When I was a much younger teacher, I had a student enigma, one of those kids who, despite everything I presented or didn’t, despite the…
Teacher Talk: Concentration
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Theory
Teacher Talk: Empathy
We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe and are connected with each other to form one whole…
Empathy in the Third Plane
By the time learners reach adolescence, their ability to take on the perspective of another person is well-developed. When you add this…
Empathy in the Second Plane
If you believe what you see in the media, you might expect children in the Second Plane to be just plain awful, disrespectful and…
Empathy in the First Plane: 3-6
As infants and toddlers, children demonstrate initial kindness, especially toward people with whom they have a special bond. As they move…
Empathy in the First Plane: 0-3
Are children naturally empathetic? You may have heard of the phenomenon of infants crying in a nursery, reacting to each other’s cries in…
When We Parent…
Someone asked me a question recently that began with, “When you parent…” When don’t I parent? For years, a poster hung in my house that…
Freedom to Interact (or Not) In the Second Plane
We know that one of the noticeable changes as children move into the Second Plane of development is their new interest in social settings…
Teacher Talk: Articulating the Freedom for Movement
As Montessori teachers, we define our service to the children as encompassing roles farther than just those in the classroom. If we are…
The Montessori Freedoms
Montessori classrooms are notable for their freedoms. Children seem to be following their own paths, unaffected by a whole-group-plan or…