You may have seen a quote from time to time in your classroom's Weekly Update by Maria Montessori, "Never help a child with a task at which he can succeed." We have this quote in our tour folder, too. ...
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What We’ve Learned Blog
Welcome to my blog! Being in business since 2006 and a teacher for ten years before that, I have observed many things change, but one of the constants is children displaying the same type of developmentally appropriate, and sometimes inappropriate, behaviors — and parents asking for guidance on how to encourage them, reduce them, or even if they should do anything at all. (Struggling with potty training? Or getting your child to sleep? Got you covered.)
Then there’s the conundrum of what to do with changing times (which I address as they occur, like in my posts about Covid).
And sometimes I tell personal stories of my son, John, and husband, Rob (which they sometimes cringe over). I hope that sharing what I’ve learned here as a mom, wife, sci fi geek, and owner of Sunrise Montessori will aid you in your parenting journey…or at least give you a good laugh. 😉
Thanks for reading,
Shannon
Why we use sign language at Sunrise Montessori
What do our four baby classrooms (Duckling, Dove, Owlet and Starling) have in common? All the babies are learning sign language from their teachers so that they can explain to us what they need/want ...
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Disciplining your child: How to do it well
Parents have a duty to act as proxies for the real world—merciful proxies, caring proxies—but proxies, nonetheless. This obligation supersedes any responsibility to ensure happiness, foster ...
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Why dropping off your child before 8AM is SO important to their success!
Our first day for the academic year begins tomorrow! In fact, Sunrise Montessori has been in business for 15 years now, which means I've seen many first days. I've watched parents ...
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How to stop your child from whining
I can remember two distinct times in my son's life when he had a longggg run with whining, from about 2.5 to 3.5 years old and again in second grade. He of course whined at other times and still does ...
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Familiar illnesses are making a comeback
The Good News? No Illness At Sunrise Montessori
There weren't many positive things we could point easily to this past year but virtually no illness at Sunrise Montessori was definitely one of ...
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The easiest and hardest part of being a dad
I asked the fathers of Sunrise Montessori this past week to respond to a survey asking two questions, "What's easy and what's hard about being a dad?" FANTASTIC answers, by the way, thank you, guys! ...
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How many children is the right number for you?
I went to a bunco party in my neighborhood last week for the first time in over a decade. We moved here last year, so I didn't know most of the 15 women who attended. As we got to know one another, I ...
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Why you need to let your child go
Ms. Jessica, Lead Teacher, and one of her graduates, June 2014
With our five year old Sunrise Montessori Primary students graduating and children of all ages returning to in-person classes this ...
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The easiest and hardest part about being a mom
I was watching the movie Bad Moms last night and while cracking up, I was also unconsciously comparing my own mommy actions of years past to what they decided were the actions of a good or bad mom. I ...
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Why staffing this past year has been so hard
The last 14 months have been a doozy for maintaining our hallmark of high quality teachers. With all that we offer here at Sunrise Montessori (18 paid holidays, free child care, friendly culture, ...
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Your source for parenting struggles
Raising another human being isn't for the timid. From lack of sleep, worrying over things big and small, temper tantrums, crying, illness...the list just goes on and on...it can feel like you have to ...
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How we choose each Family of the Month
We started a fun tradition in 2018 at Sunrise Montessori called Family of the Month.
You would think that maybe it gets harder each month to pick a family who meets our definition of what a truly ...
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Got vaccinated? Then at Sunrise Montessori, no mask required!
Seeing traffic makes me happy. :)
Remember last year about this time? Everyone was home, too scared to go out, not sure what the heck was going on and texting neighbors to see if they had a roll of ...
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Why gardening is part of the Montessori curriculum and how to bring it home!
Sunrise garden plots! You will find that the children are growing sunflowers, cilantro, tomatoes, beans and more!
I have a competitor to thank for my love for gardening. When I found out another ...
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When is it bullying? And when is it not?
We have had several conferences over the years where a parent accused another child of being a bully. Bullying is a BIG word, one that we don't use lightly at Sunrise Montessori because it's ...
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