Veda Montessori Home School of Niagara

Montessori and Normalization.

Normalization consists of a child's ability to concentrate and work freely in the Montessori environment, using the Montessori materials to fully engage their interests, and exercising self-discipline and peace. ♥️♥️♥️

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Montessori Philosophy: Praise vs. Encouragement As teachers, we try not to use too much praise in the Montessori classroom, but instead use encouragement to support and uplift our bright young students.

During our days together I have spontaneously told short, relatable stories to the children about my own children and my own childhood. The children have enjoyed these real stories because it can help them relate to their own real life experiences of joy, of problem solving, of difficult feelings and how kindness and communication are important human qualities.
Today at snack I was spontaneously asked “MacKinnon tell us a story of when you were little like us”; I was thrilled to oblige by sharing a story of my favourite shoes and coat and a day that my daddy took photos of my mommy and me.
And we finished our snack together as they told me I looked like I was the same age as Theo, how when we are 2 we then turn 3, and how it looks cold outside today just like in the photo.
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Please remember to slow down and have these beautiful conversations with children, it is truly special for both you and the child.♥️

Empathy, Confidence, Self Discipline, Respect for self, others and the environment and a lifelong love of learning with inner peace are all planted and nurtured during these early years.
When the adult hears “I can do it myself” please allow them to try, safely. Be conscious of the behaviour you are modelling…they are learning♥️ They are capable♥️They have so much to teach us that we often forget as adults♥️.
Find peace and calm in the observation ♥️ they will show you.

Mud kitchen “meal prep” Monday👩🏻‍🍳

“The greatest development occurs from birth to three; then from three to six years of age his development is more peaceful”.
-Maria Montessori

Some days are perfect♥️

Veda Montessori has 1 space available for the September 2023/24 school year.

Our Peace Table is used daily by the children; they truly appreciate this space.

The children can place a favourite stuffed animal in the basket beneath the table and go to it if they need time to simply breathe or rest their minds.

The objects within the Lotus represent our global environment and if they want to think of their place in the world, how they can help our earth, how beautiful our universe is or simply reflect on their first friends who are now at other schools they can choose this activity.

All children appreciate quiet moments to reflect and the simple beauty that each day brings. This space is a much loved place by the children and it warms my heart to see them choosing this important work. They are after all, building themselves♥️

Some days are simply restful and easily happy🥰
The children enjoyed all the heart themes in our classroom; they shared a heart from the activities they were doing with friends. It went like this -
“I want to share my heart with you because you are a kind and thoughtful friend”. This sweet and beautiful gesture was not initiated by me, it was started by one sweet boy and it simply took off. They love being kind to each other♥️♥️♥️

Early childhood care: the roots, the deep foundation.

“You just watch me, I will show you how to scrub the easel”.

When children are in a period of growth and eager to try new challenges, I am always in awe of how they calm themselves from that massive challenge by following up with jobs they are confident with.
Take the time to slow your own mind and sit silently to observe how well your child knows exactly what they need to build who they are becoming. They truly are our greatest teachers.

What a peaceful week we are having after a long winter break ♥️

Our youngest friend started school yesterday and we are all instantly comfortable with his kind and gentle presence. He seems to feel right at home which is lovely to see.
♥️ peaceful children, peaceful world♥️

After school today our oldest friend who is now attending a new school came to visit. She arrived and went right to work; she stayed for 90 minutes and said she wanted to do as much as could to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything 🤗🥰 I love this so much; she was so happy and focused.

The children are finding joy in sharing meals together and I am finding joy in creating dishes they love to eat.
They also love to help prepare our snacks and lunches… little chefs.
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All that Sandra says♥️
I too wept during my own teacher training when I fully understood the Trinomial Cube.
I too have sat in reverence of the children and their innate genius as they make such profound comparisons and link similarities in our environment.
And I absolutely love Sandra’s very true response to those who question “what can my 5 or 6 year old child learn from being in a class that includes 3 year olds”? Please listen to hear her response based on absolute truth.

Our own Sandra Girlato is this week's guest on the podcast Montessori Education with Jesse McCarthy. You won’t want to miss their engaging conversation about the way children learn, and how 'academics' are approached in a Montessori environment.

Listen now -> https://www.montessorieducation.com/podcast/montessori-academics-with-sandra-girlato

Montessori Education

Some days they build themselves and other days their focus is building friendships… it is all the important work of the child♥️

Cooking class😋
They made lasagna and it was delicious.
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Watercolours, blending herbs for cooking class tomorrow, working through our big emotions and finding ways to support each other.

One child is showing a sensitive period for writing ✍️
This explosion into writing is exciting and I am happy to support it without her noticing.

Today some children set out to build the Red rod maze; they decided instead to make “a house”.
My instinct at first was to remind them this is not how this work should be done (not because I’m mean but rather they chose a small work section and the rods are long and it could be dangerous if silliness took over). Now, I have been a Montessori Directress for over 20 years so I know better not to impulsively shut something down but instead observe.
Well, they built their house and said “we should work on our house”; they both went to the shelf to retrieve the bolt board and the nut board, then the screwdriver board and the Allen key board. Each time they sat inside their “house” to complete each job returning it to the shelf when it was complete.
They were completely absorbed in their work but still communicated to each other how each of their jobs were progressing… I sat in awe of them.
Later when their friend was showing a moment of frustration getting her shoes and socks on they both quickly responded to her by asking if they could help; they each took charge of one of her feet and she was ready for outside and she was happy.
What a beautiful week (except for Monday🤣 Monday was hit and miss 🎃🤣)

What a beautiful Autumn day🍁
These two learned that they can mimic the call of the Blue Jay perfectly.

Some days are simply perfect 🥰

There was Halloween excitement that came with some really fun days of pumpkin scrubbing, cleaning, naming parts, colouring and ultimately carving our Jack-o-lantern. Halloween day was ruled by the weather and we made the best of it.
Today we welcome November and we all felt very happy and content getting into our normal routine again.
We are all very excited to hopefully welcome a winter full of beautiful snow 🎃🍁❄️