T'was the Night Before Mother's Day (Moms' Abridged Version)

T'was the night before Mothers Day, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a--oh, wait
there is a child stirring, she wants water, again!
(She spilled the first cup...)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
in hopes that someone would fold them and put them
away where they belong, they've been hanging there a week!

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
(except the child who just spilled her second cup of water!)
while visions of sugar-free plums danced in their heads.
And Papa in his cap, and I in my 'kerchief, had just settled our brains for a long winter's...
(What rhymes with 'kerchief?)

When out on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. (And tripped over a toy truck left on the floor--must I always put the toys away?)
Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutter, and threw up the sash.

This sash is dirty! That reminds me, I have to do the laundry in the morning.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of midday to objects below, when, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

What? A miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer? Am I seeing things--again?
I MUST BE SLEEP DEPRIVED!
I have GOT to go to bed!

"Happy Mother's Day to all, and to all a good night!"

"Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Toddler Gone, Oh..."

Where's my little toddler who says, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!" Or who insists on doing everything himself! My toddler who used to take long naps, and eat like a horse (a small horse, OK, a pony, a small pony).

He's turning into a three year old preschooler! (THANK GOODNESS!)

Yes, I can really see the difference in my growing tot, longer and leaner, and do I dare say, he listens to me now (sort of). Shorter naps, which means he falls asleep earlier at night!

He's still a monkey, running and climbing and throwing and jumping all around, but how can I say it, he's becoming more wily: he waits until I go into the bathroom, for example, to climb over the gate into the kitchen!

And he now shows a strong and growing interest in numbers and counting, a sure sign the toddler year(s) are going, going, gone.

Did I say THANK GOODNESS! Yes, I did!

Bye, bye tantrums and fights over changing diapers and clothes (well, almost!).

Is It Too Late to Start Montessori?

I get asked this question a lot: "Is it to late to start Montessori with my older child?"

Usually the mom tells me she is not happy with the local public school and or her child is not doing well, and that she has heard great things about Montessori, but feels it is too late to start it at home!

Some moms have read books on Montessori and realize their child has missed out on the foundation of the Montessori preschool years.

These moms are in a quandary as to what to do! So they come to me because they trust my judgement and wisdom! I am a mom, too, after all.

You can worry yourself sick trying to figure out the best educational choices for your child!

And boy do I know the feeling! I think about the best educational choices for my son ALL THE TIME due to his Down syndrome! He's only 3 1/2 and I'm already thinking about high school!

So here is what I tell these moms: I think you can begin Montessori homeschooling at any age, and the 6-9 curriculum offers a lot of choices for math, language, history, and the sciences, choices that are superior to traditional approaches.

The "foundation" will be different since you are started a little (or a lot late), and this is not uncommon. I always tell homeschoolers getting a late start (using Montessori) not to dwell on it! You want your children to love learning, that should always be your bottom line! Always!

What many homeschoolers do is use Montessori along with OTHER homeschool curriculum... and you may want to consider this for your 6 to 9 year old.

Still other homeschoolers are attracted to Montessori 6-9 but are Creationist, so they will only use Montessori math and language; or they are OK with the Montessori sciences (which includes the theory of Evolution) but cannot afford the math materials so they will use a different (homeschool) math program...

So I guess what I'm saying is, it doesn't have to be all or nothing!

Be open to whatever you find "out there" for your children, including Montessori!

Children Who Won't Ingage in Activities

Do you have a child who is a challenge in the classroom or homeschool: the child does not choose work activities; or does not want to come to school or stay in the homeschool area?

Here is what you do: find out what the child absolutely LOVES. Trucks? Cats? Worms? Barney? Elmo? Art? The color red? What ever it is, make activities that include them! Matching cats, sorting colors, scrubbing a truck, dressing Elmo... activities the child cannot resist!

This is one of the greatest lessons you can learn! And you are learning from a young child!

So find out what the child loves! And call them "games" if that helps (instead of work).

It is the children who become our teachers, and the best ones are the most challenging!

Spaghetti Heaven!

