Montesecrets » Videos

It’s been a while…..

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 04:00:17 +0000

Hello guys. Yes, I know. I’ve been a very bad blogger. I blame life. You know, things happen. A lot of things happen! It’s been a long bumpy ride the last few months, but I’m happy to say that I’ve completed my AMS Early Childhood course and am anxiously waiting to receive my diploma in the mail. Receiving my college diploma wasn’t this exciting! I really worked hard and I am super excited to see my efforts documented by a piece of paper. I know that is so not “Montesssori”, but I grew up in the traditional system, and am conditioned to like “rewards”. (I’m working on it!)

How do you transform your classroom into the perfect environment? I underestimated the amount of work teachers go through when organizing their rooms. I know teachers who have spent 2 entire days solely on Practical Life. If you weren’t anal before you took the Montessori training, chances are you’ll become obsessive compulsive by the time everything is over. I remember when I set up my first classroom, I switched around small glass containers, changed beans, trays, utensils just about 100 times…..

I’m going to try to free up some time so I can document my experiences teacher. I’m sure a lot of people are in the same boat, and if I can offer any tips, that would be cool.

Tip #1

When setting up your classroom, allocate a good chunk of time towards Practical Life. Don’t underestimate it’s simplicity. The Practical Life area is CRUCIAL to the child’s success in the other areas of the class. With that said, it’s important to concentrate on tiny details to make sure that you provide your students with the best possible environment.

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Nursery University

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:47:28 +0000

Check out this trailer of a recent documentary that hit the screen-Nursery University.

Who would of thought that getting into Nursery school was harder than getting into Harvard?

Is this crazy or necessary? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Punching Shapes!

admin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:21:03 +0000

This activity helps a child develop fine motor skills by stregnthening their coordination and concentration.

All you need is some construction paper with various shapes outlined in black. In our class, we use a small piece of carpet to put underneath the paper. The child uses a large pushpin to carefully punch out the shapes! Voila! A fun and exciting activity!

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Who would of thought…

admin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:05:55 +0000

I’m too burnt out to write anything clever today, so I thought I’d post a YouTube video of my new favorite song. I was checking out Montessori schools in Florida, and I came across a school that had posted this song on their website. I admit, I had to play it over and over again because it was so beautiful.

Watch the video to hear Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole sing “Over the Rainbow”.

Who would of thought a big man like that could produce such a beautiful voice. Like my mama always said…don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

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Another famous Montessori graduate…

admin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:17:17 +0000

Did you know that Will Wright, creator of the best selling PC game in History, “The Sims” was a Montessori kid?I had no idea, but thanks to the beauties of twitter, you can find out anything now a days. Anyways, here’s another TEDtalks video where Wright briefly talks about Montessori and how it contributed to his success.

Enjoy!

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Edison’s Day

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:10:43 +0000

A must see Montessori Documentary! EDISON’S DAY (2006, 29 minutes)

Today at school we had a meeting for all of the assistant teachers. My school conducts meetings once a month to discuss ways we can improve ourselves and our classrooms. I personally think meetings are a GREAT way to open up the lines of communication between faculty and staff.

Anyways, during the meeting, we were shown a video called “Edison’s Day”. Let me tell you, my jaw was open the whole entire time! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The DVD documented a day in the life of a 20 month old boy named Edison, whose parents practiced the Montessori philosophy. At his age, he was able to dress himself, feed himself, express himself verbally, go to the bathroom and a bunch of other things I would have never expected a child his age be able to do. It was truly a remarkable thing to watch. His parents were so patient with him, and encouraged him to be independent. They created an environment for him in which he could explore the world around him, and be self-dependent. The boy was extremely bright and very confident in himself. I HIGHLY recommend anyone to check out the video. It just confirms why MONTESSORI is such a great philosophy. The video is a beautiful revelation. It’s a shame that more schools don’t implement the Montessori practice! What a different world we would be living in!

