Montessori At Home

Parents at Kingswood Montessori www.kingswoodmontessori.com have often asked how they can prepare their homes to follow the Montessori principles that their children are learning here at the school. Following is a great article form American Montessori Academy: Have you marveled at the remarkable order of the Montessori classroom? Has your toddler told you that at school she pours her own juice? Does your teenager hang or put away all her clothes—without being asked? Encouraging order, independence, and self-motivation are fundamental to the Montessori approach. Carefully designed classrooms allow students to develop competence in caring for themselves and their surroundings. And from the sense of pride that “I did it myself!” blooms the confidence to take on the world. Bringing Montessori principles into your home can be a valuable bridge to what your child learns at school. Here are some ways to build that connection. Create an Ordered Environment Having a place for everything, on a child-friendly scale, encourages both independence and self-discipline. Children know where to find what they need, and where to put it when they’re done. An ordered environment also has fewer distractions, allowing children to focus on the task at hand. To make things accessible to your young child: Provide low shelves or drawers for clothing; lower the rod in the bedroom closet. Keep a small step stool in the bathroom and kitchen so your child can reach the sink. Arrange toys and games on low open shelves with a particular place for each. Sort smaller items into trays or baskets by category, such as puzzles, art supplies, and blocks. Put healthy snacks and foods on a low pantry shelf so your child can help himself. Pour drinks into small, manageable pitchers placed on a low refrigerator shelf. Keep cups within your child’s reach—along with a sponge to clean up spills. Teach Real-Life Skills Montessori students are taught to take care of themselves and their classroom and to be helpful to others. They wash tables, organize shelves, prepare their own meals, and assist younger children. In addition to mastering real-life skills, they come to see themselves as valued members of the community. Parents here at Kingswood Montessori Academy in Homestead, Fl, have often asked me about how they can prepare their home to serve an extension of the Montessori classroom. Following is a great article for American Montessori Society that will guide you. Having your child help at home can bring similar rewards. Take the time to teach each skill separately and to repeat the lesson as needed. Each task your child masters adds to his confidence and self-esteem. Young children, for example, can peel vegetables, fold their clothes, match their socks, and care for pets. “Tweens” can sort the mail and take out the recycling. And adolescents can prepare the family dinner, read to their younger siblings, help with computer maintenance and home repair, and manage their own bank account. Promote Concentration The ability to focus and concentrate is an important skill for learning. You can help develop your child’s concentration by observing what sparks her interest. Set her up with the means and materials to explore it, and let her work without interruption. While your child’s work environment should be free of distraction, it doesn’t have to be away from family activity. Some children prefer working at the kitchen table or reading in a cozy corner of the living room to holing up in a bedroom or study. Observe your child’s response to various environments, ask questions, and make adjustments as needed. Nurture Inner Motivation Children are most willing to apply themselves when they feel there’s intrinsic value to their work. Some parents use external rewards as motivation, but only pride and pleasure from within has lasting, and meaningful, effects. Montessori teachers refrain from using traditional classroom rewards such as gold stars and merit-based privileges. Instead, they focus on nurturing each child’s personal sense of accomplishment. Even praise is given sparingly—saved to acknowledge a child’s effort, rather than the outcome of her work. By expressing encouragement and appreciation for your child’s efforts, you—like her teachers—help nurture an inner motivation that will serve her for life. Kingswood Montessori Academy is a private school in Homestead, Fl. Kingswood Monstessori is an accredited school serving children Toddlers through Elementary. www.kingswoodmontessori.com

Summer Time: Active Bodies and Active Minds

The Summer is finally here! The students look forward to it with such anticipation. A time to take it slow, after all they've worked hard all year, ... right? Well, before you send your child to three long months of relaxation take a moment to think about the possibility of keeping them engaged academically as well... always with fun in mind of course. The long summer months are a great time to reinforce key concepts your child has already mastered,. For the young preschoolers, fine motor skills are so important, older preschooler flashcards with sight words. For Elementary, read, read, read. Visits to the library are so much fun and they always have cool activities and math facts also with Flashcards for those long road trips, The teacher's store is a great resource to find cool workbooks for your child. I can not stress enough the importance of vocabulary building, any activity could be a an opportunity to introduce new words. We have 2 months left, have fun and LEARN! Kingswood Montessori it's a private school in Homestead, FL offering toddlers, preschool and Elementary students education as well as Summer Camp.

