​I beamed with pride as Jack led me around his classroom, showing me his favorite work, pointing out his art hanging on the walls. He showed me how he cleans off the table after lunch, gave me a brief lesson on using a hand-loom and brought me up to speed on how ant colonies thrive. Then he took me outside and showed me the compost bin, the garden and how he’s mastered leaping from the top of the monkey bars. This is Montessori. This is what happens when a child learns in an environment that encourages individuality and critical thinking and exploration, teaches them to respect limits, as well as test them.  
 
It wasn’t always like this though. In the 7.5 years that Jack has spent on this earth, he has always been my imaginator, my dreamer, my genius. From the time he was a baby, we could tell he was always thinking, observing, learning. He was always different, a characteristic I relish in him. But at no point was his individuality - and the importance of him being free to express it - more glaringly apparent than when he first started preschool at a local church. Expected to sit still inside all day at 3 years old, with no more than 20 minutes to enjoy the Southern California sunshine, no free time to explore his interests and a teacher who couldn’t make sense of his constant compulsion to move left him frustrated and rebellious, and me anxious and disappointed, wondering where I was going wrong as a mother.
 
Then I happened upon an article about how today’s schools are basically setting up our boys for failure. Boys are tactile learners who benefit from hands-on experience and physical activity and taking chances and space in which to stretch their imaginations and explore. Modern-day schools are essentially ignoring thousands of years of innate male biology by requiring them to sit still for hours at a time, cutting down on (or eliminating entirely) their daily physical activity, expecting them to master language- and reading-based skills as early and quickly as their female classmates, tasking them only with lessons that require sedentary focus and hours of nightly homework that preclude them even further from getting any free time outside. I had a moment of clarity. The clouds parted. Jack wasn’t a bad seed, and I wasn’t a failed mother. We just needed to find a school that fit him, not force him to conform to a system that ultimately fails to address his needs.
 
Which is how we ended up here at LifeSong Montessori. We had just moved to town, and I already knew from my extensive research that Montessori is where I wanted Jack to be. And we’ve never looked back. I am now a proud Montessori parent, and with that territory inevitably comes one particular question from friends and acquaintances who just don’t get it: “Well, Montessori is fine for preschool, but when are you going to make the transition to a real school?”
 
Allow me to show you the “real” Montessori, and exactly what it has to offer to our children.
 
A central tenet of Montessori is fostering a child’s independence - independence in doing things for themselves, independence in being free to explore, independence in pursuing their interests and passions. Montessori students still learn everything they need to know to compete academically, but in such a way that they’re not simply filling in worksheets and going through the motions. They’re learning in a way that excites them, that piques their curiosity, that compels them to discover more.
 
Math isn’t simply abstract numbers on a page; it’s strings of golden beads they can see and touch. Geography isn’t just memorizing the capitols of places they’ll never see; it’s puzzles of the world and in-depth immersion in other cultures through activities like International Night. Handwriting isn’t simply a myriad of lined worksheets where children write letters over and over; it’s sandpaper letters that compel them to touch and trace with their little fingers, inadvertently committing the motion to memory. Science isn’t just reading from a textbook; it’s watching food scraps come full-circle as they turn into rich compost, and nurturing a seedling into a plant. And on top of all that, they’re learning practical skills they’ll use on a daily basis throughout their lives, skills that will ensure they’re responsible, well-rounded, conscientious and capable members of society. 
 
The school-snack program teaches Jack about meal-planning, healthy food choices, budgeting and grocery shopping when he has to work with his class to plan out the weekly menu, calculate the money allotment and shop for the groceries. He knows from his class-garden experience how to grow his own food, from seed to plant. He knows that if he finishes his required work for the week, he earns free time, a level of responsibility that encourages independence and teaches him about time management. He and his classmates don’t have issues with bullying, because they’re all too busy learning about compassion for all living things through caring for their class pets. Jack has discovered through his classroom looming that he has a talent for weaving, and he looks forward to learning to sew. At home, he cleans up his dishes after each meal and sweeps up the floor beneath his seat, because his teachers expect no less of him at school. At the age of 6, he gained invaluable experience in what it takes to run a company, as he and his classmates built a lemonade-stand business from the ground up. In a few years, he’ll take his work experience one step further by participating in the adolescent-class internship program.  
 
Montessori classes are grouped in such a way that older kids are learning side-by-side with younger kids, instilling empathy, patience and confidence in those acting as role models, while providing guidance and leadership for the more inexperienced students.
 
