Throughout our entire lives we experience transitions – some easier than others.  The infants in our care make a leap of trust when they transition from their parents to a teacher.  Nurturing, consistency, love and safety are the essential elements that make this transition smooth.  These elements change slightly as the children age to include environments that foster natural curiosity, respect and  friendship.  At Central Park Montessori School we are part of a transition for one of our beloved administrators, Shelly McGuire.  Shelly has been at CP since its beginning and at our Park West campus for 6 years before that.  I have worked with Shelly since 1994!  Shelly’s personality,  knowledge, warmth and love of children was a contributing factor for many parents who enrolled their children at Twin Parks.  We will miss her!  Knowing her family circle will embrace her as she begins work in a school steeped in tradition and respect make this transition easier for us.  We all wish her well as she makes a new transition in her life!

Shelly McGuire ready to greet guests at the Bon Voyage Party hosted by Twin Parks Montessori School.

Last night I attended a showing of the documentary, Bully.  It was playing at the Clearview Cinema on W.23rd and 8th Avenue.  While I was waiting for my friends to arrive, I heard the ticket seller say that a whole faculty from a high school attended an earlier showing.  I was encouraged.

During the movie, I experienced a range of emotions.  I cried for the children who experienced physical and verbal abuse.  I felt frustration and anger at the administrators for their lack of insight or lack of knowledge of how to stop the bullying happening in their schools.  I was also proud of the parents who started, Stand for the Silent.

On Wednesday night, I attended a showing of the documentary about 4th grade teacher, John Hunter’s World Peace Game at the Independent Film Center (IFC).   The film documents a classroom with a political science simulation.  Students use their imagination and critical thinking skills to think their way out of situations they inherit in the game.   This could be a Montessori elementary classroom in the way the students cooperate and collaborate to keep world peace.   If you get a chance to see this movie, please do.  Until then, watch this trailer.

You all know and love Dr. JoAnn Deak , and her book

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain

Winner of  SEVEN prestigious awards and an important children’s book designed to change the lives of children and the adults who love them.
Please order for someone you love.
Little Pickle Press, Dec. 2010
ISBN  978-0-9829938-0-4

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or to View a Video of the app

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Today was a rainy, cold, spring day in NYC.  After brunch with friends, I walked past a dismal street fair on Broadway that was hoping for a break in the constant drizzle.  Afterwards I attended a concert of Baroque chamber music that highlighted the soprano voice of  Lianna Levine, one of our Central Park Montessori parents.

For almost 2 hours, I was transformed to a different era when Johann Sebastian Bach composed sonatas for the harpsichord, violin, viola de gamba and exquisite voices.  Add in the spectacular oboe played by Kristin Leitterman and the world doesn’t get better than that.  The acoustics in the venue made electronic amplification unnecessary.  The notes meandered, like the arias, through the space landing softly, purely, astonishingly beautiful in the audience’s ears.  The overshadowed day was transformed into a reverent encounter which I was both privileged and humbled to partake of.

Keep an eye out for other performances by Lianna Levine and her ensemble.  You will experience love transformed.

Lianna Levine and fellow musicians

On March 18th, Dr. Brian Swimme, a mathematical cosmologist, spoke at the American Montessori Conference in San Francisco. Dr. Swimme held the rapt attention of Montessori teachers from around the world as he made references to the Milky Way and our place in the Universe. In Montessori classrooms we talk about children learning about their place in their communities and the world. How awesome is it to teach young children about the Universe? Watch these enlightening videos.

This past weekend I had the fortune to listen to a talk given by Brené Brown.

Dr. Brown said, “Montessorians are committed to helping ground children in a deep sense of purpose. This feeling of worthiness is an essential trait in our increasingly anxious world”.

Drawing from her most recent research, Dr. Brené Brown talked about strategies that teachers and administrators can utilize to help children cultivate a spirit of hope, gratitude, connection, and curiosity.  Dr. Brown also shared the newest research on hope as a cognitive behavioral process, the relationship between joy and gratitude, and how children develop curiosity, creativity, and a tolerance for disappointment.

Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, is a professor and researcher at the University of Houston Graduatein Houston, TX. Her research topics cover a broad range of human emotion and experience, including vulnerability, courage, empathy, authenticity, and shame.

Brene Brown

Dr. Brown has won numerous awards, including Houston Graduate College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Her work has been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, and Oprah Radio.

She is author of the books The Gifts of Imperfection: Letting Go of Who We Think We Should Be and Embracing Who We Are (2010) and I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power (2007).

Do you ever wonder why some children or adults see shy or slow to warm in social situations? As an educator, it takes patience to get to know students who do not readily verbally share themselves with others.  Susan Cain has written a new book, Quiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.  Watch this video of Susan on Ted.com.

What does family mean?  Children are curious and wonder why their family is different than other families.  That’s a Family!  is a part of Ground Spark’s Respect for All Project.  Watch this wonderful preview of a short documentary on types of families.

Did you happen to see the Sunday Review section of the New York Times this past Sunday?  There was a great article, “Building Self-Control, the American Way”.  The authors, Aamodt and Wang give examples of the ways parents help build children’s self-control.  They mention the “Tiger Mom’s Way” and the “French Mom’s Way”.  Along the way, they give props to the Montessori Way.

In our Montessori classrooms at Twin Parks, we foster independence which allows children to make choices.  After carefully observing the classroom, teachers offer an abundance of excellent activity choices on the shelves.  Children can plan their day while working alone, with a partner or in a small group.

Delayed gratification is built into the Montessori environment.  If one desired activity is already in use, there are more to choose from.  We do not force sharing.  Children are taught to respectfully ask if they may join another and what to do if the answer is, “no, I want to work by myself now.” We encourage respect for the classroom, learning materials, peers and adults.

Montessori students choose to work alone or with a peer.