Last year, I attended a lecture given by Dr. Steven Hughes.  He is a pediatric neuropsychologist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, an advocate for Montessori Education, and a Montessori parent. He brings his expertise to illustrate why Maria Montessori got it right.  

During one lecture, he spent a majority of the time trying to convey to parents the importance of what you have already done. . .enroll their child in a Montessori Program.  He spoke about several topics which I wanted to share with you;  the connection between the hands and the brain and executive functions.  

He began with a story about a camp counselor in Minnesota.  He jokingly asked her, "Which kids are the best?"  She thought about it and answered "Montessori kids - they're just good at doing things."  From a neurological perspective, he investigated.  

"Our hands are information pipelines to the brain."  The hands are the tool the mind uses to explore the world.  The more things a child can manipulate, move and feel - the more developed the neurological connections in the brain can become.  When presented with a new task (even in adults) the brain calls on all resources available.  After practice and repetition you begin to master the task.  If your brain has healthy, well developed neurons you will be quicker to success.  Dr. Hughes explains that we can develop these connections in children by allowing 'Experimental Interactions with the Environment'.  In our classroom, even the more abstract activities a kindergarten child is presented with, involve manipulation and movement of objects.  For these reasons, we allow free exploration whenever the opportunity is available and create as many as we can.  In short; the more your child can get their hands on - the more opportunities for brain development.             

Executive functions allow you to analyze, plan, troubleshoot and overcome obstacles.  Dr. Hughes explains that executive functions exist in the pre-frontal cortex, which is the most evolved part of the human brain - it separates us from all other animals.  Basically, executive functions are what tells us to; stop, go, keep going or change.  Well-developed executive functions are what make people Good at Doing Things.   

Executive functions are developed through self-directed learning, play, trial and error and the opportunity to learn through Experimental Interactions with the Environment.  When you learn from hands on engagement, you are learning from life experience, rather than memorizing or learning from a story.

The children in the Firefly class are young and need us to provide the proper environment.  In order to facilitate development of executive functions we ensure that the children are connected to reality, demonstrate goal directed behavior (or purposeful work) and have the opportunity to coordinate their ideas and actions to effect reality and the future.  Even if it means playtime is shorter today because someone put out the plates before the place mats. . .lesson learned! -Miss Angela, Firefly Teacher

 

               I have seen a great improvement in our new students' language skills, but some parents are still worried about how they are developing. By 18 months, your toddler should have a small vocabulary of at least a few words. If he doesn't, ask your doctor if he should be evaluated by a certified speech/language pathologist and/or have his hearing tested. Check for signs that his ability to understand what's spoken are on track. Can he understand a request (e.g., will he nod and hold out his bowl if you ask him if he wants more noodles?) and follow simple commands like "please bring me your shoes"? 

You can help build his language skills and toddler vocabulary with simple language of your own. Here are a few timely tips: 

* Avoid baby talk.  Speak clearly and simply, using real words and complete sentences. 

* Narrate. As you go about your day with your child, talk about what he and you are doing: "I'm going to cut up this apple so we can share it for lunch." 

* Read.  Spend lots of time reading to your toddler. Books with rhyming words are ideal for a toddler's language development. Rhymes help young children distinguish individual sounds and parts of words. Songs are wonderful as well. 

* Ask away.  A recent study showed that two-sided conversations are a good way to boost language development, because they help toddlers practice their new skills.

Enjoy communicating with your child! -Miss Elizabeth, Butterfly Teacher

After the previous newsletter, I have received a few questions on how to set up clear rules at home.  Thank you very much for the feedback. I will now answer some of the questions. 

            When you set up a rule, please discuss it with all of the adults who will be involved in the matter.  If grandparents, relatives, a nanny or someone else is picking up your child, please talk to them about your expectation and consequences.  The expectation and the consequences need to be reasonable and realistic. With this in mind, let's move on to some specifics...

            State the rule in a short, clear sentence.  Your child needs consistency so there should not be any exceptions to the rule. If one day the rule is enforced and not on the other day, your child thinks the rule is invalid, therefor, not worth to follow.  So, when you set a rule, you need to follow it through.  This is why you should discuss the new rule with all parties involved when setting it up, so that everyone can agree and follow through them.  

            For example:  "We wash our hands when we come back home from outside." Please notice that the subject is "we".  This means everyone washes their hands when coming inside.  If your child sees you forget to wash your hands, he/she may ask you why.  

