Observation

I'm taking a Montessori parenting class with Cynthia Dyer who writes the blogs A Montessori Musing Place and The Montessori Child at Home.  It is so enlightening and thought provoking and has really helped me to think about some of my actions and the way I deal with certain situations.

Last week we talked about observing your child in the home.  This is something I've done since day one with L(mostly because I'm obsessed!).  We talked about how you need to sit back and just watch.  Not intrude and also to let your child make mistakes.  This was a hard thing for me to learn but over the past couple of years I think I've mostly gotten the hang of it.

The other morning I had the opportunity to observe my daughter in her Montessori classroom for the first time.  I had some idea of what to expect by just watching her behavior when I drop her off.  Turns out it is the same while she's inside the classroom as well.  My daughter who at home is bright, focused, outgoing and social turned into this child who was well I guess the best word would be stunned.
I've always known L was an observer, a child who will sit back and process her environment and the situation before acting but in the classroom she seems to have taken it to an extreme.  I wrote on my observation sheet that L looks stunned and distracted, waiting for others to show her what to do and not taking her own initiative.  She did have a moment of intense concentration while doing the binomial cube which is a new work for her.
As I mentioned this did not come as a surprise to me.  I find it more curious I guess than anything else.  I know it will take her a lot of time to adapt to her new situation but it was almost like watching another child.

Speaking of another child.  It's seems that L has just  processed all of the different types of behaviors she observed from the other children in her class and is now trying out some of the more questionable ones at home.  This has been a real challenge this past week.  My sweet, mostly co-operative little girl has turned into Miss whiny contrary Mary.  She's been having tantrums, being rude and generally disagreeable with almost everything.  My husband and I seem to have two different approaches to her new behavior.  He's says we need to "discipline" her and I am trying to be patient yet firm and follow what I've learned in the parenting classes of being consistent and using natural and logical consequences.
Yesterday and this morning have been much better so I'm hoping she's starting to realise that we don't tolerate certain types of behavior in our house.

Ahh the joys of parenting!

Natural Learning

I recently read the Joyful Learner's reflections on Charlotte Mason's Outdoor Life for Children series.  I admittedly don't know very much about Charlotte Mason's philosophies but these reflections really got me thinking.

Today when we were at the beach, the tide was out and L and I were walking toward the water.  L let go of my hand and said "it's okay we're over the barnacles now"

It was then that I realised how much life learning is going on every time we go to the beach. 

Just the vocabulary alone.  The things L really knows.  Not just because I told her about them or we read about them in a book but because she has experienced them first hand herself.

L knows that the ocean is made up of salt water and the lakes of fresh water because she's tasted the difference.

L knows that millions of tiny crabs live on the beach and walk sideways because she's watched them.

L knows that dark purple sand dollars are alive and white ones are no longer alive because she's felt them.

L knows what jellyfish, seaweed, sea grass, starfish, crabs, shells, barnacles, oysters, clams, minnows, driftwood, and tide pools are because she's experienced them all.  Taken them in in her own way.

Now the tide that is a different story : )  It's one of those elusive things that we keep talking about but she never seems to be able to pin down!

So many physical skills are also constantly practiced and honed.  Swimming, throwing rocks, balancing on driftwood, running and jumping over waves, digging in the sand... the list is endless.

What a wonderful way to learn and experience life and nature.  We are so blessed!