Transitioning to Public School
One of the most frequently asked questions that we receive, especially from prospective families is: "How do Montessori students transition to public school?". We thought we would take this opportunity to address this question, identifying →
Architecture Matters
We've been thinking about architecture, and how it affects learning, for quite some time. Can architecture play a role in learning? What 'affects' can the building have on the ways in which we engage the →
First Week of School
One of the biggest concerns for prospective families is how their children will transition into the Montessori prepared environment. Will they be welcomed by their new friends? Will the Montessori guides take the time to →
Montessori Starts Outside the Box
Before we opened our school, over five years ago now, we spent a lot of time thinking about our mission at Baan Dek. We came up with a number of different phrases, and taglines, but →
Saying Goodbye
Life circumstances as such, two of our students had to depart for new adventures in a new city. We decided to throw them a little going away party, where everyone had the opportunity to wish →
Parent Teacher Conferences
As we prepare for our first round of "parent / teacher" conferences this year, we thought we would take a few minutes to help articulate how Montessori handles these meetings. In many respects, we treat →
Principles of the Montessori Guide
Believe in each and every child, unconditionally and with love and respect. Foster independence, and an ability to overcome obstacles, by asking open-ended questions. Help children to invent new questions, and find their own solutions. →
A Gentle Moment
We managed to capture a rather 'gentle' moment on video. Of course, these moments happen every single day, in all sorts of ways, but we thought we would take this opportunity to share this moment →
The Montessori Guide
What is the Montessori guide? We thought it would be helpful to highlight some of the unique traits of a Montessori "teacher". Why do we call them guides, as opposed to teachers, for instance? In →
Positive Conception of Work
Montessori fosters a positive conception of work. Instead of using the word, "play", to describe engaging in activities, in Montessori, we employ the word, "work". Why? The answer goes to the heart of Montessori. We →
An Outside Tour of Baan Dek
Over the weekend, as the weather started to change, and Winter reared it's head, we walked around the outside of the new space, noting the recently transplanted trees, and their position in relation to the →
Salvaging Trees
It was brought to our attention, by our lovely builders, the Van Buskirk family, that a few, old, beautiful pin oak trees were scheduled to be torn down. They wanted to know if we wanted →
Integrating Montessori
While Montessori doesn't expect or encourage outside homework, as this may cause confusion in the classroom, and with the child, we do recommend that parents work with their children on a regular basis. That almost →
Montessori at Home
One of the beautiful things about the Montessori paradigm is that it translates so seamlessly, so effortlessly to any situation. The classroom and many of the materials, particularly the Practical Life materials, are adapted to →
On Sounds
We recently sat down with Charlotte Wood, our new directress, to discuss how Montessori implements the use of sounds in the classroom. As opposed to letter names, in Montessori, we concentrate on letter sounds. The →
