Ok, I wasn't going to post anything else this week, but I am just too excited about these....
My new Montessori materials have just arrived!!!! Aren't they beautiful?! I feel like a little kid who wants to sleep with their new favorite toy! This picture shows just the big materials - there are all sorts of practical life materials I ordered as well. I'll continue to add to this inventory over the next year or so. Montessori materials aren't cheap, but in my opinion these were well worth the investment. Especially considering they'll be used to teach more than just James.I'm going to let you all in on a little secret... next month I begin my Montessori teacher training program!! I am so so so excited!! For months and months I've been researching and studying the Montessori method. I've read every book I can get my hands on (see side bar) and I've reached out to several teachers both locally and in the blogworld to get as much information as I can. I even wrote out a ginourmous "Ode to Montessori" post that described in (too much) detail how much I love it and why (in the end I decided it was just too long so I deleted it).
It'll be a while before I'm certified, but James will be an excellent guinea pig while I'm in training. :) I can't wait to get started and I'm really anxious to show James these new materials! Once I get going on my training, I may change the way I do Tot School. I'm thinking I'll meld the two methods together since I like certain aspects of each. Or I may split up our Tot School time from our Montessori lessons, too. I just don't know yet. It'll take a while for us to find a groove, so bear with me in the meantime.
"The secret of good teaching is to regard the child's intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination." ~Maria Montessori
Wow, Mari-Ann! Teacher training in addition to all you do?! You will make an excellent Montessori teacher -- I've been telling you all along you need to open your own preschool! Good for you for doing this... you are so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteWOW, that is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhere are you taking your training?
Good for you! What a great Christmas present! Lucky little James!
Merry Christmas!
Ohhhhh Mari-Ann, I'm SO excited for you!!! Girl, is there NO way you could move to California?!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to join in your journey. You are amazing!
Wow wow wow! That's some amazing stuff! Where did you order it from? I've read (and own) quite a few Montessori books, and I'm very interested in all this...just a little slow to put it in to practice. I'd love to hear more about your training...where you're doing it, what it entails, etc. I'm so excited for you!
ReplyDeleteGreat!!!! Your activities are so interesting, and I can't wait to see your Montessori activities. I'm a Montessori teacher too, and I look forward to see new ideas.
ReplyDeleteYou can visit my Montessori blog Leptir if you want to (it's in Croatian, but I have translator (-> left sidebar) and a lot of photos).
Congratulations! I just finished my training and I will start a job in a montessori school in January!
ReplyDeleteYou will enjoy it!
Wow what a great Christmas present! You and James are so lucky to be able to have such beautiful materials. How exciting to be starting Montessori training. I think there are a lot of us out there who have become totally hooked on Montessori. You'll be such a great teacher. What a lucky little boy James is. I was looking forward to reading your post until I read that you'd deleted it :( It's always inspiring to hear other people's journeys into Montessori.
ReplyDeleteHope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Wow!!! A Training!!! That's awesome!!, I can't wait to see your posts when you're on the training!!!! Yeahhhhhhh
ReplyDeleteThe Materials..... Just Beautiful!!! I felt the same when I received ours!!!!! you know like a kid on the candy store!!!!lol!! Super Uper Great Gift!!!!
Congrats!!!! Have a Merry Chritsmas and a Happy new year!!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement!!! I am VERY excited about this new journey and can't wait to share my experience with all of you!
ReplyDeleteSo excited about the teacher training! I can't wait to hear all about it. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the new materials too - I totally "get" that excited feeling about them. I just ordered our new math materials and can't wait for them to arrive. It looks like you picked out really useful items.
Congratulations! What an exciting time for you, your husband and James. I really can't wait for your posts to see what you all have been doing. I love it when people do things they are passionate about!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
That's awesome, where do you buy the montessori materials at? I particulary like the little shapes in different sizes with the matching cards.
ReplyDeleteYEA!!! Congratulations on making the decision to get into training. I can't wait to see how your teaching evolves. When you get a chance, let us know more about your training - duration, frequency, types of classes etc. Sounds so interesting and absolutely perfect for you.
ReplyDeleteI loved the quote by Maria Montessori that you placed at the end of your post. Hope to read more inspiring quotes in your posts.
ReplyDelete