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Dear , Maren Schmidt  | Maren Schmidt is a noted Montessori educator, experienced head of school, a school consultant, and award winning author and syndicated columnist on parenting and Montessori education. She is one of the leading Montessori experts who we have nominated to NGFS' national board. From time to time, Maren's voice will join Lorna and me in discussing aspects of The Montessori Inspired Home and the Montessori Way. Maren lives in Portland, Oregon. Maren will be in Sarasota next for the Montessori Foundation's Annual Conference Nov 4-7. I hope to arrange a time right after the conference where those of you who are interested can spend an evening with her to reflect on the experience of raising these unique and wonderful Montessori children.
Tim Seldin, Head of School and President of The Montessori Foundation
PS: NGFS Email Archive - We have established a web-page with an archive of the key emails that we send out from the school. We will establish a link from the website as well, but you might want to bookmark this link: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1103691331815/archive/1103719764243.html
The Indefatigable Spirit of the Child
October 10, 2010
There is no way
to happiness. Happiness is the way. ~ Zen Proverb
 It
is a gray drizzly morning in a week of gray drizzly mornings. I am content to wait in the car as my
husband peruses the home improvement store. People enter and leave the warehouse building, trudging to
their vehicles with packages and looks of determination to complete projects.
Out
from the wide doors bursts a toddling two-year-old boy, followed by a man in
his late twenties. The
toddler's being shines with a smile as he looks up at the sky and lets the rain
fall onto his face. Little Guy
giggles, claps his hands, and twirls around, staying close to his father.
Little
Guy and his dad walk over to the SUV next to me. The man opens the passenger side rear door. The floor of the truck comes to Little
Guy's shoulders.
"Get
on in," his dad says. "Climb on
up."
With a grin, Little Guy pulls himself up with his arms and begins the
ascent into his car seat. Little
Guy kicks his foot to the side, maneuvering his way through the door and into
his seat. Little grunts of
exertion sound through my window. Quite a feat. A couple of
5.10 climbing moves in seconds.
Little
Guy reaches over his head, pulls the restraint device down and snaps in the
buckle. His father checks the
fastener and tells Little Guy, "Good
job, son," and shuts the door.
Little
Guy is snug in his car seat, glowing with satisfaction. Little Guy waves to me. I smile at him and think, "Little Guy's in his car seat. All's right with the world."
We
are amazing. Us. Human beings. Each of us is born into a time and place that has never been
traveled the way we are traveling it.
We are born with eagerness and a built in desire to meet our challenges.
If
we are as lucky as Little Guy, we have parents and a community who provide an
emotionally stable foundation for us where we can feel safe enough to meet our
challenges. Safe enough to climb
into a car opening that is almost over our head, into a vehicle almost four
times as tall as we are, to reach back and pull a harness over our heads. And be cheerful as we do it.
The
natural state of the child and the human being is joy. Work and problem solving are the
natural activities of the human being.
We are designed to be joyful adventurers. How easy it is to forget.
We
need to nurture the natural spirit of the child, in each of us, child and
adult, so that we find bliss in our gray days; so that we discover delight in
the rain in our lives; so that we become the sunshine for others.
We
were born to be happy. Allow a
child to show the way.
Maren
The archive of these emails can be found at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1103691331815/archive/1103719764243.html
A closing note from Tim: A parent recently asked why they don't often see Lorna and me when they drop off or pick up their children. The answer is that Lorna and I are almost always meeting with parents, teachers, students, or visitors during those times, because this is when they find it most convenient. As the weeks go by, there will be fewer morning and afternoon meetings requiring us to be tied up at the same time, and Lorna and I will be out and about as you arrive.
Remember, even though you may not see us at drop off, we make ourselves available to you throughout the day, even going so far as to give you our cell phone numbers. Please don't hesitate to drop by the office to see if we are there or call. if we are busy at the moment, we will gladly set up a time to talk. We're here to help!
