Meeting with Prospective Parents
One of our favorite things about running a school is having the opportunity to meet and introduce new families to the Montessori approach to education. For some, it can be a transformational experience. Last weekend →
A Day in the Life of a Montessori Student
Meet one of our newest and youngest students, Eileen. She's not yet three. On Friday, October 29, 2010, we decided to follow her around the classroom. We wanted to share with you a day in →
The Montessori Presentation
In a Montessori classroom, a directress gives presentations. These are individual instructions conducted with a student. As demonstrated in the video above, the directress will introduce the child to the material and establish the nature →
Self-Directed Learning
Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired Magazine, published an interesting article in The New York Times Magazine special issue on education and technology. The title of the article is, "Homeschooling for the Techno Literate". Kelly describes, →
A Definition of Play
At the Third International Arakawa and Gins: Architecture and Philosophy Conference, a definition of play was articulated by the philosopher Erin Manning. Manning, most recently the author of Relationscapes: Movement, Art and Philosophy, defined "play" as "the practice of →
Sewing a Button
Sewing a button: Montessori students learn a number of unique, practical and challenging tasks in the primary classroom, one of which is, most certainly, how to sew a button. Yes, how to sew a button!Materials: →
Sweeping Lessons
We have a lovely story that we wanted to share. These stories are pretty commonplace in Montessori classrooms throughout the world. Yet, they serve to highlight just how Montessori allows children the opportunity to follow →
Where Everything Starts
Practical life activities serve as the foundation of the Montessori experience. Yet, they are perhaps the most misunderstood component to the Montessori approach to early childhood education. For example, we often hear prospective parents inquire, →
The Freedom to Learn
Montessori schools throughout the world are lauded for their conception of freedom. Not only in their ability to teach children the concept of freedom, but also in their capacity to allow children the freedom to →
Montessori Color Tablets
One of the very best ways to describe the academics of Montessori is to frame it in terms of two concepts: the abstract and the concrete. On the one hand, the abstract exists in thought. →
The Pink Tower
Watching the pink tower being built for the first time of the year is simply magical. The care, the patience, the love, the attention...there is just something about the pink tower. What is it? The →
Secret of Kells
The Baan Dek Montessori is excited to announce our second annual Children's Film Festival, co-sponsored by Sanford Children's Hospital and Filmdrome. This year's film festival will feature the Academy Award Nominated Best Animated Feature, The Secret of Kells, directed by →
State Accredited
The South Dakota Department of Education has approved The Baan Dek Montessori to be a state accredited non-public school, effective July 1, 2010. Essentially, this means that The Baan Dek Montessori will be licensed to →
Interviewed by the Argus Leader
We were recently interviewed by the Argus Leader on the importance of early childhood education in the community of Sioux Falls, SD.
Interview with Maren Schmidt
We were fortunate enough to have a conversation with Maren Schmidt about her wonderful new book. Through a series of exchanges, going back-and-forth, we're more than happy to share our dialogue here. We hope you enjoy! What →