Like some preschool aged children, my son is fixated on one food for dinner: he'll eat the same thing each night, for months at a time.

Gone is the Italian turkey meatloaf! Now my son eats plain buttered salted pasta (angel hair to be exact--it takes three minutes to cook!).

But what a mess!

Sometimes I just can't watch.

However, isn't observing your child part of the Montessori philosophy! Well... yeah. So I have to watch my son eat his messy meal. Darn!

And guess what! By watching him suck down his noodles, I caught him trying to pick up the spaghetti strands using the pincer grasp--a very hard task for children with Down syndrome! Dinner has become a great fine motor activity for him!

Now I look at his messy meal as an educational feast!

I must come up with some more pasta dishes for my little guy to practice his fine motor development!

Too bad he won't eat peas! Hey! Wait a minute... if I stick some green peas in his pasta, he'll have to USE HIS PINCER GRASP to pick them out!

I'm off to the store to buy some frozen peas! (And more pasta!)

Dress Up Fun! (If you can afford the mirror!)

For two years I searched for an affordable (OK, cheap) acrylic child-safe mirror for my son. I live near two children's second-hand stores, a Salvation Army, a Goodwill, and two other second-hand stores (who needs Ebay!)... but I never found one.

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So I recently began my search online, first with Ebay (OK, I need Ebay), then I did a Google search. It took a few hours, but I found the lowest costing baby-proof stand-alone mirror out there in Cyber space (OK, some one's warehouse). IT COST A SMALL FORTUNE!

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Since when did dressing up in front of a mirror become so expensive?

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After the gold-plated mirror arrived (OK, wood framed mirror) I set up a basket with three items in it for my son to use for playing in front of the mirror. He loved it, as I knew he would.

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It made me think of those VISA commercials you see on TV: scarf, $10. Sunglasses, $18. Hat, $15. Mirror plus shipping, $100. Watching your three-year old play dress up, priceless!

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(I made up those prices, except for the freakin' mirror!)

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Maybe I should go into the child-mirror making business!

The Easter Mouse Story

A little black mouse arose from his hole in the ground. A bright morning sun greeted him making his whiskers twitch with delight. "It's been a long time winter!" yawned the mouse.

Just then, a big grey rabbit hopped by and sat down to rest on a log. He was out of breath. He looks very tired, thought the mouse.

"I need your help," said the ole rabbit to the fury little creature with twitching whiskers, "I must finish delivering these candy eggs to some needy children, but I'm too tired!"

"I'll help you!" replied the little mouse and he took the basket of candy eggs.

The grey rabbit gave him directions, but after a mile of scurrying, the black mouse got lost. He spotted some rabbits playing in the field. Maybe they can help me, he thought.

"Excuse me, can you help me find the children's home so I can deliver these candy eggs?"

The young rabbits were surprised to see a such a small creature with tiny ears carrying a basket of eggs! "You don't look like a rabbit! What are you doing with those eggs?" For you see, the young rabbits thought only other rabbits could deliver candy eggs on such a special Spring day as this.

"I'm a mouse!" he replied. "And I need your help to take these eggs to the children's home! Because I do not think I can do it on my own."

The young rabbits talked it over and agreed it would be nice to help the little mouse.

So off they went, each taking turns to carry the eggs, and soon they were at the children's home.

"How are we going to deliver the eggs without the children knowing? It is supposed to be a surprise!"

"I'm very small! I can crawl through this hole in the wall and sneak all the eggs inside the house!" said the mouse.

And that is how the little dark mouse became the Easter Mouse for a day, with help from his new friends!

When Will He Go In The Potty Again!? A Potty Training False Start

I get potty training questions a lot, like: "How and when do I start potty training?"

Not, "When do I start potty training AGAIN?!"

Jessica wrote me: "Last summer [my son] was really interested in potty training and for a while he would pee in the potty every time.... As it got cold he lost all interest in the potty and would not go at all.... I am waiting for him to show interest in it again. From time to time I ask him if he would like to pee in the potty always the answer is no.... I appreciate any tips on potty training as well. Thanks for all your help."

