defuse anger.

When our children feel bad, they behave badly.

It helps to remember that a lot of bad ADHD behavior stems from a strong emotion the child is feeling. Kids often can’t articulate their feelings, so they come out in tantrums or defiance. They don’t know any other way to communicate how angry or disappointed they are.

Parents usually react to a child’s misbehavior, instead of realizing that we need to address the feeling that is fueling the ADHD behavior.

Read more on ADDitude Mag

AAP urges universal cloth face coverings for those ages 2 and up, with ‘rare exception’

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“This virus is going to be with us for some time, and face coverings are a proven, effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said AAP President Sara “Sally” Goza, M.D., FAAP.  “As parents prepare to send their children to school and into child care settings, cloth face coverings should be part of their new normal.”

One World Montessori is following the AAP’s interim guidance regarding face coverings for children ages 2 years and older.  According to the AAP, children ages 2 years and older “can and should wear cloth face coverings when not able to physically distance, including while in schools, child care and other group settings.”

Read more here

How the Child Care Crisis Will Distort the Economy for a Generation

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The economic toll of the collapse of the child system will be felt for 20-30 years, says Betsey Stevenson.

Schools across the U.S. are closed because of the coronavirus, and unlikely to reopen safely anytime soon. Parents are exhausted from constant, round-the-clock care while trying to work from home; some have chosen to leave their jobs, or switch to part-time work, just to take care of their kids. And kids themselves are slipping behind academically.

Now comes the bad news: We haven’t seen the worst of it yet.

Read more on Politico

Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

Explanation Effect: Why You Should Always Teach What You Learn

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“I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” ― Joan Didion

It is peculiar irony in life that the fastest and best way to learn something is to give it to others as soon as you learn it — not to hog it yourself. Knowledge wants to be free. To rest in other people’s minds. To connect to other knowledge. It’s an innately social organism. Therefore, teaching is knowledge’s oxygen.

Read more on Accelerated Intelligence

Kids Talk – Understanding A Child’s Love Of Order

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As parents and teachers we are concerned about doing the right things with our children. When our children go through difficult periods, we can spend nights tossing and turning about what can be the matter.

As our tools can be friend or foe, depending on how we use them, it can be helpful if we understand the innate development characteristics of children under the age of seven.

Read More Here

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I learned something new today – Ancestor Appreciation Day was this week-end

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Many people are completely unaware of their ancestors and the lives they lived, yet these people almost certainly went a long way towards shaping our habits, traditions and values today. Ancestor Appreciation Day gives people a reminder to learn more about those who came before us.
Building a more complete picture of your relatives and their history can help to promote a greater appreciation for life and form a better understanding of the individual journey your family has been on.
If nothing else, why not spend the day with your living relatives? Ask a few questions, let them tell stories and find out about previous generations that way.

Kindergarten or the 3rd Montessori Year?

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What’s so important about the third year in a Montessori program?  How is it different from kindergarten?

What’s best for my 5-year-old?
Listen to an interesting recording with Maren Schmidt: http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=53485077

Learning to Deal with Change

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The world around us is changing. Some changes are good and some are not in our favor. How can we cope with them? And most importantly, how do we prepare our children to deal with these changes?

Here’s an interesting article by Maren Schmidt: http://www.kidstalknews.com/2012/09/learning-to-deal-with-change.html

Manifesto for a Happier World

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We all want to lead a happy life. But in our quest for ‘progress’ we’ve been pursuing priorities that put our happiness at risk – not just for us as individuals, but for society as a whole.

Our collective aim should be a society with the greatest possible human happiness and wellbeing – with policies, institutions and social attitudes that help people to lead flourishing lives. This is the spirit behind a resolutionwhich was adopted last year by all 193 United Nations member states, calling for “a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth”, and one which promotes “happiness and the well-being of all peoples”.

You may read the rest of this piece, including Mark Williamson’s 12 suggestions for political leaders, institutions, and individuals, at My Manifesto for a Happier World on DailyGood.