            Also, "The child goes to the bathroom before dinner/lunch/snack/breakfast." This is a very reasonable rule for children.  I would recommend a rule like this because it lets your child build a habit of going to the bathroom before meals so that he/she doesn’t have to be excused during the meal.  It also prevents them from accidentally get wet during the meal.  Even when they are done with toilet training, this rule helps your child develop a habit of washing their hands before meals.             Avoid asking Yes/No questions!  Your child is in the stage of saying "No".  First of all, it is harder to articulate "yes" (with glide and consonant at the end) than "no" (simple consonant and a vowel segment).  Secondly, your child likes to get more attention.  He/she usually gets more attention/reaction when they say "no". They are asked why, given more explanations, or told to change their mind and so on.  Because of that, for many children, it becomes a habit to answer 

"no" instantly.  So, try to avoid Yes/No questions.

         Instead, you can state what will happen next.  For example,  instead of, "Would you like to go to the bathroom?" state, "It's time to go to the bathroom.  Let's go." Also, instead of "Can you clean up the toys?" state, "I see some trains on the floor.  You can put them in the train box."

            Please give your child two simple choices.  Come up with reasonable, realistic, and rational choices for your child to choose from.  Please avoid choices like "If you put your shoes on now, you can go to the zoo this weekend." Or, "If you clean up now, you will get a new toy."  The first one is not reasonable for the child because there is no relation between the act he/she is going to take (putting shoes on) and the consequence (going to the zoo on the next weekend).  Also, promising something in the future is not realistic.  The second example is irrational.  If the child get rewarded by receivinga toy for cleaning up, he/she has to get a new toyeach time he/she cleans up.  Also, the reward system is strongly discouraged.  Your child is doing things he/she likes, wants, or ought to do, not to get rewarded from it.  

• Instead, you can give simple choices such as:
• "Would you like to put your yellow or your green shoes on?"
• "Would you like to start with your left foot or your right foot?"
• "Would you like me to help you or can you do it yourself?"

... etc...  You can be creative what choices to give!  However, please remember not to increase/change the choices before your child chooses one.  Please wait patiently.  If your child cannot choose either, you can choose one for him/her.  

            Please try those at home and let me know how it goes.  These usually works great with toddlers.  If you are interested in further reading, I would suggest a book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk”. 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Kids-Will-Listen/dp/0380811960

-Miss Kyoko, Ladybug Teacher

I wanted to briefly touch on the importance of established routines.  As most of you know, established routines are vitally important to your child's sense of security. Often, when children have something on their mind or are concerned about "what happens next," they are too preoccupied to focus on the task at hand. When they can routinely predict what's going to happen next, children can dedicate more energy and concentration to their current work because they are not anticipating any surprises. In our classroom, I have an established routine that rarely varies from one day to the next. This allows the children to know what do and when to do it, thus allowing them to establish healthy work habits.              

Routines are also an essential element of positive discipline. Simple routines, such as family dinners and reading together, can also develop into fun family traditions, such as big Sunday morning breakfasts, weekly trips to the library, or devoting one evening a week to a special dinner or game night. Both simple household routines and fun family traditions help children feel that they play an important role in the family and that they belong. Establishing traditions within the family reinforces the unique and important role each person plays that makes the family special. This helps strengthen relationships and gives children a sense of security and belonging, which leads to better social skills, improved self-esteem, and emotional growth for your child.            

Many of you have come to me with specific frustrations in regards to getting your children up and out of the house in the morning. Although we encourage independence, it's not always feasible to wait 20 minutes for your child to put on his or her shoes.   Pick your battles in the morning but do as much advance preparation as you can.  While cooking dinner (or cleaning it up), for example, get a jump on the next day's lunches. Have the kids clean out their lunch boxes and add a clean placemat, whole fruits like apples or oranges and other no-spoil food (boxed raisins, crackers, baggies filled with pretzels). Encourage your child to select the next day’s attire so they can immediately start dressing in the morning.  And lastly, keep it quiet in the morning.  Television can really add to morning chaos as well. Please forbid kids' programming before school Monday through Thursday. Leaving the house on time can be rewarded on Friday morning with 10 minutes of TV if (and only if) everyone is completely ready to walk out the door for school.  -Miss Heather, Grasshopper Teacher

    It has been wonderful to observe the children working busily in the classroom.  Each and every one of them are definitely developing into their own individual character and are finding their place within the community.  As the children gain self-confidence and a further sense of independence through their activities at school, please let them continue to encounter these types of experiences outside of school, especially at home.  Often times it is much easier for us adults to simply do things for the children to save time and to get chores completed promptly. Yet, are we truly helping the children if we do everything for them?        

    The only way the children will deeply understand and learn responsibility is when we give them a chance to do things on their own.  They need chances to explore, discover and succeed by themselves.  In able to accomplish these tasks, you must provide the children and yourself enough time to complete what needs to be done.  In addition, you must also be prepared and ready so that you're full attention is only towards the task at hand.  As guides, we do this every day at school.  We carefully prepare the environment and simply design it to allow independence.