My response: Sounds like a typical boy! They take a lot longer to potty train, and will usually have a "false start." (My son had one six months ago!)

Did your child have a false start recently? You can wait until he shows interest again, but there is no predicting when that will be.

Read potty books together, that is nice to do while you are waiting (and it makes you feel like you are doing SOMETHING).

There are also good potty videos and DVDs to let your child watch!

Some moms offer stickers for rewards for going in the potty, but this soon wears off after so many stickers are given out. (Plus it is not Montessori, oh well.)

One of my mom friends accidentally used jelly beans for rewards! She rewarded her son one day for trying, with a jelly bean from a tub she got as a gift, and he never forgot it. He insisted on getting one every time he TRIED and he'd try ten times a day but never go--ha! So if you use this type of reward, have them brush their teeth, but make sure it is for GOING not trying!

Most experienced toddler teachers will say the only way to do it is to put them in underwear all the time. Hmmmm... That makes it a question of: "When are YOU ready for potty training (again)!"

If you can put your child in pull-ups, that gives him practice to pull it on and off. And they make pull-ups that allow the child to feel wet, but don't use them at night as they hold very little!

Plastic pants are also a good choice, if you can wash them all!

And wait until summer to let him run around the house or yard in underwear, or not--some moms do it the old-fashioned way: nothing below the waist! (Not recommended for carpets.)

Share your potty training story! Leave a comment!

Climbing Madness!

I wanted to call this post "I'm in climbing Hell" but I did not think it appropriate for a Montessori blog--but I wanted to!

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My son is literally climbing the walls (and baby gates and chairs and table tops and bookshelves and the tops of boxes and sometimes the cat--the friendly one). He is going through climbing madness!

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OK, not really, but it feels like madness to me! Why? I'm always saying: "Please get down from there!" "Chairs are for sitting on!" "Tables are for eating on!" "How did you get up there?!" "Don't climb on the stereo!" "Hey!" "No!" (Notice how I begin to sound less like Montessori teacher and more like a frustrated mom!)

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My son cannot stop climbing. He climbs on EVERYTHING. I actually took half the furniture out of our living room slash dining room because he would not stop crawling on and jumping off stuff! (I swear he was a mountain goat in another life!)

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We do allow him to climb on the couch and his eating chair, out of guilt for living in a small home with no yard. And we take him to the park or out for a walk. (Good news, we are buying a house this summer! And it will have no furniture! OK, some.)

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Maybe he will be a world renowned rock climber some day!

What child madness is going on in your home? Make a comment!

Can you give a toddler a lesson?

Want to know the truth? Toddlers don't really like lessons!

They are still learning how to control their bodies (and bodily functions!). They rebel against help and interference from adults, like diaper changes, getting dressed, sitting at the dinner table, and taking a nap...

And they insist on doing everything themselves! The trouble is they (still) need a lot of help! So you are always trying to help while letting them do it themselves!

So how does giving a three period lesson work in a Montessori environment for this age group? It doesn't!

(My son's Montessori toddler teacher--with over 30 years experience, will laugh at you when you pose the question!)

If you are working with toddlers, my advice is to hold off on giving those three period lessons until age three, and put out activities the toddler needs no help with.

And you can rotate activities: take out what is too hard or frustrating for her (what she swats off the table, or throws, or never chooses); as well as what she has mastered--what is too easy... while still keeping her favorite activities in the environment.

Why are toddlers so hard to pin down and give a lesson to?

1) They do not have the attention span, or it is fleeting (one day they do, one day they don't).

2) They do not have the social skills (during a three period lesson) to say, "I'm done, let's put this away!" or "I want to do something else, now."

3) They are still in a large motor movement stage of development, so they will not sit for long!

Suggestions: Again, have activities that do not require a lesson. What's important is to spend more time observing your toddler in the environment for his interests--likes and dislikes; and his skill level (can he hold a piece of chalk or pour pasta, yet?).

And by observing your tot, you can add, rotate, and change activities, based on your observations.


