Grit Archives • Raintree Montessori

Raising Adults
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Raising Adults

Parenting

Raising Adults

Heather2022-12-11T19:07:52-06:00December 11th, 2022|Categories: Parenting|Tags: community, freedom, Grit, independence, Parenting, Soft Skills|

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 and the way she was raised. Her mother “had a clear philosophy about parenting, which is unusual for somebody of her generation. She said, I'm not raising children, I'm raising adults.” It reminded me of Dr. Montessori’s writing, “The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at [...]

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

Montessori, Raintree

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

Heather2021-05-07T14:30:17-05:00May 7th, 2021|Categories: Montessori, Raintree|Tags: community, education, Grit, Montessori, Parenting, separation|

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 [...]

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

Montessori, Raintree, Uncategorized

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

Heather2020-12-29T13:50:59-06:00October 30th, 2020|Categories: Montessori, Raintree, Uncategorized|Tags: community, education, Grit, independence, nature|

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 [...]

If At First You Don’t Succeed…GREAT!!
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If At First You Don’t Succeed…GREAT!!

Montessori, Parenting

If At First You Don’t Succeed…GREAT!!

Heather2019-12-05T16:20:14-06:00October 5th, 2019|Categories: Montessori, Parenting|Tags: concentration, Grit, self-regulation|

By Pilar Bewley Mistakes, we make them every day. Regardless of their magnitude, they all share one common characteristic: they teach. “We learn from failure, not from success,” wrote Bram Stoker in Dracula. Mistakes are essential to our growth and development and yet in our society they are taboo. At some point in our lives most of us have passed the buck instead of taking responsibility for our errors; in our culture messing up something you readily acknowledge. Since we have such a negative view [...]

Seven Harmful Traits
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Seven Harmful Traits

Parenting

Seven Harmful Traits

Heather2019-12-05T16:30:07-06:00September 5th, 2019|Categories: Parenting|Tags: community, Grit, Parenting, self-regulation, Soft Skills|

by Maren Stark Schmidt Ever notice how a word, a phrase, a quote or a book title keeps popping up? Over the past couple of years the following Gandhi quotes keeps showing up in my studies. Every time I read these seven statements I am astounded at the wisdom conveyed in so few words. Gandhi is attributed with saying that these seven characteristics, the most spiritually perilous traits to humanity: Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Knowledge without character Commerce without morality Science without humanity [...]

Barbara Kingsolver On Montessori: “You Can Do Hard Things”
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Barbara Kingsolver On Montessori: “You Can Do Hard Things”

Montessori

Barbara Kingsolver On Montessori: “You Can Do Hard Things”

Heather2018-06-21T09:10:08-05:00February 21st, 2018|Categories: Montessori|Tags: Grit, Montessori, Parenting, Soft Skills|

Barbara Kingsolver (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Flight Behavior, among many others) does a wide-ranging interview in Sun Magazine touching on writing, climate change, food, and more. The interviewer asks about perseverance: How do you nurture people to work hard enough to move all that dirt? How do you do that with your own children? And all of a sudden there’s this: “There’s something I have said so often to my children that now they chant it back to me: ‘You can do hard things.’ " “I [...]

The Story of the Magic Eraser
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The Story of the Magic Eraser

Parenting

The Story of the Magic Eraser

Heather2018-06-21T09:27:56-05:00September 16th, 2015|Categories: Parenting|Tags: Grit, Parenting|

Optimism and Grit in the Face of Adversity About a month ago, we experienced another round of vandalism as did our neighbors to the east and the public school behind us. Black enamel spray paint was used to deface the Gaga Ball pit the students built, the east waiting station, and the school’s pickup truck. The Gaga Ball pit was repaired, thanks to Jim, and this weekend, Gibson and I sanded off the graffiti from the cedar post in the waiting station, but we knew [...]