Mary’s School Blog

We had our first “parent ed”, which seemed to consist of me babbling about things in no particular order. Parent ed makes me nervous, as I feel that I am being called upon to be some sort of expert, but I apparently had been dying to talk to someone about school for a while (other than my children, my husband, and Lynn and Megan).

Anyway, I talked some about how I am never ceasing to remember the “slow moving world of the child”, as the lovely picture on my door, of the child carefully carrying a large try, illustrates. That I constantly realize that I am moving and talking to quickly for the children, that I am making leaps of expectation that are unreasonable, and that I need to slow down, or stop and sit. This is not to say that children are not capable and competent. In fact, I firmly believe that children are capable of almost anything, if it is presented slowly, consistently, in an understandable manner, and at their point of interest. But their point of interest and entry is not the same as mine.

More on that if there is interest.

One thing I wanted to talk about, and didn’t, is about the importance of the 4 year old program. As the picture above illustrates, Montessori education and Mary’s School depend on the competence of the oldest children to be role models, teachers in the classroom. I have talked about this many times, and it is still very true. Many of the lessons learned by the younger children are learned watching the older children do lessons. In fact, their interest in the older childrens’ work is one way to see what more demanding work they are ready for. They also like to learn from these “big kids”. And, of course, the amount of empathy you learn from helping, watching a younger child is immeasurable. It gives me so much pleasure to see the older children spontaneously help the younger ones. It reminds us all of where we came from, and where we are going. It makes the classroom work!

This all said (again), I am aware that each public school does/will have a 4 year old program, and perhaps, someday, a 3 year old program; that these programs have longer days, and are free! But I am now asking prospective parents, and you, to commit to the 3 year cycle at Mary’s School, not just to fill up the classroom, but to make it live. I cannot hold you to this, and will not “be mad” if you choose something else, but it is an expectation that I now hold to be very important to the health of the classroom.

As with all things, if you have questions or concerns, please bring them to me, and we can have a conversation, at least.

Something that has been lying on my desk for a month or so is the contribution from the children about the subject of “peace”, inspired by a book that Julia brought. The question was “what does peace feel like?” The answers: sweet, peaceful, flowers, candy, being still, when a dove whispers in your ear, when you rub your hand on a dove’s wing.”

On a different note, there is a 3 year old boy who answers, when we sing the song about “how are you?” -”dangerous”, without a hint of irony. This tickles everyone who is three or older very, very much.

My favorite question this week was, from the leader : “do you like everything?” No one laughed, or even smiled. All thought deeply. 7 yeses, 5 noes, and 3 “I don’t know”s. (I answered “yes”- why not?)

Dear song-singers,

I love you. I miss you. I miss about your not singing. I liked the hello singing best. I like going to school.

Love,
Joshua Kai (he wanted both first names)

Here’s a recipe that we always look forward to during the holidays in my family. It’s made with wild rice, which is harvested wild in the wetlands of my native Minnesota (and cultivated as a cash crop in California, but what fun is that?) I’ll bring in some wild rice to send in the package.
Thanks!
Paulette

WILD RICE CASSEROLE

1/2 cup cooked wild rice (use 1 1/2 cups water to cook)
1 cup white mushrooms
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup celery
2 tablespoons butter
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup*
1 cup cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat butter in a saucepan and saute mushrooms, onion, and celery until soft. Place sauteed ingredients into an oven-proof casserole. Mix in soup, cream, and rice. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 90 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

* It’s really important that the soup be condensed. If it’s not, the casserole will be very runny (I discovered this by experience!) If you don’t have access to condensed soup, perhaps you could either try to reduce it so it’s thicker or use only half of a can.