Does your toddler take a lesson? Leave a comment!

Starting Our Day & Getting My 3 Year Old Ready (Ha!)

Mornings are tough. I usually get five or six hours of sleep. I wake up tired, cranky, and in a bad mood. I'm hungry, too. Plus, my son is REALLY, REALLY poopy when he rises.

But does he want his smelly, stinky diaper removed? No! He avoids getting changed at all cost.

Eventually we get it done (not before he fusses and protests and fights me over the diaper change).

Next, it's time to get dressed. But he wants to play the chasing game. I don't play the chasing game. So I ignore him. And he ignores me.

Eventually I leave the room and go downstairs. Then he plays the crying game. That's when I ask him from the bottom of the stairs (we have a baby gate), "Are you ready to get your clothes on?" "Ya, ya, ya," he sniffs.

By this time my stomach is growling so loud it wakes the neighbors. And I need some caffeine!

Getting dressed becomes one more battle, like trying to put clothes on a swinging monkey in a tree... but we muster through (or I leave the room).

This has become the protocol (I've tried it every which way, believe me!). And the deal is this: no videos, no breakfast (what he wants first thing in the morning) until we change the diaper and get his clothes on.

And because my son is three, he is in the "sensitive period for order," so the more we follow the same "order," the easier it gets, and the more he complies.

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Lately, he's been getting up REALLY EARLY at 6 AM. But I'm not ready to start the day!

I have learned to tell myself, this too will pass, this is impermanent: it's my new mantra I got from that spiritual guy who wears the sparkly red glasses on PBS (Depak Chopra) .

At 6:30 I give in and go to his room. Still too tired to start our orderly morning routine, I grab a pillow and a blanket and lay on the floor.

At first, he'd climb all over me like a seal on a rock, pull at my hair, my blanket... But now he gets it! He's not ready to start his day, either (the diaper battle, the getting dressed chasing crying game...) so we end up snuggling for about twenty minutes.

Snuggling each morning is a new addition to our morning gig!

And on the weekends, when dad is home from work, we all make a snuggle sandwich. (After a diaper change, usually!)

And I must confess, I like it (it puts me in a better mood)!

But there are days I wish he were 13 instead of 3 (no more diapers and he can dress himself and make his own breakfast and get his own vidoes). But I know when he turns 13, I'll wish he were 3 and we could start our day with a snuggle sandwich!

For now, I better enjoy every (stinky) minute of it!

How do you start your family day? Make a comment!

My Super Smoothie Recipe for Kids!

I make this EASY and SIMPLE and OH SO HEALTHY smoothie for my son each morning! No sugar! No blenders! No mess!

1. Half cup of plain Kefir (liquid yogurt found in the yogurt section). If you can't find plain Kefir, mix 1/4 cup of plain yogurt & 1/4 of milk (or soy or goat milk if your child can't have cow's milk).

2. Place in a container with a lid, like a sippy straw cup.

3. Half cup of fresh-squeezed store-bought orange juice (or squeeze your own oranges!). If your child has a citrus allergy, use FRESH apple juice (the kind you buy cold with an expiration date) .
4. Four to five teaspoons of Wheat Germ.

5. One to two teaspoons of Omega-3 Oil (fish oil or flax seed oil--flax seed oil is much cheaper!).

6. Shake, shake, shake, then serve!

Great for on the go in the stroller or in the car! You might even make one for yourself!


What's your favorite healthy snack? Make a comment!

Do Homeschool Moms Need Montessori Training?

Over the ten years I have been offering Montessori programs and activities online, I get many e-mails from moms asking me, "Can I do this? Can I teach my child to use Montessori materials, at home? Or do I need to take a Montessori training course?"

The following question is a perfect example: "I would love [for my daughter] to attend our local [Montessori] school but just cannot afford the tuition.... I would appreciate your expert and honest opinion as to what I should do to afford my daughter the best education possible. Should I take the time to educate myself to teach if I have no intentions of ever working in a traditional school? I truly want the best for our daughter and would value an expert opinion."

