Technical Guidance

/ Eat the Rainbow Please don't go chasing the rainbow when it next rains as I don't mean literally. What I do mean is eat a variety of coloured veg and fruit because eat colour will provide you with a different micronutrient for your body! / Compliment fruit with a fat Fat helps absorb the nutrients in food but will also help keep sugar levels normal. (See Fat Blog) e.g Apple with Nut Butter / Stay Hydrated Hydration is key for our bodies to be working at optimum try drinking 2-3L of water a day. Top Tip - carry a big bottle around with you... the more you drink, the lighter it gets! / Supplements If you're worried about not getting all your micronutrients you can buy supplements like multivitamins to help your body - I use the ones from Holland & Barrett (full blog coming soon) / Keep a Varied Diet   Keep your diet varied so your body doesn't get used to what it's eating. Our guts need a variety of bacteria which we will get from having a variety of fo...

Are you planning on graduating this semester?   If so, don't forget that your classes need to be completed by November 30th!  Our graduation ceremony is scheduled for December 7th at 7 p.m. at the Rhodes Conference Center in the Oak Grove Center.  The cost is $10, which includes your cap and gown, tassel and up to 8 invites.  **The last day to pick up your cap and gown will be November 30th from the West Campus** 

We are half way through the Fall 2017 semester! So exciting to see all the classes being completed! We have a fall graduation date -- Dec 7th! Stay tuned for more details to come! 

�� the first thing his education demands is the provision of an environment in which he can develop the powers given him by nature. This does not mean just to amuse him and let him do what he likes. But it does mean that we have to adjust our minds to doing a work of collaboration with nature, to being obedient to one of her laws, the law which decrees that development comes from environmental experience. �Maria Montessori The Advanced Montessori Method, p. 89. Children in the second plane of development (ages 6�12) are in a period when they are fascinated by knowledge understanding, and moral understanding, or what Montessori referred to as �culture.� (Grazzini) Their independence matures from �I can do it myself,� which predominates the first plane, to �I can think for myself.� Being able to think for oneself is the very basis of developing one�s own personal moral code of conduct. As the elementary-age child learns to think for himself, he seeks to understand the natural world aro...

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, �Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.� To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother�s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers � so many caring people in this world. � Fred Rogers It seems that the world has experienced many natural disasters this year. We have had raging wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta, and the western United States; devastating earthquakes in Mexico; severe flooding around the world, and an onslaught of hurricanes from Harvey and Irma to Maria. As we experience the effects of these disasters, either personally or through news stories and images, we must consider their impact on children. This certainly includes children who live in the affected areas, but children who are not personally affected may also have concerns as they become aware of the disasters and the damage they cause. C...

Preventing conflicts is the work of politics: establishing peace is the work of education. �Maria Montessori Education and Peace, p. 24. Can you imagine if we all just came together and concentrated on that which we have in common, rather than on our differences? We would find peace. That�s the hope and message of the Sing Peace Around the World Campaign , held annually to coincide with the United Nation�s International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day) . Montessori Peace Education: Singing Peace Around the World on World Peace Day On September 21, schools around the world, Montessori and non-Montessori alike, will gather at their assigned times to sing Shelley Murley�s song, �Light a Candle for Peace.� The song moves around the world throughout the day, starting with children singing in New Zealand and ending 24 hours later with the Hawaiian Islands. When Murley began the project in 2009, approximately 80,000 children from over 35 countries participated. Last year, Sing Peace Around ...

We have all been there. All of a sudden, the noise level in the classroom gets so loud, you wonder how anyone can possibly concentrate. Normally, it just takes a quick walk over to the �noisy table� and a quiet word to help the students settle back down. Now, however, it seems like the whole class is noisy. What can you do? My favorite way to quiet and bring calm back to a disruptive environment is to not do anything at all. I don�t mean I ignore the situation; I meant that I allow my own calm presence to set the tone. I started doing this as a public high school teacher over 20 years ago. I had a particularly boisterous twelfth-grade literature class right after lunch that really had trouble coming in and settling down. Instead of getting mad or angry, I would calmly pick up my book, sit down at my desk, and start reading. After a few minutes, the students would realize that I wasn�t trying to get their attention, and they would all start to quiet down. It worked like a charm! It kept...

