Montessori in the news

The Wall Street Journal wrote a great article about Montessori.  I'm sure you've seen it by now, but I love this article. It doesn't give any misinformation about the method, discuss pros and cons of traditional school or other education methods. Instead it simply says: These creative people all had similar education, is there something worth looking at here?

Love and Lunch

In a desperate attempt to make any food more palatable to my 3-year-old connoisseur, I often send her with fun lunches. Due to my inability to plan ahead, this more often than not includes such quick and easy things as cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Her fruits and veggies are carefully separated with silicone cupcake liners shaped like butterflies. And I have a bunch more ideas I plan to break out as the school year unfolds.

There are things I can't make palatable thrown in there too of course. Like edamame, which can send her into hysterics if she notices it's there, or pretzel rods (I keep trying though!). Or sometimes I have to pack an unplanned extra lunch one week and end up throwing together anything and hope she'll eat it.

One day when came to school to pick Ryann up the head teacher said, "I wish someone would pack butterfly sandwiches in my lunch!" To which I said, "Aren't they cool? Ryann picked out the shape" but for some reason inside I cringed. I suddenly became acutely aware that I was one of those working moms who overcompensates for not being home with an adorable lunch. In that moment I didn't feel judged by her teacher, but I felt this weight of the realization that while I felt like I wasn't overcompensating, maybe I was. And even if that wasn't what I was doing, maybe other people saw it that way and was that the way I wanted to be seen?

Then I read this lovely post about showing your kids you love them over at Simple Kids that put me back in the proper perspective. One of the many ways Kara listed to show your child you love them (rather than just saying it over and over) was to write notes in their lunch box. I realized that as the mom of a pre-reader, my love note WAS the lunch. A lunch packed with care means so much more than just lunch. Of course Ryann's teacher was just expressing how good it feels to have someone pack you something you will enjoy, just for you. Apparently Ryann showed everyone in the classroom her butterfly pb&j that day. It meant a lot to her. And it means a lot to me to be able to make her day special.

We have a winner!

The winner of the Montessori folding cloth/napkin giveaway was generated by Random.org.


Commenter number two was Leslie!

Leslie said...

These are lovely! I've been wanting them forever for my Montessori based Sunday School program! I'm in! Thanks for the giveaway!

Congrats Leslie! To claim your prize, please email brandi@reallifemontessori.com

Quick reminder--Montessori giveaway

Don't forget, this is the last day to enter the Montessori napkin giveaway!

Montessori Folding Cloth, Napkin Giveaway

This giveaway is closed.

I've said before that our morning routine could use some work. Ryann is hard to wake, and then getting through all the steps on the way out the door can take forever. Our whole routine is rushed and parent-led, which is unproductive and frustrating for us both.

I recently started getting out all the things Ryann needs to make her own cereal, before she wakes up. This way, I can go get her before I'm finished getting ready myself and she has more time to leisurely make and eat her breakfast while I have more time to leisurely put myself together. It's so wonderfully child- and mommy-friendly.

Isn't it cute? I thought the napkin made it classier. Like you would want to sit down and eat your Cheerios if you had a napkin. Ryann won't eat Cheerios even then; I'm not sure how she survived babyhood without Cheerios... but I digress.

Buying napkins for the dinner table reminded me of folding cloths, the cloths used in Montessori classrooms to practice folding. I've seen Ryann steal away washcloths and trace an imaginary line before folding them. It seemed like napkins would be an awesome thing to practice with, as well as spruce up the table.

However, there aren't many usable options for folding cloths on the internet, I've found. They are all drab, expensive and not something you would wipe your mouth with. I assume because they are made for classrooms and not dining rooms. So I made my own with a sewing machine and cute napkins from Target. And I'm giving away four!

These napkins are 100% cotton and goldenrod yellow with dark red contrasting tread, so it's easy for kids to see where they should make the various folds. Each cloth has a different one of the traditional folding patterns on it for lots of practice before mealtimes. 

To enter, just leave a comment before Friday at midnight (EST). For an extra entry, "like" the Real Life Montessori page on Facebook and leave another comment saying you did. I'll announce the winner on Saturday.