Thoughts....

I got a book for my birthday on using montessori approaches with children. Teaching is a passion of mine and now being a mom has made me want to collide the two together and help Ella. :) It is a dream of mine to one day open a montessori type school but in a public educational setting. (Really long way down the road) I have tons of research still to do. In the meantime I have been reading up on some things and found this very interesting.

It is from http://www.montessoriathomebook.com/Brain_Development.html

The brain weighs about 12 oz. at birth. By age 6, it weighs 95% of its adult weight, about 48 oz. Brain growth is 95% complete by age 6!

At birth, the brain contains over 100 billion nerves. Each nerve has branches connecting to other nerves. The potential pathways between nerve branches number in the trillions. Until about age 6 children open new brain nerve pathways at an astounding rate. The experiences a child has determine how many brain nerve pathways are opened, or ‘activated’. These active nerve pathways organize to create what scientists call brain architecture. We form most of our brain architecture by six years of age.

Around age 6, nerve connections that have been opened are kept by the brain. The rest begin to be eliminated in a process called ‘pruning’. Once eliminated, those connections are gone forever. Your child has about 6 years to open the maximum number of brain nerve connections and build the best brain architecture possible - for life.

Montessori At Home! will show you how to easily and inexpensively provide over 200 brain-building activities for your child - right at home. These activities will help your child develop a positive self-image, a love of learning, and early reading, writing, math and science skills. These are the best lifelong gifts you can give your child. Get started today!

I love the hands on approach to montessori learning. I also love that children learn at their own pace and it builds on one another. I love that if a kid isn't ready for something it isn't forced and they continue to get better at what they already know. The montessori approach lets a child develop when they are ready. So many times we push children into learning things that they aren't ready for just because of a state standard. Then there is a flip side to that, We don't push them into learning things because it isn't required. I am going to download the activities. Can't wait to practice them with Ella.