THE POWER OF PLAY
lower elementary teacher, Susan Gray

Recently, I read another thought-filled book by David Elkind. The title of his 2007 book, The Power of Play - learning what comes naturally, caught my attention and was one of those eye-opening books. Other books by Dr. Elkind include: The Hurried Child, All Grown Up and No Place to Go, Miseducation, Reinventing Childhood, and Grandparenting: Understanding Today's Children. In his introduction to The Power of Play Elkind states: "Children's play--their inborn disposition for learning, curiosity, imagination, and fantasy--is being silenced in the high-tech, commercialized work we have created." He also writes: "Over the past two decades, children have lost twelve hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play and outdoor activities." Some areas he addresses are health consequences for the child resulting from the disappearance of play, the psychological consequences of the failure to engage in spontaneous self-initiated play, and that schools may contribute to the suppression of curiosity, imagination, and fantasy (one point was that many elementary schools are eliminating recess in favor of more time for academics.) It was a treat to read several passages and references to Montessori education in his book.

Part One of this book deals with the changing world of play, and these titles of the chapters give helpful hints about the direction of his writing: "Play, Love, and Work: An Essential Trio," "Toys Aren't Us," Screen Play and Iconic Literacy," and "Child Play and Parent Angst." Part Two opens with a discussion on three misunderstandings about how youngsters learn - then moves on to his theories on learning through play. He states: "Young children create learning experiences through four major types of play—mastery play, innovative play, kinship play, and therapeutic play. Mastery play makes it possible for children to construct concepts and skills. Innovative play occurs when the child has mastered concepts and skills, and introduces variations. Kinship play initiates the child into the world of peer relations. Therapeutic play gives children strategies for dealing with stressful life events." He continues, "I recognize that this division of play types is artificial, and I introduce it only for purposes of discussion; infants and young children don't divvy up their learning into categories. Their intellectual, social, and emotional learning occurs at the same time. So the types of play that I identify here should not be considered compartments with hard-and-fast boundaries."

The next area that Elkind delves into is "playing for a reason: building the units of math, reading, and science. An interesting example of this kind of play occurs in the fort cultures of children, in which children demonstrate that they need their own space as well as time for play. If you were to observe Ruffing's upper elementary at play time, you might see some of their fort cultures at work (or is it play?) (or is it work and play?) (or is it work, play, and love?).

Part Three of The Power of Play is really fun-filled reading. It begins with a chapter titled, "Lighthearted Parenting." Elkind reminds us to use humor to help us in our ongoing effort to integrate play, love, and work in our own child-rearing practices. Use humor to help children to socialize. Use humor to discipline. He reminds parents to share their own passions with their children and to establish patterns of family play, games, and shared experiences. Elkind includes charming vignettes to emphasize the powerful tool of humor.

His closing chapter is "Schooling with Heart, Mind, and Body." In this chapter Montessori education was given several "mentions" and accolades. He writes, "I can offer anecdotal evidence of the fact that children appreciate the value of a Montessori education: those of my students who have gone to a Montessori school are uniform in their praise. They seem to be thankful for what they learned and for being given a standard against which to assess high-quality educational practice." That's a joy for Montessori folks to read!

The epilogue of this book is titled, "Gifts for a Lifetime," and it closes with this reminder: "It is only when we integrate play, love, and work that we, as children and adults, can live happy, healthy, and productive lives." So...read this book and play, play, play - more often, unstructured, outdoors, and passionately!

Gardening with Children
by Bridget Rotman

Gardening is a wonderful way for children to connect with nature and nurture living things. It provides learning opportunities when studying parts of seeds, flowers and plants. Children love to dig in the dirt and get great exercise while doing so. We are fortunate to have classroom gardens where our children can be part of the growing process. They have ownership of the gardens as well as the food and flowers produced in them. We have had the beautiful opportunity of planting seeds and watching them sprout inside. We transfer them into our garden when weather allows. We watch them strengthen and grow. Our classroom gardens are the place to be in late summer and early fall. The children cut the flowers we grew to do flower arranging work or use our abundant basil to make pesto. They also love digging up and scrubbing a carrot to crunch on. Passers by enjoy plucking off cherry tomatoes to snack on as much as the children in the classroom enjoy picking, cleaning and eating them. Our gardens are beautiful extensions of our classrooms and the children thrive in them.

