By: April Powell   (December, 2012) Well, you were right!  It happened to me just like many of you said it would.  Motherhood has completely changed my life in ways that I never expected (and I really thought I knew what to expect;-).  I am now understanding children (and myself) in a whole new way…

By Cass Aitken   (November, 2012) Sportsmanship is both a character trait and a skill. According to an article in Living Montessori Now, learning to play competitive sports with grace and sportsmanship requires practice. Montessori principles and techniques can be used to help teach and reinforce sportsmanship. When adults demonstrate sportsmanship, children learn to…

By:  Heather Brostron (5/3/12) I was very lucky this past February to have the opportunity to attend the annual refresher course that is held by the Association Montessori Internationale (we refer to this organization as ‘AMI’, for more information you can visit http://www.montessori-ami.org/ or http://www.amiusa.org).  I have now attended several of these conferences, as…

By: Sarah Ortmann   (3/22/12) One day, my sister handed me a packet of unmarked “mystery” seeds. My eyes lit up with excitement as I placed a tiny seed in a pot filled with fresh soil.  Every day I watered the little seed, watched for it to grow, and waited.  I observed thetiny seed sprout…

By: April Powell   (3/8/12) By the time children join us here in the primary classrooms (hopefully around 3 years old), they have already done so much huge work in their short lives.  Starting with nothing, these children have begun to build themselves and construct their personalities out of their experiences in the world. …

By: Judy Henrichs   (2/23/12) There are approximately 3300 words in the English language that are “values” words.  And I love every one of them.  They are all motherhood and apple pie. But the reality is that I, like you, actually live my life by a small puddle of them, perhaps 5 or 6. …

By: Lauren Melchior   (2-9-12) It was a relatively normal day. The to-do list kind of read like this: do the laundry, give our monster dog a bath (a considerable task) and clean the house. I was about halfway through giving my eighty pound goldendoodle a bath when I received a phone call that…

By: Tammy Swanson (1/26/12)   People have complimented me on many things throughout my life: my intelligence, ability to abstract, and creativity, to name a few. Yet, I have never heard a soul utter praise as to my practicality, coordination, or common sense. In fact, I’ve heard the opposite: “Seriously, Tammy? Doing it this…

By: Cass Aitken (12/15/11) There are so many awe inspiring and mind blowing activities that go on in the Elementary building.  I have had the opportunity to witness a few (the Great Lessons, and the children’s oral presentations about their research), and I hear about many more from my two daughters.  Most of the…

By:  Fred Henrichs   (12/1/11) Since my next article for the Compass is not due until next April (which will be too late for most of you), I will use my space this time for my second annual discussion of a topic no one wants to think about until at least next month:  TAXES!!!  In…