Do you know how to talk to your child about where babies are before they are born? Are you comfortable answering questions about private body parts? What about broaching the subject of sex and sexual decision making? These are topics that often make parents, and teachers, uncomfortable and seem hard to broach with children, or simply easier not to address. But if they aren’t addressed, are your children getting the information they need to be successful as they grow up and become more independent in the world? Children are sexual beings from the moment they are born (think about the first question people ask always about a new baby: is it a boy or a girl?!) and they deserve to learn the
The first six weeks of school can often be trying times, as students navigate the world of new and established friendships while at the same time adjusting back to the daily routines of life at school. Though multi-age classrooms provide Montessori students with relatively stable social cohorts, a new group of first year students coupled with a summer’s worth of growth and maturation still causes a shift in dynamics at the start of each new school year. When you also consider the fact that these students are working their way through the Second Plane of Development, and focused on making sense of their social world, you’ll understand why Montessori teachers devote so much time during these f
As seen in the 2018–2019 Wellan Year in Review “I got an 87% on the Pink Tower!” Sounds absurd, right? What might that even mean? How would such a percentage score help a student understand what has yet to be learned? In a Montessori learning environment, what you’ll likely hear instead is: “I can do this work. I’m ready for the next one.” Our students can make this type of statement because they are capable of assessing their own learning progress—without relying on test scores or other external indicators. The works Maria Montessori designed are “auto-didactic,” meaning that children can determine their own skill levels based on how well or easily they can complete the task. Self-assessmen
As the days have turned into weeks, our youngest students have become increasingly comfortable with the school environment and classroom routines. This progress is quite impressive given that in the grand scheme of things, the school year is still a relatively new experience for them. It is very common—and understandable—for children to continue to express hesitation and sadness at morning drop-off. Over the course of the year, some children will master the art of separation. Others will fluctuate in their response to morning drop-off, while some will have regular difficulty saying goodbye. Rest assured that wherever your child may be within this range is normal and okay—even Primary and Ele
