Mommy, Teach Me! is a great book that I just finished. I am trying to write down the ideas I get, as I borrow the books from the library, so if you don't want to listen to what is in the book, just skip over this post.
First off, the author, Barbara Curtis, is a trained Montessori teacher, mother of 12, and is Christian. She is often on Focus on the Family radio shows or in print.
Here are the key points that I am taking away from this book:
- Research has shown in the last two decades, early childhood, the period between birth and age five, is critically important in brain development. Later experiences also can influence one's brain capacity but in the early years, particular types of activities are necessary for certain aspects of brain growth. In early childhood there are several remarkably brief periods of opportunity that lay the foundation for emotional control, mathematical and language abilities, and the capacity to form social attachments. When these periods end, developing the capacity for learning in these areas becomes more difficult (p. 9) [position statement by the state of Michigan]. I find this to be number 1 scary that we only have a small window to get as much information/experiences into our children which will affect the rest of their lifes and second I see this in my special education students. As you unravel their lifes, they had minimal experiences in childhood.
- Maria Montessori's experiences affirmed that if presented with the appropriate environmental materials during those times, the child would learn effortlessly, that learning would be filled with joy, and that the child would continue into a lifelong love of learning. If, on the other hand these sensitive periods were missed, learning would come about wiht much more difficulty and the child would regard education as a chore (p. 10).
- I saw the success of the Montessori method in impacting children--whom I taught everything from buttoning and snapping to reading and writing, adding and subtracting. Most importantly, I taught them to move through life with responsibility and grace (p. 12). That is what I wish for Izzy. To move through life with responsibility and grace.
- 2 minutes of purposeful observations of our children while internally asking ourselves questions about what and how they are doing what they are doing.
- When you feel yourself growing impatient [regarding giving your child space to learn for themselves and make mistakes ie putting on clothes maybe backwards or inside out] just remember where this is headed: a child who's not helplessly waiting for Mom or Dad to complete her seventh-grade science project! Parenting is really a job we should be working ourselves out of each day (p. 42). I whole heartedly agree with this. There is nothing like a one year old (almost two) potty trained, putting away her dishes, getting out her dishes, cleaning up after herself, putting away her dirty clothes. We are providing her opportunities for independence and she takes them and runs with it and those moments that we pull it back we get melt-downs.
- Using a small spoon to sort marbles.
- Using tweezers to pick up buttons to sort.
- Spooning dried popcorn, spooning dried barley out of an egg cup with a small spoon
- Using a water pitcher to pour into small cups (like saki cups). Trick is to be able to pour just enough into each without spilling.
- Wringing a sponge from one dish to another (i.e. a two dish dog bowl).
- Using a baster or eyedropper to transfer water from one dish to another.
- Matching cards (like concentration but just with a few cards ex pairing reds, yellows, and blues).
- Folding napkins. I have slacked on this. I am really going to focus on this within the next month.
- Using puzzle pieces (the knobby ones) to trace and then color. What a great idea for her to trace the circle (or whatever puzzle piece it is and then color it.
- Using dried penne pasta, dying it, and then string it to make a necklace.
- Using an egg carton to start seedlings.
- Growing sunflowers. This was an absolute treat for us when our neighbors behind us grew giant sunflowers that we could see from the living room. Definitely on the list for this summer.
- Using a globe. My parents bought us a wonderful stuffed globe from the Michael Olaf Company, a must see online store www.michaelolaf.com. I need to work on getting it out more and talking about water and land, where certain animals live, where our family and friends live, and places around the world.
