Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service — a “day on, not a day off.” This day of service helps to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, address social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.” While we will not be able to offer a community service project as we did last year due to COVID-19, we encourage families to participate in service projects at home!
Consider participating in one of the following:
- Organize care bags for people experiencing homelessness for Catholic Charities of Baltimore
- Collect pet care items for the Baltimore Humane Society
- Write letters or record videos to share with a nursing home or assisted living facility
- Collect diapers, wipes, and baby items for ShareBaby
- Offer to help an elderly neighbor with projects around the house
- Organize a stream or park clean up
- Sew masks for healthcare workers
Toddlers fill care bags for Catholic Charities in January 2020. Even young children can get involved by sorting and filling bags.
The Washington Post recently published an article on children volunteering during the pandemic. In the article, Connie Chang states, “When so much is out of our control, the act of volunteering puts some control back in our hands. And with the normal rhythms of life still very much disrupted, it’s a good way to occupy and engage children who might otherwise feel stuck.” She goes on to talk about different ways that children can get involved in service – at home, virtually, and outdoors.
Now more than ever, it is important that we instill in our children a love of service to others and a dedication to community. Service and stewardship is a fundamental component of Montessori education throughout the year. In our classrooms, children contribute to their peers, their environment, and their community through our Grace and Courtesy curriculum. On any given day, a Toddler may be sweeping up a mess or watering a plant; a Children’s House student may be feeding fish or comforting a classmate; Lower and Upper Elementary students are learning ways to meaningfully engage with one another through jobs in the classroom and community meetings; children in our virtual classes are navigating respectful online presence and building community while apart. Still, there are many students who are missing the more hands-on service work they did pre-COVID. We’ve collected resources for families and children who would like to get involved with service projects outside of school while remaining socially distant.
A family participates in our home items drive during the 2020 Service Day.If you are looking for additional ideas on ways to get involved, please take a look at the following links:
January service projects for children and families in Baltimore
Search the Youth Service America website for projects that can be done at home
Visit the Doing Good Together website for COVID-safe activities for your family
Is your family participating in a service project for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Take a photo and share it with us at community@greenspringmontessori.org!
As the pandemic surges through the summer and into the fall, we are beginning to see the ways in which our world is reshaping. From working remotely and learning from home to businesses being transformed forever by the economic turn, we are just beginning to see that our lives will not return to normalcy. Children are entering into a world that will be vastly different from what we grew up with, and they need to be ready.
Montessori education was founded during another tumultuous time – the early 1900s in Europe. Through two world wars, a global pandemic, and a shattering economic crisis, Dr. Maria Montessori saw to it that her model equipped students with the tools to think critically, adapt, and persevere. Over 100 years later, her tenets are still followed today by a growing number of Montessori schools as well as parents adapting the Montessori method at home.
The truth is: the world needs what Montessori children can do.
Anne Frank in her Montessori classroom in 1936.
Montessori children think creatively and innovate
Unlike traditional learning in which the lesson and assessments are the heart of the school experience, exploration is emphasized in Montessori classrooms. Students are encouraged to follow their interests, decide how to demonstrate their learning, and share their discoveries with their peers. By learning at a young age to manage their time and think creatively, Montessori children are able to be thought leaders in the adult world, especially in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics. Montessori truly builds innovators.
Upper Elementary students dissect a cow brain as part of their chosen science work.
Montessori children develop strong leadership skills
Whether learning remotely or on campus, our Guides are dedicated to setting up an environment that allows the child to work at their own pace, encouraging them to ask questions and push themselves to learn more. This shift allows for students to take ownership of their own learning, having a sense of pride around education and discovery. Multi-age classrooms expand upon this, with our older children taking on the role of leaders in the classroom, teaching their peers as they themselves begin to master a subject. From the start of their Montessori education, our youngest children learn that they can do hard things, setting the stage for the work to come in the Elementary and Adolescent classrooms.
Upper Elementary students attending the Montessori Model United Nations Conference in New York to represent the country of Gayana.
A Greenspring student presents his biography research to parents and peers.
