Montessorian Librarian

RESOLUTION: Get Back to these Blogs and Organize more than the Shelves!

(Actually, I don’t spend a lot of time in the shelves, I am too busy finding resources, creating content, helping children, and exploring children’s literature. I just thought that was a catchy start to this entry about some of my uses of technology. So far I have little aptitude for Webquests but I love flickr and blogs.)

This year I’ve stretched myself: As a participant in the Federal Grant Project, “Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture Through the Arts” I’ve worked in an afterschool program here at Zanetti. Our students put on a major production. They researched Puerto Rico, composed poetry, made sets, learned dances, music, everything they could learn about theater arts. We had such a time! There were so many scenes — El Yunque, The School Yard, Bombas, Vejigante Carnival, etc……Amazing. It was such a great way for research skills to develop within a real context. What is Ponce known for? What colors is the Ponce Firehouse? How can I paint it? What are Vejigante masks? Where did they come from. How do they differ from Ponce to Loiza?

Oh, for the afterschool program I started a wiki so that my team teacher and I could communicate. It turned into a soliloquy. Oh well, wikis aren’t for everyone. Here’s the link:

Zanetti Theater Arts Wiki. http://zanettitheater.pbwiki.com/Pfeifer%27s+Activities

After going with an E1 class to the woods I made this Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/montessorianlibrarian

And after visiting another Montessori school I made this little blogger page in order to share what I’d seen with teachers: http://washingtonmontessori.blogspot.com/

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(I’ll find the link later! Gotta go!)

Ms. P.

Two other activities generated the use of technology.

Well, I have been so busy with school that I haven’t taken a second for new books that support Montessori Cultural Education.

I am thrilled about the following books:

When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger.

We (just incredible) by Alice Schertle.

Thank you, World by Alice McGinty.

Here’s a great site for Montessori Librarians interested in book reviews: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/detailListBooks.asp?idBookLists=77

There are increasingly great titles to share for the experience of creation stories from various traditions. The latest book that is simply remarkable is The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe, illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez.  It’s such a rich and lovely tale of the people who came to live on a verdant mountain top after a great flood sprung right out of a beautiful gourd that had been a stunning flower. The colors are Mediterranean, there are forms that evoke the Aztecs. Much sun and light and creation is here for the enjoyment of all.

Mordicai Gerstein. The Wild Boy: Based on the True Story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron. c 1998.

This story about the wild child discovered in 1800 in the forests of Aveyron, France, captivates children because its drama engages the empathic imagination. The child is tested by scientists to see if he can learn — he has come from living in the forest, having passed his sensitive period alone, without benefit of other humans. He has not learned to speak and will never learn to do so, however, he seems to develop over time, with the care of his adoptive family, an understanding of how language works. He learns to keep himself clean, to use eating utensils, to spell with cut out letters. Most importantly he learns the meaning of love within a family, something he lived without as he survived in the woods. Dr. Montessori often referred to this child, Victor, in her writing about the Absorbent Mind; and she is mentioned, along with Dr. Itard, at the back of the book.

I just read The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. Readers will love Lucky. Here’s a book filled with wonderful characters. Even the town is a sort of  character –Hard Pan, California– a place where miners once lived. In this very small place a lot of love grows. I loved reading about Lucky and found her an amazing, courageous, young person. She will make your heart swell.

Ms. P

Flannel board stories really have nice sense of completion because the narrative movement is made visual. I told a number of stories with the help of Children’s House students, using the flannel pieces. At the moment, I have pieces for “Before I go to Market Today,” George and Martha and the pea soup (not sure of the title), Jack and the Beanstalk. When we were finished they clamored for The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Last year, I’d told The Three Billy Goats Gruff using my flannel pieces and the violent ending in which the troll is thrown off the bridge into the rushing water below. This year, we included a discussion of Non-Violent Communication and how the story could be resolved so that everyone felt good and could benefit from visiting the lovely meadow on the other side of the bridge. I think they found both versions satisfying.

For a short library visit:

Read George and Martha Encore. The first story is about George learning to like something he previously had not interest in– dancing. He becomes a terrific Mexican hat dancer. Follow this up with a circle of Mexican Hat Dancers.

This has been my first year with literature circles. I had two groups of six students.

A group of students in the third grade (one student was in second) read Dear Mr. Henshaw by Cleary and it was hugely successful. The narrator is funny and his emotional growth is conveyed through his actions and words. They also read Because of Winn Dixie . Just about everyone had seen the movie so they came ready to tell each other what would happen next. Yikes!

A group of first and second years read The Courage of Sarah Noble. It was quite exciting for them. It also gave students a chance to examine prejudice from an objective vantage point. Before The Courage of Sarah Noble they (we) read Pioneer Cat.

Readers Theater Scripts were created for Because of Winn Dixie, The Courage of Sarah Noble, and Pioneer Cat.  Scripts to be posted at a later date.