Making a Difference

By: James Rice

Every person; big or small, can make a difference. Like no other time in history, we are an interconnected world community. We understand the importance of life and living it in a sustainable manner. However, as a singular person it becomes daunting when trying to make a difference.

One of my favorite group lessons that I have ever observed on the incredible impact that individuals can make was perhaps one of the simplest. The students were asked to sit in a giant circle. Each student was given a piece of paper and asked to hold it in their lap. They then were asked to look at the circle and see how clean it was. One student was then asked to crumble her paper and toss it into the middle of the circle. The students observed that the single crumbled paper did not have much of an impact on the cleanliness of the circle. However, as one by one each student crumbled their paper and tossed it into the circle they quickly realized that although they individually only contributed one small crumbled paper to their circle, it quickly grew into a massive pile. This simple lesson demonstrated to the students and to me, the difference we each can make.

At The Boyd School, each March for the past 4 years, we have joined in the global movement to make an impact and symbolically unite for a cause - our planet. 

What is Earth Hour?

Earth Hour is a simple idea that quickly turned into a global phenomenon.  Hundreds of millions of people around the world turn off their lights for one hour on the same night, to focus on the one thing that unites us all - our planet.  Earth Hour is a great opportunity for schools and parents to talk to children about our planet and the importance of taking care of it. For more information, visit the World Wildlife Federation site and watch the video below:

When is Earth Hour?

Global Earth Hour will be held on Saturday, March 23rd from 8:30 - 9:30pm.  The Boyd School will host a school day Earth Hour on Friday, March 22 from 9:30 - 10:30am.  The school will turn off lights and minimize power sources to contribute to Earth Hour 2013. We encourage our families to participate in Earth Hour on Saturday evening and take the opportunity to commitment as a family to do something more for the planet that goes beyond the hour.

James Rice is the Campus Director of The Boyd School - Herndon Campus. James has been with The Boyd School since 2006 and has served as Director of Admissions and Campus Director at various Boyd locations.  He enjoys art, music, sports and giving back to the community. 

What is Boyd Montessori?

What does it mean to have a Boyd School Montessori education? We want to know what it means to you; our students, our families, our teachers and staff. 

Here’s the challenge though, can you to tell us in 15 seconds or less? 

Viddy is a great video editing and sharing app that limits the length of videos to 15 seconds. Share your Boyd School-themed Viddy with us on Twitter by using the #BoydMontessori hashtag. Or simply email your 15 second video to publicrelations@theboydschool.com

As part of Montessori Education Week, we will be sharing our favorites on our social media sites. The most creative entry as voted by our Facebook followers will receive a token of appreciation from the school. 

The Importance of Routine

Rituals and routines provide children with security and a sense of safety. Their understanding of what comes next allows for them to prepare. Change is difficult and transitions can present challenges. By developing a routine, children know what to expect and this reduces the stress on everyone and makes for a much calmer transition.

The consistency provided by the five day a week program helps children (and parents) develop a routine and begins to help children develop a mastery of self. Throughout the course of their young lives children are presented with any number of changes that are beyond their control. Infants and toddlers are confronted with giving up breastfeeding, bottles, cribs, to name a few. They are placed in new environments surrounded by new people. All of these erode their sense of security. Predictability allows for children to develop self-discipline, to take control of their own activities and gives them the confidence to tackle new challenges. Being around the same adults and same classmates on a consistent basis helps them develop true relationships quicker and aids in their social development. Children often display signs of stress when presented with the challenge of missing a classroom event such as birthday celebration or a special lesson on a day when they were not in class. It is more difficult for children attending school on a partial week schedule to grasp concepts and often takes them longer to show academic growth.

Children from homes where belongings are not properly put away have a difficult time understanding that life can run more smoothly if things are organized a little. In a Montessori learning environment, children are exposed to neat and orderly classrooms. They learn to care for their classroom, respect their classmates, and to properly use the learning materials. The order of the Montessori classroom allows for children to focus and concentrate on their work without worry. Children learn to prepare a work space and meticulously note the materials needed to complete their task. Because each child cares for their environment and carefully stores the learning materials when their work is done, there is no worry of a missing puzzle piece or broken materials.