Montessori children engage in thoughtful dialogue about our past histories
Children are given the “big picture” – especially through the Cosmic Curriculum at the Elementary level. Academic subjects are not taught separately but woven together to show the interconnectedness of the disciplines. In our Elementary classrooms, children begin to wonder about how the world works, and we are consistently surprised and inspired by the ways in which these young people are ready to change the world for the better. In the Adolescent Community, students are eager to engage in respectful dialogue with their peers, discussing everything from moral philosophy to civil rights and beyond.
An Adolescent student reads a speech she wrote in support of Leia’s Law for gun control on the steps of the Baltimore County Courthouse.
Montessori children have an unwavering commitment to supporting those most vulnerable in our communities
In the Toddler and Children’s House classrooms, much of the child’s work involves the need and desire to serve the community in a way that challenges them. From serving tea and feeding classroom pets to organizing food and clothing drives and sharing art with people in a local retirement community, the children begin to generate their own service initiatives when they see there is a need in the world. Throughout their time at Greenspring, children and adolescents are taught that they have a voice and that they matter in the world. These early lessons help to define who they are and push them to continue making a difference, as we’ve seen with countless Greenspring alumni dedicated to service, the environment, and their communities.
Adolescents plant seedlings with Real Food Farm in Baltimore to support people with limited access to healthy food.
As we look toward the coming year and beyond, we are inspired to think about the direction our children will take us. This is truly a pivot point in history and we as Montessori educators are here to help shape that world with our students. We are not just looking for ways for our children to catch up on academics. We are looking ahead in order to understand what our children need in this new world.
To learn more about Montessori and learning options for your child, plan your visit today.
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Kimberly Zerfas and I am the Director of Marketing at Greenspring. I am also the mom of an exuberant 18-month old who will be joining the Young Toddler Program in the fall. Two months ago, our life was very normal. Our son was at a traditional daycare and we were beginning to lay the groundwork for his Montessori education. I never would have expected I would be working and parenting from home for months amid a global pandemic.
Now, our days look very different. Amid working remotely and my husband teaching public school online, we are now also responsible for our son’s education and care during those same waking hours. We’ve learned a lot through trial and error, and through books, articles, and just about any means we can get our hands on now. From feverishly scouring the internet on ways to get a toddler to eat to re-evaluating our thoughts on screentime because our son is so in need of any human connection – we’ve been there.
Some days are harder than others, but there have been a few things we’ve learned that have kept things moving along smoothly in our small corner of the universe. In our efforts to cope during these times, we’ve naturally begun adapting a Montessori approach at home. I’m going to dive in to some of the things that have worked, that haven’t worked, and the things that keep us sane during this time.
Before jumping in, I want to take a moment to acknowledge how truly privileged we are during all of this. We live in a two-parent household where we are both able to work remotely while sharing the division of labor. Our employers are flexible with our working hours and are constantly checking in to see what we need and understand what we are experiencing. We have access to greenspace and a number of child-friendly resources that were already in our home. We also have a working knowledge of child development from our careers, as well as a network of other educators to bounce ideas off of. We understand that each parent is going through this collective experience in a different way and not everything that has worked for us will work for you. That said, this is what I’ve observed these past five weeks.
Keeping to a routine
We have been firm believers in a routine for our son since he was born. But since we weren’t with him most days, we didn’t have a set structure for his waking time. On weekends, we would often go out to do things – going for a hike, going to the grocery store, taking swim lessons – anything to avoid boredom. So when the world basically shut down, we were left wondering, what do we do?
At first, we were determined to do a lot of education during those waking moments – learning words, reading books, sorting colors. This quickly diminished into survival mode, and our son actually showed us that he had more of his own internal sense of routine. When we scaled back to look at what pieces of a routine were absolutely necessary, it ended up matching closely to what is done in a Montessori toddler classroom. We focused first on his needs – we observed him to see when he needed to eat, when he needed to go to the bathroom (we are working on toileting – more on that later), and when he needed to sleep. We took our cues from him and then wrote out what seemed to be working best. Now, for about three weeks we have been following this schedule for basic needs.
