Montessori For Everyone
November 10, 2012In this Spotlight, we were fortunate enough to chat with Lori Bourne, from Montessori for Everyone. Starting out as a teacher, designing and creating her own materials for the classroom, she soon identified a need →
Abrams Appleseed Books
November 7, 2012Our friends at Abrams Appleseed were nice enough to provide us with an assortment of their new collection of books. Beneath our John Lennon quote, of which Sir Ken Robinson is fond, we decided to →
Happy Birthday, London
November 6, 2012Today, November 6, 2012 is a special day at Baan Dek. It's London's 5th birthday! It's so hard to believe that she's turning five. She's been with us since the start: eager and excited and →
Five Days a Week
November 2, 2012There are a lot of misunderstandings about why Montessori requires five days a week. We thought we'd take this opportunity to address a few of them. First, we think that it's really important to remember →
Happy Montessori
October 25, 2012As a school operating in the Midwest of the United States, one of our greatest challenges is imparting the sense of importance that we attribute to early childhood education. In our estimations, it truly is →
The Future of Learning
October 24, 2012"Has knowledge become obsolete?" This is one of the many fascinating questions that the folks at Ericsson have prompted, one that is laid out in their new video on the "Networked Society". There are a →
Preparing for Literacy
October 23, 2012For those that couldn't make our first parent education workshop of the year, "Preparation for Literacy", and for those joining us from around the world, we thought we'd put together a few of our notes →
The Art of Writing
October 18, 2012We're starting a new project to help inspire children to continue to learn the art of writing (cursive) and we need your help. We want to send you a postcard and we'd love it if →
Only Two Years Old
October 16, 2012Once a child enters the Montessori environment, we completely forget how old they are, and focus entirely on their capabilities. We come to learn what they struggle with and what we know in our hearts, →
We’re Looking to Hire
October 12, 2012Greetings from Baan Dek! We're growing, and we're looking for someone to grow with us. We have a unique culture. We think it's a pretty special place. We also think you can help us make it better. Interested? We want people who imagine things differently, individuals who want to be a part of something bigger than any one of us. We don't want employees. We want passionate, hard working optimists. Of course, rigor and precision are important, but so is joy and attitude. We strongly believe that quality teachers are our best assets.
The Montessori Environment
October 5, 2012We've been thinking about how difficult it can be for people to understand what happens in a Montessori environment, especially if they have no previous experience. We know, because we went through the same set →
On Repetition in Montessori
October 2, 2012We thought we would put together a few thoughts on the power of repetition in Montessori. We recently had the good fortune of having a conversation with one of our parents about the nature of →
Spotlight Dr. Annette Haines
September 25, 2012We have so many nice things to say about Dr. Haines. She's an inspiration and a guide to so many. We couldn't be more excited to introduce you to her marvelous mind and her upright, →
Spotlight Samantha Cedarleaf
September 18, 2012We couldn't be more excited to introduce you to Samantha Cedarleaf. Here's her biography: "I'm an AMI-certified primary directress. I run a little Montessori school in a big city." Yes, we know, her biography hooked →
A New Generation
September 13, 2012We're really blessed at Baan Dek. We have an amazingly diverse and eclectic community, comprised of so many beautiful and considerate students and families. With over seven different foreign languages represented in our school, (which →
Freud on Montessori
September 11, 2012Anna Freud was a strong supporter of Maria Montessori, and the Montessori approach to education. Her father also corresponded with Montessori, and professed his respect. Anna Freud writes, in the preface to Maria Montessori: A Biography, →
Architecture and Montessori
September 11, 2012Before we opened Baan Dek, we had a vision for what it could become. We mapped out the coordinates, so to speak, and determined, from the start, that architecture, including design and aesthetics, could play →
Our Montessori Story
August 31, 2012We wanted to take this opportunity to share our story. Of course, everyone has one, and we'd love to hear yours too. We discovered Montessori the way most people discover Montessori: entirely by accident. It →
On Being a Montessori Directress
August 28, 2012We sat down with Charlotte Wood, a primary directress at Baan Dek, and asked a few questions about the nature of her work. We hope you find it helpful. This post is particularly geared towards →
Happy Birthday Montessori
August 26, 2012Throughout the world, students, teachers & parents are preparing to celebrate Maria Montessori's 142nd birthday. We need your help to wish her Happy Birthday! www.happybirthdaymontessori.com With over 20,000 Montessori schools globally, we're hoping to exceed →
Not Cot
August 14, 2012Letter Work and Number Work were recently featured by NOTCOT. Apart from being totally flattered and humbled by this nice write-up, it's also pretty awesome to share with you that Jean and Justine, the founders, "both →
Spotlight Prairie Hill
August 10, 2012In this Spotlight, we turn our attention to Mandie Cody Schadwinkel, who helps run an inspiring and unique Montessori school, called Prairie Hill, located just outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Q: Can you tell us a little →
Back to School Tips
August 6, 2012We've teamed up with great folks at Abrams Appleseed to offer "Montessori Monday's"! This is a first in a series. As families prepare to head "back to school", we thought we would take this opportunity to offer →
Montessori Letter Work & Number Work
July 31, 2012We're very pleased to be able to introduce Letter Work & Number Work. Published by our friends at Abrams Appleseed, these titles, authored by Bobby and June George, are now available. We thought we would take this →
