by Letty Rising The Hope At the time of this writing, it is the Fall of 2021, and the hope has been that THIS is the year when we collectively bounce back from the worldwide Covid 19 pandemic. Children will be returning to school, reuniting with old friends, and will have the opportunity to […]
Building Distance Learning around the Psychological Characteristics of the Elementary Child
A downloadable PDF of this article is available newsletter subscribers here. by Letty Rising As Montessori education moves forward on the path of distance learning while people all over the world are navigating life through a global pandemic, there is much to consider and still so much to learn. And it is not only the […]
Distance Learning in Times of Disaster
By Letty Rising and Elizabeth Slade A downloadable PDF of this article is available in the Trillium Resource Library. Sign up for the free Elementary Newsletter to access. Read part 2 here: Distance Learning in Times of Disaster: Restoration and Renewal Without warning, children across the country have experienced a dramatic shift in how they […]
Mr. Rogers and the Montessori Prepared Environment
By Letty Rising There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it.” –Mr. Rogers I’ve come across this quote a few times in recent weeks, and it makes me smile every time. Mr. Rogers is one of my […]
Pearls of Wisdom: Working with elementary aged children
I recently returned from the AMI Elementary Refresher Course, and I enjoyed it so much that over the course of the two days I took 25 pages of notes! Alison Awes, the presenter and a Montessori trainer, was a very inspiring and engaging speaker, breathing fresh life into some familiar concepts, lessons, and theories, while […]
Why are we afraid of big numbers?
A second-grade teacher in a public school environment is well aware that, by the end of the school year, their students should be able to add and subtract fluently with numbers less than 100. However, in a Montessori environment, children begin to learn place-value into the thousands beginning in the 3-6 children’s house. At the […]
Choice in the Elementary Classroom
Teacher Choice, Student Choice Educators who follow the Montessori approach know that Maria Montessori placed a lot of emphasis on the idea of “choice.” However, while the notion of choice is universally celebrated and held sacred for young children up until around the age of 6, this idea sometimes falls to the wayside when children […]
Is it a Request for Help or a Bid for Connection?
Identifying the True Need Under the Request Throughout my years of teaching and leading schools, I have witnessed certain personality characteristics surface and resurface again. There’s a particular one that I want to address and that has cropped up a few times during my career in education. Though the children are different, the script is […]
7 Ways to Enhance Your Storytelling Skills
Telling a Story vs. Giving a Lecture in the Elementary Classroom Environment Have you ever been spellbound by a captivating storyteller spinning a thrilling tale that had you propped at the edge of your seat, eagerly awaiting the next piece of colorful imagery to pique your curiosity and tantalize your imagination? If so, you likely […]
The 6 Year Old: The Age Of Tattling
If you have taught elementary, you surely have noticed that your youngest community members have a tendency to tell on one another, otherwise known as “tattling.” I remember when I was a teacher, I always had at least a couple of 6-year-olds who tattled frequently, and I also clearly recall feeling some annoyance with this […]