Peru

This is my "set up" for this week's Fantastic Friday.

We learned about Peru, South America.

I set up a "background" for my music class each week. The chair is for me--but I spend most of the time up moving around with the children.


I got a great complement this week--one of the children said--"We like your games Mrs. Wiggs"  That is high praise to my ears.  

Welcome Fall--Welcome Change

Welcoming Fall

Welcome Every Season

Welcome Change

Fall

We really have to look at the calendar to know that we are already into the 2nd week of October.  I keep thinking, 'no good deed goes unpunished', so we will have to make up for this unusually warm weather by having bad weather later--time will tell?


I had such a wonderful day today! I only hope that some or all of my readers could have had a day like mine.


Life seemed to 'make sense' today.


What I tried worked.


People I spoke to were receptive.


I am outside smelling a fire that I made myself--gotta love that!


and, my husband cooked me dinner!


What is not to LOVE about that?

MONTESSORI


I love to have a day where everything seems to be scripted by the "Montessori Good Fairy"!  You know what I mean--everything you try is even better than you could have imagined--a child gives you an unsalisited, 'good job'--or 'we like your games Mrs Wiggs'.  You can not plan it--you can not pay for it to happen--but when it does (like today for me) it is priceless!


All of this is not just "dumb luck".  It is payback for all the hard work we put into our lessons, preparations, and the attention we give to child development and meeting the needs of the individual and the group.  But it is SWEET non the less.


I wish for each of you to have a rewarding day like I had today.  But, if you had a challenging day--just remember, keep working and it will pay off one of these days.

Live Your Own Life

Steve Jobs’ death saddens me as I know it does many, many people. He died of the same type of cancer my dad fought for 18 months, before he left us 20 years ago—very few people get 6 years, as Mr. Jobs did.

We are hearing a lot about his life in the media this week.  I enjoyed hearing part of his commencement address to Stanford University from 2005.  He had successfully completed treatment for the cancer and had some very inspirational thoughts to share to the young, eager audience (and all of us, as it turns out).

The best quote for me was when he said this: ….stop wasting time living someone else’s life.  Find something you are passionate about and do it.

I am paraphrasing—but I think I caught the meaning, if not the exact words.  This is such good advice for young and old alike.  We are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers; or sons, brothers, etc.  It is so easy to loose sight of what makes us want to “change the world”, or at least make a small impact on our world.

Life tends to get very busy and we get caught up in living up to the expectations of daily life and forget the BIG picture. I enjoyed taking time this week to think about the BIG picture.  Thank you Steve Jobs, for reminding me that we each have a life to live that is unique and worthwhile.  Whether one is building a multi-billion dollar company that impacts the lives of people all over the world or making a few preschool children learn to love music a little more, we all have a life to live and I am happy with the SMALL (but important) life I have.

MONTESSORI

Anyone that works with children is privileged and also responsible to live up to the task.  What we do may seem SMALL and unimportant to the world (and ourself at times). It is neither. It is BIG and important to each and every child in our care.


I think Steve Jobs' advice is very appropriate for Montessorians. We build an environment and step out of the way so that children can learn and grow.  It is a wonderful preparation for the so-called, ‘real world’. In fact, it is the real world, or at least it is supposed to be as close to that real world as possible in a school setting.

The Montessori philosophy tells us to help each child develop into the person they are meant to be.  Like Mr. Jobs was saying, to ‘live their own life’ and rise to the highest form of themself.

 When you prepare a safe learning environment full of color, and sound Montessori philosophy and materials, it is a beautiful sight to behold.  Preschool children want to live their own life. They have not been here long enough to know anything else.

I am privileged to be living my dream.  I get to play games and sing my own songs for a living! 

Welcome Change

Welcome Fall

Welcome Every Season

Welcome Change


Change is good.  We hear that often. We often resist change.  This is just futile in so many ways.  Change is inevitable and constant, so when we resist it we set ourselves up for frustration and discord.


I usually welcome each season. I am ready for change by the time one season has been around for a while.  I guess I am a good 'midwesterner' in that way.  I would have a hard time, I think, living in a constant state of summer or winter.  


Change is always with us.  It is a constant. Nothing stays the same for long. We grow, change, and are affected by our surroundings.  This in it's self is good and bad--comforting and problematic--trustworthy and fickle.  Now that you are confused, let me explain.  