Many moms are in this position, but cannot afford any Montessori training--if I were to get Montessori training today I could not afford it!

I have helped a lot of families and educators world wide--I don't do it for the money, it's not a lot anyway.... And I feel that in the ten years since I started, there are enough resources for Montessori homeschool on the Internet to enable moms to do it at home, without the training. And it's not the Montessori training, but the experience doing it that is so valuable.

You could take a $2000 training course, and still be at a loss when you are ready to apply it at home. And Montessori training is more valuable if you work in Montessori school with an experienced teacher!

My advice is to first use the resources you have on hand, books you can read on Montessori, websites you can visit, Yahoo Groups you can join, the Montessori List Serv, there is SO MUCH out there, now!

If this were 1998 (when I first started Montessori online) I would have said, "Take the training!" Back then, there were very few Montessori homeschool resources online, let alone, affordable materials; now, even that has changed!

Hope this helps other moms make this decision--and remember, it is the experience of using Montessori (even if it is at home with your child) that is valuable--no training can change that!

What are your thoughts? Leave your comment!

My Favorite Positive Aspiration

I keep a little notebook by my bedside for writing my daily positive aspirations before falling asleep, and tonight I was thumbing through past submissions, and I found one of my favorites:

"I can do a little each day, so that in a week or a month's time, I've done a lot!"

Doesn't that sound better than, "I never get anything done!" Or, "I never have enough time!"

If you have a nagging negative in your head, flip it around and make it a positive! It's free! (And you don't have to pay shipping charges!)

What is your favorite affirmation? Leave your comment!

I Owe It All To a Pumpkin Patch

When I was twenty-three I worked at a local preschool. One day I left early to drive up the highway (to do what I can't remember), and I stopped at a pumpkin patch along the way. I ran into one of the teachers who used to work at the preschool: she was on a field trip with her new classroom to pick pumpkins for carving.

She told me all about this new school she was working at, how orderly the activities were, how independent the children acted, how there were so many great subjects for them to choose from, like math and geography and music and art, and lots of language, and she raved at how smart the kids were, and how they loved to learn.

Wow, it must be a school for gifted children! I stated. No, she replied, it's a Montessori school. I never heard of such a school. She told me all about the special training class she was taking in San Francisco, two nights a week, as we srtolled amongst orange pumkins and yellow green vines and leaves, with the voices of happy kids in the background.

You have to come to one of our training classes! I think you would love it! And they need more people to work at the Montessori school. She told me with excitement.

To make a long story short, I went to her training class, fell in love with Montessori, and signed up for the two-year training course, quit the preschool, dropped all my college courses, and started working at the new Montessori school.

That was twenty-two years ago...

And whenever I drive by a pumpkin patch in the lovely fall season, I remember running into my fellow teacher friend and how her enthusiasm for Montessori swept me up... and here I am! Still passionate about Montessori!


How did you get started in Montessori? Leave your comment!

A Short and Sweet Quote

It is not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.--Ann Landers

Especially if they insist on it! ("Me do it mommy!")


What is your favorite quote? Leave a comment!

Can Metal Bowls Touch Your Soul?

I went to visit another Montessori school in the next county (where we will be buying a house in a few months) to observe their toddler classroom for my son. I loved it: the environment was spacious, lots of light, many lovely activities, little wooden stools and low tables, a painting easel, green plants, and a squeaky Ginnie pig; what one would expect in a toddler Montessori class.

It was time to go outside and see the playground, and it was for toddlers only (they play separate from the preschoolers--another plus!). I looked around the corner and saw rows of metal bowls stuck to a red and yellow painted board. "What on earth is that?" I asked the teacher.

The toddler teacher explained: "The kids used to bang their little plastic hammers on the building, and I thought, if they want to bang, let's give them something to bang on!"

She contacted a local environmental sculpture artist friend, and he made them a bowl sculpture!

But wait... If this a Montessori environment, shouldn't they be in order of largest to smallest or something--if you look again at the picture, they look all out of order (and you are probably wondering why). The artist ordered the metal bowls on the board according to their musical scale!

