Loon's Nest Primary Classroom Blog
Mid-November 2013
Greetings from the Loon’s Nest!
How can it be possible that Thanksgiving is next week? Things in the Loon’s nest have really been humming. The children are beginning to tap into their intrinsic ability to concentrate and complete work cycles. It is an exciting time of year for a Montessori teacher. We have started our study of nutrition in the classroom and this always brings up interesting lunch time conversations. We talk about the food groups and what kinds of food our bodies use to help us grow strong and healthy versus those that taste good to us but don’t really help our bodies. This is one of those touchy subjects for parents as well. With all the conflicting information we get about what is healthy and what is not healthy, combined with a picky eater, it can be overwhelming. I want to use this opportunity to suggest some solutions for those picky eaters. Much of the following advice comes directly from Positive Discipline A-Z by Jane Nelson, Lynn Lott and H. Stephen Glenn.
Mealtime should nourish both the body and the soul. Too many families forget this and turn mealtime into a nightmare of corrections, nagging, threats, fighting, and individual grandstanding—if they even have a mealtime. Many families take the kids out for fast food, or everyone eats at a different time of day. In some families, the kitchen is open all day with family members grabbing snacks whenever they feel hungry. While some children seem to survive on an unhealthy diet, there is an epidemic of overweight children and adults. Quite often, instead of providing healthy choices and trusting your kids to eat when they are hungry and stop when they are not, you inadvertently interfere in this natural process. Without knowing it, you could be planting the seeds for eating disorders.
Suggestions
1. At least once a day, sit down as a family and eat a meal together. Do not eat in front of the television. Adults should sit down and eat with the kids—at a table. Occasionally set the table with flowers, candles, or place mats, or eat in the dining room to create a special experience for the family.
2. If kids know it’s okay to choose what they will or won’t eat, they are less apt to complain. Don’t try to force your child to eat anything. Do not insist on children eating everything on their plates or tasting every food. Don’t give your child a lot of undue attention if they refuse to eat something.
3. It is normal for young children to play with their food, spill their milk, and drop food on the floor. Behavior appropriate for their ages is not misbehavior. Clean up spills, let kids finger-paint in their food, and let the dog eat what drops or put a plastic sheet under your young child. Teach your children to help you clean up the mess.
4. Let your kids serve themselves and do not discuss what they eat or don’t eat. Simply clear their plates at the end of the meal (fifteen to twenty minutes is plenty of time).
5. If kids complain about your cooking, tell them it’s okay not to eat what they don’t like, but it hurts the chef when people complain. With a young child, when he says, “I don’t like this,” remove his plate and say, “Okay, you don’t have to eat it.” That usually ends the complaining very quickly.
6. Some families allow children to make themselves a sandwich or tortilla with cheese if they don’t like the meal. This is better than cooking special dishes for each child. My children became proficient pb&j makers while they tested the boundaries of what I would do if they didn’t eat what I cooked.
7. If you think your children’s behavior has become too obnoxious, you might try deciding what you will do instead of trying to control your children. Pick up your plate and go to another room to eat.
Planning Ahead to Prevent Future Problems
1. Schedule your meals. (But allow snacking on healthy things -- don’t make children wait until they are overly hungry to eat.) Stress that mealtime is a time to share stories about the day, visit with each other, and share the good feelings of being together as a family.
2. When children complain about the food, it may be time to involve them in choosing what they eat, at least one night a week. Let each child cook dinner one night a week. Even small kids can tear lettuce leaves, open a can of beans, and make a simple salad.
3. Plan with kids what they can do to contribute. Talk about the different jobs that need to be done, such as setting the table, cooking dinner, washing the dishes, and feeding the pets.
4. Do not bring junk foods into the house. Of course children won’t eat regular meals when they have filled up on snacks or junk foods. Especially avoid products that contain sugar. Sugar can really mess up the body’s natural craving for good foods.
5. Provide healthy snacks. It is fine if your children don’t eat because they have filled up on cheese, carrot sticks, or other healthy snacks. Who said good food should be eaten only at mealtimes?
6. Practice good table manners at a time other than mealtime, or choose one night a week to practice. Make it fun. Exaggerate.
