Teacher Help

Teacher help: We all need a little help from time to time. Maybe it’s reminders of strategies or concepts you already knew. Maybe you’ve tried everything with a student you can think of and now you are looking for new ideas or a different perspective. Maybe you are simply feeling stressed or reaching burnout, and are looking for an empathetic ear. Here is a supportive network to help make teaching a more sustainable career.

Walking in Nature Montessori Method Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Walking With Nature

Walking with Nature: New research shows walking and talking enhances our mental creativity. The primary source of walking’s cognitive benefits seems to come from its effects on the mysterious spontaneous fluctuations of our brains. Reason is not the source of intelligence. Instead, it’s the product of it.

Walking with nature also makes us feel good. It releases endorphins which lowers our risk of depression. Walking with nature also increases cognitive functioning and strengthens our memory.

Grace and Courtesy Montessori Method Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Grace and Courtesy

Grace and Courtesy: Teachers are picking up their virtual classroom pieces, gluing them back together and are now attempting to rebuild their classroom communities.

I’m not going to lie to you, this is truly a tall order. Virtual school was not ideal for many reasons. But it did offer one very important component which is missing from a school year littered with COVID obstacles and learning loss hurdles: Consistency.

Montessori classrooms that began the year relying on grace and courtesy lessons seem to be bouncing back most quickly. Here’s why.

Communication Strategies Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Communication Strategies

Communication Strategies: Parent-teacher communication can look differently among teachers and parents. Some relationships may be more difficult to establish than others, but there are a number of communication strategies that can help teachers and parents increase engagement in various situations.

Discovering the best methods of communication and formulating communication plans early in the year is important. And so is maintaining consistent communication throughout the year.

Public Montessori Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Non-Negotiables

Non-negotiables: Last week I started discussing the challenges Montessori programs might face when being implemented into a public-school system. These struggles can vary from small to large. And when looked at in their totality, they can have a devastating effect on a Montessori program.

Within public schools, we are asked to compromise a number of Montessori principles. Some of these compromises we can live with while some we simply cannot. To those we can’t, I refer to them as the ‘non-negotiables.’ And, believe me, the public school system has its own set of ‘non-negotiable’ too. 

Public Montessori Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Public Montessori

Public Montessori Schools: If I am being honest, I’m not even sure where to begin on this topic. Over my years as a Montessori educator, I feel ‘whether you can practice the Montessori Method with fidelity in the public sector’ continues to be a hotly debated topic.

During my first-year teaching at a new school, I remember an early conversation I had with one of the upper elementary guides I worked with. She hastily pointed out to me her opinion about public Montessori: “It’s impossible to teach Montessori in public schools.” I thought, my gosh, is this true?

Nurturing Independence Blog - Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

Nurturing INDEPENDENCE

Independence sometimes feels like a lofty but unobtainable goal for your children. As a caregiver, you don’t need to be told by anyone that teaching your children life skills and daily activities is a difficult job.

It seems when life is at its most hectic, you need your child to be more independent throughout your daily routine. What kind of adult support does a modern child need?

Sunday Blues Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources

August Blues

August blues: A teacher friend once explained to me that she views summer vacation much like a teacher’s weekend. The second half of June, when we finally arrive to summer, is like arriving to a Friday night. Time to finally relax and look forward to some decent rest. July is similar to a fun-filled Saturday. It’s time to partay! 

And then, August sneaks up on you, just like a Sunday. As each August day ticks by, it does so in the same manner each hour ticks by on a dreadful Sunday. I have come to know this as the “August blues.”

Summer Learning Bad News - Montessori Blog - Grumble Services Learning Resources Blog Post

Bad News

Bad News: Last week I rewatched The Bad News Bears. The movie came up randomly in a conversation with a loved one, as most things do. She mentioned she had never seen the movie. This caught me by surprise. I suggested we watch it that night if I could find it available in a streaming app.

I’m not referring to the new, sterilized 2005 version, mind you. Rather, the raw, gritty 1976 original. I warned her it would be a little rough to watch. Boy, how I understated that!

Generation Xer Blog - Grumble Services elementary Montessori materials & learning resources Follow the Child Dr. Montessori

Generation X

A song by the band Bush is playing. Not my personal favorite but it leads me back to the bands that paved the way before them: Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Breeders, Pearl Jam.

The cooks start discussing grunge and Generation Xers. “I’m not a Gen Xer, I think I am a millennial.” He is briefly interrupted, “I thought they were called generation Y?” The first speaker continues, “I read somewhere that you are considered a Generation Xer if you can remember where you were during the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. I can’t.”

I can. And that day was a wakeup call.

Summer Learning Bad News Bears - Montessori Blog - Grumble Services Learning Resources Blog Post

Summer Learning

Summer Learning: Ever notice kids tend to misuse the word bored?

As a teacher, it can be frustrating to hear this word from one of our students. In my Montessori classroom, I give the children a beautifully prepared environment. I try to keep all the materials on the shelves as relevant and as appealing as I can.

Then it happens.

One day, about midmorning, a student will come sit next to me. We look at each other without saying much. I might ask them, “how is your morning going?” They share, “I’m bored.”