I was so touched by this I was ready to start by son the very next day! This teacher (with over 30 years experience BTW) was able to observe the behavior of her tots, and find a better solution to their need to bang; and who would think of screwing rows of metal bowls on a board, in order of their musical sound! It truly melted my soul!

I'm happy to say, my son is enrolled in his new class, and although it is a half hour commute (until we move), it is well worth it just for those shiny bowls! (OK, and the cute little fur ball of a Ginnie pig!)

How has Montessori touched YOUR soul? Leave your comment!

Montessori-friendly Curriculum

I get asked a lot about creating a Montessori-friendly curriculum... What should you be looking for? Here's my answer in a nutshell!

It can be an overwhelming process, choosing between so many activities to buy and or make!

First, shy away from all the matching sets of cards out there, you have to laminate them, and then the children never choose them, they are boring! Trust me, you will see a lot of them and it will be tempting to buy, as they are less expensive.

Books and puzzles with matching subjects are a good bet. For example, in our outside classroom we had an insect puzzle that taught the parts of an ant, we then traced the puzzle pieces to make a ditto they could color; older children could write the names of the parts of an ant, or cut it out; you can also get an ant farm. Then get a book on ants!

For study of the body those mannequins are great: a body that is a three dimensional puzzle, with parts. You can then make labels for it, get books and puzzles on the human body...

Math
The Golden Beads can be substituted with ones made of wood, and now they make them in blue plastic.

Color beads (from 1-9) are great to have, too, for teaching teens, addition snake game, and subtraction snake game. You can make your own math boards, if you have time (teens, tens, and memorization boards that is, addition and subtraction strip boards might be harder to make).

Science
Go with making your own science experiments, but if you find some pre made, that is great, like a volcano that erupts, for example. Stay away from the matching cards, again! Boring. Get science picture books, instead! And do those experiments!

Order earthworms (or dig up your own), a butterfly garden (where you get the caterpillars that make cocoons); tadpoles; bean seeds are fun to plant in cotton and watch the roots grow.

Language
Language games are fun, watch out for upper case (you want words written in lower case)! If your child is reading, the best bets are easy reader books like Bob Books, and phonic work books like Primary Phonics, and lined paper for writing.

That's should be enough to get any "Montessori mom" started!

But above all, bring your own passions to the table! Your love of art, or language, or science, or nature, or music, or crafts. Your child will find their own passions, but if you start with your own interests, it will motivate you to create Montessori activities at home, and have fun with it!

What's Up With Montessori and Fantasy Play?!

Alex was three when she started our Montessori school, many years ago. Her mom was a baker and had her own bake shop in town. Alex pretended to bake with everything and anything at school, as would be expected. But at the same time, she had to do the materials correctly, for one important reason, the other kids noticed when he did not! They would go up to her and say, "Alex, you are not supposed to do that with the pink tower!"

You might think it was the teachers who got upset about Alex's behavior. No, it was the children, as they are so sensitive to order! They are like little policemen in the classroom!

It was at this time we were creating our outdoor classroom. We had a sandbox and we made sand toy works for Alex (and the other children). We got a few dishpans, placed pots, pans, bowls and wooden spoons in each of them, and they became outside works. The rule, of course, was to put the work away when they were finished. And it was not a banging work, a throwing work, etc.

Alex never left the sandbox!

She also loved worms, and we had a giant compost in the yard. As one of our outside works, we had child-size work gloves and shovels for digging, or turning, the compost. Alex loved it! And when she found worms, it was like someone finding gold!

One of the most powerful learning tools for a teacher, and mom, is to observe the child. Especially when they "fantasy play." From their behavior, you can get ideas for activities to make, that lead them to constructive play.

Let me give an example. On our practical life shelf we had a stove work. My director found it in a shop, it was a little stovetop made of wood with little knobs on the front; and it was small enough to fit on a rug or table top. However, the stove was hard for the children to carry, so we put drawer handles on each side of it.