7. During a family meeting, get the whole family involved in planning ways to make mealtime enjoyable for everyone.
8. Look at your own attitudes about weight, food, and eating patterns and what they may be suggesting to your children. Are you saying things like, “Finish everything on your plate,” and then later getting upset because your child is overweight? Do you tell your kids they can’t eat between meals, which may encourage them to binge at mealtimes? Are there other ways you are unconsciously trying to control your child’s food intake?
Parenting Pointers
1. You can help your child learn to listen to his or her feelings and body wisdom instead of training the child to be an overeater to please you or a picky eater to defeat you. Think of how many overweight adults were members of the “Clean Plate Club” as children, and have completely lost touch with the meaning of the word “hungry.”
2. If you see mealtime as a time to make kids eat and to lecture about manners, the kids will probably pay you back with bad manners. If your attitude is that meals are one of the special times that families can share together, the kids probably reflect that thinking.
3. At different stages of development, your children’s bodies may not fit the national ideal, so be patient with them and with yourself. When all else fails, trust your sense of what is normal for your children.
4. Encourage regular exercise. Turn off the television and kick the kids off the couch if necessary.
5. We have talked to people who were raised during the Depression. They say picky eating was never a problem. Parents didn’t make a fuss when a child didn’t want to eat because there often wasn’t enough to go around. When children didn’t get any “mileage” out of being a picky eater, they ate what was available or went hungry.
How can it be possible that Thanksgiving is next week? Things in the Loon’s nest have really been humming. The children are beginning to tap into their intrinsic ability to concentrate and complete work cycles. It is an exciting time of year for a Montessori teacher. We have started our study of nutrition in the classroom and this always brings up interesting lunch time conversations. We talk about the food groups and what kinds of food our bodies use to help us grow strong and healthy versus those that taste good to us but don’t really help our bodies. This is one of those touchy subjects for parents as well. With all the conflicting information we get about what is healthy and what is not healthy, combined with a picky eater, it can be overwhelming. I want to use this opportunity to suggest some solutions for those picky eaters. Much of the following advice comes directly from Positive Discipline A-Z by Jane Nelson, Lynn Lott and H. Stephen Glenn.
Mealtime should nourish both the body and the soul. Too many families forget this and turn mealtime into a nightmare of corrections, nagging, threats, fighting, and individual grandstanding—if they even have a mealtime. Many families take the kids out for fast food, or everyone eats at a different time of day. In some families, the kitchen is open all day with family members grabbing snacks whenever they feel hungry. While some children seem to survive on an unhealthy diet, there is an epidemic of overweight children and adults. Quite often, instead of providing healthy choices and trusting your kids to eat when they are hungry and stop when they are not, you inadvertently interfere in this natural process. Without knowing it, you could be planting the seeds for eating disorders.
Suggestions
1. At least once a day, sit down as a family and eat a meal together. Do not eat in front of the television. Adults should sit down and eat with the kids—at a table. Occasionally set the table with flowers, candles, or place mats, or eat in the dining room to create a special experience for the family.
2. If kids know it’s okay to choose what they will or won’t eat, they are less apt to complain. Don’t try to force your child to eat anything. Do not insist on children eating everything on their plates or tasting every food. Don’t give your child a lot of undue attention if they refuse to eat something.
3. It is normal for young children to play with their food, spill their milk, and drop food on the floor. Behavior appropriate for their ages is not misbehavior. Clean up spills, let kids finger-paint in their food, and let the dog eat what drops or put a plastic sheet under your young child. Teach your children to help you clean up the mess.
4. Let your kids serve themselves and do not discuss what they eat or don’t eat. Simply clear their plates at the end of the meal (fifteen to twenty minutes is plenty of time).
5. If kids complain about your cooking, tell them it’s okay not to eat what they don’t like, but it hurts the chef when people complain. With a young child, when he says, “I don’t like this,” remove his plate and say, “Okay, you don’t have to eat it.” That usually ends the complaining very quickly.
6. Some families allow children to make themselves a sandwich or tortilla with cheese if they don’t like the meal. This is better than cooking special dishes for each child. My children became proficient pb&j makers while they tested the boundaries of what I would do if they didn’t eat what I cooked.
7. If you think your children’s behavior has become too obnoxious, you might try deciding what you will do instead of trying to control your children. Pick up your plate and go to another room to eat.
Planning Ahead to Prevent Future Problems
1. Schedule your meals. (But allow snacking on healthy things -- don’t make children wait until they are overly hungry to eat.) Stress that mealtime is a time to share stories about the day, visit with each other, and share the good feelings of being together as a family.
