Montessori Language Arts: Summer and Poetry

Poetry can be an indispensable tool in your Montessori teaching tool box. I have found that Montessori students of all ages can enjoy poetry. It is not as intimidating as other forms of creative writing such as short stories and plays. Poetry can be used as a way to fill an unexpected block of time, a transition activity, an activity to get the day started, or a way to culminate a thematic study.

Once you have introduced a style of poetry (ex. haiku, acrostic, or cinquain), you simply need to write a reminder of the format (or hang a poster) where all students can see and they are off and running. It quickly becomes an independent activity.

Writing poems as a group can also be fun. In addition to creative writing skills, the process can help develop your Montessori students’ ability to work in a group. Songwriting, a cousin to poetry, can also be a truly enjoyable group experience. Maybe a parent or local songwriter could spend a morning writing a song with your students. I’ve had Montessori parents who helped my students write a song (which happened to be about the upcoming summer) and then recorded them singing the song and distributed it to every student on CD.

The end of the school year can be an emotional time for students. Some Montessori students might be apprehensive about the change in routine, not seeing their friends, or not returning to the same classroom the following year. Some students might not be returning to your Montessori school. Often students are also feeling overly exuberant with excitement for the summer. Some poetry exercises can help with these fears of transition and enthusiasm for summer. If your Montessori classes are finished for the school year, perhaps you can coordinate some of the following ideas through email communication with your students this summer.

As a group, read some poetry together that is either about school related topics or is in the format you are introducing or both. Brainstorm as a group some ideas for poem topics and maybe even write a poem or two collaboratively. Some students might want to focus on the fun experiences they will have this summer. Some students might want to concentrate on their favorite experiences from the school year. Finally, encourage your students to write poems on their own and if willing, share with their Montessori classmates. A day of poetry can be a nice break from the normal routine during the final week of school.

Poetry is an approachable writing style that allows your Montessori students to positively express themselves anytime, from anywhere.

Poetry Books for the Montessori Classroom

• If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand: Poems About School, by Kalli Dakos and G. Brian Karas.
• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, by Jack Prelutsky and Arnold Lobel.
• Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out, by Ralph Fletcher.
• Poetry Speaks to Children, by Elise Paschen, Dominique Raccah, Wendy Rasmussen, and Judy Love.
• Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem, by Jack Prelutsky.
• A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry, by Michael Driscoll and Meredith Hamilton.
• Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry, by X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Karen Lee Baker.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Independence Day and Cosmic Education in the Montessori Classroom

The philosophy of modern history lays emphasis on the meeting and mixing of peoples, groups with tendencies to merge into larger groups, nations at last to start organizing the unity of humanity. – Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential.

Independence Day in the United States celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. Each year on July 4, many US citizens mark this national holiday with picnics, parades, speeches, and fireworks.

This year you can celebrate Independence Day (see links below for ideas) and use this national holiday as a springboard for exploring Independence Days and National Days in other countries with your Montessori students and children. With Independence Day as a theme, you and your Montessori students can have a whirlwind tour of the globe and world history.

Depending on the age of your Montessori students, you can provide students with a list of countries to choose from for research. For younger students, you can provide the basic information of the national holiday for a specific country. Another option is to share information during a group circle time and then discuss, compare, and contrast together. See the links below for ideas, and incorporate cultural geography, history language arts and visual arts into your discovery and exploration.

Challenge your students to create a visual of Independence Days throughout the world. A student may choose to create a globe or label a commercially-made globe with each country’s celebration date. Elementary Montessori students may want to create a large timeline that shows the significant events attached to all of the world’s days of independence and nationality. Another option is a concept map or visual organizer that shows the connections between different countries’ celebrations. All physical renderings of your study can be displayed in your Montessori classroom.

Many books are available on specific countries histories and holidays. This study can lead to very interesting discussions about patriotism and national pride.

Celebrating your own Independence Day in the context of global citizenship is a great way to nurture Montessori Cosmic Education and Peace into your child’s learning. Happy Fourth of July!