"Let's Sit Down For Dinner"

Last night I invited Dr. Joseph Mallet, child psychologist, to come and speak about positive discipline. He began his lecture with encouraging parents to sit down to dinner as a family every day. A simple routine that today with over scheduling, over working, over stimulation is sometimes lost.

Dinner time is a wonderful opportunity to expose children to new vocabulary, get sparks of interest on different topics and get their feedback on things that they are interested in and would like to explore further.

Those few minutes a day are an optimal time to build upon skills such as rational thinking, comprehension and cause and effect.

Some food for thought!

Peacocks: Friend or Foe?

We have a family of peacocks living at Kingswood. They stroll around right before sunrise and come out again at dusk. When the weather is cooperative they like to take afternoon walks. They are magical creatures, reminiscent of ancient times, that truly exemplify the beauty of nature. The preschool children scream with joy every time they see one, like if the bird was a super hero or their favorite cartoon character. Adults are also fascinated by them. Sometimes while giving tours, they decide to make a presence as to impress the new visitors. Sure enough they are always greeted by surprise and amazement by the new comers, and they ask me, "are the peacocks also part of the school," until recently my answer was always, "No."
Last October one of the upper elementary students came up to me very upset, apparently the peacock had eaten the pineapple she had so diligently planted with her friends. It turns out the peacocks like to eat all the seeds the children plant. This made all the bird's beauty and splendor disappear in the eyes of those children; all they saw now was a bird that destroyed all their hard work.
Yet the peacocks have caused us to come up with clever more efficient ways to make our gardens blossom. For example: researching plants that the peacocks dislike, and asking gardeners for their expert advice on building contraptions that will deter the birds from eating our seeds. The experience has taught the children the hard work that goes behind tending a garden, and appreciate more the fruits of their labor. Now and again the peacocks outsmart us and get away with their share of the harvest, but that only makes us want to continue to strive to be better. This process is called growth, and for that we are thankful to the peacocks! But besides all that, its still pretty cool to have peacocks at our school. :)

Healthy Kingswood Kids!

Children’s health is something of great concern to me. The statistics are alarming in this country. Lately you can’t pick up a parenting magazine without finding at least 5 articles about health issues. Unfortunately, even with all of this attention, our children are facing severe and worsening health challenges.
One out of four children suffers from allergies
One in ten children has been diagnosed with asthma
Type II diabetes is being diagnosed in children as young as 10
25% of our kids are overweight
One in twelve children has ADD or ADHD
One in ninety-one children is on the autism spectrum.
And for the first time in recent history, our children are not expected to live longer than we are. Luckily, there are many steps you can take to help your children move in the right direction on the path toward better health. The following are what I consider to be the top five things to do on your quest for better health. Of course there are more things you can do, and I encourage them, but for the sake of space, here are the top five.
1.Put good things into your body. This is the number one thing in achieving better health. Our body needs good building blocks. The food we eat should be whole, fresh, organic, clean, unprocessed, and full of nutritive value the way nature designed. We should avoid “edible food like substances” – processed foods full of chemical additives, dyes, and sweeteners (especially artificial).
2.Our drinks should be clean and pure as well. Water is the best liquid you can put into your body. 75% of your body is water and it needs to be replenished daily.
3.Get proper amounts of sleep. Sleep is the time that our bodies use to build, process, heal, regenerate and rest. We all need it. Without it our brains, digestive systems, immune systems, and muscular systems don’t work as well. Most children require 10-14 hours of sleep per day (newborns need more).
4.Have a positive mental attitude. It is absolutely true that our bodies are affected by our attitudes. In order to have a positive mental attitude, children need a home where they feel safe, happy, comfortable and confident. The saying “laughter is the best medicine” is very true. It boosts immunity, thereby making our children healthier. Focus on giving your child an environment where they feel loved, accepted, and confident.
5.Get plenty of exercise. Children are little balls of energy and they need to move. Kids should be getting at least one hour of structured physical activity and one hour of unstructured physical play per day. It stimulates their brains, balance, dexterity, muscles, and bones. And, it prepares them for a lifestyle of activity as they grow. Children who are active are more likely to become adults who are active.

At Kingswood we promote healthy eating habits and teach the children the importance of respecting their bodies as well as their environment. If you have any ideas on healthy options for children, send them our way to share with our community.