Select Page
Testing The Test

Testing The Test

This article appeared in Montessori Leadership in 2010 Test taking and test scores have become the singularity of education. Teacher performance and, in turn, school house performance, is validated primarily through children’s test scores. The rationale is that teachers are teaching, performing if, and only if children achieve high test scores. The justification is, finally, […]

Understanding the Three-Hour Work Cycle

Understanding the Three-Hour Work Cycle

Tired and agitated, Sara got ready for bed. What had happened to the day? She had woken up fresh that morning, ready to have a productive day. During breakfast, Sara’s assistant had called to alert Sara that she wouldn’t be in to copy the reports for the next day’s meeting. When Sara went to make […]

The Uninterrupted Three-Hour Work Cycle

The Uninterrupted Three-Hour Work Cycle

Introduction: Throughout the Montessori world schools are struggling with the issue of balancing the wish to incorporate extra activities and programs into the school day while preserving the uninterrupted three-hour work. Teachers often feel as if they don’t have enough uninterrupted time to allow students to immerse themselves in work of choice, and specialist teachers […]

Practically Speaking (About Practical Life)

Practically Speaking (About Practical Life)

The practical life exercises are the very foundation for the Montessori classroom. Concentration and development stem from these essential exercises. In this essay, I will discuss the importance of these exercises in conjunction with their aims and presentation. Practical life exercises take on different appearances in different cultures. No matter if a child is setting […]

Why Have 5-year-olds Stay in Montessori?

Why Have 5-year-olds Stay in Montessori?

It is the week before school starts. I am busy setting up our 3-6 year old classroom, checking for parts of activities, making class lists and acclimating our new assistant. I look at the names of the children and carefully arrange them by age from youngest to oldest as I do each August. I stop, […]

Montessori, Darwin and Telling The New Story Of Evolution

by David Loye In the beginning there was the Domination System and the Organism. Then the Love System entered life and meaningful Evolution began… This is the disarming and I hope engaging way my telling of the new story of the new story of evolution begins....
Virtual Relationship Building

Virtual Relationship Building

If it were not for virtual meetings, FaceTime, and the occasional video, I would not be able to interact with my children and grandchildren, who live in other states. It has literally been a year since I’ve been with them in person.

Book Review | Right now, I Am Brave

Book Review | Right now, I Am Brave

by Dr. Daniela Owen Illustrated by Gülce Baycik Here’s another good one from Dr. Owen. The first lesson—when things that we find scary are not actually dangerous, it’s time to be brave. She goes on to define what it means to be brave. She explains how our brains are...
Helping Parents Help Themselves

Helping Parents Help Themselves

The Montessori Foundation, in cooperation with a collaborative set up in mid-March, of this year, is striving to help parents figure out ways to deal with the new reality of Covid 19. For many, you are working from home for the first time. How do you manage your time...
Montessori: — The Science  Part 4: The Positive Impact of Choice

Montessori: — The Science Part 4: The Positive Impact of Choice

Dr. Angeline Lillard presents Maria Montessori’s key insights about childhood education, the subsequent educational research that has validated her approach, and how these ideas are implemented in a modern Montessori classroom. From Montessori: The Science Behind the...