Hello, Toddler families
As we approach summer days with more time at home and as a family, we'd like to share with you an essential part of the Montessori philosophy known as Grace and Courtesy. This philosophy emphasizes Respect, Empathy, and Kindness as our children learn how to interact with others in a polite and respectful manner.
This is tricky as there isn't forced use of "please", "thank you", "excuse me", or "I'm sorry" but the modeling of such kindness and demonstrating the practices. For over half of our class, this will become more common practice as they graduate from Beis Toddler and transition up to the Gimmel 3-6. But for all of our children, we have been modeling grace and courtesy all school year and are excited to share it with you to continue practicing over the summer. As our older children have done such a beautiful job mastering grace and courtesy, they really have become the models for our younger children. In the specific use of our own language, we have seen changes from "Open this", "I want this", and "I can't do it" (with the subsequent meltdowns!) to "Please can you help me...", "I would like this please...", and even the sign language for please, thank you, more, and help.
Our Montessori children truly are and continue to become such beautiful citizens of our community and the world at large. With their critical thinking, exploratory nature, self-confidence and independence (sometimes the most challenging one as a parent of a toddler!), grace and courtesy is just a notable assist to the goodness they offer.
Home Tip: be incredibly aware of the language you use at home with each other and your children. At the dinner table say, "I would like a napkin please" as you reach for one; or find an opportunity to apologize and ask "could you accept my apology" versus a forced "I'm sorry". Also, remember to slow down. There's a general rule -- when you've said your child's name or asked a question, count to 8 before you repeat yourself or say their name again. Our tiny humans are working hard and fast on processing so our patience may allow for sparks of grace and courtesy to show when least expected!
Thank you, as always, for trusting us with your beautiful children. They really do offer such magic to our days and we can't wait to spend this month laughing and changing with them.
Warmly,
Morahs Megan, K and Sarah