(Broken) Glass

In our house we use real dishes.  All of us.  We eat of of porcelain plates, and drink out of glasses, and we use silverware not plastic ware.  When we introduced solid foods to our babies we did so with a metal spoon and a porcelain bowl.  At around six months of age we began pouring a small amount of water into a very small glass, much like a shot glass, for them to drink from.

The other day our two year old and six year old were setting the table together.  Each taking one dish at a time from a cart in the kitchen to its respective place on the table.  My son has been helping in this way since he was around 20 months.  On this evening the second glass my son took to set on the table didn't make it there.  It broke when he dropped it on the tile floor on its way up to the table.  I quickly asked him to step back, explaining that broken glass is very sharp, and swept up the glass.  My son observed cautiously and my daughter provided a worrisome commentary.  Once the glass was picked up, I got out another from the cupboard, put it on the cart and asked them to continue setting the table.  My daughter said, "Your gonna give him another one?"  I said, "Of course, we each need a glass to drink from for dinner."  I then explained to her that he also needs a second chance, the opportunity to be successful and to know that we still trust him to do the job.

To replace the small glass it will cost $.95, but the learning that took place in it breaking is truly priceless.  The lessons gleaned from a broken glass are:
1. Glass breaks
2. How to clean up carefully
3. Mistakes are opportunities to learn
4. How to recover and move-on after a mistake
5. Our parents are here for us to protect us and help us when we need them

The other day a friend and her son were over.  Our two young boys were playing legos in the living room.  Our young guest started playing kinda rough with a small plant stand that we have and my son rushed to him and said, "careful - GLASS!"  I would say he learned a lot the day the glass broke!

Do you trust your children to use real dishes at home?  If not, how will they be prepared to use them when they are out?

What is Montessori?

Montessori is the last name of a woman named Maria Montessori(MM).  MM was the first female medical doctor in Italy.  She later became interested in educating the "uneducable" children (special needs children) of Rome.  During her work with these children she made many observations and noticed a universal pattern of development in children.  She also noticed that children go through, what she called, "Sensitive Periods".  Special times in their development where they have a heightened ablitly to learn a certain thing or acquire a certain skill.  For example, there is a sensitive period for language development during which children can learn many languages without effort and with perfect pronunciation.  She then developed materials to respond to these sensitive periods.  These materials allowed the children to learn through their manipulation of them.  The teacher, or guide as we call her/him, is then responsible for connecting the children to the materials with one on one lessons.  MM was able to help the "uneducable" children learn at or above the level of the "normal" children in the public schools.  Eventually she was able to use her new method to educate many "normal" children.  She began to train teachers all over the world in her method.  Her exact teacher training continues in Association Montessori International (AMI) training centers all over the world.  Teachers receive the AMI diploma, certifying them to teach in Montessori classrooms all over the world.
Some identifying characteristics of the Montessori Method of Education include:

• Mixed age groups 
• Three year cycle in one classroom
• Individual lessons, following the interest/development of each child
• Emphasis on independence in the child
• Child sized materials and furniture
• Self-correcting materials
• Real materials, made with wood, glass, metal
• Three hour work cycle each day

MM never called her method "The Montessori Method", if anything she referred to it as the children's method.  She felt that it was the children who showed her the way to educate them, the children learned spontaneously through manipulation of the materials.  She wrote many books to share her philosophy on educating and raising children. Some of my favorites are listed on my book list.

There is so much more to say about what Montessori is and means to me, but that is enough  for now.