     It is not always a success and it is rarely easy.  Children may struggle a little and even fail.  Furthermore, we may feel guilty for not stepping in to alleviate any stress for both the child and ourselves.  We may even get frustrated because time is ticking.  However, we must not give up.  Have faith that the children will overcome the challenge place in front of them.  Have patience and strength to wait and encourage the children even when we, ourselves, feel like giving in.  Always remember, to feel the satisfaction of achievement is a great gift we could ever give to the children.

         We have a friend in the classroom, who struggled with buttoning and unbuttoning for the longest time.  He didn't even want to work with Button Frame lesson even after I've presented it to him a couple of times.  He continued to say "I can't do it!' and expressed frustration.  Nonetheless, with a little bit of encouragement, he eventually succeeded in buttoning and unbuttoning the whole Button Frame all by himself.  He then had the biggest smile on his face and said with much excitement, "I did it!'  Since then, he would point out the Button Frame to me whenever I am nearby and with a proud look on his face, he would say, "I can do this!"        

     This is just one example.  It is not an easy process, yet, despite the frustration we may encounter along the way, what the children will receive from these experiences will not only be remarkable but something that they will carry on with them forever.  -Miss Vicki, Bumblebee Teacher

 

I would like to talk about reward and punishment this week. Research continuously shows, that materialized rewards and praises have negative effects in children’s academic achievement, as it decreases their self-motivation and they will always be looking for rewards, praises, or “approvals” from adults.

One important aspect of the Montessori philosophy is to teach the children to be independent and self-motivated, so they will grow to “love to learn”, not because they want to hear praises from their parents or teachers, not because they want to earn a new toy as a reward, but because such “work” caters to and satisfies their inner needs. They do not need to hear “Good job!” every time they do anything.

This over-usage of “good-jobbing” can actually harm them in terms of decreasing their self-motivation to work. Children are born to work with maximum effort; they want and need challenges that they need to try and fail several times until they conquer the challenge and master such skills to deliver the work smoothly.

The reward of such achievement is internal; the inner feeling of “Yes, I have done it all by myself!” is more than enough to serve as their reward, and they do not need an adult’s “Good job!”.

What I do with the children is to mirror their action or statement to acknowledge their effort without saying “Good Job!”. For instance, if they painted a painting, and say: “Look! I painted this for mommy”, instead of saying “Good job!”, I would say “pretty colors”, or “oh, you used red”. I try to stay neutral in my comments on their works, because it is up to them to decide if they like their painting or not. I am in no position to say if it is good or not. I may say “I like the blue color you used”, but I am just sharing my own opinion about my color preference, and they do not have to agree with me necessarily. It is their painting, and as long as they like it, that is all that matters.

The point is to stay neutral and stick to the facts. Avoid saying “Good job”, unless it is a very big accomplishment. It’s one of the single, most difficult habits to break, offering praise, instead of allowing a child to discover their own confidence. Praise is ingrained in our vocabulary. It’s in our expressions, and everything we do. It’s seemingly always at the tip of our tongue. Yet, what a child needs most is the assurance that they can do it on their own, and for themselves.

The only expression that we’ve found to be adequate enough to address this complex issue, is the phrase, “You did it!” It seems to say everything. -Miss Angela, Firefly Teacher

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I love this time of the year because it is a great opportunity to talk to children about the importance of friendship, sharing and being grateful with one another.

I often watch parents struggle with their own feelings about toddler sharing when they feel forced to make their toddler give up a toy to another child. They experience feelings of embarrassment, resentment toward the other child, unfairness for their own child, discomfort at being observed, and doubt about how appropriate their own actions are.

Many parents have told me that they react out of a need to feel accepted around others rather than to do what is right for their own children when faced with issues around sharing. When we learn to really listen and trust what our feelings are telling us, then we will respond rather than react to the situation at hand.

First, model sharing to your child as often as you can, giving the language that goes with the actions. "I'm really enjoying playing with this little car. When I'm finished I'm going to share it with you".

Second, teach your child about ownership by showing them consistently how you experience it. "This pen is mine. It belongs to me and it is important that I trust you not to touch it."

Third, be aware of making the most of the moments when your child shows understanding about sharing through positive reinforcement. Toddlers can be surprisingly empathetic and loving in their interactions with others and learn best by having this reported back to them. "I loved watching you share your doll with your friend. That is very kind and loving." - Miss Elizabeth, Butterfly Teacher

This week, I wanted to focus on nutrition and how important it is for growing young children.