For more information on “Edison’s Day” check out the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association website. Under the “DVD’s/Videos Parents Education” you should find the DVD there.

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UPDATE: Thanks to Miri over at My Child’s Diary who told me about Meg at Sew Liberated, I was able to find the video online! Yipee! Enjoy!

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Montefakes continued….

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:08:12 +0000

Check this video out explaining the differences between true Montessori schools and Monte-fakes.

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Universal Pre-K…Is this good or bad?

admin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:58:52 +0000

Today, 20/20 aired a special report on Universal Pre-K in the United States.

What exactly is Universal Pre-K? From my understanding, this is a program that would give every 4 year old in America access to “quality” preschool regardless of socioeconomic status. It is state-funded, meaning that all children would be able to go to school for free.

During Obama’s campaign, he made it clear that restructuring the U.S. education system was one of his priorities, and Universal Pre-K was added to his agenda. Apparently, the rest of America agrees with the President because according to the report 67% support this program. But then again, this still leaves 33% of Americans who still aren’t sold on the idea.

Opposers of Universal Pre-K say the following:

1. Most American’s already have their children enrolled in Pre-schools and use their own money to pay for it. And for the parents who can’t afford sending their child to preschool, there are subsidies out there to assist them. If there were Universal Pre-K, taxpayers would have to shed out the dough to pay for EVERY child-regardless if they can afford it or not.

2. The government can’t even get K-12 right, so what makes us believe they can handle Pre-school programs.

3. Universal Pre-K would cost taxpayer billions of dollars which many claim we do not have, especially in this economy.

4. Private Preschools that are already established and fully functioning would have to adhere to Government standards. This would strip part of their identity away and lessen the need for competition.

5. The governments attempt at Early Childhood intervention through the Head Start Program didn’t produce the results as expected. Studies have shown that the benefits of preschool fade with time, and as children get older, it’s hard to tell which one’s went to Headstart, and which one’s didn’t.

6. Some studies have shown that students who attend too much preschool can be aggressive and disruptive.

7. Oklahoma and Georgia currently have state-funded Pre-schools and the results aren’t impressive.

I like the idea of Universal Pre-K, but under certain criteria.

First off, I think more money needs to go into the PREPARATION of the teacher. Writing papers, reading books, attending classes are just the tip of the iceberg. I think more hours need to be in the classroom observing children and understanding child development. Preschool isn’t about singing songs and playing duck duck goose. If people recognized the importance of Early Childhood education, maybe they’d begin to take it more seriously.

Second, states need to make it MANDATORY for Parents to be involved in their child’s education. Whether it be monthly Parent meetings, Phone conferences, Emails, House visits, or whatever….Parents need to be accountable for their child!

Third, schools need to have an adminstration that is made up of highly qualified professionals who have a strong foundation in Early Childhood Education.

I believe that Universal Pre-K will work, but it is going to require a TEAM effort between Teachers, Parents, and Schools.

It’s kind of ironic that now people are beginning to realize how important Early Childhood Education is. This is something that MONTESSORI had said over 100 years ago! If we invest in the education of our children, we are investing in our future. Let’s just hope the government will get it right this time around.

The first 5 minutes of the video talks about Universal Pre-K and it’s benefits. Check it out!

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Do not watch this!

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:00:03 +0000

I was browsing YouTube for Montessori videos, and I came across this ridiculous video about the Pink Tower.

Whoever created this video must of been smoking crack—the real heavy kind!

I think if Maria Montessori were to see this, she’d have a heart attack…..

A cartoon pink tower…..this is wrong in every way! LOL.

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Creativity (or lack of) in schools…

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:45:54 +0000

I stumbled across a website called www.ted.com.
It’s a series of lectures by many interesting people with life changing messages.
A particular video that caught my attention was the lectures by Ken Robinson. He talks about how schools “kill” creativity. He examines the traditional schools in todays times and explains how many education institutions fail to recognize the importance of children’s creativity.

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