NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog Updates: New Year, New Look!

As we come to the close of 2012, NAMC is getting ready for an exciting new year with Montessori! As a way to kick off 2013, we will be doing some maintenance on our blog. Not only will the site have a cleaner, easier to read look, we have worked hard to make it easier to navigate. You will be able to find more interesting and relevant articles with less hassle.

We kindly ask that you bear with us through the course of today- December 31st, 2012. You may see some parts of the site out of place temporarily, as we switch over to our new layout. We thank you for your patience and are looking forward to your feedback!

Construction should be mostly completed in time for you to celebrate with us as we begin 2013! From all the staff at NAMC, we wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

Montessori Geography Lessons: Studying the North Pole at Christmas

Here Finding the North Pole on the Montessori Colored Globe.

Christmas is an exciting time in the Montessori classroom. The closer it gets to December 25, the more excited the children get. Normalized classroom? No way! The savvy Montessori teacher knows how to use the Montessori curriculum to control the excess energy while keeping spirits bright.

Christmas Geography

Most children, even those who do not celebrate Christmas, can tell you that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. But where is the North Pole and what is it like? Students can use a globe to locate the North Pole. It is easy to understand what the North Pole is because it is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth’s axis meets the surface. The globe provides a concrete visual for students.

Merry Christmas from the Staff at NAMC!

The staff at the North American Montessori Center wish the very best of the Christmas holiday to you and your family. 

We appreciate the vibrant Montessori community, and look forward to many more years of shared inspiration and knowledge. Have a very Merry Christmas!

And, if you are looking for a quiet and beautiful activity to enjoy on a silent night, you can find the instructions for making the folded star on our Knobless Cylinder tree here.

Montessori Peace Education – The Christmas Tree

Adding a symbol of Christmas peace to the Montessori Peace corner

One thing I always insisted on having in my Montessori classroom was a Peace corner. No matter how small a space I had (and I had some very tiny classrooms), I always made sure I reserved a special space where children could be free to find quiet solace and peace. My Peace corner changed over the years, but usually included a small, low table; a floor pillow or two; a small chime or rain stick; a fresh flower; and a Zen garden or small, colorful rocks.

This year, after we had put up our Christmas tree, I noticed the sense of peace that came over my family. A great idea occurred to me: why not put a small Christmas tree in the Peace corner?

Building Fraction Knowledge with Montessori Materials and Methods

NAMC is pleased to feature a guest blogger today. Laura Kane is a recent graduate of NAMC’s Lower Elementary Diploma Program. Laura was kind enough to share her thoughts on the benefits of Montessori materials and methods in building fraction knowledge. Welcome, Laura!

As my own memories of learning in a traditional classroom and my current discussions with parents of school-age children confirm, learning about fractions is one of the most confusing and frustrating learning experiences for traditionally educated elementary-age students (and their parents).

Laura’s daughter Abby (age 6) applies the fraction knowledge she has built with Montessori materials to her dreidel game. After winning half the pot, she is separating the candies into two piles to see how many she gets to keep

For instance, my daughter was playing dreidel over the weekend and had to figure out what "half" of the pot of 12 M&Ms was.

Presenting Montessori Lessons: Show – Don't Tell

When I started my upper elementary Montessori training, I was impressed by the fluidity of the mentor teacher’s presentations. There was a calm, peaceful flow about them that seemed to reflect the Montessori environment. It was as if the whole Montessori philosophy was highlighted in each presentation. As we gathered around, we watched in awe as our mentors presented with practiced grace.

When it came time for me to present a lesson, I fumbled and stumbled over the explanation of the materials and the steps. My mentor stopped me and said, “In Montessori, we show, not tell.” In other words, let the materials speak for themselves.

More Montessori Hanukkah Activities: Shape and Number Fun

In a previous blog, we explored Hanukkah themed Montessori activities for circle time, snack time, music and transferring. But since there are eight days of Hanukkah, and many more facets to the school day, we've put together another post to inspire you!

Find more fun classroom activities and crafts covering other areas of Montessori curriculum, including writing skills and counting, below.

Hanukkah Themed Montessori Activities: 8 Days of Crafts, Snacks and Culture

Lighting the Menorah

Cultural holidays provide a wonderful way to incorporate fun activities into the Montessori classroom while celebrating the diversity of your students and the wide world we live in. Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is the perfect way to create a week-long theme for fun activities to highlight all curriculum areas.

As part of the Hanukkah ritual, a candle is lit for each day, and many Jewish families exchange a small present each evening. Rather than having an entire day chock full of Hanukkah activities, why not try introducing one each day? Children will enjoy the chance to look forward to each day's surprise; it will also help teach them about the passage of time, and the traditions of Hanukkah. As well, this is a valuable way for you as a teacher to practice calm and unhurried behavior - having each evening to prepare one activity is much simpler than organizing many at once!

Enjoy this assortment of Hanukkah themed Montessori activities and ideas for your classroom!

Montessori Work Cycles - Tips for Teaching Children Time Management

Montessori education focuses on observing and following children in their activity choices; giving students the freedom to explore their interests is one of many ways to encourage independence and a love of learning. However, as a Montessori teacher, occasionally you may observe that a particular child is having difficulty actually choosing and completing an activity.

In this video blog produced by NAMC, we explore classroom and time management strategies based on a NAMC Tutor’s real-life classroom experience. If you have noticed that one of your students spends a large amount of time wandering, but very little working on activities, it may be that they have never been shown how to work. We hope these insights on helping students with Time Management will be useful to you on your Montessori journey. Find the full video below.

Take Our Kids to Work Day: A Very Montessori Experience for Students

Parents in all types of occupations took their children to work on November 7

On November 7, you may have noticed some new and curious young faces around your workplace; you may even have brought a few observers of your own to experience what it is like at your job! For Canadians, the first Wednesday of each November is Take Our Kids to Work Day, and it is an exciting experience for grade 9 students right across the country. For US residents, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day falls on the last Thursday of every April. Both programs provide students with the chance to gain inspiration and skills that will carry them through their educational decisions and vocational callings, into their careers and beyond into adulthood.

As Montessorians, it is easy to recognize the benefits of these days, as the goals of these days are rooted in very Montessori values. By giving students the chance to spend a day with you in your workplace, you are providing them with a real experience of what your job is like. They have the opportunity to understand your work in a hands-on, concrete manner — giving them inspiration and knowledge to help them form their own career goals.