Below are some wonderful tips for gardening with children.

Give them their own garden beds. Whether you use raised beds, containers or ground plots, be sure to give each child his or her own separate plot. Keep it small, very small for young kids. Put their plots right in the middle of the action, with the best soil and light. Set them up for success.

Reuse the sandbox. If your children have grown past their sandbox years, consider converting the old sandbox to a garden bed. This gives the child continued 'ownership' of a familiar space and encourages a sense of responsibility to the gardening project.

Give them serious tools. Cheap plastic child's gardening tools are worse than no tools at all; they break easily and frustrate the user. It can be hard to locate good tools for kids, especially work gloves that fit a small hand. With some garden tools, like a hoe or spade, you can easily saw the handle shorter. Let them use your tools if need be; in this way you're acknowledging the importance of the work they're doing.

Engage them through the entire process, from seed to table. Children learn better when they understand the context of their activity. They will learn that gardening can be fun, but far more than idle play; they are contributing to the family well-being. Besides planting and nurturing their garden beds, be sure they alone do the harvesting and preparation of their crop for the table, no matter how modest the offering.

Start from seeds. While it's a convenient shortcut to buy starters, children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins with seeds. The care given to sprouting seeds and nurturing the young seedling are a valuable part of the gardening experience.

When all else fails, make a scarecrow. The best time to engage children in gardening is when they're in the mood for this activity. If their attention wanes, or the garden tasks become boring, let them build a scarecrow. This activity is still a contribution to the gardening effort and adds another layer of interest to the garden scene. It also reminds the child of the importance of the crop.

Source: Eartheasy.com - Gardening with children

WHY YOU SHOULD COOK AND BAKE WITH YOUR CHILD
by Erin Mandalfino, All-day Childrens' House Directress

There is no greater period of development of an individual in either physical or psychological growth, than in the first plane of development. From birth to 6 years of age, the foundation of one's personality is developed. The first plane of development is divided into 2 sub phases; birth to age three and age three to six.

In the first sub phase, the most ideal environment for a child is one that is consistent in routine and provides a positive environment with a secure attachment to the adult. A secure, healthy attachment is an important development that will lay the foundation for the child's trust level in all his future endeavors and transitions. This primary trust level will be the basis for all of the child's future relationships.

The second sub phase is characterized by a child's desire to achieve greater levels of independence, resulting in self-confidence through physical interactions with his environment. Physical manipulation of the environment facilitates the cohesive development of mind and body. The home environment and the classroom environment can provide motives of activity that foster the natural development of mind and body integration.

Dr. Montessori discovered through keen observations that children enter into a new period of development around age 3. Modern neuroscience has confirmed her astute observations. When a child is born, his nerves are not completely developed. This is why in infants and toddlers, their movements are erratic, impulsive and less coordinated. Montessori described these movements as a period of unconscious absorption. The myelin sheath which covers the nerves and is responsible for sending messages to and from the brain is not completely developed until around age three. The development begins at the body's core and moves out toward the extremities as the child ages and is completed around age 3. Unaware of this physiological development, Montessori determined that age 3 was a period of more conscious growth and development. It is this transition in development that we want to capitalize on in order to maximize the child's potential with hopes of providing a strong foundation on which to grow. We do this through interactions with real things, in an environment that supports this developmental stage.

An environment that allows for exploration and freedom to move is supportive of a child's natural development. Children learn by utilizing all their senses. If they are allowed to see, hear, smell, touch and taste, they are providing their brain with an immense inventory of experiences. These experiences and the engagement of the brain develop a cohesive mind and body integration.