On top of the stove was a plastic container with two small pots and a small metal scupper. Inside one of the metal pots was some large pasta for scooping. The stove is a practical life work. A child can take the stove off the shelf, bring it to a rug, take out the pots, place them on top of the stove, take the lids off, and scoop the pasta from one pot to the next (it was a spooning work!).

The younger children loved this work! But it is only for scooping and spooning. They can pretend to make soup, boil eggs, etc., as long as they do the work correctly (they don't throw the pasta, they don't bang the lids together, or mix it with another work). Because who would notice such a breech? The other children!

Fantasy play in young children, I have observed over the years, is about mimicking the adults. The problem I see is there is no beginning, middle, or end. There are no clear limits or boundaries. Children at such a young age (ages 2 to 5) need limits and boundaries, they demand it without knowing they demand it.

With a play stove you can create an activity with a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can create limits and boundaries. The child then becomes independent within the boundaries and limits of the activity. He is free to choose the activity, to repeat the activity, as long as he does it within the boundaries and limits of the activity...

Each activity in the Montessori environment needs limits and boundaries: a beginning, a middle, and an end.

The stove we made into a practical life activity had the boundaries of the stove top itself, and the rug; it had limits (we only scoop and spoon back and forth). It had a beginning: the child gets out the work and places the two pots on the stove; a middle: the child scoops back and forth as many times as he wishes; and an end: the child puts the pots and scupper back in the container and the container back on the stove and the stove back on the shelf.

Children of this age relish order and routine. Make (or remake) your home activities with this in mind!

Maria Montessori Would Turn Over In Her Grave!

A few years ago, I was asked the "traditional Montessori" question from a new Montessori mom. She heard the following comment at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, PA:

"Maria Montessori would turn over in her grave if she knew what some of the schools bearing her name were doing."

She then told me: "I do not know what they were referring to, but I highly respect their work, so I want to stick to traditional Montessori methods... I would like to hear your views on this subject given your extended experience."

Here is my view: I think Maria Montessori would turn over in her grave if she knew what traditional Montessori schools were NOT doing!

Let me back up.

I was trained by a Montessori headmistress who was Internationally trained in London, and after my training, I was at a Montessori school for 20 years whose director was American Montessori trained.

Over the years, we had many children who had behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and or were just "a challenge" to teach... (We accepted some of the most difficult children in the county! And those were the children who, in the end, taught us the most!)

We had a choice, kick those children out of the school because they did not "fit in" to the traditional, purist style of our Montessori classroom, or make modifications so these challenging children could stay and learn, but more importantly, love learning.

The school, thus, became a progressive Montessori school.

Forward to the present.

When I had a son with Down syndrome in 2004, I was faced with the following question: would he be accepted in a Montessori school? would he fit in?

So I went about observing (visiting) the Montessori schools in my area for a toddler program for my son. Two of those schools were traditional International Montessori schools, and one was an American Montessori school, and progressive.

The traditional International Montessori schools were the most expensive, had little or no cultural diversity, and I saw right away that my son would not fit in: the expectations and standards of the classrooms were too high for him due to his special needs.

The third school, an American Montessori school, was much more affordable, had lots of diverse students, and after observing, I saw right away that my son would be a great match, that he would have some "wiggle room" and not stand out among the typically developing toddlers. (And as Montessori trained teacher, I knew right away that this Montessori school was "authentic": they had all the materials you would find in any certified American Montessori school, with Montessori trained teachers, but they had a progressive approach.

The director agreed with me, that a Montessori classroom's activities can be modified to fit the needs of the children (special, difficult, or just different) and not the other way around. And it became a wonderful Montessori school for my son, who welcomed him with open arms, regardless of his "limitations" due to his Down syndrome.

Maria Montessori designed her materials with the help of her observations of the children of her time, and she would expect us to do the same, especially for special needs children, who were her biggest influence!

So keep an open mind and don't be afraid of going down a different path, a path that is sometimes chosen for you, as mine was when I had a special needs son. For most, a traditional Montessori path is fine, but for others, it is not.