Growing Creative Thinkers
In the last couple of months, I’ve been able to connect with a number of my own past students and graduates of Marin Montessori School…
Grit Under Pressure: A Montessorian at Mathletes
Math anxiety was already a hot topic 25 years ago when I was a student…
What Happens When We Embrace the Human Tendencies
My three children are as distinct and beautifully themselves as any three human beings can be – and yet they undoubtedly developed along a nearly identical track, experiencing the same lurches and regressions at roughly the same stages of development.
Want a Healthy College Kid? Start Now.
In this episode, Sam Shapiro, Marin Montessori’s Head of School, speaks to Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, about the mental health crisis on college campuses and what we might do about it.
Throughout their deeply felt conversation, they try to work backward to identify the strategies parents of young children can use to increase the likelihood that their kids will enter college healthy, confident, and whole.
What to Do When the School Doubts Set In
Most of us miss the first part of DeCartes’ most famous axiom. He actually said, “dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum,” which translates, roughly, to “I doubt, therefore I think, I think therefore I am.”
Turns out that the first part is super important. To doubt is to ask questions that pressure-test assumptions and choices.
How to Catch the Spark of Curiosity and Build a Fire: Lessons from Elephant Seals
Early childhood years are all about curiosity…
Why Hands-On Projects Matter: A Student’s Perspective
In an era where almost everything people do is online…
Why Creativity Matters: A Lesson from DrawBridge
Children are creative creatures — and not just with paints and clay but also with how they approach challenges. We know it’s crucial to nurture their creative spirits, but sometimes that’s easier said than done.
Enter DrawBridge, a nonprofit organization that provides free expressive arts programs to children in domestic violence and homeless shelters, affordable housing facilities, and in communities across seven San Francisco Bay Area counties. In this episode, Tracy Bays-Boothe, Executive Director of DrawBridge, shares about her organization, the power of nurturing the creative spirit, and why she’s so excited that DrawBridge is this year’s Community Partner for The Gather for Good, which takes place on April 15 this year.
Lessons from Chickens: How To Make Science Come to Life
We’re all scientists before we’re science students. When their natural curiosity is not cultivated, though, they can lose interest in the scientific principles that allow them to see their world differently.
It’s not their fault, of course.
Why Story?
Storytelling is in our DNA. As human beings, we evolved to tell stories as a way to convey emotion and share information. Storytelling is how we educate and entertain. It’s how we learn about our world and find meaning in it. More than anything, storytelling is how we connect with one another.
Recent Posts
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Seen and Understood: What Happens When
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Beyond the Backpack: Montessori Ideas for
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