BRAIN POWER: Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them

New research on when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts could reshape early education.

From the New York Times

Click here to read.

Why Montessori?

Enjoy this 2 part video, "Why Montessori"

Part 1

Part 2

Special Presentation by Dr. Steven Hughes on November 30th

Join us the evening of November 30th as Countryside Montessori hosts a special presentation by World-Renowned Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Dr. Steven Hughes at the Glenbrook South High School auditorium.

Dr. Steven Hughes will be coming to Northbrook to talk with parents about what the study of the brain tells us about learning environments for young children.

Dr. Hughes says:
“Children now in school will face adult life as “independent agents” to a degree never before seen in our history. They will not be tied to a single job, employer, or even industry, and will experience career paths that were unimaginable as little as 20 years ago. This is occurring even as the trend toward rigid control, high-stakes academic testing, and limited school curricula has robbed them of the opportunities necessary to develop the broad-based problem-solving skills necessary for happy, productive, interesting lives.”

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Do you know...
Most critical periods for brain development
are over by age 6?

Join us for a special presentation by Dr. Steven Hughes
World-Renowned Pediatric Neuropsychologist

Monday, November 30, 2009 7:00p.m.-9:00p.m.
Watson Auditorium at Glenbrook South High School
4000 West Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois
Sponsored by Mothers of Countryside Montessori School

Open to the Public, All are Welcome
Call Now to Reserve a Place 847.769.4889

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About Dr. Steven Hughes

Steven J. Hughes, PhD, LP, ABPdN is Director of Education and Research for The TOVA Company, and assistant professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Dr. Hughes completed his PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and his post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he joined the faculty of the Division of Pediatric Clinical Neurosciences in 2001.

In his clinical work, he has specialized in neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents with a wide range of learning, developmental, and medical disorders, and assisted in the supervision and training of future neuropsychologists. Himself a Montessori parent, Dr. Hughes has helped many families from the Twin Cities Montessori community understand their child’s special educational or developmental needs. He is a frequent guest lecturer at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota and a Montessori schools around Minnesota and Wisconsin.

His research interests include measurement of attention and executive functioning in children and adults, the effects of living in poverty on child development, and the neurodevelopmental benefits of classical Montessori education.

For more information on Dr. Hughes, visit his website www.goodatdoingthings.com.

Goal Setting

There’s an old joke about a newly married couple thinking of the life they will have together. They foresee having children, the children growing up, going away to school, getting married, leaving them alone. Before they know it they’re crying and missing these children they don’t even have yet. Silly, but perhaps there’s something to be learned here. Parents need to think about what they really want for their children. Of course, we all want health, happiness, education and a satisfying adult life for our children. But, we all know adults whose parents wanted these things for their children, but who somehow got to be adults who are not very happy with their jobs, their marriages, even their children. Is there something we can do to make it more likely for these goals to be met? Should the goals be more specific? What might such a list of goals look like? Here are some...

• Children who are peaceful, fun-loving, compassionate, generous, helpful, interested, trustworthy, and fit;
• children who love learning;
• children who take positions of leadership early on;
• children who remember their school experiences fondly;
• children who love their country;
• children who love to sing;
• children who have the opportunity to experience nature in all its wonder;
• children who respect their teachers and their parents because it is deserved, not because they fear them;
• children who take responsibility not only for themselves, but see their part in school, community, civic, and social situations as well;
• children who find ways to be useful and serve their family, school and community;
• children who accept a challenge;
• children who are active rather than passive;
• children who are curious;
• children who persevere when things don't go well;
• children who ask for help when it's needed, and decline it when it is not;
• children who are independent and can think for themselves now, even when they are two or three years old, and not have to wait 'till "they're bigger";
• children who will work for peace wherever it is absent.

Ah, you say. Easy to make such a list. But how does one go about helping their children accomplish these goals? Certainly, one must look for every opportunity and offer encouragement. But, perhaps the most effective way is through our own example as
parents. We must:

• model appropriate behavior;
• practice what we preach;
• volunteer at school, at church, in our community;
• speak positively of school and society;
• vote in every election;
• sing and listen to music;
• know the names of local birds, flowers and trees, and spend at least one night each year out in a tent;
• speak well of each other;
• understand that respect must be earned and is not a right that comes with our position;
• stop when we see someone who needs help, donate to charities regularly, and be good neighbors;
• do rather than talk ;
• ask questions and seek answers;
• not give up;
• admit mistakes;
• trust our children and believe they learn by doing, not by hearing;
• be able to stand back and let our children make small mistakes;
  
• and consciously endeavor to be peacemakers.

Can we make guarantees? No. But what powerful tools we give our children through the example of such a lifestyle.

