Helping Hands Montessori Services

New studies in brain research...

2011-07-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

New brain research shows that finger wrinkles may have a different purpose than previously thought...
Very interesting!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/06/29/137506950/why-do-fingers-wrinkle-when-they-get-wet

Praise for the Montessori Method in the Wall Street Journal!

2011-04-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

http://blogs.wsj.com/ideas-market/2011/04/05/the-montessori-mafia/

Go Montessori!

A story about empathy and compassion

2011-03-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Two Choices

My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

Dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the

Plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game..

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

You now have two choices:

1. Delete

2. Forward

May your day, be a Shay Day.
MAY GOD BLESS EVERYONE WHO
DECIDES TO PASS THIS ON IN

2011-02-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Maria Montessori has done it again. There is new research that backs up her philosophies on education and parenting.
Check out this post on NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133629477/for-kids-self-control-factors-into-future-success

Enjoy!

Reading is so fun!

2011-02-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have had the great privilege, and yes it is a privilege, to substitute in a primary classroom. I have subbed as the lead guide and the assistant and both have been fun, exciting, sweet. Today I had three children labeling the environment. After MANY labels, one 5 year old returned to me and said, "learning to read is so fun!" that's it right there guys! When you get that response as a teacher you know it's a good day.

Testimonials for HHMS

2010-11-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

"Talitha came to our home and provided us with detailed and organized ways of implementing the Montessori principles into our home. With her advice, our daughters' (and our) space has transformed." -Maria Morshed Austin, TX

"Helping Hands Montessori School gave our son the perfect environment to thrive in as a toddler. He learned grace, courtesy, and love for himself and others in a compassionate and uplifting setting. We are so fortunate to have found such a special place for our little one." Zeina El-Azzi Santa Barbara, CA

"I've attended your workshops in the past. I always felt it provided a great forum for parents to ask questions and get ideas for instituting Montessori principles at home." -Laura Beale, daughter 2 ½

"We couldn’t have had better teachers for Asia OR for ourselves as parents of a 1-3 year old…there are no great schools/learning centers for 1-3 year olds and HH Montessori truly fills that void in an astounding way. For the value of care our daughter is receiving a level of foundational life skills, confidence, sense of self and leadership that would be akin to private schools and an MBA without the Harvard price tag. Finally, the sense of community and connection between the kids, teachers and parents have become a joyous part of our lives" – Tarek Morshed Austin, TX

HHMS is on Twitter and Facebook

2010-11-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

We have lept into the social media world- finally. Check us out on twitter and facebook. Become a fan! We want to hear from you!

Audial, Visual Learners: Check out these new videos

2010-11-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

We've updated our video bar. Check out these cool videos ranging in subjects such as "What is Montessori?", the difference between Montessori and Waldorf, to the Founders of Google talking about their personal Montessori experiences.

If you would like to see something on the website, please Leave us a comment! We would love to hear from you!

Consulting Services

2010-11-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

HHMS Consulting Services are available full time! Monday-Friday 9am- 3pm. Set up your home-visit today!

Our daughter is attending Parkside Community School, one of the top Montessori Schools in Austin. I taught there for 12 years and am proud to continue the legacy. To find out more about Parkside visit their website at http://www.parksidecommunityschool.org/

SERVICES OFFERED:

2010-09-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Private Tutoring:
*All subjects pre-k through 6th grade.

In-Home Design and Advising:
*work one-on-one with families to promote an authentic approach to the child and create a harmonious home.

*Integrate child-sized endeavors into every day home-life.

*Offer stratagies for logical and natural consequences and conflict resolution techniques to create a more peaceful family dynamic.

Congratulations HHMS!

2010-02-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Helping Hands Montessori Sevices is in its 3rd year serving parents, students, families and schools. Thank you Austin for all the support. Stay tuned for more news!

2008-12-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

Helping Hands Montessori Services is a local business designed to help parents, teachers and schools in their efforts to provide the best possible care to the children in our community. I offer a variety of services for parents to incorporate Montessori Philosophy through purposeful activity into the home. This allows the child to particiapate in every aspect of the home life and promotes an authentic approach to the child. We meet the sensitivites of your child(ren) which helps to provide an opportunity for the child to live nauratlly in the home.

The mission of HHMS is to share and deepen the knowledge of Maria Montessori’s philosophies in order to promote self-reliance and independence in young children. We want to help families build a bridge from the home environment to the school environment. Our ultimate service is to aid the child in reaching their greatest potential.

We Love Diversity!

2008-10-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Here at HHMS we make it our mission to be as culturally diverse as possible and our student body displays that mission. We have one little boy who is African-American and Lebanese. We have a little girl who is dutch and Hawaiian. We have our newest member who is Bengali and Philippino. And finally the youngest friend who is Puerto Rican and a smidge Eastern European among other things. Wow! What a great mix. And of course there is our sweet Aleah who is fabulous and I think Irish German American. And then there is me. I am a nice mix of Romanian, Cherokee and the Irish, German thing.
We truly are a community and we take good care of each other.

UPCOMING FREE MONTESSORI WORKSHOP

2008-09-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Talitha's next free workshop at Austin Baby! will be held on Friday, September 19 at 11:00 am. We will discuss Montessori 101 and Montessori at Home with your toddeler. Please invite your friends and come with questions. We look forward to seeing you and thanks for passing this along.
For more info check out www.austinbabystore.com

Gardening with Tots

2008-09-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

We are having so much fun, enjoying our time together as a little community. One of our favorite lessons is gardening. The children are learning wonderful ways to share the responsibilities and encourage each other with sweet accolades; "good job, friend!" Clean up is usually where we get the wettest if not the dirtiest. But we just figure it out as we go and thank goodness for that extra pair clothes and the dryer.
Good Luck to those who are weathering the storm. We'll all be watching and hoping everyone is safe.