2. When children complain about the food, it may be time to involve them in choosing what they eat, at least one night a week. Let each child cook dinner one night a week. Even small kids can tear lettuce leaves, open a can of beans, and make a simple salad.
3. Plan with kids what they can do to contribute. Talk about the different jobs that need to be done, such as setting the table, cooking dinner, washing the dishes, and feeding the pets.
4. Do not bring junk foods into the house. Of course children won’t eat regular meals when they have filled up on snacks or junk foods. Especially avoid products that contain sugar. Sugar can really mess up the body’s natural craving for good foods.
5. Provide healthy snacks. It is fine if your children don’t eat because they have filled up on cheese, carrot sticks, or other healthy snacks. Who said good food should be eaten only at mealtimes?
6. Practice good table manners at a time other than mealtime, or choose one night a week to practice. Make it fun. Exaggerate.
7. During a family meeting, get the whole family involved in planning ways to make mealtime enjoyable for everyone.
8. Look at your own attitudes about weight, food, and eating patterns and what they may be suggesting to your children. Are you saying things like, “Finish everything on your plate,” and then later getting upset because your child is overweight? Do you tell your kids they can’t eat between meals, which may encourage them to binge at mealtimes? Are there other ways you are unconsciously trying to control your child’s food intake?
Parenting Pointers
1. You can help your child learn to listen to his or her feelings and body wisdom instead of training the child to be an overeater to please you or a picky eater to defeat you. Think of how many overweight adults were members of the “Clean Plate Club” as children, and have completely lost touch with the meaning of the word “hungry.”
2. If you see mealtime as a time to make kids eat and to lecture about manners, the kids will probably pay you back with bad manners. If your attitude is that meals are one of the special times that families can share together, the kids probably reflect that thinking.
3. At different stages of development, your children’s bodies may not fit the national ideal, so be patient with them and with yourself. When all else fails, trust your sense of what is normal for your children.
4. Encourage regular exercise. Turn off the television and kick the kids off the couch if necessary.
5. We have talked to people who were raised during the Depression. They say picky eating was never a problem. Parents didn’t make a fuss when a child didn’t want to eat because there often wasn’t enough to go around. When children didn’t get any “mileage” out of being a picky eater, they ate what was available or went hungry.
Mid-October 2013Salutations from the Loon’s Nest! We have had a busy and exciting couple of weeks. Some of the highlights include making play-doh with Mrs. Andrews, a visit from Nobleboro Fire Department and the belated celebration of Sukkot.
Another thing that we are working on in class is conflict resolution. We are so lucky to have a safe, nurturing environment for our children to learn how to resolve conflicts in. I sometimes take for granted that children in the Montessori classroom have the flexibility and strength to take their time and learn how to peacefully resolve disagreements. I hear stories about how children in other environments become victims of bully’s or disturbed in other ways and think to myself how fortunate I am to work with children who are encouraged to find their own voices and take control of their own experience, guided to navigate tricky situations with their own words and to recognize their feelings and verbalize them. Some parents have asked recently about how we handle conflict in the classroom so I wanted to outline that for everyone who has been wondering. Conflict resolution is not a matter of quick fixes, magical solutions or techniques. It is an ongoing process that does not happen in isolation. Conflict resolution is based on three initial themes: cooperation, communication and affirmation, which establish a firm foundation for the fourth theme: empowering children to act responsibly (to deal with conflict so that no one is hurt physically or emotionally).
When children find themselves in a conflict, we practiced active listening skills after each child has had a chance to calm down and find peace if necessary. A conversation may look something like this:
One thing that we take into consideration is that sometimes an upset child needs to calm down before confronting a friend. This is true of everyone sometimes; I model this by sitting in the peace place or doing yoga when I am feeling flustered or frustrated. We try to use language that encourages children to notice their feelings and to verbalize them. We also discuss ways we can help ourselves feel peaceful before talking to our friends such as: yoga, listen to music, talk to a teacher, look at a book, sit in the peace place etc. At circle we play the silence game and notice what our bodies are saying to us. At the beginning of the year a teacher always attends the conflict resolution process to guide children through the language and steps, but we guide children to use the process independently when they find themselves in a conflict. Though it may seem a simple and formulaic process, it takes great courage for children to initiate it and carry it through. Every time we help a child learn to communicate intentionally, rather than reacting out of emotion, we make the world a more peaceful place. Montessori believed that through education and children, the world could be a peaceful place. We strive to help children learn how to communicate and understand each other in hopes that her vision will one day be a reality. Casey Beaudoin and Allison Roberts |
|
End of September 2013Happy autumn from the Loon’s Nest! We have had a wonderful 2 weeks. Some of the most exciting occurrences have been apple picking and the cooking that has come from it. We visited Biscay Orchard in Damariscotta. We were all glad that we made the trek because we picked apples and ate them right from the tree. What is better than that? At the time, we couldn’t think of anything! The bus ride was a close second for many of us. The short ride was a highlight, certainly, and seemed just the right length.
