It is Often Through Change That We Experience Great Growth: Helping Children Face Transitions

2021-05-07T14:30:17-05:00May 7th, 2021|Categories: Montessori, Raintree|Tags: , , , , , |

by Jennifer Baker Powers Spring is often referred to as a time of growth and rebirth. Just as the grass becomes green again and the buds come back out on the trees and flowers, humans experience change and renewal. Sometimes, that growth isn’t easy. There are many clichés and quotes we are all familiar with such as “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” or “stuck in a rut” and talk of “growing pains”. What all of these sentiments have in common is the idea [...]

Read More

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, Raintree student leads weekly protest about climate change

2020-12-29T13:50:59-06:00October 30th, 2020|Categories: Montessori, Raintree, Uncategorized|Tags: , , , , |

By Lauren Fox, Lawrence Journal World, October 30, 2020 For over a year, 10-year-old Dylan Tenbrink has been standing outside Raintree Montessori School on Friday mornings, protesting about climate change with her sign, “Our planet, our future.” Dylan, a fifth grader, became inspired to speak out about the climate after watching a short video about Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist. “She had a really strong voice and she was able to be heard,” Dylan said of Thunberg. “She had strong feelings about the [...]

Read More

How the Outdoors Makes Your Kids Smarter

2019-12-05T16:42:05-06:00December 5th, 2019|Categories: Parenting, Raintree|Tags: , |

The freedom to move and play outside inspires creativity and improves brain function By Katie Arnold When I was eight years old, I spent an hour every autumn day after school shooting baskets in our driveway in New Jersey. I was small for my age, had little talent for the sport, and didn’t love it all that much; what I loved were the stories I made up in my head as I practiced my layups alone. I loved how my mind was free to wander [...]

Read More

Three Important Points for Toddler and Primary Parents

2019-12-05T16:41:10-06:00September 5th, 2019|Categories: Montessori, Parenting, Raintree|Tags: , |

1.  Quiet and Peacefulness Essential Montessori called the classroom a “children’s house,” a warm and inviting place scaled to the child’s size.  Our job is to protect and nurture this special place.  Please help us by…. Being quiet when you enter Raintree. Noise in the hallway distracts children who are working and awakens children who are sleeping in the afternoon.  Please help us follow the same guidelines the children follow during the day by being quiet in the hall. Giving your full attention to your [...]

Read More

Kansas Citizens and Business Community Say Students Need More Than Academics to Succeed

2019-02-28T11:21:40-06:00October 28th, 2018|Categories: Raintree|Tags: , , |

By Denise Kahler, Director of Communications The Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) is reviewing the tabulated results from the Community Conversation events held throughout the state three years ago where education officials asked Kansas residents and members of the business community what they want from their state education system. The board is using these results to support the development of its vision for K-12 education in Kansas. Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson and members of the board conducted 20 events across the [...]

Read More

Teaching the Soft Skills: The Lessons of Grace and Courtesy

2016-11-01T15:28:29-05:00September 20th, 2016|Categories: Raintree|Tags: , , |

From Forbes magazine and the Wall Street Journal to the Huffington Post and the New York Times, we find articles on the importance of the “soft skills”. You can blame my generation for throwing out some of them with the bathwater of conventions in the 60s, and now in the Digital Age where we spend most of our time in front of a screen, we have moved farther and farther away from simple courtesies such as listening when another person speaks and saying thank you. [...]

Read More

The Community

2016-11-29T10:29:03-06:00July 8th, 2016|Categories: Raintree|Tags: , |

An excerpt from Montessori Madness by Trevor Eissler Montessori education is infused with the idea of community. One experience has given me a singular perspective on the importance of community. It was a plane crash. My own. Shortly after college, I drove to Alaska looking for a job flying airplanes and some adventure. There was plenty of both there, and I found myself flying a small single-engine Cessna up and down the Bering Sea coast of western Alaska. My job was to fly a load [...]

Read More

Nine Qualities of an Authentic Montessori School

2016-11-01T15:28:37-05:00November 17th, 2015|Categories: Raintree|Tags: |

1.  Teacher Training Authentic high quality Montessori schools have teachers who were trained by the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) or the American Montessori Society (AMS). Do not be confused by other acronyms when looking at a teacher’s diploma.  2.  Teacher Tenure Montessori teachers who have found an authentic Montessori school to work in do not leave. Ask how long the teachers have taught in the school. A long tenure speaks to the school’s authenticity 3.  Length of class time Authentic Montessori schools have a long uninterrupted work [...]

Read More

Montessori: A Leap of Faith

2016-11-01T15:28:37-05:00June 30th, 2015|Categories: Elementary, Raintree|Tags: |

Being the parent of a Montessori child takes a leap of faith. Most of us, and this includes Montessori teachers, were educated in traditional classrooms. When we started our elementary program, we thought, “We have to test these kids. We can’t be having this much fun, and the kids are learning, too,” so we invested in a norm-referenced assessment, the Kaufman, testing the students at the end of third grade, and then again at sixth. But the tests didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already [...]

Read More

No Helicopters Please

2015-05-02T03:44:37-05:00May 2nd, 2015|Categories: Raintree|Tags: |

When we first started Raintree, Montessori was relatively new to the Lawrence community. The Raintree campus of today bears little resemblance to the ramshackle building and grounds of yesteryear, but we have fond memories of that time, just as we will have fond memories of this time in our lives in years to come. As our physical environments improved (a real parking lot replaced the mud and gravel and windows brought natural light into what had been dimly lit classrooms) and our students achieved success [...]

Read More
Copyright 2012 - 2016 Raintree Montessori School | All Rights Reserved
Go to Top