Freedom of Movement Strengthens Learning

There is an enduring quote about learning: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. Attributed to Benjamin Franklin and to Chinese Confucian philosopher Xun Kuang, the idea that active engagement is key to powerful learning has survived for over 2000 years. When I was in junior […]


SERIES | Practical Life For Living

As I’ve come to a different stage of my life–as a grandparent–and I observe my grandchildren and their peers, I’ve seen the skills of practical life as key to living a happy life. These articles came out of my realization, too, that among my peers–fellow grandparents–the ones that were the healthiest and happiest practiced practical […]


First Comes Safety

As we look at education as a help to life, safety comes first in my mind. If we don’t feel safe, we can’t learn. When we are in the edginess of fear, it’s hard to enjoy our lives. How do we create places where safety comes first? Let’s begin by defining safety: Safety is the […]


FREE TRAINING | Ain’t Misbehavin’

child's actions are development driven

In this session, Ain’t Misbehavin’, we’ll consider the adult’s perception of children’s behavior.  We’ll explore an important dynamic, often hidden, that drives human behavior. When we are involved in conflict with children it may be easy to overlook this basic motivational force.  What is this force that drives behavior?  Personal needs.  Children’s actions are judged as misbehaviors […]


Education as a Help to Life

As I look out my window and see this mature, mangled olive tree, I wish that, for the tree’s sake, someone had given a lesson to the tree’s pruners on the branching and budding patterns of fruiting trees. This was a lesson that most of the eight-year-olds in my classroom enjoyed and were proud they […]


The Real Work of the Adult: Practical Life

What should our children learn? Over the past posts I’ve tried to show that children need to learn, as a life-long foundation, the practical life skills that include care of the self, care of the environment, care of others, and care of community. The skills of practical life offer the child a way to build […]


New | Planning Your Best Life

In this complimentary course, you’ll discover a step-by-step process for creating a full and satisfying life.  Most importantly, you’ll learn how to identify what’s most important to you, visualize the future you desire, and create an action plan for creating your ideal Level 10 life.  With Planning Your Best Life, you’ll discover: When you join Planning Your […]


Care of Community: Sowing the Seeds of Citizenship

Over the past few posts, we’ve been looking at the foundational lessons of practical life skills that are offered in a Montessori classroom for three-to-six-year-olds, but in reality these lessons should be offered in all classrooms and homes. The practical life skills of caring for oneself, caring for one’s environment, caring for others and caring […]


Care of Others: Another Step Towards Independence

As we consider the different areas of practical life exercises, we might see that care of others follows a natural expansion from the child’s activities in care for the self and care of the environment. Before we can truly take care of others, we need to know how to take care of ourselves, and at […]


Children’s Care of their Environment Creates Powerful Learning

One of the many universal learning and teaching principles used in Montessori education is the idea of the prepared environment. Created and maintained by the adults in that space, a prepared environment consists of four components: people, tools and objects, ideas and nature. What does a prepared environment look like? Let’s start with an example […]