I started a new kiddo yesterday. Yay! A full-time toddler. She's a cutey too. It was a rough day though. She's young and I'm sure it's all a bit overwhelming for her. But we'll get through this transition period.
I'm excited to have two full-time kiddos now though. I'm hoping this momentum will keep going and I'll get even more enrollment. I guess time will tell. I really want to see this daycare get into full swing though!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Montessori-uninspired
Well, I'm officially Montessori-uninspired. No offense meant to those who are into the Montessori approach. However, as I've been reading more and learning more I've come to realize that I don't really believe Montessori is the best approach for me and my daycare. There are some aspects of it that just don't appeal to me.
That being said, I've been reading the book "Raising and Amazing Child the Montessori Way" and I will continue reading it. There are some great ideas in the book even though I'm not a fan of the whole Montessori approach.
What it comes down to is that Montessori feels too rigid to me. For example, a work is presented to a child. The child is shown how the work should be used (there is one way) and the child is only allowed to use the work in that one way, clean up the work, put it away, and then get a different work. So if a child wanted to combine a couple of works, that would not be allowed. For example, if a child had a cylinder work (it's a work that involves cylinders that vary in depth and circumference) and decided to stack it like a tower, that would be incorrect and a child would be instructed to use the work correctly. If a child wanted to use the cylinders with a dollhouse in order to create furniture, that would be considered inappropriate use of the work. Granted, I'm sure that is not everyone's experience of Montessori as even Montessori schools vary to the degree as to how they interpret Montessori method. However, that approach would be true to method.
Maria Montessori created her program to help children who were horribly disadvantaged, many being street children. It's easy to see why a highly structured approach did them a world of good. However, for me, it seems as though it would inhibit imagination.
Montessori also was not a fan of fantasy play. Pretend play that imitates real life is encouraged in the Montessori environment. But fantasy play that revolves around imaginary animals, characters, and places would be discouraged. Maria felt that children should be involved in real world activity and that time spent in fantasy play was actually damaging for children. I could not disagree with Maria Montessori more on this idea. Fantasy play is a wonderful part of childhood and it would make me incredibly sad to think of children not creating imaginary worlds, animals, and characters.
I'm actually relieved to be so uninspired. I think that I was feeling a lot of stress as a result of my previous decision to be Montessori-inspired. So much of Montessori revolves around having appropriate works for this or that sensory experience, practical life skill, and other tasks. I don't believe children need a special set of cylinders to learn depth perception. Children are sponges and learn so much from the natural world around them. It seems silly to me to put so much emphasis on works that have isolated single concepts.
So anyways, goodbye Montessori. I will continue with what I was doing already. I try to get the children outdoors as much as possible. I think that in our culture spending time outdoors is undervalued. There is a special sense of well-being that comes from being outdoors, feeling the warmth of a summer breeze, touching the grass, digging in dirt, and watching the birds fly here and there. It's peaceful, relaxing, and exhilarating. I try to get the children out for a nature walk once a day. Additionally we go out for playtime outside in the morning. And provided everyone wakes up from nap and gets through afternoon snack before parents pick up, we go back outside for the afternoon.
Another thing that I will continue with is quality literature. I have poetry collections for young children as well as plenty of board books. Children are captivated by the lilting rhymes in well-written poetry. I use a lot of books from the Barefoot Books collection. They have books that emphasize quality storytelling, multiculturalism, green concepts, as well as many other wonderful subjects. I adore these books and would encourage their use in any home daycare program. There's a link on the right for anyone looking for books to add to their library.
Music is also something that I incorporate into much of our day. I LOVE using music for transitions. It really is effective to put a music CD on while I try to clean the kitchen up after snack or lunch. I have some instruments that I've purchased for music time. I have a drum, tambourine, shakers, and coconut clave sticks. I got my instruments from Nova Naturals and I love them. I also have my piano and the children love to sing and dance to piano music.
Well, anyways, I guess this has been a long post. But it's been awhile since I've updated and I wanted to share my new approach to my daycare.
That being said, I've been reading the book "Raising and Amazing Child the Montessori Way" and I will continue reading it. There are some great ideas in the book even though I'm not a fan of the whole Montessori approach.
What it comes down to is that Montessori feels too rigid to me. For example, a work is presented to a child. The child is shown how the work should be used (there is one way) and the child is only allowed to use the work in that one way, clean up the work, put it away, and then get a different work. So if a child wanted to combine a couple of works, that would not be allowed. For example, if a child had a cylinder work (it's a work that involves cylinders that vary in depth and circumference) and decided to stack it like a tower, that would be incorrect and a child would be instructed to use the work correctly. If a child wanted to use the cylinders with a dollhouse in order to create furniture, that would be considered inappropriate use of the work. Granted, I'm sure that is not everyone's experience of Montessori as even Montessori schools vary to the degree as to how they interpret Montessori method. However, that approach would be true to method.
Maria Montessori created her program to help children who were horribly disadvantaged, many being street children. It's easy to see why a highly structured approach did them a world of good. However, for me, it seems as though it would inhibit imagination.
Montessori also was not a fan of fantasy play. Pretend play that imitates real life is encouraged in the Montessori environment. But fantasy play that revolves around imaginary animals, characters, and places would be discouraged. Maria felt that children should be involved in real world activity and that time spent in fantasy play was actually damaging for children. I could not disagree with Maria Montessori more on this idea. Fantasy play is a wonderful part of childhood and it would make me incredibly sad to think of children not creating imaginary worlds, animals, and characters.
I'm actually relieved to be so uninspired. I think that I was feeling a lot of stress as a result of my previous decision to be Montessori-inspired. So much of Montessori revolves around having appropriate works for this or that sensory experience, practical life skill, and other tasks. I don't believe children need a special set of cylinders to learn depth perception. Children are sponges and learn so much from the natural world around them. It seems silly to me to put so much emphasis on works that have isolated single concepts.
So anyways, goodbye Montessori. I will continue with what I was doing already. I try to get the children outdoors as much as possible. I think that in our culture spending time outdoors is undervalued. There is a special sense of well-being that comes from being outdoors, feeling the warmth of a summer breeze, touching the grass, digging in dirt, and watching the birds fly here and there. It's peaceful, relaxing, and exhilarating. I try to get the children out for a nature walk once a day. Additionally we go out for playtime outside in the morning. And provided everyone wakes up from nap and gets through afternoon snack before parents pick up, we go back outside for the afternoon.
Another thing that I will continue with is quality literature. I have poetry collections for young children as well as plenty of board books. Children are captivated by the lilting rhymes in well-written poetry. I use a lot of books from the Barefoot Books collection. They have books that emphasize quality storytelling, multiculturalism, green concepts, as well as many other wonderful subjects. I adore these books and would encourage their use in any home daycare program. There's a link on the right for anyone looking for books to add to their library.
Music is also something that I incorporate into much of our day. I LOVE using music for transitions. It really is effective to put a music CD on while I try to clean the kitchen up after snack or lunch. I have some instruments that I've purchased for music time. I have a drum, tambourine, shakers, and coconut clave sticks. I got my instruments from Nova Naturals and I love them. I also have my piano and the children love to sing and dance to piano music.
Well, anyways, I guess this has been a long post. But it's been awhile since I've updated and I wanted to share my new approach to my daycare.
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