This year, travel guru Rick Steves was one of the keynote speakers at the American Montessori Society’s annual conference in Denver. I entered the room thinking this was going to be a litany of his travel ideas including the best things to pack for a trip abroad; my expectations were quite low. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, he began by sharing how he came to love travel and what his trips entail. However, he moved far from that topic, sharing insights about why travel is important. He regaled us with personal experiences in Europe, Asia and Africa. He has been to many countries throughout the world and has positive stories about each. Continue reading
Much of what we learn in school is memorized, tested and forgotten. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that children must experience learning through multiple senses; sensory experiences are crucial in the earliest years of development. She developed materials that you will find in most Montessori schools. These materials allow children to explore a concept through their hands, their eyes and language. They provide more than one pathway to learning. 
Stories. They are part and parcel of all of our lives. If we are lucky, we begin our lives with stories being read to us from a very young age. The books of our youth are often worn out before we tire of them. Children never tire of hearing a favorite book or story. Stories teach us the rhythm of words, the joy of surprise and the comfort of resolution. Our family stories may not be written in a book, though are shared from generation to generation. They too teach us the elements of a good story and are sometimes embellished, though rarely forgotten. 
At Wilmington Montessori School, we have just sent out a new progress report and are in the process of conducting conferences with parents. As we worked to help parents understand the new format of the reports and think about the reasons for including each element on the report, I have been thinking about progress. Now, you may be nothing like me in this way, but in my life I have progressed and regressed many, many times – probably more times than I would like to consider. Interestingly, as we observe children and their growth, we look for and yearn for steady progress with few, if any, bumps along the way. Is this realistic?
I am a huge…unbelievably huge…fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I grew up in the days of the 
Each of us has had the experience of learning something new and finding it easy. For some, learning about scientific theories comes easily and “just makes sense.” For others anything math may be fun, challenging and engaging. No two of us are exactly the same in these ways. I, for example, have learned about Greek and Roman gods many times…and I know very little. It’s not because I didn’t listen, read or do my assigned work. It’s simply because it doesn’t and never has interested me. Before you rush to judgment, think for a moment about what you have learned, perhaps multiple times, that you simply didn’t like learning. Now that you are an adult do you remember it? Do you know as much about that topic as you do about something that truly captured your imagination? Often it doesn’t matter how difficult the subject matter is. It’s about our engagement. 
