For those of you who are just meeting us or those who have not had the pleasure (yes pleasure) of hearing one of my many lectures about the benefits of Montessori, the Riggs' family LOVES Montessori! For those that have little ones or are thinking about little ones in the future, I highly recommend reading about the Montessori philosophy. Since I could not possibly do justice by try to explain all of the wonderful details of Montessori, I will give a few details and some recommendations for some great books to reference.
We have tried to implement as much of the Montessori philosophy as is right for our family from the beginning, but since the boys have started Montessori school they have blossomed. The first time I heard Kaden say "Lakelan, may I please have that train back" my heart skipped a beat. And when Lakelan responded to this request by (brace yourself) giving the train back, I think that Nathan had to peel me off the kitchen floor! Kaden has become so caring and compassionate towards others I can hardly believe that he once had trouble socializing with others at all. Montessori's main goal, above academics, is to raise self sufficient, caring, life learners and we are so grateful that our boys are able to follow this wonderful philosophy.
I recently asked the boys teachers what their chosen activities are during work time. Lakelan loves puzzles. He is very interested in his letters these days. While reading a book recently, Lakelan pointed at the letter A and said "A aaaaa" he then did the same for the letter S. We are so proud of his progress! Currently Kaden has no interest in learning his letters. His teacher told us that he generally stays in the math section. He enjoys working with the wooden stairs, the rods and the counting beads. He also enjoys his shapes as well as puzzles.
I am sure that I will talk about Montessori more in this blog but for anyone that is interested, some great book suggestions are
Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard and
Teaching Montessori in the Home by Elizabeth Hainstock. These books along with many Montessori materials can be found on Amazon.com (whose founders, by the way, are products themselves of Montessori).
So, without further adieu, a few pics of the boys in action....
Kaden strengthening his writing muscles as well as his concentration by pulling Kernels one by one.
Lakelan sometimes spends an hour pouring rice back and fourth.
Lakelan working on his fine motor skills by screwing and unscrewing lids from small containers.
