Routines are important in making sure our classrooms – and our homes – run smoothly. If a child knows the routines, then the child knows what is coming next. This empowers the child and lets him feel in control. Montessori Services lists several ways parents can cultivate this sense of peace at home.
- Recite and repeat a familiar poem or song. Help your child to learn it, too. Repetitive sounds and rhythms help to quiet the brain. You might start with what you know, singing together the ABC song or reciting a favorite nursery rhyme, such as Humpty Dumpty.
- Stop to observe and listen to nature: a sunset, an animal, the ocean. Or, just stop anytime, take a deep breath (better yet, five) and listen for a moment.
- Practice and model courteous behavior at home. Say “hello” and “goodbye” directly and with meaning, and of course, “good morning,” “please,” and “thank you.”
- Establish a bedtime routine that provides time to transition from the busy to the quiet. Read, sing a song, or say a prayer together before the final “good night.” If your child does not already have special “security” objects and routines, help her to find self-soothing methods (arranging pillows, dolls, curtains, lights, etc.) that are comforting for solitary peacefulness.
From https://www.montessoriservices.com/ideas-insights/cultivating-peace-at-home
Classroom Activities
The children have been exploring winter themes. Our unit studies have included Iceland, penguins and the parts of a penguin. For art, they have created hole-punch snowflakes, tangram snowflakes, pin-punch snowmen, marble-painted snowflakes, and burlap sewing mittens. For our math work, the children have been counting to 10 with penguin figures, and using penguins for addition, subtraction and multiplication.
“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” — Dr. Maria Montessori
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