Montessori works for Jack because it allows him to express and nurture the quirks and characteristics that make him Jack, challenging and fulfilling him in ways conventional school could not. He’s encouraged to stand out and ask questions and forge his own path through critical thinking and creativity. Can you imagine the kind of world we could create for future generations if all of our schools adopted these principles?? Jack is excited to go to school each day, and I have the privilege of watching my precious first-born son blossom into the young man he wants to be, all because Montessori has given him the space to spread his wings, so that he may teach himself to fly.    
 
Sounds pretty real to me.

​Written by Katy Allen, Montessori mom of three active and enthusiastic LifeSong boys

"Moral education is the source of that spiritual equilibrium on which everything else depends and which may be compared to the physical equilibrium of sense of balance without which it is impossible to stand upright or to move into any other position."
​
​-Maria Montessori ​From Childhood to Adolescence

Passion. Valorization. Transformation. Empathy. Social Conscience.
​
Are these qualities that you want your teen to possess?  Does their school experience provide these things on a daily basis?  The adolescent program at LifeSong strives to incorporate all of these values within our curriculum.  One of the main ways we accomplish this is through service learning.  Service learning goes beyond community service.  It is a method by which young people learn through active participation in thoughtfully organized experiences that meet a genuine community need.  The students coordinate, plan, and make the decisions about their service projects. It is integrated into the academic curriculum and includes time for thinking, talking or writing about their experiences.  It also provides opportunities to use academic skills and knowledge in real life situations in their community.  It extends student learning beyond the classroom walls and helps to foster the development of a sense of caring for others.
 
Adolescents are constructing their sense of identity.  They need opportunities for the exploration of self, their emerging interests and talents, and the immediate, expansive world around them. 
 
Service learning provides projects that give students the chance to:
·         Have meaningful contact with adults
·         Make a clear difference, which develops self-confidence and self-respect
·         Develop decision making skills while dealing with real problems and social issues
·         Experience a variety of roles
·         See the concrete outcome of their efforts
·         Cooperate with others
·         Interact with people different from themselves
·         Become contributing citizens by learning habits and fostering an ethic of service
·         Become aware of community needs
·         Gain a sense of belonging and community membership
·         Continue to develop empathy and a sense of caring
 
Learning through service addresses the needs of the adolescent while also giving them an opportunity to fulfill the needs of others in their own communities.  It’s a win-win situation and hopefully starts them on a path of stewardship and service that will be a lifelong commitment.  I can’t think of a better way to teach about humanities, the environment and citizenship for the long term benefit of our community and country.  It is often said that our children are the future.  Teaching them universal values will only help ensure a better path for us all in the years to come.
 
Written by Maggie Wertz, Adolescent Guide

When you went to school, did you learn how to open a savings account, balance a checkbook, make a budget or figure interest?  These are all things that LifeSong Middle School students not only learn about, but get to experience first-hand.  As part of our Adolescent Program, 7th-9th graders establish a business enterprise and actively participate in all aspects of it.  This year, our middle school students elected to offer a weekly salad bar to staff and students.  The students practice numerous practical life lessons and master countless everyday financial skills such as:

• budgeting
• money handling
• cost estimation
• organization and planning
• responsibility
• ability to meet deadlines
• following a task to completion
• teamwork
• marketing
• time management
• record keeping

At the beginning of the year, the branch manager from Regions Bank came to our class to introduce banking basics and establish a checking account for us.  The students now use online banking to monitor their account.  They use an excel spreadsheet to input orders for salad bar, as well as grocery spending, so that they can update their budget and track profits.  The data accumulates each week and they can graph their totals. 

As a teacher, parent and business owner, I feel that these are valuable lessons.  But, more than that, this experience is fun, memorable and directly applicable to their future success regardless of whether they become an entrepreneur, CEO, homemaker or President of the United States.

Written by Maggie Wertz, Adolescent Guide

Learning in school and working in a job are interconnected.  For an adolescent this can be a distant realization.  The Middle School at LifeSong Montessori offers our students an opportunity to experience some of the lessons of the working world by means of our Work Internship week program .
 
For this one-week program, each student is placed with a local business or organization.  The location is selected by the student based upon his or her interests.  Students do not attend class at the Middle School during this week.  Instead, their job sites become their classrooms and their employers become their teachers. 
 
Two LifeSong students participated in the internship opportunity this year.  M (12 years old) enjoyed interning with two LifeSong parents that own BE. Creative Makers with RV Metalshop.  She had the opportunity to observe how they create their designs, help finish and ready some ornaments for shipping, check-in and inventory a supply order of t-shirts, prepare the vinyl designs for transfer onto the shirts, and learn how to use a pottery wheel.  J (age 15) chose to intern at Great Southern Music at West End Commons.  He did some cleaning, organized music, built some stands for amps, saw how lessons were scheduled and took some credit card payments. 
 
