A kind, gentle North Austin community school
We had so much fun making our Jack-O-Lanterns this morning! It definitely takes a village of varied talents to accomplish carving 7 pumpkins in one morning. Above all, you need an amazing parent community. Many thanks to the two parents who were able to help. Their patience and organization made it all possible. It takes […]
The sun has set on another wonderful weekend together in nature. Those who know us know that we love the outdoors. From time to time we get the opportunity to extend that beyond our playground and birthday parties and go camping! Besides just enjoying the beauty of the central Texas outdoors, our camping trips are […]
One of the most-cited phrases used about a Montessori education is “follow the child.” So, just how much do we actually do that? And, how is that even safe? We Montessorians often speak of independence. We want the child to be able to choose what she or he wants to do. But, of course, we […]
our students have been asking about the rain, where it comes from, where it goes. And why it’s now gone?!?
As we move around our playground, we keep finding math lessons! Dr Montessori observed that “Children display a universal love of mathematics,” and we have definitely found that this spring. From simple quests like “go find five different leaves” to doing impromptu lessons with wood cookies and sticks (at right, and above) Of course, we […]
All year long, we’ve been expanding our outdoor classroom, and this month was no exception. We’ve brought outside a full compliment of Practical Life materials for kids of all ages. These activities, such as pouring water, spooning rice, watering the flowers and sweeping (both practice and actual) are things that we do every day. These […]
“But what do humans do?” Khuloud asked during today’s lunchtime discussion about the sun and trees and what they “do.” After a moment to reflect, a 5-year-old responded “To not pollute the Earth!” Dr Maria Montessori spoke often of a Cosmic Education. She believed that we are all one, that the whole planet–plants, rocks, animals, […]
Monday might be his holiday, but today MLK would have turned 92. In honor of this event, and so that our young students might be aware of why Monday is a holiday, this morning we read a book about him, Martin’s Big Words (by Rappaport and Collier). (Note: for our ages, the story is abridged, […]
Our holiday materials are back It’s December, and that means cooler weather and new works on our shelves. After a month of smashing golf tees into pumpkins and learning the parts of a turkey, now we’ve moved on to cutting out snowflakes, learning the parts of a snowman and sorting wreaths and candy canes. but… […]
This morning everyone arrived in costume for some Halloween fun with witches & skeletons, turtles & sharks, Batman & Violet, and even a unicorn and an entomologist! We can’t lie, we missed our usual costume parade, Sing-a-Long and Parent Social and other fun from yesteryear, but kids love their pretend play and of course costumes […]
This fall, enjoying the outdoors is our #1 prevention tactic against “the virus”–as the children call it. As such, it seems appropriate to use this space to discuss just how our playground operates. This post is not about is how, little-by-little, we’re bringing our Montessori academic materials outside–that’s an on-going, still-evolving structural change to be […]
The path had begun years ago, but COVID expedited our emphasis on spending time on our playground.