Education, therefore, of little ones is important, especially from three to six years of age, because this is the embryonic period for the formation of character and of society, (just as the period from birth to three is that for forming the mind, and the prenatal period that for forming the body). �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 221�222. Where does the Montessori method begin? In The Absorbent Mind , Dr. Montessori tells us that �The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth.� (p. 4) But, Dr. Montessori did not begin developing her method with infants. She began with children who were between 3 and 6 years old. In the early 1900s, working parents had little choice when it came to childcare. Children who were 7 years old went to school. This meant that children 6 years and younger were left alone, caring for younger children for 8�10 hours each day. Montessori�s first school, the Casa dei Bambini, in the slums of San Lorenzo, proved to have horrendous cond...

**All students MUST retest! You will not be allowed to register until you have completed retesting!**   Walk in Registration for the fall semester will be  July 11, 12 and 13  9:00 - 1:30  Oak Grove Center  Room 4449

In the second plane, the children complete the foundation of their social selves. Through their reasoning minds and powers of imagination, they explore their universe, their community and their own place in social life. �Lillard, Montessori Today, p. 114. Before having the freedom to explore outside the immediate Montessori community, students must demonstrate responsibility within the Montessori environment. This freedom begins with choosing one�s own work during the day, working independently, and being a contributing member of the collective classroom community. Contributing members of any community help nurture and maintain the community. Within the Montessori environment, elementary students become responsible for the environment by learning to care for and maintain the classroom. Since the sensitive period for order occurs during the first stage of development, maintaining the classroom�s beauty and order no longer comes naturally. Instead, it must be modeled and practiced until ...

Congratulations on all of your hard work.   As of last night, our semester has ended.  You will not be able to log in to your account.  Every student needs to retest before July 11th, when our Fall semester starts back.  Call 734.7770 to set up an appointment with Susan or Nicki.   Hope you have a great summer break.  

The Montessori teacher�s specific responsibility is to aid human development through awareness of the children�s needs at each stage of self-formation. Through this approach to their education, the children can pass onto each successive plane of development well prepared for the challenges ahead. �Lillard, p. 114 Work journals in the Montessori elementary classroom can be a hotly debated topic. What do they look like? Who is responsible for them? Who decides what work is included? Somewhere along the way, we have lost the meaning of the work journal and turned it into a work plan . Keeping a journal involves more than a student making a list of what he has accomplished during the day. It provides him with an opportunity to reflect on what he has learned. Written after the fact, a journal shows the reader where the student has been instead of dwelling on where he must go. As such, the work journal is an assessment tool rather than a planning tool. Studying Montessori Today, Chapter 7: ...

**ATTENTION GRADUATES***  The last day to pick up your cap and gown is June 9th at the West Campus! 

� the best [educators] could do was to compromise, reducing hours in instruction to the minimum, cutting out from the curriculum grammar, geometry, and algebra, making outside play obligatory and postponing the age for entry into school. But however much free periods have been increased and children urged to play rather than study, strangely the children have remained mentally fatigued notwithstanding all these reforms. �Maria Montessori To Educate the Human Potential, p. 80. Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about children needing more time to play. Studies suggest spending time playing is more beneficial than spending time in the classroom. Play is being touted as the answer to everything from low test scores to behavior challenges. But wait a minute � if that were true, wouldn�t Montessori classrooms have hours of play time built into the day? Wouldn�t the emphasis in the Montessori environment be on play and not on learning? Wouldn�t Montessori children suffer from ment...

Cap and Gowns have arrived for those that have graduated! You will need to pay for them at the cashiers office and then show the receipt to Diane in room 6 at West Campus!  Also if you still plan on walking in graduation this year, ALL your classes need to be completed by June 1st. If you do not wish to walk, you can complete your classes by June 11th. NO EXCEPTIONS!  **Remember if you will not be graduating by the end of the semester (June 11th), you will have to come in and retest before you can re-enroll in July! Please call the office at 336.734.7770 to make your appointment to retest! 

The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 84. On my first day as a Montessori teacher, I entered the classroom with a plan already made. I had the whole first day meticulously thought out, down to the minute. The students and I would gather in a circle and get to know one another. We would tour the room and the shelves, eat snack together, and establish our classroom rules. We would also learn proper procedures for using materials, going to the bathroom, and so on. I did not foresee any real work happening for the first few days. Imagine my surprise, when, after greeting the last pupil, I entered the classroom to see 32 lower elementary students at work! Even the students who were new to Montessori had paired up with someone, and they all had mats unrolled with materials on them. They had not waited for instruction from me before they started their learning. It w...