The students were evaluated by their supervisor at the end of the week, and also completed a self-evaluation.  The following week, they turned in a portfolio with a schedule or itinerary of their activities, a daily diary entry, photos, an interview with their supervisor, and conclusion about the overall experience.  They also made a presentation to the Elementary class about their experience. 
 
Our three main goals of this experience are the following:
To internalize knowledge -The opportunity to take what is relevant into real life situations is one of the best ways to stimulate learning and foster growth in critical thinking and problem solving.
To refine communication skills - Building positive work ethics and meaningful relationships plays a key role in the growth and development of healthy communication skills.
To enhance self esteem - Opportunities to contribute to society encourage students to give as well as receive from the community.  This experience allows them to realize that they have many talents and skills to share with others. 
 
We feel that this program provides an invaluable experience for the adolescent.  In addition, we feel that there is no better way to prepare a student for real life and the working world than to actually take part in it.  We appreciate our community partners who helped make this opportunity a reality for our students this year. 

​Written by Maggie Wertz, Adolescent Guide

"Education should therefore include the two forms of work, manual and intellectual, for the same person, and thus make it understood by practical experience that these two kinds complete each other and are equally essential to a civilized existence."

​- Maria Montessori ​From Childhood to Adolescence

The Montessori Adolescent Program (ages 12-15) is the culmination of the child’s experience as a Montessori student. Adolescents need to construct themselves as responsible individuals who participate as contributing members of society.  All adolescents ask: “Who am I? Where do I fit in? What contribution can I make?" Adolescence is a time of intense transformation, including profound changes in the structure of the brain. While traditional education often teaches facts that are isolated from life outside the classroom, the Montessori adolescent program offers lessons with practical applications that allow students to make improvements in their community. “What will I use this for?” is another often-asked question of the adolescent, as he is determined to use knowledge to DO something in the world.

In order to respond to the adolescent’s needs, the Montessori Adolescent Program is designed to meet the adolescent where they are, build on the strengths of this developmental period, and ready the students for adulthood.  There are three key components that are unique to Montessori education for this age group that I believe set the adolescent up for future success.  They are: 1) a week-long internship program, 2) the establishment of a business enterprise, and 3) ongoing community service opportunities.  Through these programs, students experience firsthand practical roles that provide them with greater connections to society and the world.

Look for the next few posts to detail information about each of these experiences that we offer at LifeSong.   I will share how they prepare the adolescent to enter the next phase of their education armed with critical characteristics to become successful adults.

​Written by Maggie Wertz, Adolescent Guide

It’s about this time of year as the sun breaks through the winter sky and warms our skin more and more each day, that I get asked, “What are we going to do for Summer Camp?!?”

Sooner than we realize, it will be here. Long, warm days full of sunshine and giggles, digging in the dirt, exploring the world, trying new things, getting messy and making friends. While we don’t practice our math facts, letter sounds, or use the Montessori materials during Summer Camp we do use what we have learned during the school year and spend as much time as we want studying gravity, the elements, new art materials, or foods we can grow. The kids get excited and give me all sorts of ideas of what they want to do. The themes we explore are starting points that take us into other areas of fun and discovery.

This summer our theme “THEN and NOW” will be explored through science, art, nature, and cooking. What was the planet like millions of years ago? How has it changed? Before there was electricity, what did kids do to have fun? How can we make energy that is cleaner and safer for the Earth?  How did people cook their food 100 years ago? What will people be eating 100 years from now?  What inventions helped us to travel farther than we could 200 years ago? How did people stay cool before air conditioning? Oh the possibilities!
​
Summer Camp for 2016, begins June 6th and ends June 17th. Campers can join us for both weeks or choose the week they wish to attend. Snacks will be provided.  In fact, we will be cooking/preparing snack each day and the choices will be inspired by our studies of THEN and NOW. This camp is open to any student (not just those that are currently attending or plan to attend LifeSong Montessori in the fall) so bring your friends, neighbors, siblings and cousins!  Space is limited, so reserve your spot soon.
 
June 6-10 “THEN Week”
June 13-17 “NOW Week”
Ages: 3y -10y (Preschoolers must be potty trained)                                                                                
​Hours:  Mon -Fri,  8:15 - 8:30am Drop-off, 11:30am Pick-up
Fees: $90 plus $25 Snack/Supply Fee per week
 
Contact Ms. Carolyne for a registration form or if you have questions:  Carolyne.LifeSongMontessori@gmail.com
 
Written by Carolyne Britt, Summer Enrichment Guide

It started with one piece of paper and one child. The idea of a simple birdhouse. White paper turned to colored card stock and a few more children; cut here, staple this, tape here. Pastel yarn tied this ‘Bird Paradise’ to a low-hanging branch on the playground.