Grains:  Grains contain fiber (which aids digestion) and complex carbohydrates (which provide energy). In addition, grains are a great source of B vitamins. Some fortified ready-to-eat cereals provide an entire day's worth of many vitamins and minerals. Here are some examples for an active 2- or 3-year-old, any one of the following meets his daily requirement for grains:
5 slices of bread
25 whole wheat crackers
2 1/2 cups of cooked rice or pasta
2 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal

Vegetables:  Vegetables provide plenty of fiber, along with vitamins C and A, and potassium. In addition, most produce contains antioxidants, disease-fighting substances that may lower the risk of cancer and heart disease later in life. Here are some examples for an active 2- or 3-year-old, any one of the following meets his daily requirement for vegetables:
1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli spears
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Fruit:  Fruit also provides plenty of fiber, along with vitamins C and A and potassium. In addition, most produce contains antioxidants, disease-fighting substances that may lower the risk of cancer and heart disease later in life. Here are some examples for an active 2- or 3-year-old, any one of the following meets his daily requirement for fruit:
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 large banana

Meat and beans:  Don't let the name of this category fool you. It really means all foods that provide protein, which can include meat and beans but also fish, eggs, and nuts. These foods give your child iron, zinc, and some B vitamins. Here are some examples for an active 2- or 3-year-old, any one of the following meets his daily requirement for meat and beans:
4 eggs
4 tablespoons peanut butter
12 slices luncheon meat
1 cup of cooked beans

Maybe your child could help you go shopping for his or her lunch items or help you pack the lunch. This way, the child can be involved with making good choices in nutrition and learning about dietary needs, with your guidance of course. - Miss Aly, Caterpillar Teacher

Offering a secure environment is the most important task we adults have for children.  This does not mean that children should be in every situation but they must be given love, respect and clear rules.   As adults, we need to set up the rules for children which shows how the family, as a social unit, lives in harmony by offering respect and clear expectations for family life.  Those rules must be discussed with all adult family members (including grandparents, frequently visiting relatives, and nanny etc.) so that they are capable of being achieved and practiced consistently. 
 
We've discussed Exploration in Human Tendencies last week.  Particularly for children younger than three years old, setting clear and consistent rules are very important for them to learn the order where he/she lives.  Understanding the rules and expectations helps your child to have ownership in the environment and do better.  For example, if one parent asks a child to change himself while another adult does it for him/her, the child will be confused whether he/she is expected to do it or to depend on others.  Usually this is a draw-back for the toilet learning process; inconsistency.  One specific example of this rule can be; go to bathroom after coming back from outside.  And once you decide the rule, all adults have to be in on it and remind your child the same, to go to bathroom each time coming back home from outside.  By keeping the consistency, the rule becomes very clear for your child and it becomes easy for him/her to understand the rule and to feel secure by knowing what will come next.  This sense of security is very important for children to explore freely.  Please try to come up with a few simple rules that you are already doing or trying to enforce at home.  -Miss Kyoko, Ladybug Teacher

 

    Whenever I meet someone, they ask about my job.   Once I begin to explain the mixed ages (ages 2.5-6) they often exclaim, “That sounds crazy!  How does that work?” 
      I believe the reason it works is what we Montessorians call, Grace and Courtesy.  Grace and Courtesy encompasses a wide range of manners and good behavior; waiting one’s turn, politely asking for help or offering help, respecting someone’s space and saying excuse me when trying to pass. 
     This time of year, it is my main focus to instill these principles.  Every morning amidst the songs and stories I give brief lessons about; how to walk around a rug, place your hand on someone’s shoulder to get their attention or even to ask for a hug!  Actually, Wednesday, we all practiced asking for and giving hugs!  It was precious!  We all need a little attention and affection from time to time.  Rather than leaning or throwing themselves on other children (or teachers!) they simply have to let the person know their intentions…. everyone loves a hug! 
     The other day a boy was intrigued by a girls’ hair clip and touched it.  The girl reacted defensively when someone started touching her head!  We discovered that he thought it was pretty and that he needed permission to touch it.  She was pleased that someone liked her things and accepted the compliment.  Where a negative encounter began, grace and courtesy changed the situation, they were both pleased with their interaction and had positive feelings about themselves and each other. 
General hygiene and taking care of yourself also fits in this category.  Is it not impolite to chew food with your mouth open?  To walk around with food on your face or clothes?  Not to cover you mouth when you squeeze, yawn or cough?  Not only does it keep clean and healthy bodies, it’s using manners for the betterment of the group. 
     Little by little, I introduce the social skills to build a polite society.  These skills help the children function independently and also respectfully.  I hope these skills can be carried home to you also.  -Miss Angela, Firefly Teacher