Montessori Lesson

from an interview with Montessori teacher Lila Carusillo who taught for thirty years at Aquinas Montessori School before retairing in 2006
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If someone asked me to define Montessori it would be … total respect for the child as a unique individual. Children have this inner urge to become adults. From the time they're born they're imitating adults. We have to trust the child.

Montessori education stresses that children teach themselves to be adults by interacting with their environment, not by the lessons that adults try to impose on them

Silent Journey

by Linda Tahmassebi
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A "Silent Journey" is a relatively new way to experience the Montessori Classroom. And so many parents, after observing our classrooms, have commented that they wish they were "Montessori children"!

Aquinas debuted its Silent Journey last weekend. The purpose is to offer parents an opportunity to see their child's classroom through the eyes of their children. And, as one teacher put it, "We love what we do and we wanted to share it with you."

Structured Classrooms — Montessori Style

by Marie McCain
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"But there's no structure in a Montessori classroom, right? Aren't the children free to do whatever they want?"

This is what I hear when people learn that my children attend a Montessori school. And it's the biggest misconception I can imagine. When my daughter started in her primary classroom, there were 28 children ranging in ages from 3 to 6. And one teacher who gives one-on-one lessons during an uninterrupted 3 hour work cycle! How could there be no structure?

30 Ways to Help Your Child with Spelling [Part 2]

Essential, research based, Do's and Don'ts for parents of young writers and spellers (continued)


by Geneva Walker
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For Spellers Often Spelling All Sounds in Words (around age 5-7):

Do: Continue the above tips.
Don't: forget that you will continue to see inventive spelling: (house= hows, transition = chranzishun,)
Do: remember that your child will start to correctly spell certain high frequency words they see regularly (the, of, off, see, out etc.).
Do: read aloud to your child poetry, fiction, non-fiction. Inspire them to write by enticing them with ideas and fun content

30 Ways to Help Your Child with Spelling [Part 1]

Essential, research based, Do's and Don'ts for parents of young writers and spellers


by Geneva Walker
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Need Rosetta stone to decipher the meaning of your child's writing? Does that cute "dolfin" report seem like gibberish and even your child can't remember what those letters are!? Ah! Call the teacher at midnight! Or start your child on an intense spelling regime right before bedtime? Make high omega fatty acid shakes for your 3-year old? Right?
Well, not exactly

Joyful Work - Montessori Observation Experience

by Jean Gunderson
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Luckily, I was able to observe a primary class this morning. The sunny classroom helped to illuminate so many happy faces and the productive work of these 3-6 year old children.

An older boy was demonstrating the map of Asia to a younger friend. Together, they were removing the colored pieces and placing them so gently on their work rug! Their motions were deliberate and elegant; they were each using a pincer grip to arrange the pieces around the frame of the map. I could listen and hear them quietly discussing the names of each country, "Korea, Thailand, Japan, Saudi Arabia". The peaceful work held their attention so completely; they seemed oblivious to the other twenty children in the room

Why do We Teach Cursive vs. Print in Montessori?

by Hedy Lane
Cursive Alphabet

To write means to transcribe words, ideas or thoughts. Writing also involves rereading and editing such transcriptions to facilitate understanding. In the Montessori primary classroom, we present writing before reading. Why, you might ask.
Well, reading is a more complete process; a writer must break down words, sound by sound and then reconstruct the sounds to create words, and then, an image or thought. Learning to write involves the identification of sounds and composing a word

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Aquinas Montessori blog was created in November 2014 as a place to share our ideas, experience and inspiration through articles, tutorials and advice to parents. Be the first to see new posts and have new content delivered by Email, or join Aquinas Monessori School on Facebook.