Funny Bunny

Well, I caved in to the pressure.  The children wanted a new pet so badly after Robby (old as the hills guinea pig--see earlier entries) died prior to Thanksgiving.  I wasn't quite ready, especially for another guinea pig.  My children wanted the dog named Chip that had visited the room a few times (see earlier posts) but a school dog didn't seem a particularly good idea (that comment is my dry humor at work).  So, I started investigating rabbits.  There are several societies dedicated exclusively to the "house bunny" and I was able to find loads of information.  My family and I started by touring the local Humane Societies and "test driving" the bunnies.  After several weeks, we found Marley.  He is a Mini-Rex and all of 3 pounds, although the vet says he is overweight (evidently, carrots are like bunny candy--who knew)?  Marley is litter-box trained and loves to hop around our room.  He hates tile, so we have a natural invisible fence in the environment.  He loves to be pet, and goes into a submissive petting position when he is lonely.  He nibbled at my assistant, so he may need to be neutered, although he is three and a half.  I think he wanted to make her clothing his bed.  Other than that, he is the best bunny and soft as down.  There is a lot of bunny love going around Casa II!

Respect for Self

We started a dressing table activity this year.  Each child's bag has his or her name on a label inside and includes items like brushes, combs, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair accessories and so on.  The bags are in a basket on the bottom shelf of our scavenged table, along with a stool my Grandma gave to me, and a mirror from Target.  We also keep a small spray bottle of water on the table.  The children love to take care of their "crazy hat hair" in the morning, and brush their teeth after lunch.  They also love to brush one another's hair, as the photo above shows.  My fabulous assistant made all the dressing bags from leftover quilting scraps (note to all guides--hire someone who sews).  I expected this activity to be a mess when we first started but the children take extreme care with their items.  As Montessori noted when she started the Casa dei Bambini, the children wanted to take care of themselves, but needed to be shown how to in a respectful manner. I'm glad I overcame my initial hesitation.  As they usually do, the children exceeded my expectations.

Three More Years!

It is nothing less than marvelous that our students spend three (or four) years with us.  I have one student who enjoyed school, yet had a difficult time with adults and other children whom she did not know well.  My first year was spent getting her to trust me.  She never felt comfortable greeting me for the entire year, and only socialized with a few children.  In our second year she reluctantly accepted presentations, but said "no" more often than not and perfected the "rapid walk away" when she saw me coming.  She still didn't accept my morning greeting and still had difficulty socializing with more than a handful of children.  This year, she not only says "good morning" to me but also shakes my hand! Yesterday, this reluctant, recalcitrant child brought a book to school and said she wanted to read it to the group during our collective.  She sat in my chair, opened the book and sang the whole book to the group.  The book is a spoof on "The Twelve Days of Christmas."  She showed the group every page, and held their rapt attention for the entire song.  Amazing.  She is blossoming before my eyes.  I have another student who did not leave my side the first year--literally.  The second year she branched out a bit, but was extremely quiet.  This year she emerged as a leader in the room and a great friend to many.  At our school's monthly trip to an assisted-living facility, she sat and chatted with the elders as we painted and colored.  She also read books to our elderly friends.  Think of all we would miss if Montessori had not observed the importance of continuity to the stages of development.  The photos are not of these specific children but rather of some nice moments in the environment and with the elders.

Saving Kindergarten

In these difficult economic times Kindergarten, or the Montessori third year, is facing competition from non-Montessori public kindergartens.  My heart just breaks every time we lose a child for his or her last year.  The beautiful foundational work the children have been doing is left unfinished without the outlet and materials for the child to flourish and move forward in his work.  The children don't get to experience being the oldest, where they feel so competent and responsible because they can teach and help, thus reinforcing their own skills.  They go from a child-centric situation to a teacher-centric situation, and lose the opportunity to self-govern.  Their natural curiosity and creativity is contained by the need to teach to all, instead of each child progressing at his or her own pace.  The give and take of their Montessori community, where they solve issues, negotiate problems, and choose activities is replaced by an environment where decisions are already made, and the natural movement of the children is restrained.  The five to six year old is developing into a social learner and in a public kindergarten is negotiating this complex developmental change in an environment where he or she is the youngest, has a new set of friends, and a new teacher, instead of one year later, when it is developmentally appropriate to move on.  I believe sometimes parents think we just want their children to stay because of the  money.  The money is not the point, the well-being of the child is the point.  If money was the goal, we could run schools much differently. taking children at any time and for any amount of time, thus sacrificing the integrity of their community ties.  We could make less of a commitment to our staff and reduce hours based on numbers of children who are sick or on vacation.  There are plenty of ways to make more money.  There is no way to regain the lost year of Kindergarten.

Beautifying the environment

I am working on sewing some linen bags for word study. They are embellished with antique pins I found on e-bay. However, I decided they should also have a drawstring--aaaahhh!!!! I wanted a finished edge for the casing, then thought they should probably be lined, and so on and so on. They are now in a pile on my dining room table, casting their evil eye at me, begging to be finished. Here are a few of my more successful projects. Maybe you'll find some new ideas as you ready and beautify your environment.