Thursday, July 30, 2009

gluten free

We made the most amazing gluten free Brazilian cheese bread today! I know what you're thinking--gluten free bread that is actually good?! The children loved it. It is mostly like a dense popover, and we're definitely baking it again. Check in tomorrow for several gluten free recipes that our children have devoured. We bake or cook snack almost every day and it is a wonderful experience. The children gain such ownership of their environment. Plus, it always smells good!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Countryside Montessori Videos

I added these videos from Countryside Montessori in Northbrook, IL because they beautifully show what Montessori and Learning for Life really means. I hope to post a few from my own school soon. I'm so amazed at how beautifully these young children live life. I am talking specifically about the first one--I couldn't seem to add just the first one without the others.

First Time

First Facebook, now a blog?! As a person who was scared by George Orwell's 1984, I'm definitely not safe from big brother anymore. But we Montessorians are bound by community, and I want to make as many connections and converts as I can! That said, it is going to take me awhile to get going but putting it off doesn't breed forward momentum. I'm looking for the political activists out there, who either love Montessori or are new to Montessori. Montessori's ideas have been tested, tried, and they work! We need a community that not only has academic aptitude but social aptitude, with ethics embedded in everything they do. We have been one hundred years at the periphery but change is in the air and we need to unite to forward the genius of the Montessori approach. It will take a change in attitude (the insanity of all the testing) and a realization of what qualities lead to a full and productive life as a weight-bearing member of society. I know that in the AMS circles Senator Christopher Dodd is a supporter. In the AMI circles, Dr. Steven Hughes' ideas are huge cross-disciplinary motivaters. We all need to work together to present a united front to the legislature and the general public, and NAMTA could be a huge unifying orginization, should they choose to accept their mission. Who feels the same way? Let's work together.