The importance of establishing routines or family rituals can have an even greater impact as children grow older. Something as mundane as a family game night every Thursday has the potential to provide families with a venue for family discussions in a safe environment. Even in the most difficult of times of adolescence, children can look forward to these predetermined events.

Six Benefits of Using Routines with Your Kids

By: Dr. Laura Markham

1. Routines eliminate power struggles because you aren't bossing them around.  This activity (brushing teeth, napping, turning off the TV to come to dinner) is just what we do at this time of day.  The parent stops being the bad guy, and nagging is greatly reduced.

2. Routines help kids cooperate by reducing stress and anxiety for everyone.  We all know what comes next, we get fair warning for transitions, and no one feels pushed around.

3.  Routines help kids learn to take charge of their own activities.  Over time, kids learn to brush their teeth, pack their backpacks, etc., without constant reminders.  Kids love being in charge of themselves. This feeling increases their sense of mastery and competence.  Kids who feel more independent and in charge of themselves have less need to rebel and be oppositional.

4. Kids learn the concept of "looking forward" to things they enjoy, which is an important part of making a happy accommodation with the demands of a schedule.  He may want to go to the playground now, but he can learn that we always go to the playground in the afternoon, and he can look forward to it then.

5. Regular routines help kids get on a schedule, so that they fall asleep more easily at night.

6. Schedules help parents maintain consistency in expectations. If everything is a fight, parents end up settling: more TV, skip brushing teeth for tonight, etc.  With a routine, parents are more likely to stick to healthy expectations for everyone in the family, because that's just the way we do things in our household.  The result: a family with healthy habits, where everything runs more smoothly!

Botany in the Montessori Learning Environment

Children “learn by doing” and that is a key element in the Montessori Method. 

Students learn about the different parts of a leaf. The lesson is first explained to the group by the Directress.  The next part of the lesson is for the students to “go out” into their environment and bring back what they have found into the classroom.

The use of beautiful materials within the Montessori classroom goes hand in hand with the overall learning process.   By using the “Botany Cabinet,” the child learns the shapes and names of the leaves by tracing their borders and matching them to those they actually found in their own environment.  This enables the child to actually see and touch and learn.  We refer to this as a sensorial experience.

The children absorb a limitless wealth of impressions, taking in all of the elements of the world around them.  This lays a foundation for the love of learning for years to come.

A Day Out

Brother & sister experiencing a day out.

Parents often ask how they can extend their child’s learning from school to home. There are countless ways to do so, but perhaps the most important piece of advice I can provide is for them to do something as a family. Children learn by their experiences. This concept is at the cornerstone of the Montessori Method.

The experiences gained by a day out are immeasurable. Touching, feeling, smelling the world around heightens learning and provides children with lasting memories. A trip to the zoo or a museum offers the chance for a child to not only imagine being in a far off, exotic environment, but actually experiencing a close replica. It almost becomes an adventure.

Although a wonderful family event, it far too often becomes simply that...a singular event - a day out. Imagine the possibilities and the excitement that you could generate before and after your trip with just a little effort. Not only would this give your child a better experience during the day out, but also has the potential to turn your trip into a lifetime memory.

Here are a few simple ideas to do just that:

1. Visit the local library or download some books related to the place you’ll be visiting. Read the books together. This will create excitement for your child but also help you understand your child’s perspective on where you are going. Make sure to read a good selection of both fiction and non-fiction books, to spark your child’s creativity while giving a foundation of knowledge.
2. Make a scavenger hunt. Print out or download to your phone images that you expect to see on your trip. If your children have seen a painting or sculpture and know a little information about the artist, a trip to an art gallery becomes magical.
3. Create a collage. Before your trip, use old magazines or print out photos of what you expect to see. During the trip, give your child a camera. I have yet to meet a child that did not love taking photographs. After the trip, have your child use their photographs to make a collage to display in their room.
4. Go on a letter hunt. B is for Butterfly. During the day, have your child spot items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Take a picture, upload your photos to one of the many online print services and create your own letter book from your trip.
5. Cook a meal inspired by your trip. I saved the best for last (at least in my opinion). Nearly everything we do can have a connection to food. Cooking with your children is wonderful, so much can be learned and the experience in and of itself is simply fun.

