"Talk to your kids or talk on the phone"

It's a common sight these days, and something that many of us are guilty of doing. We are playing or talking on our smartphones, while the young ones are nearby. Sometimes it is while they are playing with other children at the playground or children's museum. Sometimes it is while they are alone, sitting in their stroller, as we go for a walk or take a break at the park. We are just ridiculously conditioned to pay attention to those technological devices at all times. We are all addicted.

But to what cost to our young ones? NAMC shared an interesting article today on The Atlantic, called "Papa, Don't Text: The Perils of Distracted Parenting." It talks about the importance of actually engaging in two-way dialogue with children, even as young as infants, to teach them about linguistic skills. A study done back in 2009 showed that children whose parents actively engaged with them on a regular basis did better than those who were stimulated with electronic means.

Duh.

We all think that when we read something like this, but then how many of us go back to being on the electronic devices? How many people still rely on technology to "boost" their child's learning?

It's not just with the young children, either. Even as adults, we tend to play on our phones when we perceive that we are bored. I was recently in Chicago with one college friend, and we stayed with another college friend we hadn't seen in 15 years. I remember noting at the time how much our lives had changed. 15 years ago, I was probably the only one with a cell phone. It cost something like a dollar a minute to use, so I only had it for emergencies. Back then, we actually spent time talking and debating various topics. Now, we all sat playing on our phones, because it was too hot to go anywhere. There was little to no quality conversation during the entire weekend.

Make more of a conscious effort to put away the electronics, especially when young children are around. I try to keep mine put away when I am with my friends' kids or babysitting. They are not allowed in my classroom, unless we are looking up something. Talk to the kids and actively listen to what they are saying. Engage them in both natural language learning and socialization, before we create a generation of zombies!

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile

True Confessions: I used the Kindle Fire in class yesterday

My beloved refurbished Kindle Fire arrived at my house Friday evening. I was ridiculously excited and played with it all evening. I brought it with me to school yesterday. And then, yes, I used it in the classroom.

*GASP*

Honestly, I used it for the same thing I have used my Droid on occasion. A few months ago, one of my kids asked me how a tree is made into paper. I knew we didn't have any books on the topic, so I found a YouTube video for kids, a la PBS-like, that shows how trees are made into paper. He sat to the side and watched the video a couple of times and then started to explain the process to other kids. Every once in a while after that, he would ask to watch it again.

Interjection: I prefer allowing him to watch an educational video on my small Droid than to have broadcast it on that ginormous monstrosity known as the SmartBoard. That way, the other children were able to continue on with their work without being disturbed.

A few weeks ago, I managed to actually locate a children's book about how trees are made into paper. I handed it to the boy, who immediately looked through it, and then he put it in the book area. The other children have been reading it for the past several days.


Yesterday, one of the girls asked me if she could watch the video, also. Voila - a chance to pull out the Kindle Fire. The screen is larger, so it was easier to see what was going on. I pulled up the video and she sat with the Fire in the rocking chair, watching it two times. The first boy asked if he could use the Droid to do the same. A small group formed to watch the video and then to discuss what they had just seen. And then they returned the technology and went back to their works.

Actually, some of them started to create their own science experiments, but that is another story.

I know I can also use the Fire for showing some sight word books to mix it up for the kids. I have already been doing that on the laptop here and there. I will never replace real books in my classroom; but, I think I can implement a little technology and be okay.

Let go of your agenda

Even Montessori teachers have to adhere to some sort of agenda. We make plans about what we are going to teach our kids. We have certain requirements that we need to meet, especially when kids are moving on to public schools. And yes, we do need to answer to parents to an extent. That is the crappy part of the job. But the beauty of Montessori is sometimes you can just absolutely let it go.

My first major agenda change happened last week. I was all set to do my Extended Day sound of the week lesson. The kids had just came back from lunch, so they were still changing their shoes. Instead of us always tying the children's shoes, we encourage them to ask a friend. This is one of those skills that children always seem to learn better from each other than from an adult. I vividly remember the boy who taught me how to tie my shoes in Montessori kindergarten.

One of our boys learned how to tie his shoes at the end of last school year and has been very helpful with the other children. On that day, he was feeling a little frustrated with everyone asking him to help tie their shoes. He finally exclaimed, "Okay, everyone! You all need to learn how to tie your shoes!"

I quietly said, "You know, there are dressing frames over in practical life that will help you practice tying shoes."

The boy in question walks over to the bin and gets out the bow-tying frame. "Okay, everyone, watch me!" And he proceeds to give his own lesson on the tying frame. The kids were so excited that they wanted more dressing frames. I didn't yet have them all out, so I went to the storage closet and filled the bin. They gave each other lessons on the dressing frames for a solid 20 minutes. I did finally get around to my sounds lesson, but this somehow took priority.

Today there was a similar story. I did my sounds book and they brainstormed new words. They got out their notebooks to write some of them down. I noticed that the aforementioned boy and another one were doing more than just writing words in their notebooks. The second boy just recently started taking Chinese classes. He is madly in love with his new talent of writing Chinese characters and was teaching the first boy how to make some. He then started showing me some of them and I told him I could add some works to the shelf if he was interested. He got very excited.

I pulled out my laptop and showed him a couple of activities that I already knew. He helped to teach us how to correctly pronounce the Chinese numbers from 1-10. He commented that he wanted to know how to make more of the numbers, but hadn't yet gotten there at Chinese school. So, I hopped on YouTube and found a video about making numbers. I played it and asked him if that looked right. He said yes and got very excited to see how some larger numbers were made. One by one more children came around to watch. Some of them even grabbed their notebooks and were trying to make the characters. They also asked to watch a short video that taught them the color names in Chinese. We watched a few of them repeatedly. Have I maybe found a use for that damn SmartBoard? (Although my assistant and I agreed that we preferred the intimacy of using the laptop, instead.)

It was very exciting for me as well as the children. This is what I love about Montessori education. You follow the child and his interests. And you can learn from him just as much as he will learn from you.

SmartBoard Technology in the Montessori Classroom

Ok, I am being naughty and typing directly on my phone during a SmartBoard presentation at my school. I will be honest that I just do not see the benefits of having such technology in the 3-6 classroom.

I have been told that it is okay because the SmartBoard is manipulative. Yes, it is manipulative. You can move it. But Montessori is more than just manipulation. Maria Montessori emphasized th e tactile part of learning. The child needs to feel the contours of the edges of a shape to understand what differentiates a square from a circle. Just pulling one from a menu and describing what it looks like is not enough. Those details come later in math education. If the,hand is the direct link to the mind, how does this work? Isn't this skipping over a very important step?

It is no secret that I am not a fan, particularly in the 3-6 classroom. Many of my colleagues feel the same way. My school has chosen to be a leader in the technological developments. So,have some others. And yet our presenter has also commented that other Montessori schools were less than pleasant about the opportunity.

I realize that I do not have much of a choice but learn how to use it. I am hoping that someone can possibly convince me of the benefits, because I just haven't yet seen them.