In addition to that schedule, we determined that there were a few other things we wanted to focus on during this time: outdoor time, human interaction, and independent play. So, we returned to our schedule to intentionally add in when we would go for walks around the neighborhood, enjoy free time outside, and provide opportunities for him to see other people (even if it meant being on a screen). We also set up a space for him to work independently – bringing up an unused end table from our basement and a few child-sized chairs. Having this space did so much for his desire to sit for longer periods with a toy or something that he was interested in. It doesn’t always mean that I am able to finish the dishes or craft an email – raising him is still very much hands-on – but we can see how it is helping with his concentration and independence.
In between all of these scheduled moments, we create new learning opportunities out of day-to-day activities, such as folding the laundry, making a meal together, washing hands, and so on. One of the things that has really struck me was reading that just about anything is a teachable moment for this age. And we have seen it with our son – in just over a month, he has learned so many new words and gestures – not because we are practicing flashcards as we were in the beginning, but because we are conversing with him throughout the day about everything we are doing ourselves. Like in a Montessori classroom, we’ve been able to slow down and include him in more of our day-to-day activities, giving him some ownership.
As we move forward, we approach each day with flexibility – we may not be able to do everything we planned and we try to be kind to ourselves, even in those moments.
What’s worked well
For us, setting up the independent workspace for him was imperative. We are now seeing all of the areas in our home that have been inaccessible to him – we had to hold him up to get on the toilet or wash his hands; he had no way to access food on his own; even his toys were primarily kept in a trunk that we opened when it was time to play. We are already brainstorming things we need, such as a learning tower in the kitchen, but we are also making our own solutions, such as using a step ladder in the bathroom for him to easily access the sink. This shut down has encouraged us to find new ways to use what we already have to meet our new and evolving needs for our son.
What we’ve adapted over the weeks
We entered into this new arrangement not only with some rigidity around learning and scheduling, but also around our expectations of ourselves. It is a stretch for any parent to manage work and raising a toddler during the same waking hours. By giving ourselves more grace to make mistakes and learn from them, we have really been able to reframe this time in our lives. It is still by no means easy, and we are ever-changing and evolving to his needs.
One example would be with toileting. We have been gradually introducing our son to toileting since January. We have been using a toddler-sized seat on the toilet and we have been taking him throughout the day. Early on in our stay at home, we decided we were going to switch to underwear cold turkey. But with this new added pressure of going every half hour, he began to resent going at all. We had more accidents during this time than any other. As soon as we relaxed our expectations and focused more on making the experience easier for him, the accidents stopped (most of the time). We still have toileting on our daily schedule, but we go hourly and we try to take our cues from him. He is now beginning to tell us when he needs to go, instead of us telling him!
What we most look forward to during our days
I honestly look forward to our walks around the neighborhood and anything active we can do together. From singing and dancing on a Zoom call (I’ve never known the words to so many kids’ songs in my life!) to waving to passing cars, I’ve found that my son really needs consistent and meaningful human interaction. He has begun telling me some of the things he sees on our walks – “dog”, “duck”, and “flower” – just another example of how much he is growing during this time.
I also love all of the little in-between moments. Before, I would find myself waiting until late at night to do laundry or other chores, but I’ve realized that he really enjoys helping. From pouring the dog food in the morning to prepping lunch, we are now always looking for ways that he can contribute meaningfully at home.
The parenting resources we’ve used
I was in the process of reading No Drama Discipline by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson when schools closed. This was a timely book for us and my husband decided to read it as well. In addition to that, I’ve been looking at resources from Hand in Hand Parenting, Aha! Parenting, and the Greenspring website. I’ve found that using the tools of a Montessori guide – observing the child, having a prepared environment, providing the time and space for independence, and embracing the day-to-day or “Practical Life” activities has served us especially well during this time.
We know that there is still a lot we will learn and we have a long way to go until life returns to “normal” – if that is even a word that can be used anymore. We know that things will be different once we get through this, and for us, that means having a better understanding of our son’s needs and how to support him in his ongoing development. It means that we will have a greater appreciation for each person who touches his life – from teachers and friends to his very special grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
How are you getting through this? What has worked well for you and your family? What do you most look forward to each day?
