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Feb 09 2023

Chores: They’re Good for Your Kids!

By Helpful Hints, Montessori Basics, Parenting No Comments
Chores: the word has such a negative connotation.  But does it need to be that way?  Do you remember doing chores when you were growing up?  For some of us, we remember them as a negative consequence.  For others, we never had them and it took us a while to learn how to do them as adults.  Still others remember helping around the house but not thinking it was a...
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Jan 31 2023

Joining a Montessori Community

By Montessori in Action No Comments
We care for your children and  because we care we want each and every one of them to thrive.  Thriving beyond here at FMS is more than a tagline, it’s a way of being, a way of doing, a way of taking every child on their own unique journey.   Your child is important to us, central to all that we do.  Your hopes and desires for your child matter to...
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Dec 07 2022

Farewell our 2022 Graduates!

By Montessori in Action No Comments
From outdoor learning, even before it was a trend during COVID to connecting with the Earth and building strong relationships, Montessori education lives in the hearts and minds of our Graduates.  Our 2022 graduates embody the purpose of a Montessori education – to educate for life and for peace.  Listening to what they have to say, it will illuminate all that we hope for in our future generations.  Neste Szarka-Kovacs...
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Dec 01 2022

Time for Togetherness

By FMS Values, Parenting No Comments
During the holiday season, we can unintentionally become a bit edgy or stressed. Routines change. We might travel or have visitors staying. While our children may feel excited about the holidays, they also can feel the changes in family routines or shifts in family dynamics.   If we are getting together with extended family or friends—no matter how loving, patient, and well-meaning—having additional people mixed into the scene, especially during the...
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Nov 24 2022

Shifting from “Stuff” to the Spirit of the Season

By FMS Values, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
All too often the holiday season becomes about “stuff”–presents, decorations, more presents. How do we wean our children away from their focus on getting gifts and instead shift attention to the spirit of togetherness, generosity, peace, and goodwill?  It can be helpful to hold a family meeting and talk about everyone’s feelings about the holidays. We can ask our children about what, besides the gifts, they really like about the...
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Nov 17 2022

How Do Our Staff Address Avoidance?

By Montessori Educators, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
One of the top questions parents ask about Montessori is: How do teachers deal with children avoiding work they don’t want to do? This is a really important concern and becomes increasingly so as children get older. Most families know Montessori centers on student choice, and it can be hard to envision that value working in conjunction with accountability. The good news is it’s something we take very seriously. In...
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Nov 10 2022

Focused on Friends (or Fenemies!)

By Montessori Educators, Montessori Learning, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
During their primary years, it can seem like our children are only focused on friends (and frenemies!). We hear about what happened at recess or who they sat with at lunch. They come home with elaborate accounts of being wronged. It’s easy to begin to wonder what they are really learning at school!  In Montessori we always try to understand what is happening developmentally, so we can address children’s needs...
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Oct 27 2022

The Role of the Montessori Teacher?

By Montessori Educators, Montessori Learning, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
What, exactly, is the role of the Montessori teacher?  How is it so different from that of any other teacher? Sometimes it’s easiest to begin by explaining what a Montessori teacher isn’t. A Montessori teacher is less like the traditional idea of an instructor, and more like a gentle guide.  They don’t consider it their job to give a child information.  They rather lead children in the general direction and...
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Oct 20 2022

Mutual Respect & Making Deposits

By Helpful Hints No Comments
Montessori classrooms depend upon a web of mutual respect. This culture of respect is established from the very beginning: from how the classroom is arranged and sized for the children, to how we greet each other at the start of the day, to how the adults refrain from interrupting children’s concentration. Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized that, as adults, we must have the utmost respect for children, because they are in...
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Oct 13 2022

Montessori in Action – Guinea Pigs at FMS!

By Montessori in Action No Comments
We have some new friends at Forestville Montessori School - guinea pigs!   There’s a story behind the guinea pigs that all started before lockdowns, yes, two years ago, and it just shows the impact of the pandemic on our day to day operations. In many ways, the guinea pigs’ arrival, signals new beginnings and points the way forward for many more ‘Going Outs’ and projects led by the children’s...
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