Montessori Today

I have Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood out from the library. I've actually had it out for a couple of weeks. In any case, I sat down last night and started reading it. It feels so good. :) I had been reading a Sudbury book and while part of me is very pulled towards that model, at the same time, I see clearly how that model works best when you have a LARGE multi-aged group of kids. I also really feel that adults can definitely be more involved in guiding kids than simply waiting for them to ask. I didn't learn to skate because I asked my mom; she simply said one day, "Let's go skating!" (Admittedly, I fussed and moaned and said I couldn't do it while she was present on the ice. She took off to the bathroom, during which point I learned to skate. :) ) I think Montessori provides that balance of, "Hey, here's something I'd like to show you," but then you back off and let the child decide how far to go with it.

My Montessori plans for today? To read more. It's Friday, I may very well have my nephew again today (he's been not feeling super great the past couple of days), and that throws off the general routine of the house. We were supposed to be out this afternoon for snowboarding lessons, but with a high of -26 predicted, we are NOT going. Let's see, I can be more creative than that. Okay, I'll invite my niece and ds to plant cleaning (you use a little bowl of water, a Q-tip and a small square of paper towel). Ds (8yo) already knows how to clean plants, but he loves it and would enjoy showing dn (dear niece :) ). She's also got into cutting, so if I could find those pages that one mom/Montessori teacher sent me, I could put those out for her, too.