Tim Seldin 922-4949 (x225) · cell phone 914-4103 Lorna McGrath: 922-4949 (x107) · cell phone 504-2640
 
Tim Seldin, Head of School
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Dear , Maren Schmidt | Maren Schmidt is a noted Montessori educator, experienced head of school, a school consultant, and award winning author and syndicated columnist on parenting and Montessori education. She is one of the leading Montessori experts who we have nominated to NGFS' national board. From time to time, Maren's voice will join Lorna and me in discussing aspects of The Montessori Inspired Home and the Montessori Way. Maren lives in Portland, Oregon. Maren will be in Sarasota next for the Montessori Foundation's Annual Conference Nov 4-7. I hope to arrange a time right after the conference where those of you who are interested can spend an evening with her to reflect on the experience of raising these unique and wonderful Montessori children.
Tim Seldin, Head of School and President of The Montessori Foundation
PS: NGFS Email Archive - We have established a web-page with an archive of the key emails that we send out from the school. We will establish a link from the website as well, but you might want to bookmark this link: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1103691331815/archive/1103719764243.html
The Indefatigable Spirit of the Child
October 10, 2010
There is no way
to happiness. Happiness is the way. ~ Zen Proverb
It
is a gray drizzly morning in a week of gray drizzly mornings. I am content to wait in the car as my
husband peruses the home improvement store. People enter and leave the warehouse building, trudging to
their vehicles with packages and looks of determination to complete projects.
Out
from the wide doors bursts a toddling two-year-old boy, followed by a man in
his late twenties. The
toddler's being shines with a smile as he looks up at the sky and lets the rain
fall onto his face. Little Guy
giggles, claps his hands, and twirls around, staying close to his father.
Little
Guy and his dad walk over to the SUV next to me. The man opens the passenger side rear door. The floor of the truck comes to Little
Guy's shoulders.
"Get
on in," his dad says. "Climb on
up."
With a grin, Little Guy pulls himself up with his arms and begins the
ascent into his car seat. Little
Guy kicks his foot to the side, maneuvering his way through the door and into
his seat. Little grunts of
exertion sound through my window. Quite a feat. A couple of
5.10 climbing moves in seconds.
Little
Guy reaches over his head, pulls the restraint device down and snaps in the
buckle. His father checks the
fastener and tells Little Guy, "Good
job, son," and shuts the door.
Little
Guy is snug in his car seat, glowing with satisfaction. Little Guy waves to me. I smile at him and think, "Little Guy's in his car seat. All's right with the world."
We
are amazing. Us. Human beings. Each of us is born into a time and place that has never been
traveled the way we are traveling it.
We are born with eagerness and a built in desire to meet our challenges.
If
we are as lucky as Little Guy, we have parents and a community who provide an
emotionally stable foundation for us where we can feel safe enough to meet our
challenges. Safe enough to climb
into a car opening that is almost over our head, into a vehicle almost four
times as tall as we are, to reach back and pull a harness over our heads. And be cheerful as we do it.
The
natural state of the child and the human being is joy. Work and problem solving are the
natural activities of the human being.
We are designed to be joyful adventurers. How easy it is to forget.
We
need to nurture the natural spirit of the child, in each of us, child and
adult, so that we find bliss in our gray days; so that we discover delight in
the rain in our lives; so that we become the sunshine for others.
We
were born to be happy. Allow a
child to show the way.
Maren
The archive of these emails can be found at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1103691331815/archive/1103719764243.html
A closing note from Tim: A parent recently asked why they don't often see Lorna and me when they drop off or pick up their children. The answer is that Lorna and I are almost always meeting with parents, teachers, students, or visitors during those times, because this is when they find it most convenient. As the weeks go by, there will be fewer morning and afternoon meetings requiring us to be tied up at the same time, and Lorna and I will be out and about as you arrive.
Remember, even though you may not see us at drop off, we make ourselves available to you throughout the day, even going so far as to give you our cell phone numbers. Please don't hesitate to drop by the office to see if we are there or call. if we are busy at the moment, we will gladly set up a time to talk. We're here to help!
Tim Seldin 922-4949 (x225) · cell phone 914-4103 Lorna McGrath: 922-4949 (x107) · cell phone 504-2640
Tim Seldin, Head of School
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