Soon more birdhouses were created of all shapes and sizes. They were accompanied by sticks, rocks, bricks and grasses. Anything that could make this area more attractive or comfortable for the birds was added. Birdseed was brought from home. Each person in the class would take time out of his or her recess to help build the latest addition.

Free time during class was spent researching birds. Groups of children were found on rugs making booklets of the parts of a bird. Another student was researching bird pictures on the computer so she could copy them into her sketchbook. Two more kids were studying x-ray pictures of birds. All realistic, yet all creative.

​Did I mention that the teacher did not give one lesson concerning birds? She didn’t suggest the research. She didn’t encourage the booklets. She didn’t help at all. This learning was completely spontaneous. These children found an interest and worked toward the common goal of learning more about it. This is the heart of the Montessori classroom.
 
Written by Shannon Bennett, Elementary Guide

There’s something weird going on in that Montessori School
Weird, curious, strange, odd….all words that might describe your first impression of a Montessori classroom. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before! Peering through the window, seeing just a glance of the classrooms, you will notice a unique style of study. In the Primary class, one child is polishing silver alongside another who is working with four-digit addition. In the Elementary room, two children are researching the biomes of South America while another is practicing her gardening skills. In the Toddler room, tiny tots are washing tables and others are learning the planets.  In the Adolescent classroom, the students are discussing their internship experience at a local business, planning their next community service project, and taking orders for the salad bar lunch that they oversee on Friday.  Is this really a school???
 
Come inside! See for yourself. Take a few minutes and look closely. The areas of Practical Life, Math, Sensorial, Language and Cultural are filled with attractive materials. Each child is actively engaged. There is cooperation and exploration. The teacher acts as a guide, not as the focus of the classroom.  This type of education is so different from what many consider “traditional” education. When the focus is placed on the children, instead of testing or core standards, the students far surpass any criterion set before them. Montessori education sets up children for success!
 
Montessori education began over 100 years ago when Maria Montessori, Italy’s first woman doctor, began working with underprivileged children.  She realized that what the children craved most was the opportunity to learn. When she stepped in and showed them a bit of order in their otherwise chaotic days, they soaked up the world like a sponge. Her initial findings still hold true today.
 
Take a look back inside that previously mentioned classroom.  You will see that the child polishing silver is as equally engaged as the child working with addition. Each individual child is working with a ‘lesson’ that speaks to his personal interest.  Solving that equation takes some time, and once accomplished, that little boy shares his joy with the child next to him. It just happens to be the girl polishing silver. His joy sparks her interest and the next day, he is teaching her how to use the math lesson. 
 
The love of learning thrives inside the Montessori classroom. Children enjoy the process and absorb the concepts presented. We know that students who are actively engaged in their studies not only retain the information, but strive to learn more.  “Outside the box thinkers” and “life-long learners” often describe Montessori school graduates.  Isn’t that what all parents want for their children?

​

We seldom do lessons as a whole class. With children ranging from first to fifth grade, they aren’t often on the same plane of development or reasoning. But last week, our class was in the beginning stages of Science Fair preparation so I thought we’d kick things off by talking about the parts of an atom as a group.

My lesson began casually, pointing out parts like protons and neutrons, and led into a bit of discussion of what each part’s function is. The younger children actually looked a little bored and I could tell they couldn’t quite wrap their minds around what we were talking about. One first year child asked how we knew that these parts even existed. His theory was that someone saw them under a microscope. We discussed his hypothesis and delved into the idea that everything was made up of smaller and smaller parts. Then the biggest question was asked.

“Where did the first part come from?”

That one question from a fifth grader sparked the most wonderful conversation. No longer were these children ranging in ages from six through ten, but inquisitive minds asking the age-old question.  These innocent faces were suddenly pondering the very beginnings of all life. The discussion became animated as they talked about their ideas, their religious beliefs and the various brainstorms of how life began.

This is what Montessori education is all about.  When an interest is sparked, we go with it. We see where it takes us. We have the freedom to explore and search out the answers to the questions we have.  When I planned to give this simple lesson, I could never have imagined that it would turn into such a rich discussion. Now I can’t imagine looking at an atom any other way.

I was sitting in my classroom taking a sip of my smoothie when one of the children asked what I was drinking.  I told him it was a smoothie and he asked, "May I try it?"  I went and got a spoon and let him have a taste.  Next thing you know, three other children came over and asked to taste it.  So, I got more spoons and let several of the kids have a taste.  The first child said it was delicious and asked for more.  Another asked, "What's in it?"  I told him it had a banana, spinach, peanut butter, flax seeds, cinnamon and ice. They all asked if we could make some for snack.  Well, yes.  Yes we can!  Gotta love when the kids ask for (and want more of) a healthy recipe.  Yummy and good for you.  Perfect lesson in my book...