Sanity in the Morning

In the October issue of Real Simple, there is an article on how to get through the morning with your children. It features a series of vignettes from different families with different challenges. It asks the reader to imagine her morning hours: calm, peaceful and productive. And, they claim, it’s no pipe dream. One Mom’s motto is making the morning fun. After years of pleading with her children to get up and get ready, she settled on something that works. She bought two giant wheels of carnival tickets and made up the rules of the game. The first boy up, dressed and with teeth brushed, got a “premiun” ticket. The first to report to the kitchen gets a ticket. Then, on Sunday, they get to trade tickets for small prizes she has purchased. If there is extra time, they sit on the front porch together. There’s a photo of the boys on skate boards, mom and dad on the stoop, and the girl, drinking a glass of milk.

In another vignette, a mom spent years struggling with two boys who wanted different things for breakfast, or having to urge them to set something substantial. Eventually together with her boys, they created a list of daily specials (waffles, eggs, miso soup, etc.) and posted it on the kitchen wall. The kitchen is open from 6:15 to 6:45 each weekday morning. Like in any restaurant, the boys must follow house rules to get service. No pajamas, and a good attitude. Once breakfast is finished, the boys bus the table, pour leftover water into the houseplants, and scatter crusts for the quail in the yard. Then they gather their books and are off to school.

Another mom likens her morning to a “well-organized three ring circus. Everyone has a job to do and a role to play. At night, the children lay out their school clothes for the next day, including hair ties, and pack their school bags with books, homework, signed permission sheets, etc. Then they line them up, unzipped by the door so that lunches can be added. If lunch is forgotten, the consequence is cafeteria food which they all dislike. Before bedtime, one of the children sets the table for breakfast and puts a vitamin at each place. In the morning, after waking to their own alarm clocks, the children have 15 minutes to wash up, dress and make their beds. If they are not down promptly, they get a protein bar or a banana. That only happened once. After
breakfast, two of the girls empty the dishwasher and clear the table.

Still another mother got tired of nagging every morning. So she sets timers. She has nine timers set around the house, for the two older boys. Her youngest daughter usually sleeps right through the timers. Now, everybody knows how much time they have. When necessary, she calmly says ‘The timer went off.”

It would be interesting to take a look in a few months to see what’s still working. Which do you think is more effective? Whose children will benefit in the long-run? Which moms are putting out little fires and which moms are preparing their children for the future? Which moms are feeding their children and which moms are teaching their children to fish?

Driekers Study Group Starting October 13th

Join our free study group on the book "Children: The Challenge" by Dr. Rudolf Dreikur.
Click here to learn more about this program.

Begins October 13th. Everyone welcome - this study group is open to the public.

Call or email the school to reserve a spot or for more information.

info@countrysidemontessori.org
(847)498-1105

View Flyer

Montessori in the Home

Children want to be part of the family.
Come see how easy it is to make it happen.

Join us for a parent education class - Thursday, October 1st, 2009.
Everyone welcome. Call to reserve a space: (847)498-1105

Click here to view flyer.

CHARACTER IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

I was at a park recently and observed several small groups of children playing in the sand. As is always the case, there was a variety of behaviors: some children played cooperatively, some struggled, some were selfish and demanding. In addition to the children, I noticed the parents who went along with this group of frolickers. As is also usually the case, there was a variety of behaviors in this group as well: some parents intervened successfully, others intervened unsuccessfully, and some did not intervene at all.

And it got me to wondering: why? Why was the human being created this way? Why are the social graces and qualities of good character not inherent within us at birth the way that so many other things are like our need to satisfy our hunger, to protect ourselves from danger, to reproduce? Why were we not given what we need to live happily and peacefully together as a part of our genetic code? The response to that question remains and will always remain unanswered. It is a part of the eternal mystery of the human condition.

What I did reflect upon, however, is that the human child at birth is primarily a blank slate: given an innate urge to live and move forward, but little more, so that he can adapt to the particular culture into which he is born. Although this blankness leaves each new child with much to accomplish in his first years of life - he manages to learn all facets of his particular culture, a formidable task indeed! – it also allows for the diversity and distinctness of each man and woman that is the splendor of the human race. In this instance, I speak of diversity not in physical characteristics, but rather cultural. Although all of the same species, we do not eat the same foods, we do not speak the same languages, we do not sing the same songs, wear the same clothes, hold the same ideas of beauty. Each human culture has created its own set of standards and ideals.

