Mar 12: 2015-16 Enrollment Agreements and Tuition Deposits Due

Apr 2: School Closed — Spring Break

Apr 13: School Reopens

We celebrate Valentines Day at The Montessori House this week.  Why?  Because the school and office will close from Friday February 13th through Sunday February 22nd.  We re-open on our usual schedule on Monday February 23rd.

The Montessori House is open today on the usual schedule.

Conditions vary locally.  Parents should use their judgment and feel free to keep children home, come to school late, or pick up early, as they see fit.

If children arrive late or leave early, please be patient, as it may take some time to respond to your request.

Due to weather, The Montessori House will be closed Monday, February 2nd.

We expect to re-open Tuesday February 3rd on the usual schedule, conditions permitting.

If our plans change, we will update our website, and our phone message.   

We hope all families are safe.

Due to weather, The Montessori House will be closed Tuesday, January 27th.

We expect to re-open Wednesday, January 28th on the usual schedule

If our plans for Wednesday change, we will update our website, and our phone message.  Please note, if we lose power we may not be able to update the website.  For the latest information on Wednesday plans, please check our phone message after 7 a.m. on Wednesday  (201-816-8343). 

Finally, even if the school opens Wednesday, parents should evaluate their unique snow and transportation situation and should feel free to keep children at home.

We hope all families are safe.

The Montessori House will be open on its regular schedule today, Monday January 26th with the following exceptions:

1. Beginner Chess is canceled this afternoon.  We have a make-up class scheduled for March 23rd.  Parents should pick up children at 3:00 p.m. dismissal.  For Chess students we will provide After Care until 3:20 p.m. at no charge.
2. If you plan to use After Care today, we ask that you plan to pick up your child by 4:00 p.m. to allow our staff to leave before the worst of the blizzard begins.  If you will not arrive by 4:00 p.m., please call before 4:00 p.m. to provide your estimated pick-up time.

We will confirm before tomorrow, but most likely The Montessori House will be closed on Tuesday, January 27th.

On Sunday, I was in a restaurant when I saw one of our parents from 4 years ago.  Her daughter was with us for 2 years, then the family moved to NYC.  The child is now at one of NYC’s public schools for “gifted and talented” children.  The child is doing very well in all academic areas, and she is always happy.  The mother told me that the other parents in her child’s class keep asking her, “What did you do that she’s doing so well?  And why is she happy?”  The parents then go on to say that they have their children enrolled in after-school academic programs, have private tutors, etc., but the children aren’t “#1” in the class, they don’t like school, and they’re unhappy.  The mother told me that her response to the parents is always the same:  “I started by sending her to a Montessori school, and then I followed their advice:  I do NOTHING with her except read and play, and I don’t make her take anything but fun classes after school; she likes gymnastics.”  The mother told me that all of the parents seem VERY skeptical of her, as though she doesn’t want to “divulge” some secret formula to success.  Just as the mother was telling me this, the father, who’d been listening to the story, said, “The funny part is that it’s much easier to be a parent when you just read and play with the children, because the parents love it and the children love it, and then the children love learning the other stuff at school.”

An interesting articles in the New York Times: Is E-Reading to Your Toddler Story Time, or Simply Screen Time?

“We know how children learn to read,” said Kyle Snow, the applied research director at the National Association for the Education of Young Children. “But we don’t know how that process will be affected by digital technology.”

But a handful of new studies suggest that reading to a child from an electronic device undercuts the dynamic that drives language development.

In a 2013 study, researchers found that children ages 3 to 5 whose parents read to them from an electronic book had lower reading comprehension than children whose parents used traditional books. Part of the reason, they said, was that parents and children using an electronic device spent more time focusing on the device itself than on the story (a conclusion shared by at least two other studies).

But when it comes to learning language, researchers say, no piece of technology can substitute for a live instructor — even if the child appears to be paying close attention.

“There’s the possibility for e-books to become the TV babysitters of this generation,” he said. “We don’t want parents to say, ‘There’s no reason for me to sit here and turn pages and tell my child how to read the word, because my iPad can do it.’ ”

Parents note that there is an emotional component to paper-and-ink storybooks that, so far, does not seem to extend to their electronic counterparts, however engaging.

In any event, you’ll find only ink-on-paper books in the children’s reading corner at The Montessori House.

If your family is interested in exploring a scholarship (a.k.a. financial aid) at The Montessori House for the school year starting September, 2015 (2015-16 school year), now is the time to start the process.

First, you apply to The Montessori House: please have a look at our Tips for Sept 2015 Admissions.  If you haven’t visited the school, we suggest you call us to arrange a tour for yourself (we recommend you come for a tour during the school day without your child, if possible).  Please call us at 201-816-8343 to arrange a time.

Starting now you can prepare your scholarship application on-line through School and Student Services by NAIS.  Your application needs to be completed before February 22, 2015 (for scholarships for the school year starting September, 2015).

Scholarships are provided by The Friends of Montessori Foundation, and they consider your financial need as well as the depth of their own resources when making scholarship decisions.

Generally, The Montessori House, in January, 2015, will offer your child a place for enrollment, and ask you to commit with a $750 Reservation Deposit.  You’ll hear about your scholarship (if any), at the same time we ask you sign an Enrollment Agreement and complete your tuition deposit (about mid-March, 2014).  Note, the award may be subject to verification of information you submitted; for example receipt and evaluation of 2014 tax returns that you may not have sent to SSS/NAIS before March.

If Friends of Montessori Foundation cannot meet your calculated need, then you may choose to withdraw and receive a refund of your Reservation Deposit.  However, if the Foundation meets your need (or determines that you have not demonstrated a financial need), then you would not be eligible for a refund if you decide to withdraw.

Of course, before deciding to reserve a place for your child, you can wait to hear from the Foundation regarding your scholarship.  But, without a reservation in place, by mid-March we may have filled up your preferred sessions for 2015-16.

Feel free to contact us by e-mail (admissions@themontessorihouse.com) or by phone (201-816-8343) with questions.

From Kottke.org, a summary of posts on parenting around the world from Joanna Goddard.  Here’s an interesting observation:

Norway … They spend a ton of time outside, mostly playing and exploring nature. At some [pre-schools], they only go inside if it’s colder than 14 degrees. They even eat outdoors-with their gloves on! When I was worried about my son being cold, my father-in-law said, “It’s good for him to freeze a little bit on his fingers.”  That’s very Norwegian — hard things are good for you.

For the past year, Joanna Goddard has been running a series on her blog called Motherhood Around the World. The goal of the series was to tease out how parenting in other countries is different than parenting in the US. From the introduction to the series:

We spoke to American mothers abroad — versus mothers who were born and bred in those countries — because we wanted to hear how motherhood around the world compared and contrasted with motherhood in America. It can be surprisingly hard to realize what’s unique about your own country (“don’t all kids eat snails?”), and it’s much easier to identify differences as an outsider.

Hat tip: Marginal Revolution