In the Children's House, we support this developmental stage by providing motives of activity. Motives of activity are a piece of work that is done with the hands with real things accompanied by mental concentration and movement. And this is what sets us apart from many of the traditional preschools. We understand how the brain develops through the use of the hands and we foster the natural development through purposeful motives of activity.

The emphasis in our environment on baking or cooking with children stems from the direct aims of developing concentration, developing fine and gross motor control and developing independence in the child. These characteristics are observable in a child as integrated behavior. This one activity provides opportunities to fulfill a child's needs for movement and independence, and engage his mind and body, thus strengthening this natural physiological development of mind and body integration.

Baking is real, not make-believe. Baking satisfies and stimulates all the domains of development-cognitive, social, emotional and physical, and it provides numerous opportunities for mind and body connections. We want engagement, not busy work.

Baking with children is one example of an activity that meets the needs of a child at any age. The beauty of it is that the difficulty can be increased as the child matures. When working with children, it is possible to filter all your ideas through some very basic principles and continually provide an environment that enhances learning abilities. Give children something real to be done with the hands, accompanied by mental concentration and integrated movements. Whether it be raking leaves, cleaning windows, bathing a pet, driving nails into a log or washing the car; an activity should have a full cycle of activity with a beginning, middle and end, and it should be fun!

The Human Tendencies
by Dave Kosky , Lower Elementary Director

Humans were given the gifts of intelligence, love, reason and will. We have the power to modify and adapt to any environment based on our needs. Human beings evolved in a unique way and are endowed with intelligence, instincts and movement. There were three elementary needs to keep us alive: food, shelter and clothing. Our early ancestors found a means to sustain these basic needs on the first day of their existence. The ability to satisfy the need for food occurred because s/he looked, found and experimented with that which was necessary to stay alive.

Dr. Maria Montessori determined that there are human tendencies that exist in each individual which stimulate her/him within the society. Human tendencies are unchanging and individual. They help humans to survive and adapt in a particular time and environment.

The Human Tendencies are

1. Order. The tendency for order helps in the understanding of one's surroundings. For a child it means s/he has the need for predictable events in her/his life; for example, an ordered environment where everything has a certain place. As educators, we provide an ordered environment with things in a well-defined place.
2. Orientation. This tendency is the ability to orient oneself in new situations.
3. For a child it means that s/he needs to know where and how s/he fits into a particular time or environment and how to adapt. As educators, we must give the child the freedom and the information necessary to his/her orientation without too much guidance.
4. Exploration. This tendency is the curiosity leading to explore and the desire to understand. It renders living better materially and spiritually.
5. We are all potential explorers with a tremendous desire to learn, research, read and travel. As educators, we can easily see that children are the best explorers and they must have the freedom to explore as rich an environment as possible.
6. Communication. This tendency is the ability for living beings to understand each other as well as to be understood. This takes the three forms of speaking, writing and reading. As educators, freedom of speech, listening, and story telling help enable speaking. Research and creative writing help to develop writing. Reading by the child is nurtured through reading to the child by the adult, as well as preparatory exercises in the classroom.
7. Activity. It is the ability to move which involves both the mind and body. A child is restless and needs constant activity which seems purposeless to the adult. As educators, we must give the child the freedom to move around.
8. Manipulation. It is the tendency to touch and to handle on's surroundings to give control over an activity. A child has the need to touch, feel and to experience the physical world. As educators, we must give the child this experience through Montessori materials in language, math and science.
9. Work. The tendency to work is related to the tendencies of activity and manipulation. It is the ability to put into reality what the imagination suggests. It enables independence and dignity as well as a feeling of rest. As educators, we realize the child's need for his/her self-construction and we must therefore never judge or stop a child's work, realizing that his/her goals are different than ours. We must also give the child the freedom to work at her/his own pace in a stimulating and appropriate environment.
10. Repetition. This tendency is the ability to do over and over again an exercise in order to reach perfection and to experience the joy of increased control and understanding of one's world. When a child is not satisfied with her/his performance in one activity or does not get any joy from it, s/he will repeat the same exercise several times. As educators, we must provide materials that are easily accessible and allowable to be used over and over again.
11. Exactness. It is the desire to be precise and constant so that things are objective. It is a necessary tendency to survive (to maintain stability and prevent accidents). As educators, we give the child the freedom to repeat an activity until it reaches a point of exactness. He/she is shown exactly how to properly use the materials.
12. Abstraction. It is the ability to reason beyond the limits of the concrete as well as to generalize and interpret. This tendency will not develop in a child unless s/he has had enough concrete experience. As educators, we must allow concrete experiences through the materials in order for these to provide a solid understanding of the concepts intended.
13. Self-perfectionIt is the development of the person to a point that is satisfying to the person himself. As educators, it is the aim of the Montessori teacher to teach the children so that they can control themselves and this is done through the environment itself.

