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Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Brady It wasn’t a normal morning on the Buckshaw estate. There was the usual orange and pink glow on the house, but there was something in the garden that wasn’t supposed to be there. It was a man lying face down in the cucumbers, dead. […]

Book Review: The Kite Runner

Book Review: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini  The Kite Runner is a historical fiction novel that provides a remarkable perspective on the struggles of Afghanistan that have been neglected for too long. It is written by Khaled Hosseini and takes place in Afghanistan, spanning the period from before the 1979 Soviet invasion to the fall of […]

Webcast: How Montessori Builds Brains And Why It Matters

Webcast: How Montessori Builds Brains And Why It Matters

Webcast: Building Brains With Kathy Leitch and Michael Dorer

Book Review: A Tale for the Time Being- By Ruth Ozeki 

Book Review: A Tale for the Time Being- By Ruth Ozeki 

A Tale for the Time Being- by Ruth Ozeki  A Tale for the Time Being plays with the idea of past and present. The characters in this book, Ruth and Nao, meet in an unlikely way; Ruth finds Nao’s diary, protected by plastic bags and a lunch box, washed up on the shore near her house. […]

Book Review: Sky in the Deep- By Adrienne Young

Book Review: Sky in the Deep- By Adrienne Young

Sky in the Deep- By Adrienne Young Seventeen-year-old Eelyn, part of the Viking Aska clan, has just two priorities in life: kill the enemy, Riki clan, alongside her best friend and father, and survive. The first day of the fighting season, Eelyn’s world stops when she sees her dead brother on the battlefield. (The one she […]

Montessori Dads: Dad’s Important Role as Daughters Grow

Montessori Dads: Dad’s Important Role as Daughters Grow

Our daughter, Brianna, was laying on the couch with her earbuds on doing the typical teenage ‘thing.’ Brian, my husband, started pestering her about something she hadn’t done. Brianna rolled her eyes and continued to listen to her music. Brian’s tone of voice escalated, and I knew this was not going anywhere good. So, I […]

Would You Ask Parents if They Own Guns before Okaying a Playdate?

Would You Ask Parents if They Own Guns before Okaying a Playdate?

We ask about pets, allergies, and car seats, but would we hesitate to ask the parents of our child’s playdate if there are guns in their home? When my daughter was 3, she saw her first toy gun on a playdate. It was neon green and shot balls instead of bullets, but it was the […]

International Festival At International Montessori School

International Festival At International Montessori School

Each June, the IMS Community, supported by our Parent Teacher Association, hosts a joyous cultural gathering of our diverse community: the beloved International Festival. This chance to take a mini tour of the world in the school hall is always embraced by our children and parents alike. Dressed in their own traditional attire, they get […]

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year must be around the corner, for our school is decked in red and gold. Chinese New Year is celebrated according to the Lunar Calendar, sometime in January or February each year. It marks the coming of spring and new beginnings and is usually a two-week celebration. As in other cultures, there are […]

Becoming A Montessori Parent

Becoming A Montessori Parent

There are seven simple steps to becoming a Montessori parent. When we say ‘simple,’ we don’t mean that they are not challenging. It is a lot like the definition of bull riding. “The object is to keep the bull between you and the ground.” Simple—but challenging. The first step to becoming a Montessori parent took […]

All About Children’s Photography: Capture The Moment

All About Children’s Photography: Capture The Moment

A Note To Readers: The following article by Pete Moorhouse is loaded with insights and ideas about young children and photography as a wonderful medium for expression, creativity, and learning. Although the article is geared for the classroom teacher, parents can also incorporate many of his suggestions on how to implement photography into their family’s […]

Creating an Inclusive Community for Students with Challenges

Creating an Inclusive Community for Students with Challenges

The numbers of students with a variety of behavior and learning challenges are on the rise. In both Montessori and traditional schools and classrooms, school leaders and classroom educators are asking for the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to support these students. The current trend in special education is serving children in inclusive classrooms; […]

Montessori at Home: The Adult Prepared Environment

Montessori at Home: The Adult Prepared Environment

Your child’s Montessori guide spends a tremendous amount of time planning and organizing the classroom. Modifications and adjustments are sometimes done daily, depending upon the need. When you step into a Montessori classroom you might be awestruck by the highly organized, simple beauty of the room. Here children are given some of their first lessons […]

An Education for Life: What Children Really Get Out of Montessori

An Education for Life: What Children Really Get Out of Montessori

When we try to define what our children really “get” from Montessori, we need to expand our vision to include more than just the basics. Of course they learn to read, do four-digit mathematics, recognize geometric shapes, and identify the parts of a plant and a...
Recycling  in the  21st Century

Recycling in the 21st Century

Reduce, reuse, recycle is a common theme in a Montessori classroom. We teach the different categories of recyclable materials and have students sort paper, plastic, and metal. We use real cutlery and plates over plastic and paper products. We encourage students to bring reusable water bottles and discuss with them the environmental impact of plastic […]

Montessori Students for Peace

Montessori Students for Peace

I wanted you to know that our students sent this email to Montessori elementary schools across the nation on the day that students nationwide did a ‘walk out.’ I asked them to think of something else that they could do rather than a walkout, and this is what they shared. Dear Montessori Students,  “I will […]

Supportive Strategies for High-Energy Children

Supportive Strategies for High-Energy Children

With a fast-paced society that often turns to medication for ‘quick fixes,’ we often perpetuate stigmas and neglect to consider all information prior to making diagnoses. As a psychologist and a mother, I know all too well how difficult it is to watch children struggle to find their way in classrooms that work to produce […]

Screening Out

Screening Out

Children of the twenty-first century can navigate distant worlds from their video game controllers but are not equipped with an understanding of the real world outside the window. Fascinating entertainment options have them hooked almost as soon as they can focus their eyes. As parents and teachers, we know that too much technology is bad […]