What affects one of us affects all of us. "My first impression was that my role was not important and I wouldn't be able to do much. After a while I realized that I could change the game and solve crises and at the end I was proud of myself." - Elise "Before, I believed peace was nearly impossible. Now, I have a achieved it, it could happen in the real world" - Ella "I feel that violence is something connected with humans. It will [...]
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 refined, to guide the tool of writing to create symbols. When using tweezers to transfer materials, or removing the Knobbed Cylinders the Montessori Guide demonstrates the three-finger grasp. Fine motor control of the hand by repetition of the three-finger grasp develops strength in the pincer grip. Secondly, taking into consideration [...]
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 journal Science of Learning. The findings indicate that Montessori students tend to have a more richly connected network of semantic memories. “We are facing many changes, and education seems to be a crucial point to prepare young people to face these changes. However, we do not yet have an educational [...]
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 impressionistic lesson given to demonstrate the length of time it took to form the Earth's crust, fill the hollows with water, and the oceans with salts, before the first living creatures came on Earth told in the last 10 feet or so of the strip, with the last half inch [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I recently wrote about what parents should let their kids see them doing to role-model well-adjusted behavior and have been planning this follow-up piece. Why? Because helping children to grow up successful and levelheaded is about ensuring they see you doing and saying certain things. Plenty has been written about what not to say in front of your children but not so much on the opposite. So I enlisted the help of parenting experts Patrick A. Coleman, parenting editor at Fatherly.com, and Daniel Wong, author [...]
By Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD The story of one of the most remarkable students of human learning in the 20th century is not widely known. This is a pity, partly because the story itself is so rich. She became one of the first women in her nation to graduate from medical school, began her educational career working with disabled students, refused to bow to the will of a dictator who originally supported her (Benito Mussolini), and became one of the most influential educators of the 20th century. [...]
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 [...]
Photo by Laura Kingston Conference participants get a hands-on example of Montessori education in action at the 2017 National Council on Measurement in Education at KU. (Those are Kathy Klocke’s hands and Dayle’s bowl!) LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has announced the foundation of the KU Center for Montessori Research, the nation’s first university-based center dedicated to research on Montessori education. The center will carry out studies specific to Montessori environments and examine the potential influence of Montessori principles on education and human development [...]