Spend time noticing these tendencies in your child as well as yourself!

The theme of cosmic education is best summed up in the following quotation from Dr. Montessori:

"The child will develop a kind of philosophy which teaches this unity of the universe; this is the very thing to motivate his interest and to give him a better insight into his own place and task in the world and at the same time presenting a chance for the development of his creative energy."

As directors and directresses of a Montessori classroom, our task is to give areas where interests of the child may be discovered rather than setting up a program for the child to follow. Cosmic education, the centers of interest are to be given to the child and we are to trust the power of the mind to work by itself. It is in the cosmic plan that we have faith in the child to let him go, then keep the fires of interest burning so he continues to explore. Cosmic education follows the psychic needs of the 6-12 year old child's insatiable thirst for knowledge. Our task as directors and directresses is to open a new field of exploration for the child.

Dr. Montessori believed that the cosmic idea has been the natural plan wherever there was education in the real sense of the word. This will happen, when the child understands the creation of the world and man's place in it. The preparation of cosmic education must first begin from ages 0-6 with the sensorial foundations during the first plane of development. That foundation is an indirect preparation for the cosmic education in the second plane (6-12). Cosmic education at the elementary level helps the child relate to the universe and to humanity in such a way that it enables him to understand the law and order underlying his existence, and to realize in himself all the developmental potential that is his own particular unique birthright, and at the same time, be able to accept and realize his personal responsibility in the universe and society.

Cosmic education enables the child to find his place in the universe, by studying the contributions of those before him and the child will be touched with a sense of generosity to all of humanity. Plants and animals were also given a cosmic task. For example, early invertebrates during the Paleozoic Era cleaned the sea by eating the calcium carbonate, thus enabling new forms of life to evolve. It was instinct that made the animal survive, but humans were granted with intellect and will which made them create their own path through life. It is through cosmic education that the child learns how the universe was prepared for him and what place he has in it.

IMAGINATION
by Susan Gray, Lower Elementary Directress

Here are some notes gleaned from my Montessori teacher training course - from a lecture on "imagination." I was privileged to have Montessori theory lectures from an esteemed Montessorian, Margaret Stephenson, a delightful English woman who was trained by Maria Montessori herself. Miss Stephenson often told her students to remember to "sow the seeds" of knowledge, but cautioned us (the teachers or guides) to keep from pulling up the young plant (the child) by the roots just to see if something was indeed growing (constantly measuring the child's growth). She would say, "Will it grow if you keep taking up its roots?"

In the elementary years the child explores more by imagination and less with the senses as in the Children's House. The elementary lessons, or presentations, change in the way they are given to the child or children - not as the very precise, almost silent presentations of the Children's House. The elementary lessons are sometimes something solemn, sometimes something extraordinary, sometimes just a quick opening of a door. Lessons are frequently given to a small group of children, but at certain times given to the entire class.