On the day after the field trip the students peeled, cored and sliced some of their freshly picked apples with the help of Mrs. Robert’s apple “machine”. We proceeded to make applesauce right in the classroom. It smelled wonderful and we each enjoyed our homemade sauce with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream after lunch. On Friday we made our own individual apple pies. The children loved working with the apple “machine” once more, cutting apples into small pieces and delighted in filling their own crust and adding sugar and spices. Finally, I wanted to give a short explanation of the sound books that many children have been taking home recently. Many of our friends have been working very hard on the sandpaper letters in the classroom. I am attaching a link to a short video that gives a very quick look at a sandpaper letter lesson with the teacher. It gives a great overview of the lesson and includes all three periods of the lesson: introducing the sound, practice by identifying the sound and then finally, naming the sound. You can see that it is a fairly quick process and children need only learn a few consonants and a vowel to begin building words. The books that have been going home are words that begin with the sounds that the child is working with on sandpaper letter lessons which is our version of the second part of this video where the child matches the pictures. We make books instead by thinking of words that begin with a sound and drawing the corresponding object. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEDzO5G1F3g Well, that is it for now. Until next time, enjoy the sunshine. |
|
September 2013Greetings from the Loon’s Nest!
Welcome and welcome back! It has been a wonderful start to the school year so far. Although we have had to start inside because of weather a few times, starting on the playground has seemed to suit most of the children. This will be our last week of starting on the playground regularly. We are going in a few minutes earlier each day to lengthen our time in the classroom and to gain that all important three hour work cycle. The purpose of long, uninterrupted blocks of work time is to allow students to select work freely, eventually becoming absorbed in work that has a particular fascination for them at this point in their development. Interruptions, no matter how valuable the alternative activity might seem to be, disturbs the fragile development of the child’’s focus, concentration, and intellectual exploration on his or her own. This is the reason we wait for afternoon time to include extras such as music to the curriculum. Many of the younger children are beginning to understand the basic ground rules and routine while many of our returning students practice their gentile, kind teaching reminders for our new friends. We have learned that each of us is a teacher in one way or another. Even the students are teachers for younger, newer students. We are looking forward to the International Day of Peace on Friday and have been talking about peace: what is it and how do we find it? We have been playing the silence game at circle to see if we can feel it in our hearts. We will continue to explore peace throughout the year, but are looking forward to singing on Friday with our Montessori friends around the world. You can find more information on the Day of Peace here: We are also looking forward to apple picking next week and want to invite all of the Loon’s to join us even if it isn’t their regular day! Until next time, peace and happiness from the Loon’s! |
|
June 2013Greetings from the Loon’s Nest! Hard to believe that summer is here! Throughout the recent conferences I was asked over and over about how to support children’s learning over the summer. A few ideas came to mind:
Though summer can and should be a time of relaxation and rest for your student, for a parent, summer can be daunting! As a parent of a Montessori student, it is important to find the balance between the freedom and bliss of summer without losing the routines and knowledge for which you and your child worked so hard during the school year. Of course it is acceptable to ease up on schedules and routines during the summer months. Bedtimes and rising times can be moved around and numerous opportunities for spontaneous activities can present themselves. Simply remember to start easing back into your school year schedule and other transitions a couple of weeks before school starts again in the fall. Some ideas for summer activities include visiting a bookstore as a family at the beginning of summer vacation. Help your children select a blank book or journal. Encourage them to record something in this book every day during the summer. This helps with literacy skills and creative writing. It also has the potential to serve as a keepsake your children will cherish for years to come. For younger students an entry might be a drawing of something they did or saw or even something they want to do. Explore local resources and places of interest. We are fortunate to live near so many farms, walking trails, botanical gardens, beaches and many other interesting opportunities that can be fun and educational adventures. Take small field trips throughout the summer and include your child in the planning. Remember to include your children in your daily household activities. If they aren’t doing so already, summer is the perfect time to encourage their assistance