Bright Sparks Montessori

20/01/2016

Obviously, the hard skills are important, but they don’t do you much good without the personal qualities, skills and attitudes that allow you to use the hard skills effectively. That’s why in Montessori we are working with children to develop the whole range of skills, hard and soft, that he or she will need as they take their place as an adult in society many years from now.

I had an interesting conversation with a prospective parent recently who teaches at a local college. She shared that she and her colleagues are constantly discussing “how underprepared kids are for…

17/01/2016

Finnish schools have received substantial media attention for years now—largely because of the consistently strong performance of its 15-year-olds on international tests like the PISA. But I haven’t seen much coverage on Finland’s youngest students.

When children play, Osei Ntiamoah continued, they’re developing their language, math, and social-interaction skills. A recent research summary “The Power of Play” supports her findings: “In the short and long term, play benefits cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development…When play is fun and child-directed, children are motivated to engage in opportunities to learn,” the researcher concluded.

While American youngsters learn how to read, kindergarten students in Finland play.

09/01/2016

The overall philosophy behind the Montessori method is that children are naturally curious and eager to teach themselves and they will do so if they are given the freedom to explore their interests.

With kids encouraged to think outside the box - and follow their curiosity - it's no wonder that Montessori Alumni include so many artists, creative thinkers and innovators.

It’s the educational approach favored by future kings, pop stars, tech geniuses and celebs. But what is the Montessori method?

05/12/2015

Education is so much more than reading, writing and mathematics.

03/12/2015

How do babies learn so much from so little so quickly? Amazing minds of tiny humans!

How do babies learn so much from so little so quickly? In a fun, experiment-filled talk, cognitive scientist Laura Schulz shows how our young ones make decisions with a surprisingly strong sense of logic, well before they can talk.

30/06/2015

Young children are driven by internal growth process to seek out experiences that meet their constantly evolving developmental needs.

19 min. 56 sec. Young children are driven by an internal growth process to seek out experiences that meet their constantly evolving developmental needs.This video…

23/02/2015

If you’ve ever wondered what happens during a 3-hour work cycle in a Montessori school, don’t miss watching this 5-minute stop-motion video. It gives a fabulous glimpse into one child’s Montessori morning. The child in the video is 4 years old and is shown throughout his morning at Dundas Valley Montessori School in Ontario, Canada.

Enjoy!

http://livingmontessorinow.com/2014/05/20/a-montessori-morning-the-3-hour-montessori-work-cycle/

Blog post at LivingMontessoriNow.com : If you've ever wondered what happens during a 3-hour work cycle in a Montessori school, don't miss watching this 5-minute stop-motion vi[..]

21/02/2015

Wonderful Article on the reason behind Practical Life.

http://mariamontessori.com/mm/?p=2669

In September I was observing in a primary class and happened to be present as the teacher gave a lesson to a three-year-old girl on cleaning a chalkboard. They were both wearing aprons, carried a b...

13/12/2014

Movement and play are not only essential for physical health, but also for focus, creativity, and socialization. As one occupational therapist found out when she failed to make it through a typical middle school day, the all-too-familiar lecture style class is not meeting the needs of the children.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/03/a-therapist-goes-to-middle-school-and-tries-to-sit-still-and-focus-she-cant-neither-can-the-kids/

A pediatric occupational therapist spends time in a middle school and watches kids struggle to sit still.

29/10/2014

"Earlier is not better. All children accomplish milestones in their own way, in their own time." - Magda Ge**er

29/10/2014

"In the mind of the child we may find the key to progress." - Dr. Maria Montessori

02/07/2014

Our first month of the new academic year