Civics - The Montessori Way

Election Day has passed. I was amazed at how many students came to school yesterday proudly wearing an “I Voted” sticker. This badge of honor indicated how many of them had the opportunity to visit a polling station and begin to understand our country’s political process. However, as a school that embraces the Montessori philosophy of education, nothing teaches like doing.

Snack Election at The Boyd School - Reston

Children at a young age begin to understand cause and effect; or in this case, sow and reap. Early Childhood students at The Boyd School - Reston Campus were given a real-life and age-appropriate civics lesson. Yesterday, they were presented with two alternatives for the snack today; homemade ice cream or Rice Krispies treats. Votes were individually and privately cast. Today, the children will be making homemade ice cream as a result.

Students in the Upper Elementary School at The Boyd School - Westfields Campus participated in the Youth Leadership Initiative at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. After independent and shared research through the use of various media, the students were given the opportunity to form their own decisions based on each candidate’s platform. The culminating Mock Election yielded additional learning moments when their results clearly showed that personal preference and outside influence do impact the results when a blind vote of each candidate’s platform was far from in-line with the actual ballots cast.

Giving children the tools to make informed decisions and helping them understand the cause and effect of their actions will benefit them greatly throughout their lifetime.

Innovation on Display

As parents and educators, we are presented with the task of preparing our children for the future. A future that has become increasingly harder to comprehend, let alone predict. The world is changing at a pace far quicker than at any point in history. It often is said that this generation of children will be working in fields that don't even currently exist. So, how can we possibly prepare our children to succeed and thrive in a future that is beyond our understanding?

Montessori materials on exhibit at MoMA.
Photograph from Museum of Modern Art

Preparing young children for the future and truly embracing their development is a relatively recent concept. A current exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York entitled, ‘Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000’ showcases and examines this concept. The image of the child transformed during the 20th century from that of a small adult who should be put to work as soon as possible to that of a entirely different creature filled with potential. However, as Ken Johnson wrote in his review of the exhibit for the New York Times, the fundamental question became “What do children need to flourish and become proper members of society?” Johnson further writes that the exhibit examines, “How much freedom to allow and how much control to impose are questions not only about children but also about people everywhere in a time of declining traditional values and expanding possibilities for new ways of being and doing.”

The exhibit at MoMA features Montessori materials described as follows; “From systematic analysis, [Montessori] devised an activity-based teaching method that used material objects to stimulate their senses, and she believed that children should be allowed to explore these materials at their own pace.” Her method of observing and supporting the natural development of children helps them develop creativity, problem-solving, and time-management skills. 

Julia Child's kitchen at the Nat'l Museum of American History
Photograph from Smithsonian Institute

The skills developed and nurtured in a Montessori environment help children to “think outside of the box” and to innovate. Montessori schools across the world herald the technology industry as a prime example of the pioneering skills cultivated by this learning method with former students such as; the founders of Google - Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founder of Amazon.com - Jeff Bezos, and founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales. But the pioneering spirit can be traced back before these modern creative geniuses. August 15 marked what would have been the 100th birthday of Julia Child. Child credited her love of working with her hands to her own Montessori learning experience. She encouraged people to try new things, to experiment, to discover, and yes, even to fail. If you spend any time observing in a Montessori environment, you will see each one of these. As part of the National Museum of American History’s celebration of Julia Child’s 100th birthday, her kitchen will be on display through September 3.

“Learn how to cook– try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all, have a good time.”

~ Julia Child