What's new with HHMS??

2008-08-21T15:47:00.001-07:00

Greetings from the Montessori World!! What's new with Helping Hands Montessori Services you might ask? Well for starters, I have added a Montessori home program to my forte. So far so good. We have three toddlers and 1 year old who is my child. She is transitioning great! The children come to school at 9 am and are ready to go outside and play. It really is the best time because we live in Austin and it is really hot still. So we have outside time for about 30-45 minutes. Then we go inside and wash hands and work in the classroom for a little bit. Then its snack time. If the children are hungry before that, they are welcome to have snack and I really try to encourage them to listen to their bodies. We work with the materials and I give morning lessons. The classroom is set up like a traditional Montessori classroom with low shelves with a few thoughtfully placed items on each shelf. We also have a kitchen set up where the children work and do pouring exercises, etc. There is a really fun rug with roads, train tracks, a park, and a race track on it. The boys really love this! We also have an area for dress up that is available any time for the children. We have an awesome outside area with swings, basketball hoop, garden, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and a whole lot more. The children are learning lots of grace and courtesy and practical life. More to report soon.

The Montessori Prepared Enviornment

2008-07-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Main Points to Consider for the Prepared Environment:

The Prepared Environment is any where the child is. For all ages, it should be maintained and kept neat and orderly. As the child gets older they will be able to maintain it themselves, but the younger child will need assistance. "Less is more" is often a good motto with the Prepared Environment because children get over-stimulated and can't really "see" what they have. Fewer items on the shelves promotes respect and reverence for the materials. The shelves for the infant/crawler should be about 12inches and for the toddler they should be about 16 inches high. The child will be able to use the top shelf as a work space and will enjoy the fruits of their labor. Place mirrors and beautiful pictures above the shelf at eye level for the child. Then stand back and observe the beauty of the prepared environment.

Age 0-3 years:
It is simple, natural and encourages communication and movement from birth to three.
The child from birth to three has a keen sense of order and the Prepared Environment should foster that. It should not change for the first year of the child’s life.
Children should have a “main” play area and smaller areas in other parts of the house.
Toys should be attractive, easily accessible, age appropriate, and safe.

Age 3-6 years:
From age 3-6 the Prepared Environment should foster independence and self-control.
The child should be a part of family life and be included in family activities.
The child should be responsible for toys and other personal belongings.
The child can dress themselves and take care of many personal needs- it just takes a little more time.

Age 6-9 years:
The child is very independent and can take care of personal hygiene, dressing, etc.
The child should be included in many family activities and have responsibilities.
The child should have a study place to do homework, reading, etc.
Rotate toys and try to keep room simple and clean. Model putting things away.

If you are interested in more information about the Prepared Environment or I haven't covered your child's age, feel free to post questions and I will happily answer them.

2008-07-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Practical Life Exercises:

Maria Montessori's Practical Life exercises are directly connected to a child’s independence and sense of self.
The more we adults allow the child to work independently, repeat steps over and over and include them in as many activities as possible do we get the privilege of witnessing the beauty of the practical life exercises. These exercises are designed to inspire mastery and build skills allowing children to gain independence and self-discipline. These exercises include allowing the child to make their own snack, set the table and pour their own drink, as well as dress and undress themselves, brush their teeth and comb their hair.
Practical Life activities are the traditional works of the family and home. They can be broken down into four categories:

1. Preliminary activities – carrying a tray, pouring water, spooning grain, walking on the line, etc.

2. Care of the environment – cleaning, sweeping, dusting, gardening, raking, and polishing.

3. Care of self – dressing, toileting, brushing teeth, bathing, combing hair, preparing food, setting the table.

4. Grace and courtesy – using table manners, greeting others, saying “please” and “thank you”, learning to control one’s own body.

Remember that Practical Life activities are the daily routines and rituals that adults do in order to maintain their environment. When we remember to present these activities with enthusiasm and break them down into sequential steps, a child will feel encouraged as he practices them on his own. Montessori reminds us that “Adults work to finish a task, but the child works in order to grow and is working to create the adult, the person that is to be.” As adults, we work to finish tasks efficiently and quickly so as to move on to the next task. A child, however, is working to master the activity. He will practice repeatedly to perfect his abilities and then, may turn his attention elsewhere. We must observe the child and allow them uninterrupted time and space to master these newly found skills.

adapted from Montessori From the Start
by Paula Polk Lillard

Free Montessori Workshop Each Month at Austin Baby!

2008-07-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

From the Montessori coach:Fun in the summer months!

This workshop is all about having fun in the summer time and keeping a harmonious flow in your daily life. It can be difficult in the summer time when there is so much change, but staying with the Montessori philosophy can bring harmony and fun into the dog days of summer. Talitha will talk about Montessori philosophy, the Prepared Environment and offer suggestions for fun-filled activities in the summer.

Please join us for this free workshop and as always, Kids are welcome! Feel Free to pass this on to other people who might be interested. Thanks for your support!

Talitha's next free Montessori workshop at Austin Baby is Friday, July 25 , 2008 at 11:00 am.

First Blog Ever

2008-07-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog ever. I am a Montessori teacher/advisor/consultant in the austin area. I am startign this blog to share Montessori information, Q & A, fun things happening in the Austin area, recipes and all sorts of other things. I hope you are satisfied and I would love to hear from you if you have any questions regarding Montessori education.
Have a Great Day!