Change as good & bad: 
it can be good because it keeps things interesting; it can be bad because, just when we get good at something, we need to move on to something else.


Change as comforting & problematic:
it is comforting to know what will happen and be able to get ready for the change.  It is difficult to be faced with change we are not ready for or a change we just do not want (like a death in the family).


Change as trustworthy & fickle:
So many things that change regularly can be counted on, like basic child development, and the weather and colors of a season.  On those same topics, change is also fickle in that each child develops on their own schedule and weather can be extreme and unpredictable.


MONTESSORI


The Montessori classroom is both very stable and reliable and at the same time constantly changing to meet the needs of the students in that particular room.  


The stability of certain materials like the Pink Tower and Dressing Frames always being present can be comforting the child that needs a high degree of consistency.


Change is also great. Updating your room for the seasons and meeting the needs of all the children keep our classrooms fresh and interesting.  


This time of year is so fun in the classroom.  As October draws near the new children are getting used to being away from mom and dad.  The second year children are realizing that they can 'help' the new children, and the third year students are starting to really 'take off' with projects in geography and science.  

I LOVE MY CHOSEN PROFESSION 

BETTER THAN EXPECTED

Petunias are so often BETTER THAN EXPECTED 

Ø It is so great when things go well.

Ø It is wonderful when things turn out to be just as good as it is ‘in my head’.

Ø But, it is fabulous when things go BETTER THAN EXPECTED!

Ø That is what happened to me today.  It felt GREAT!

It cannot be planned for.  I cannot make it happen.  Being prepared and having some talented is helpful—but it does, in no way, assure things going BETTER THAN EXPECTED. 

In my work the only way things go BETTER THAN EXPECTED is when the children and staff mesh well with the program I am giving.  When I show up at a school and perform an educational music program I am prepared—I have some talent—I have good ideas—and I know how to employ effectively teaching techniques.  So things have always gone well for me (so far—knock on wood).

What makes a lesson, or anything for that matter, special and even BETTER THAN EXPECTED is not entirely tangible. 

Ø It is hard to grasp and define.

Ø It is that special something that you cannot predict or even imagine.

Ø It is why I love doing what I do!

MONTESSORI

Obviously, I am already talking about a Montessori experience this time.  That is what I do.  But let me go a little deeper than this example—a music program that went BETTER THAN EXPECTED.

How do we EXPECT the UNEXPECTED?

It is what we do in the classroom to help this alone, that makes Montessori so special?  Again, being prepared, well trained, etc…is helpful and necessary.  But, fortunately, it is not enough. I say fortunately, because without this extra something there is no magic.  

As Montessori professionals we need to do more, or at least work toward that end.  We come to recognize the signs and then get out of they way and let ‘BETTER THAN EXPECTED’ march through the door.

I try to ‘go’ where the children lead the lesson.

Let me explain.  I like to be well prepared and even visualize how the children will react to a lesson.  That is helpful to me—it helps me get ready for a job.  But once I am there and the lesson starts I do not get caught up in trying to make THAT vision a reality.  It is very simple—yet very important.  The reality of what happens between the children and I is pure magic—it is so often BETTER THAN EXPECTED—but I am always a little surprised by the effect.

Like I said, I love what I do!

Rainbows

Rainbows

I saw this rainbow while sitting on my deck after a rain.  I, like most people, love rainbows.

Rainbows always seem like an unexpected gift.  I never "expect" to see one--it is always a peasant surprise in the sky.

I like that I never know when a rain will provide this colorful arc of light.  The conditions have to be right for a rainbow to develop.  I have to be in the right place at the right time to see one.  I think that is why it feels like such a gift to me.

It been gloomy and rainy today--not the right conditions for seeing a Rainbow--so I gave us all one!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Montessori

I like to use a prism on a sunny day to create a lesson on rainbows in the classroom.  It is easy to hold a glass prism in a ray of sunlight and direct the light to a white piece of paper.  A rainbow will show up on the paper.  

It is easy to impress three to six year old children.  That is why it is such a pleasure to teach this age group.  They are so eager to learn!

Being in the right place at the right time is another concept that is important when talking about working with young children.  That will be a topic for another post.