On October 24th at 6:30 PM, Ms Hart will be treating us to a hands-on Montessori Parent Education Night. But who is this mysterious Ms. Hart? We had the chance to catch up with her and learn a few things…
Tuesday, October 24 – 6:30 to 8:00 pm in Library
Maple Grove PAC invites you to the Fundamentals of Montessori Education, an engaging and interactive evening session with Maple Grove’s primary Montessori Teacher, Elizabeth Hart. In a ‘show and tell’ format you will learn about the Montessori Philosophy, Methodology and what it looks like at Maple Grove School. This is the first in a 3-Part series that will be presented throughout our 2017-18 school year
All Maple Grove Parents and Teachers Are Welcome! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how our dual track school programs compliment and support one another. You will also meet other parents and I hear there might be baked goods.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION & TO REGISTER PLEASE RETURN THIS Montessori Education Form BY NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 19th.
Thank you and I can’t wait to see each and every one of you there!
Recently I was having a conversation with a Montessori parent who was feeling concerned about whether Montessori was a good fit for her son – or, indeed, for any boy.
Since I don’t go in for wholesale generalizations and stereotypes about girls and boys I dug deeper and determined that when she said “boy” she meant an physically active child with perhaps a lower concentration threshold. Continue reading
Thanks to all the parents who came out to the Montessori Finance Committee meeting last Tuesday. We got a lot done and it was a pleasant and effective group. If you weren’t able to be there, please consider coming out next time (date TBD).
Here are some points that were discussed/decided at the meeting. Continue reading
Last week I talked about the money a little bit. We rely on your parent donation to provide the Montessori materials in your child’s classroom – the Vancouver School Board does NOT allocate funds for those materials.
The Maple Grove PAC executive have been striving for greater parent involvement and transparency around the allocation and disbursement of funds. If you would like to know more about this I invite you to come to a meeting and be a part of the Maple Grove Montessori Finance Committee. Continue reading
Welcome back! You made it through the first week! Hope you are all surviving and thriving…
I’m working on a bunch of (regular, consistent, continuing) content for this year but I wanted to make some general announcements here. Continue reading
This summer I met a wonderful mum who opted not to send her child to Maple Grove in Kindergarten because of morning recess. I respect this mum and trust that she knows what’s best for her child; it all worked out when her daughter was accepted into Tyee in Grade 2.
But it’s a concern that is expressed a lot by families with a more orthodox Montessori background. With the dual stream schools, the traditional 2-3 hour uninterrupted work period cannot happen because of recess.<!–more–>
I respect the pure view that recess, well, interrupts the uninterrupted work cycle. But this is one more occasion where I truly appreciate the dual stream approach as a benefit.
Because kids need more recess. We are continually learning about the importance of free play for children.
The Canadian Paediatric Association urges its members to advocate for “…the protection of childrens’ recess time and extracurricular PA programs and non-structured PA before, during and after school hours”. The American Pediatric association has a specific position paper specifically about the critical role of recess for children.
There are, I’m sure, negatives to interrupting the uninterrupted work cycle but let’s not forget that there may be positives too.
More:
Recess is Not a Privilege (Montessori Rocks)
Amazing video of a 4 year old during his uninterrupted work cycle
Work/Play Balance – a Montessori Perspective
Healthy Kids Blog – Recess in Schools
