Grandparents bring great variety to Montessori classrooms. Since there are normally twice as many grandparents as parents, channeling that volume of energy back into your classroom brings many amazing lessons. Whether they live close by or far away, if asked, they are usually ready to contribute their time.   

After having raised their own children, some grandparents look for different avenues to give back to the world. Some grandparents have more time to travel and may like to share artifacts, pictures, or stories of their vacations. Often times they may simply like to visit and read stories, help with projects, or give lessons based on their expertise.  What ever the arrangement for grandparents to be involved in your Montessori School, you can count on it being a genuine gift of time and love. Connecting with pictures and stories, via the internet, is a great way to capture the global perspective of some of our long distance families. If possible, using a web cam would surely be an interesting way to interact and see first hand how families live in other parts of the world.    

Most grandparents seem to have a little more time, a little more patience, and lots of love to add that special sparkle to an already exciting Montessori classroom.  Sharing their memories and creating new ones for the next generation is their specialty.  Find a way to power your school with Grandparent Energy…it’s the best!           

By Jean C. Avery

This site offers great ideas and inspiration for “Acts of Kindness.”  I will be using the idea for the Friendship Salad for our preschool classes next week in honor of “Random Acts of Kindness Week”…from the 15th-21st. To make the Friendship Frurit Salad official we will wear chef hats and aprons.  We will have a set up for two children, but you may decide a group arrangement is best for your class.  On the circle, I will explain the activity and further tell them that the most important ingredient will be lots of very big smiles. Friends always make us smile, so lets throw all of them right in the bowl. This is a great kick off for the theme of Kindness.  Remember, food preparation takes in all senses, so it is a multisensory/Montessori experience at its best. Happy Friendship Day!