The Montessori Message

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National Poetry Month

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, arts integration, Billy Collins, montessori, Montessori education, National Poetry Month, poetry, The Lanyard, video, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

April is the month each year devoted to celebrating poetry. Some of us recall the poems we learned or required to read during our years in school. We may or may not have seen them as relevant to our lives.

At WMS, poetry can be found in our classrooms throughout the year. Some children are listening to a poem being read – sometimes more than once – as they begin to memorize the words. Others are writing their own poems after immersing themselves in others’ poems. Some students are making the connections between poems and songs – the rhythm, stressed syllables, pace, emotion and spirit contained in each.

Poetry, though a written literary form, comes from oral speaking and singing tradition. It is meant to be read out loud, to be shared. It has its origins in community and sharing the wonder and spirit of life. Take some time this month to remember a favorite poem or song, and ask your children about a poem they may enjoy, or introduce them to others.

To celebrate poetry, here is a poem for you by Billy Collins, former U.S. poet laureate, as he recalls his childhood.

39.803686 -75.482675

The Stories that Connect Us

12 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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arts, arts integration, hands-on learning, montessori, Montessori education, music, percussion, story-telling, tony vacca, video, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

Their story, yours and mine—it’s what we all carry with us on this trip we take, and we owe it to each other to respect our stories and learn from them.
– William Carlos Williams

Why do we need the arts in education? What do the arts do for us?

This week we had occasion to enjoy a visiting percussion artist, Tony Vacca. His “job” as our artist in residence was to introduce percussion to our students, giving them an opportunity to play and explore the many instruments he shared. What he did was much more. He created enthusiasm and energy about this art form.

He let children and adults explore the instruments, and have the joyful experience of playing them and learning the stories behind the music. Stories connect us. They help us learn about the diverse world in which we live. This week we experienced stories through instruments and music. We heard Tony Vacca as he told us the arts—adornment and music—preceded language and numeracy. As we further our arts initiative at Wilmington Montessori School the stories we share will be many.

“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.”
– Native American saying

Let the story go on.

Keeping Curiosity Alive – “Why?”

06 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Wilmington Montessori School

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curiosity, education, Fabien Cousteau, teachers, TED Talks, video, why, Wilmington Montessori

We are all born with questions. Babies make sense of their world initially through sound and tracking objects with their eyes. Quickly they reach and explore their world with their hands and their mouths. As children grow, they begin to ask questions, and anyone who spends even a little time with a 2-year-old has heard that ever-present question, “Why?” Children are wired for curiosity.

In schools, curiosity can be moved to the side for “learning.” Schools are charged with many things. The push to learn all of the academic subjects and be the very best at each of them can displace the curious nature of children. The focus on skills that are on the “test” can get in the way of questions that do not yet have answers. This TED talk by Fabien Cousteau begins with his reflection on his sense of curiosity, which he describes as “…our connection with the world, with the universe. It’s about seeing what’s around that next coral head or what’s around that next tree, and learning more not only about our environment but about ourselves.”

Cousteau talks about his years in school, his propensity to stare out the window and let his mind wander; he didn’t pay attention. One of the toughest things in a classroom is a student who does just what Cousteau describes. One of the most wonderful things is that same student. Children teach us each day to do our best and to try harder. They help us to ask questions, be curious and find solutions to problems we have not thought of previously. They make us all better as a result. All of us will learn and continue to learn if we are given the freedom to explore our curiosities and to wonder. At Wilmington Montessori School, our goal is to keep that curiosity alive and to never stop asking, “Why?”

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