“The child has a different relation to his environment from ours…the child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form part of his soul. He incarnates in himself all the world about him that his eyes see and his ears hear.” Maria Montessori

Thank you for your Valentine’s day book donations! The children have so enjoyed reading and singing along at circle. At this point some children have even memorized which child donated which book leading to a moment of gratitude before we begin reading.

Grace & Courtesy in the toddler Montessori environment

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Toddlers have a tendency to be egocentric so often forcing them to use the ‘magic words’ creates a habit rather than a mindful response from the child. We aim to build genuine emotional empathy that will naturally lead to the use of saying please/thank you/ I’m sorry. The introduction of our tea set has made for great conversations between children. Most notably, after introducing the name ‘macaron’ a child was overheard asking a friend, “Would you like a macaroni?” To which that friend politely responded, “No thank you, I already have a macaroni!” It has also presented the opportunity for us to give lessons on how to offer a friend some tea or a pastry, how to respond politely, and provide extensions of practical life lessons children have been practicing to mastery.

So what do we do to build empathy?

We model grace and courtesy. This is done through conversations we have with the children and the adults within the environment. We apologize to them when we’ve done wrong by them. We thank them. We politely ask things of them. We discuss gratitude as a whole. We share how we are feeling and take note of others feelings.

“Perhaps we need to allow children to observe gratitude, generosity and kindness, rather then teach these behaviors to them.” Naomi Aldort

We read to create empathy.

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We focus on the ‘why.’ When speaking to the children, we get down to their level and explore what went wrong, how they and the other child feel, what they wished happened and what to do next time. During this exchange, we as the adults are giving emotionally intelligent language to the children, which they will absorb over time.

Fun in TADM:

Gardening microgreens (adish, broccoli, arugula) with Ms. Hanna

Children took turns pouring in the soil, mixing in nutrients, planting the seeds and over the course of a week monitoring and watering the plants. Pictured below are two children checking in on the sprouts one morning.

At circle children have been enjoying transportation themed books (pictured below) and singing our train themed greeting song:

Choo, choo, choo, choo; choo, choo, choo, choo train goes down the track

Choo, choo, choo, choo; choo, choo, choo, choo then it comes right back.

First it goes to ______’s house, then it goes to __________’s, then it goes to ______’s house, then it comes right back. Repeat until everyone has been named

Other train songs of note have been:

A peanut/avocado sat on a railroad track, it’s heart was all aflutter/roly-poly. Along came a choo choo train, uh oh peanut butter/guacamole.

Choo, choo, choo, choo; choo, choo, choo, choo train here comes the big train coming down the track. Stop, look and listen; stop, look, and listen

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Upcoming Events:

March 10 @ 9:15: TADM Parent observation

Thursday, March 10 @ 10 am via Zoom: Parent Education workshop (details below)

How Montessori Prepares Children for First Grade and Life! Greene Towne’s Montessori Director and Dean of Faculty Christine Booth discusses how Montessori prepares children not only for the next level of education after Primary, but how Montessori creates lifetime learners.

Friday, March 4 & 11: Parent Conferences, please refer to myGTMS for your signup time

Photo Gallery:

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