Animals of Raintree
The longer I work at Raintree, the more I wonder about the stories that collect around these fourteen acres of land. The tales that are told with the most joy and humor are those of [...]
What Is It Like to Be a Raintree Substitute (and also a Raintree Parent)?
Some names in the story have been changed. After making my way down to the Lower Far East toddler community, I find the children gathered around the tables joined by a few parents and/or guardians, [...]
Raising Adults
Raising Adults Last week I was listening to NPR and was quite touched by a short interview with Michelle Obama on her latest book, The Light We Carry. In this interview Obama talked about her mother [...]
Montessori Language
by Lisa Erber, Primary Guide in Upper Far West There are four schemes in preparing the language area of the Montessori primary. Dr. Montessori believed that you must prepare the hand to manipulate ever more [...]
Montessori students exhibit a more richly connected semantic memory network
by Eric W. Dolan March 6, 2022 in Cognitive Science The type of education a child receives appears to influence how they represent knowledge in long-term memory, according to a new study published in the [...]
A Glimpse into the Primary Upper West
By Laura Hosek, M.Ed., Primary Guide, Upper West It’s been a strange couple years for everyone, everywhere across the sphere we call home. Humans have been stretched and balled, left to rise, deflated, then molded [...]
The Black Strip: A Glimpse into the Lower Elementary South East Loft
By Laura Sinkler, Lower Elementary Guide The Long Black Strip is a lesson in humility. It is 100 feet of black fabric representing the 4.6 billion years of Earth's history. The Black Strip is an [...]
My Amygdala Made Me Do It
Written by Maren Schmidt (5/3/2014) Learning to control impulses is an important task for our children, and all of us, to learn. Until our children learn to control urges to hit, kick, punch, pinch, bite, spit, [...]
The Child’s Inherent Love of Nature
by Maren Stark Schmidt What do you do to find yourself when you are out of sorts? Frustrated? Sorrowful? Despairing? If you are like most people, you try to find a quiet spot to commune [...]
It is Often Through Change That We Experience Great Growth: Helping Children Face Transitions
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 [...]