We Prepare the Environment
In this podcast, Charlotte Wood discusses the final aspect of our five Guiding Principles: We Prepare the Environment. The Prepared Environment is a specially curated space for children of a certain age, another word for →
How to Have an Adventure
Set your alarm. There’s not a moment to lose. It’s the day you’ve been planning. Your child is finally old enough to enjoy an adventure! Not the adventure of learning to walk, or the first →
Uncovering Kindness
A question we are frequently asked by prospective families or people unfamiliar with Montessori education surrounds the multi-age classrooms intrinsic to Montessori education. A Primary classroom is home to children age two-and-a-half to six. “Don’t →
Whole Foods and Montessori
My sister and I could hardly be more different. She’s younger, taller, has blonde, straight hair, and wanted to be a mule breeder, a sniper for the secret service, or “some kind of -ologist” when →
Spotlight John Snyder
We are honored to Spotlight John Snyder, Montessorian, Guide, and Author. As a parent and guide, John has many insights into Montessori life that he graciously shares in his book, Tending the Light and here with us →
We Create a Culture of Empowerment
Lately, we've been podcasting about our five Guiding Principles, core values that drive us daily, measures we use to gauge if a thought, conversation, action, perspective is in line with the agreements we make as →
Independence is Okay
Your child will always need you. Even as an adult, I want my mom. I want to share a funny moment of my day, a shoulder to cry on, to bring me saltines when I →
Spotlight Marlene Barron
We're so glad to Spotlight Marlene Barron, a Montessorian with decades of experience across continents. In her words, her dream is, "to bring quality Montessori education to children everywhere by preparing teachers and working with →
Developing World Citizens
Maria Montessori considered herself a citizen of the World. Born in Italy in 1870, her life was filled with many colossal world changes. She became a physician in a time when medicine was being rattled; →
The Hand
The hand is the instrument of the mind. Through the hand, the child explores. She does not only watch her world, she reaches out and grasps it. He takes control of his world. She creates →
We Communicate Effectively
One could argue that our job is communication. We are communicating when we observe a child, notice what they are ready for, and present them with a material. We are constantly communicating with the children, →
We Can Always Improve
Working with children has taught us many things. Perhaps one of the most important is to adopt the mindset that we should learn how to approach everything we do as if for the very first →
Spotlight It’s a Practical Life
We've been following It's a Practical Life on Instagram for some time now, and were so enamored by the small glimpses into daily life. We were overjoyed when someone put us in touch with the lovely →
Greeted In Your Own Language
One of the most wonderful things, something we celebrate and cherish, is the diversity we experience here at Baan Dek. Our school is representative of the beautiful community we enjoy in Sioux Falls. We have →
We’re All Learning
When we published our "Culture Matters" piece, we received a lot of great, inspirational feedback. People were curious to learn more about how we work together as a team. They wanted to learn the details. →
