The History Life on Earth

I just came across this TED talk from 2005 in which Frans Lanting, a National Geographic photographer, tells a most beautiful story of the history of life on Earth--reminiscent of the Timeline of Life story in the elementary Montessori classroom. Lanting's photography and his words are pure poetry, and I simply had to share his presentation with the Montessori world. It is absolutely worth your time!

Frans Lanting: The LIFE Project | TED

For a more in depth look into Lanting's The LIFE Project, I encourage you to take a look at his website: www.lanting.com

Montessori Around the Web

I just wanted to offer some interesting Montessori-related stuff to check out from around the web:

• The BBC has produced a series of videos entitled Extraordinary Women, one of which is entirely focused on Dr. Maria Montessori. I haven't gotten to watch it just yet, but it has certainly piqued my interest!

• AMI/USA has created a website, Montessori Guide, that is meant to be an online resource tool for Montessori guides of all levels. It is full of interesting articles and helpful videos. This website is brilliant. All Montessori teachers should know about this.

• And, this isn't specifically Montessori-related, but I recently read this article on NPR that offers advice on how to make the most of parent-teacher conferences. This is the time of year for conferences at most schools, so this might be worth the read!

Check it all out, if you have the time. I would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to let me know in the comments!

Bittersweet Endings. Bright New Beginnings.

Big news everyone...

Me receiving my AMI Elementary teaching diploma.

It's official! I completed my AMI Elementary Teacher training! 

At the graduation ceremony with the Director of Elementary Training at Montessori Northwest, the beloved Elise Huneke-Stone.

The past two months have been a complete blur, marked by bittersweet endings and bright new beginnings.

All in the month of May, I helped move my husband from Portland to San Francisco (knowing I wouldn't be joining him until mid-July) so that he could start his new job; I took my written exams at Montessori Northwest (three days of writing essays!); I celebrated my 2-year wedding anniversary; and I finally finished coloring/painting all of the timelines and charts that supplement the lessons given in the Elementary classroom--which felt like quite a feat!

Then suddenly and without warning, May turned to June. I survived the oral examination at MNW and graduated from the training center with my AMI Elementary teaching diploma; I packed all my belongings, and my darling husband moved them down to San Francisco; then I immediately flew to the opposite side of the country where I am currently taking three summer courses at Loyola University Maryland.

My time in the oh-so-lovely & dear-to-my-heart Portland, Oregon may have come to an end. And my time in the AMI Elementary teacher training may have passed. But my passion has multiplied, my knowledge has expanded, and my confidence as a Montessori teacher and guide has increased. 

It was a truly memorable part of my life, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my husband, my family & friends, my trainer, and my awesome, inspiring cohort of elementary Montessorians who are all headed out into the world to do amazing work with children.

It's a blurry photo, but this is my husband celebrating with me after I received my diploma.

“If we wish to become successful teachers in this new educational method, we must reconsider our task and our personality as teachers. We must take upon ourselves the mission of bettering the condition of education. The main task is not to learn the method, but to open a new and better way of life for the child.”

-Dr. Maria Montessori

Now I am looking ahead at what is to come! I'll be moving to San Francisco in 3 weeks. I will have just enough time to settle into my new home, and hopefully, to do a bit of exploring around the area. In August, I will join the staff and community at a wonderful Montessori program in San Mateo. I couldn't be more excited to meet the children and families! 

For now, I want to share with you an excerpt from a beautiful poem written by the late Dr. Maya Angelou and recently read aloud to our class at MNW by the Director of Elementary Training, Elise Huneke-Stone. I encourage you to track down and read this poem in its entirety. These words inspire me and fill me with hope for the future of our world. I hope they do the same for you.

A Brave and Startling Truth

“We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms...

...We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines...

...When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.”

- Dr. Maya Angelou

Ode to Shakespeare

Well, perhaps not an ode. But an honorary post, nonetheless. For today would be William Shakespeare's 450th birthday.

So I thought I'd write about ways to incorporate the great playwright and poet's works into the classroom.

Sadly, I don't think I ever actually studied Shakespeare until middle school when I went on a history field trip to a Shakespeare Festival to see a Julius Caesar performance. (I LOVED it, by the way). "But, isn't Shakespeare too advanced for the elementary child?", you ask. Absolutely not! On the contrary, I think it could spark some really interesting and in-depth work.

Why, just recently while 'practice teaching' at a local school, I had a child ask for a lesson on calligraphy. I thought, "Why not print out one of Shakespeare's sonnets and let her practice her calligraphy penmanship whilst soaking in his beautiful words at same the time?"

The sonnet was a hit! Before bringing out the quills and ink, the child and her friend read it aloud, trying to decipher the antiquated verbiage. They wondered and giggled with delight about words such as thee and thou and hath. 

For a more uniquely Montessori activity, Shakespeare can also be used to compare grammar styles using the grammar symbols. The child could first symbolize a work by Shakespeare.

This is an example created by me, not a child. However, I imagine that the beauty of this sonnet AND the grammar symbols used in tandem would greatly appeal to the children's sensibilities.

Next, the child might also symbolize a modern poem or sonnet, then compare the two writing styles. 

And for a final Shakespeare-related activity geared toward children in the second plane of development, who doesn't think that they might be interested in acting out a Shakespearean play? Of course they would! 

I imagine a scene of excited young ones transforming one end of the classroom into a stage--some donning period attire and others dressed as sprites or fairies. All reciting the magnificent prose from A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

And on that note, I'll leave you with Puck's farewell monologue:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

-Puck, from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Sharing Some Light

Snow day at Kennedy park.

Classroom observations. Snow days. Practice teaching. Husband's birthday. More practice teaching. Valentine's Day. Album Submissions. Charts Submissions. Montessori Job Fair at MNW. And the list goes on.

Life has been a beautiful, whirlwind as of late. So much is happening all at once. It's exciting and slightly stressful at the same time. I have to really push myself to stay focused and  keep on top of it all. 

I took a short break from my work to play in the snow! Portland Snowpocolypse 2014.

For now I'd simply like to leave you with some inspiration that I've collected from around the interwebs:

First up is the Big History Project. It's basically an advanced version of Montessori's Cosmic Education. It's a multidisciplinary study of the history of the world, and it starts with the formation of Earth. The curriculum is geared toward high schoolers, but if it was brought into a Montessori adolescent classroom, I imagine it would be a HUGE hit! The original course was developed and taught in a university setting by professor David Christian (watch his TED Talk about Big History). The online project is funded by philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Check it out!

Next, I came across the website of traveling, freelance artist Jillian Maeve. Her portfolio includes a collection of absolutely stunning Cosmic Education illustrations that were used as an interactive art exhibit at the 27th International Montessori Congress that took place in Portland this past summer. Her website also features a sample of her Montessori Album illustrations. I absolutely cannot get enough of her work! Go take a look. You'll be glad you did. 

That's all I have to share for now. The snow has melted, the Portland rain has returned, and I have lessons to type for my albums.

So, until next time, I'll be sending light and love your way.