Category: Teacher Talk
Potty Talk
Potty training is something that I honestly knew very little about until recently. When students are in my classroom they are generally potty trained, so I don’t really have much to do. But as I am spending more time being in the office and helping out in other classrooms I am learning all about potty-training…. Continue Reading »Montessori Elevator Speech
While in school studying to be a teacher I was often challenged to think of my Elevator Speech for explaining Montessori. When I say Elevator Speech I mean a quick and concise description of what Montessori actually is. To be honest I could go on and on for hours about Montessori philosophy and why it… Continue Reading »A quiet place for a child
Just as anyone in the world, I have emotions and sometimes those emotions get so intense that I need to just take a moment to calm down. As an adult, I have grown. I have learned different tools and techniques to help myself calm down and relax, but the same cannot be said about children…. Continue Reading »How to talk about MLK to children
On January 16, 2017 countless people will be taking a day off to celebrate and remember Martin Luther King Jr. When going over the calendar with my class I always try to prepare them for any changes to the normal schedule, including long weekends so naturally MLK day came up. Now let’s be honest here,… Continue Reading »Teaching Kindness
With everything that had been going on in our society recently I have been really thinking about what I can do to try to help. The conclusion that I came to, with the help of a lot of article reading, was that I need to not only be kind but also teach kindness. In my… Continue Reading »
Changing works in the classroom to go with themes is a heavily debated topic in the Montessori world. While there is real validity in keeping the materials pure, the way that they were created to be, I love changing out my shelves. Here at ADM we consider ourselves “a modern take on Montessori.” Not all… Continue Reading »Talking TO kids not AT them
I was recently reading some articles on education and I came across an article by the Atlantic. It talks a lot about how our academic expectations have changed dramatically over the last few years and how it has impacted students and their learning. As a montessorian I want my students to love to learn, to… Continue Reading »Why observation is key
Two months ago I was lucky enough to go to the American Montessori Conference which was held in Chicago. I went in with a very open mind, but to be honest, had no idea what to expect. I mean, I love what I do, and I love Montessori. But what was going to this conference… Continue Reading »Staying warm in the cold weather
I know that I personally love being outside in the winter. I love playing in the snow, building snow forts, and most of all going sledding. But as the weather gets colder spending time outside also means that we have to start dressing a lot warmer. There is a Norwegian saying: “There is no such thing… Continue Reading »