with planning meals for the week, grocery shopping, and meal preparation. Tending to (or starting) a family garden is work that will see delicious rewards. Do you have a clothesline? If not, install one immediately. Your children will love snapping wet laundry, hanging it on the line, and wagering how quickly it will dry in the summer sunshine. Start a family book club. Ask everyone to suggest one or two book titles that they have not read. Debate the titles as a family and vote on one that everyone will read and then discuss at a later date. Are some members of your family too young to read? In lieu of television, end every evening by taking turns reading a book aloud. The anticipation of knowing what will happen next will keep everyone coming back for more. Another great resource is Skidompha Library. The children’s librarians are magical there and they run terrific programs for young children throughout the summer. Put together a scavenger hunt for your children. This can be a great option for a rainy day, but on a sunny day you can include biology and botany related clues outdoors. The hunt can be fun and educational in origin, testing your children’s knowledge or research skills (via the internet, books, etc.). Another possibility is a work-related scavenger hunt. Maybe a clue is at the bottom of a bowl of potatoes that need to be peeled. Another clue may appear on the washing machine when the cycle is complete. The possibilities are endless; a scavenger hunt is something that may be done just once or several times throughout the summer. Be creative, have fun, and have a terrific summer! |
End of May 2013Greetings from the Loon’s Nest! This time of year always seems like a blur. There is just so much to do and so little time to do it! Hard to believe that Memorial Day is this weekend and judging by our recent weather, it would be hard to tell! What a wonderful Mother’s Day Tea we had! The children worked very hard to prepare and serve you on your special day and it went off without a hitch! We were so proud of all the hard work the children put in. There was a lot of concentration and coordination going on in that busy room with everyone trying to get tea and shortcake for their moms! I would like to thank the upper elementary students who helped us on that morning. And, of course, thanks to all the moms! We also had a very successful auction event! The night of the auction was so much fun! The Loons worked hard right up until the last day to finish the quilt. I worried that it might not be done in time even though we started it in March! The children were very involved in every step of the process, so it took a little extra time, but it was worth it, it turned out really beautifully. I want to give a special thank you to Noah’s Grammy, Vicky who won the quilt and to all of those who tried to win it. |
|
Early May 2013
Recently I’ve seen or heard a few questions about what it means to “follow the child”. It’s one of those Montessori phrases we throw around, but what does it really mean? In the 3-6 age group, following the child typically means observing the child in the classroom and using their interests and level of ability as a guide. This may influence what work is presented to the child and when. For instance, a teacher who notices when the child has mastered the cylinder blocks will then present the knobless cylinders. Or if a teacher observes that a child needs to improve their fine motor skills she will make several materials available that use fine motor skills.
Following the child is one place where Montessori differs considerably from traditional education. Rather than following a strict curriculum, where every child learns the same things every day, we use a more flexible approach. If there are 20 children in a classroom, there may be 20 different paths being followed in terms of order and repetition of presentations.
What accounts for this difference in philosophy? In Montessori, we believe that the child instinctively knows what he or she needs to do. I see this proven over and over again. A child tries a work and struggles with it, then returns to it (sometimes dozens of times) in order to master it; all this without the interference of a teacher.
“‘Follow the child’ does not mean let the child do what he wants. It is simply an acknowledgment that the child has his or her own pattern – that we need to take into account where the child is at, rather than impose our idea of what the child should learn now.”
Following the child is one place where Montessori differs considerably from traditional education. Rather than following a strict curriculum, where every child learns the same things every day, we use a more flexible approach. If there are 20 children in a classroom, there may be 20 different paths being followed in terms of order and repetition of presentations.
What accounts for this difference in philosophy? In Montessori, we believe that the child instinctively knows what he or she needs to do. I see this proven over and over again. A child tries a work and struggles with it, then returns to it (sometimes dozens of times) in order to master it; all this without the interference of a teacher.
“‘Follow the child’ does not mean let the child do what he wants. It is simply an acknowledgment that the child has his or her own pattern – that we need to take into account where the child is at, rather than impose our idea of what the child should learn now.”
