I came across an article about a Montessori school in Charlotte where cooking is an enrichment activity for the elementary students. Kids from Park Road Montessori make everything from scratch, witnessing first-hand the science involved. They also get to taste their food once it has been made.

The school in the article also have the opportunity to participate in other extracurricular activities, including various sports and games. The initiative was originally started as a PTO fundraiser, but the students can participate for a fraction of the cost as those being offered off-campus.

My school has a similar idea. Our Wednesdays are half-days. The idea is, staff can have necessary meetings, community-building time among peers, as well as offering time for us to thoroughly clean, organize, and prepare our environments. For those who cannot accommodate their children coming home early one day a week, we offer our own enrichment classes that are similar to the ones in this article. Karate has always been a big hit. There has also been a lot with drama, art, music, and cooking.

While I love the idea of enrichment programs, I have to wonder why more of this is not a part of the regular curriculum? When I was a Montessori student, we were always exposed to great art, music, and cooking activities, and didn't have to stay after school or pay extra for it. It was a natural part of the learning experience, much as it should be a part of the home environment.

I will give our elementary program kudos, though, for including a regular community lunch program. At least once a month, parents come in and help the children put on a meal for the entire elementary community. The children have to come up with the menu, do the shopping, and then create the meal. When we're lucky, there is enough to share with the other teachers as well. :-)

I think that there has been such a movement toward educational academic standards being met, that parts of the Montessori philosophy can be forgotten in the rush to compete with public schools. Isn't all of this Practical Life? Part of this could be avoided with proper parent education. But that is something else that sometimes seems to go by the wayside.

On the other hand, having these enrichment programs can be a great way to keep children occupied in a productive manner outside of regular school hours. Parents today often seem too busy to take the time to education their children in these areas. Many times, children take these experiences home, and try to implement them.

What kinds of enrichment activities does your school provide? What are the pros and cons in your experience?

Read the original article, "Students explore enrichment."

I will never deny the fact that children need unstructured time to run around. Recess is of vital importance to our children. It is so important, in fact, that a group of parents in Greensboro, NC are petitioning for their students to be guaranteed more of it.

As of right now, classrooms are only guaranteed recess for their children three or four days a week. These parents want their children to have recess all five days. They say their children are happier and will do better in school. They also cite the importance of having time to practice social skills.

One of the concerns that the schools have, though, is the sheer safety of so many children in the play area at once. Having 200 children running around can lead to accidents. The Montessori school quoted in the article said that some children choose to do other activities, instead of the unstructured play time.

So, how are schools to get in that unstructured play time? Scheduling would be a major factor. Another option is to seek out alternative play spaces. But both of these can be difficult. Schools would have to carefully plan how all of this would transpire.

As for my own classroom, I have been questioned a few times as to why I do not take my children to recess on a daily basis. My children do have recess on a daily basis, just not the morning children. My full day children go to the gym or to the playground every day after lunch.

Our morning schedule runs for exactly three hours, from 8:20-11:20. Unfortunately, by the time the children all arrive, we have missed out on a significant amount of time. Then, we have to start getting ready early for the morning dismissal car line. To interrupt them every day in the middle of their work cycle would do them more of a disservice, in my opinion. Our false fatigue kicks in around 10:30 every day. Some people see that false fatigue as excessive movement that indicates that it is time to yank them outside and run. But we sit on our hands, grit our teeth, and just wait. Within 5-10 minutes, the children are settled again, and even more engaged than they have been the entire day. If they are not able to settle, then we know that they need some movement time.

There are a couple of children in the classroom who may require more running around than the others. For these children, we have plans in place that provide for someone to take that child to the gym for some unstructured play. After all, it's about following the child, right?

So, what is the answer in the public school system? In my opinion, there isn't as much room to change things without some major changes. But can't these be implemented?

And where did the responsibility of the parents go? When I was a kid, my parents were always encouraging us to go outside. Actually, we didn't need as much encouragement, because we were already out there. Remember those stories of playing outside until Mom rang the bell or called for you to come in to eat? Homework could be done after dinner, and the TV didn't need to be turned on.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this....

Read the original article, "Parents petition for more recess at school."

Montessorians are always taught that the hand is the direct link to the mind. These children were learn best as they manipulate the materials in their environment. But from where did this phrase actually originate?

Doug Stowe decided to take it up on himself to search out the origins of this popular phrase. Read what he found out in his post called "The way to the brain."