After getting one of the elementary "great lessons," the teacher allows the mind of the elementary child to catch on fire with unrest to explore beyond what was said or shown. It is this unrest that leads the child to work, to research. By giving just a glimpse, limiting what is said in the presentation, choosing words carefully, the teacher allows the child to imagine that there is something beyond. Then once the child finds satisfaction, comes the rest, the peace - the real thinking time.

In lessons at the elementary level the answers often may not lie in one subject area, as the answer to history may lie in geography or biology work; or the answer to language may lie in geography and history. So a teacher may arouse the vision of the child in that whole, interrelated scheme that brought the universe into being and gave us a special place in it.

As we make use of the imagination, we are aware of the creative force of the intellect. This is the stage when the seeds can be sown because the child can use imagination and reason; we can give the child all of culture - the why, the reason for the fact. The creative power of the imagination is limited if we tie the child to the curriculum, if we constantly measure what the child has learned. We must set the imagination traveling through time and space so the intellect is free to explore the interests it will and go where it will. This is liberty in the prepared environment for the elementary child. Put the world into the classroom. If we put children in contact with the story of the universe, the child finds not only a way to gather knowledge, but also creates himself through the imagination.

So... we give the child not just the universe, but also society. With imagination the child can put himself in the place of those who were before him - in contact with the great works of nature, or of humans' accomplishments in art, science, literature, music, culture, life, and all of its manifestations - this feeds or fuels the creative imagination. Isn't this invention? If we help children to move their minds in time and space then the imagination is a telescope in time.

THE GREAT LESSONS
by Dixie Kosmin, Lower Elementary Directress

In the beginning of each school year, lower elementary teachers tell the great stories, also known as the great lessons. As I have been preparing for and telling these stories, I am struck again by their importance to the elementary curriculum as well as how perfectly they are designed for lower elementary children. The children truly love listening to these stories each year. I'm always amazed at how quickly the children settle in and how intently they listen to the stories.

Dr. Montessori says the work of elementary children is the acquisition of culture rather than the absorption of the environment as it was in earlier years. What better way to begin the quest than with a story about the creation of the universe? The first great story opens the entire universe up for the child. Now he can study whatever interests him in that universe. The stories of the alphabet and numerals encourage the children to begin thinking about humankind and all of its contributions to our society.

Children in the elementary are developing their sense of imagination rather than relying so heavily on sensorial experiences as they did in the children's house. The great stories allow these children to flex their imagination muscles. They can think about the earth at its very beginning when it was just a hot ball of gas and dust. The imagination is the only way to experience this. The children use their imaginations to think about how early human beings might have communicated with one another before they even had words. Stories of early life encourage children to imagine what the earth might have looked like to the first fishes or early mammals. Imagine a dragonfly as big as a child - incredible!

Elementary children have a voracious appetite for knowledge. They want to know everything about everything. They do this through the acquisition of knowledge which increases their powers of judgment, thinking, and reasoning. The more they know about, the more they can exercise these powers of critical thinking. The great stories give them some of this information, but are also broad enough to merely hint at other concepts. This leads the children into further studies based on their individual interests. For example, after hearing the story of the alphabet, a group of children may decide to do some research to learn more about hieroglyphics, the Phoenicians, or even the color purple. All of these topics are touched on briefly in the story. A director or directress never knows which part of a story will spark an interest in the children. This is why elementary children are given the freedom to research topics independently.

The great stories also appeal to the elementary child's developing a sense of responsibility. These children are beginning to feel accountable for their actions and they want to do what is right. The great stories impress upon the child that it is our responsibility to maintain a balance between the elements on earth. The stories also tell of human beings who have made our society what it is today. They talk of people working together to solve collective problems. We know the names of some of these people and some we do not, but we are thankful to all of them.

Year after year, I continue to be in awe of the Montessori Method and how well it works with the children. At times, it seems truly magical and I am thankful to be part of it.

To learn about the Five Great Leessons, click here.