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Thanksgiving Break
NO SCHOOL Wednesday, November 21 - Friday, November 23. School resumes Monday, November 19. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
The Science Behind the Genius Discussion
On Monday, November 12 and Monday, November 19 Peaceful Pathways will be hosting a two part discussion and video presentation of Angeline Stoll Lillard’s lecture on her book “The Science Behind the Genius” at our Children’s House Campus (corner of Route 47 and Route 126) at 7:00p.m.
The sleeve of her book explains: “Traditional American schooling is in constant crisis because it is based on two poor models for children’s learning: the school as a factory and the child as a blank slate. School reforms repeatedly fail by not penetrating these models.
One hundred years ago, Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, devised a very different method of educating children, based on her observations of how they naturally learn. Does Montessori education provide a viable alternative to traditional schooling? Do Dr. Montessori’s theories and practices stand up to the scrutiny of modern-day developmental psychology? Can developmental psychology tell us anything about how and why the Montessori methods work?
In Montessori, Angeline Stoll Lillard shows that science has finally caught up with Maria Montessori: current scientific research provides astounding support for her major insights. Lillard presents the research concerning eight insights that are foundational to Montessori education and describes how each of these insights is applied in the Montessori classroom. “
Everyone interested in education, at all levels should attend this discussion/viewing. This evening may be especially helpful to parents who are considering Montessori elementary. This discussion is open to the public. Please call or email the school to RSVP for this event.
New Wish List Items - More added 11/16/07
Check out our Wish List Page (to the left) for new items that are needed! Thank you to all the parents that have been bringing in items on our list.
Peaceful Parenting Workshop
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 17 from 9:00 – 4:30 Susan Tracy, M.Ed. will present the most-requested of her parenting tools in a one-day workshop for moms and dads. Susan is a mother of four, Montessori teacher, and an educator of parents since 1989. She is the director of Learning Together Parent Education Center in Palatine, Illinois.
This workshop will cover the following topics: Family Relationship Maintenance, Discipline Toolkit, Preventative Maintenance, Nutrition and Sleep. The cost of this workshop is $75 for one or both parents of Peaceful Pathway’s students. It is $100 for the general public (one or both parents).
Pumpkin Investigations
During the past week of school (along with the usual studies) the elementary students have been participating in a project called "Pumpkin Investigations." The students have measured, weighed, counted seeds, and made predictions about the pumpkins qualities.
Will the pumpkins float? Which directions - on the side, top up, bottom up?
How many seeds do they have? Counting in groups of ten make the counting manageable . . .
The students are continuing to collect the data and record the information in their own "Pumpkin Investigation Journal."
Our Staff Continues to Learn too!
Continuing Education is an important part of being a teacher at Peaceful Pathways. We want to offer an excellent education for your child and one way we do that is by participating in staff trainings and seminars throughout the year.
On Friday, October 5 was an Institute Day. During that time our staff met together and took turns presenting classroom lessons and techniques to one another.
The topics covered included: The Math Continuum from age 3 – 9, The Importance of Practical Life and its Outcomes, Classroom Observation and Recording Techniques, and Fun Movement Activities for Line Time.
On Saturday, November 3 our staff will be headed to Concordia University to participate in a lecture by John Chattin-McNichols, Ph.D. and author of “The Montessori Controversy” as he speaks about “Exploring the Montessori Continuum Early Childhood through the Elementary Years.”