The result is that we are born with an incredible freedom granted no other being on earth. What a magnificent gift! What a glorious mystery: There is no telling when a baby is born who he will be, what he will choose for his life. But as is always the case, freedom comes with responsibility. And this is what is at once curious and divine: The baby is not born with a sense of responsibility. The task of inculcation rests squarely on the shoulders of the parents. It is solely and unilaterally their task. A helpless newborn human child takes longer than any other creature to become independent. And it is during this long apprenticeship borne of love that our children realize not only how to survive but also how to distinguish what is right and what is wrong - the very essence of morality. Our children are born into freedom with the desperate need to learn the qualities of fine character.

The question that begs our attention, then, is how to do this. How do we go about helping our children grow into adults of good character? When do we go about it? What are those qualities that we wish for them? There are many qualities of character that are universally embraced, across cultures and across the span of time: courage, honesty, perseverance, patience, strength, generosity, good humor, humility, forgiveness, kindness. The old adage here to practice what you preach goes a long way. Our first chance to teach our children directly is to be aware of our own behavior and choices. We must be living models of what we wish our children to become. But, among those qualities listed was not perfection. This does not mean that we have to be the perfect models of proper behavior. In fact, it is often when we do or say something that we regret that we have our first chance to speak to our children of humility and forgiveness!

Most of these qualities can be encouraged in children at a much younger age than we realize. The ability to persevere is one which children learn about from the time they can first control their movement in any way. When they see something that they want for themselves and start to scoot over toward it, we have as parents an early chance to help our children learn to struggle for something they want. And what’s best is that all we have to do in this case is nothing. Nothing. We must resist the temptation to move that object closer to the child or the child closer to the object. This is struggle and accomplishment in its fragile nascent beginning. Even when he cries out in frustration, we need then to encourage not to relieve. In this way we are thinking differently about our interactions with our children. We are asking ourselves: What opportunity lies here for me to teach?

Patience is another virtue best encouraged from the start. Again when we watch our young children struggle with a task, it is often our own impatience which causes us to intervene - on their behalf, of course, or so we tell ourselves. But this really is an opportunity both to model patience and to allow your child to develop his own patience. This first notion of patience will come through patience with himself. Later as he grows older, he will then understand to wait for the elderly man walking slowly in front of him, to wait pleasantly in the long line at the store, to allow others who may take longer with an answer some extra time to think.

Opportunities to foster courage are also present very early in the child’s life. How we respond to our own fears as well as those of our children will have a significant impact. To protect our children from all that they fear certainly does not prepare them for what they will face in their own life experiences. Still, it is a difficult paradox. How do we support our children yet not cripple them with too much help. There is no easy answer here. Each instance must be considered one at a time. When a child faces something that frightens him that you, the adult, know to be safe, reflect back to your child calm reassurance that he can manage it. Balance being close enough to offer support with enough space for your child to feel he can do it alone. In the face of something that frightens your child, sometimes it can be best to simply tell him he can handle it and walk away. It is often this calm assured communication of his ability to overcome his fear that helps a child realize he can manage something independently. A strong clear vote of confidence can do wonders. The tough part as a parent is to remind yourself that there is no way to overcome fear without some discomfort. There is no way to circumnavigate this part of the learning process. But the reward and satisfaction of accomplishment is also irreplaceable.

The list goes on and the opportunities are endless – if we take the time to think each day about the virtues we are trying to instill in our children, and also that we are the ones who must instill them. The development of good character in our children needs constant conscious attention. It is not something that will just happen. Our chance to influence our children passes much too quickly. No one waits to remind us of this, to help us refocus, to help us stay attentive. It is a matter of careful, thoughtful, determined, intentional, daily practice.

Click to see related article published in the TribLocal edition of the Chicago Tribune.

National Recognized Parenting Expert, John Rosemond, Gives Presentation at Countryside

Countryside continued the tradition this fall of bringing in a well known speaker to present to Countryside parents and the community. We were educated and entertained by John Rosemond the author of "Bringing out the Best in your Child."

John Rosemond is one of a handful of parenting experts who promote a truly traditional approach to raising children. John is a family psychologist with more than 35 years experience working with parents to improve the quality of life in their families. His nationally-syndicated newspaper column appears in more than 200 newspapers and has more than 10 million readers. In 1989, John's Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children was published by Andrews McMeel. It rapidly became a best-seller. Since then, he has written twelve more parenting classics, including Parenting by The Book, published by Howard Books in 2007.

John is also one of America's most in-demand speakers on parenting and family issues. He gives more than 200 presentations a year to parent and professional groups all over the USA (see Speaking Schedule for upcoming talks), and is known as an entertaining and engaging speaker.

"You can't teach a child how to act without also teaching the child what you want him to think. It's called passing on your values, which you cannot do by mincing either words or action." - John Rosemond

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If you would like to receive notification of upcoming speakers, let us know by contacting us at (847)498-1105 or via email.