It should be realized that genuine interest cannot be forced. Therefore, all methods of education based on centers of interest which have been chosen by adults are wrong. �Maria Montessori University of Amsterdam Lecture, 1950. The purpose of Montessori�s Five Great Lessons is to awaken a sense of wonder within students and serve as a catalyst to learning. By giving a story that leaves students asking �What happens next?� we open the door to the imagination. What comes next are the Key Lessons, lessons that allow the child to learn more. Where the Five Great Lessons present a whole, big picture, the Key Lessons provide topical details. Montessori Today, Chapter 4: The Key Lessons That Follow the Great Lessons New Montessori teachers, especially those that come from a conventional school background, often ask why the Five Great Lessons are so sparse on details. They want to bring in charts, graphs, PowerPoints, and technology. But when introducing something to students, less is more. ...

In the beginning, there was darkness. Doesn�t that sound like a great opening to a great story? It is almost as good as �Once upon a time.� When we tell a story like Cinderella to a child, we don�t begin by saying �This is a story about the triumph of good and evil.� Or �The moral of this story is that hard work and good character will be rewarded.� We don�t discuss the dichotomy of the notion of romantic love and reality or the dangers of wearing glass slippers. We invite children to listen to a story and let the magic of the words capture their imaginations. �In the beginning, there was darkness.� With these words, the Montessori teacher begins the First Great Lesson and introduces elementary students to the universe. Immediately, students are captivated. They understand this statement. They know darkness; they don�t need anyone to explain it. They have experienced it and can imagine what occurs there. Montessori Today, Chapter 4: The Great Lessons This powerful story about the begin...

Retesting...  All students who will NOT be finished with their classes by June 11th, need to come in and retest. All students are required to have a current score on file every year. Please call the office at 336.734.7770 to make an appointment

Graduation Information Graduation will be Thursday June 15th at 7:00 in the Rhodes Conference Center located on the 2nd floor of the Oak Grove Center.  If you are planning on walking in the ceremony, make sure that your classes are completed by June 1st.   Graduates: please send an email to Nicki: nfusco@forsythtech.edu with the following information:  1. 4 pictures (at least one of when you were younger)  2. a quote you live your life by 3. your career goals 4. what you like to do in your free time 

The next period goes from six to twelve. It is a period of growth unaccompanied by other change. The child is calm and happy. Mentally, he is in a state of health, strength and assured stability. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 18. During the second plane, children move from being egocentric to being social beings. They are self-confident and ready to see what the world has in store for them. According to Montessori, this is the intellectual period. The children�s thirst for knowledge transcends workbooks and tests. They need to know the secrets of the universe, and they will become engrossed in research and topics until they have satisfied that need. The intensity of their focus and concentration far surpasses the things and objects that appealed to them before. Help me discover it myself In the first plane, when children ask �why,� they want to know facts. Or, as Paula Polk Lillard says, although they say �why,� young children really want to know �what.� (Lillard, 1996) The...

It is at six years that one may note the beginning of an orientation toward moral questions toward the judgment of acts. The preoccupation belongs to an interior sensitivity, the conscience. �Maria Montessori From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 12. If the first plane of development can be called the �play-age� (Montessori, The Formation of Man ), then the second plane of development may be classified as the �age of rules.� In fact, Montessori tells us that �A second side of education at this age concerns the child�s exploration of the moral field.� (Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential , p. 4.) It is during this time that children consciously consider, explore, and question universal morality. This is also the age when children learn about and internalize universal principles of right and wrong. As elementary-age children begin to pull away from their family�s identity and start to develop their own identity, they also move toward their own understanding of right and wrong. In ord...

Instead of dividing schools into nursery, primary, secondary, and university, we should divide education in planes and each of these should correspond to the phase the developing individual goes through. �Maria Montessori The Four Planes of Education, p. 1. Dr. Montessori believed that growth, development, and learning happen in waves. She determined that children go through four distinct periods of development, which she called the planes of development. The four planes occur from birth�6 years old, 6�12 years old, 12�18 years old, and 18�24 years old. In each plane, children and youth are drawn to different skills and activities, and Dr Montessori believed that they can make enormous progress if they have opportunities to explore and practice these skills. The first plane is a time of monumental growth and development as the baby grows and learns to move, balance, develop coordination, learn to speak, and exercise her own will. All exploration is done through sensory experiences ...