Resources

Here are a few websites that offer information about Independence Days around the world. Feel free to find your own by searching the internet, or visiting your local library.

• http://www.squidoo.com/independencedayaroundtheworld
• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0907876.html
• http://www.yankeedoodles.net/independencedayaroundtheworld.htm
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/02/independence-day-celebrat_n_222582.html

Related NAMC blogs to give you further activity ideas and information:

• Exploring North American Independence in the Montessori Classroom
• Fourth of July Celebrations
• Celebrating American Independence Day

NAMC’s curriculum manuals offer many activities to promote a lifelong love of learning in your Montessori students.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Canada Day, July 1 – Montessori Activity Ideas

On July 1, Canada celebrates a national holiday marking the country’s independence. Canada Day commemorates the adoption of the British North America Act on July 1, 1867, which was renamed the Constitution Act in 1982, and sets the foundation for the Canadian Constitution. This act created the Canadian federal government and united Canada as country (with four provinces.) Canadians celebrate Canada Day for similar reasons and in many of the same ways that US Independence Day is celebrated.

Here are some previous NAMC blogs to give you some ideas for celebrating with your Montessori children and students:

• Montessori Curriculum Ideas for Canada Day
• Exploring North American Independence in the Montessori Classroom

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Montessori Curriculum Overview: Language Arts

Language is the central point of difference between the human species and all others. Language lies at the root of that transformation of the environment that we call civilization…Language is an instrument of collective thought…Hence, language is truly the expression of a kind of super intelligence. ~ Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind.

Montessori believed that language is innate and it is in the nature of humans to express themselves both orally and through the written word. The Montessori Language Arts curriculum, therefore, starts the moment the child first enters the environment.

Montessori Language: Ages 0-3

Montessori believed that the sensitive period for language begins at birth and continues to about six years of age. From birth, the child has been absorbing the sounds and speech patterns of family and home environment. Long before being able to speak, the child listened intently while acquiring the sounds of her native language. Babies learn to recognize and repeat the individual sounds of their language and toddlers learn to recognize, name, and pronounce the names of objects in their environment. In the Montessori Infant/Toddler environment, daily exposure to language through conversations and the reading of good literature helps the child strengthen her vocabulary and increases independence as she becomes more cognisant of the world around her, giving her the ability to name her wishes and desires.

Montessori Language: Ages 3-6

The Montessori 3-6 classroom is a natural extension of the patterns of communication that have already been absorbed. Through every conversation, every book read aloud, every new word that is taught, the Montessori student is learning language, and thus, learning to read. In the Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten environment, emphasis is placed on the process of acquiring language. Knowledge is constructed by mental and physical activity rather than on passive learning. Writing is taught before reading through the direct and indirect aims of the Montessori Practical Life and Sensorial works. In the Montessori 3-6 Language curriculum, writing itself is seen as a direct preparation for reading.

Montessori parents and educators use precise language that is neither too simplified or given to baby-talk in order to give credence to the work the child is doing to acquire vocabulary and language skills. As Montessori educators, we help the child to focus her attention to the sound of her own speech, making fine distinctions between sounds. From our attention in oral language development emerges the child’s need to write. Written symbols are introduced and from there, the child bursts spontaneously into reading.

Montessori Language: Ages 6-12

From infancy, children have learned the names of things. In the lower elementary Montessori classroom, students begin to analyze more abstract concepts of language: the how, the why, and the from where? Montessori elementary students explore the history of language, written language, spoken language, literature and grammar, and syntax.

The Montessori Fourth Great Lesson is the story of how writing began. This impressionistic story grabs the attention of young students who are eager to learn about those who came before us. From there, they listen to and read great literature and are further motivated to tell their own stories through creative writing, reports, drama, poetry, and song. Throughout this work, Montessori students are introduced to the rules of human communication through word studies, work with the Montessori Grammar Boxes, as well as beginning logical sentence analysis. The goal in the Montessori elementary Language curriculum is not to teach grammar but to give a concrete representation and foster a love of the function of words.

Dr. Montessori described the role of language in traditional education as forcing children speak and write when they have nothing to say. She said instead, that "The child must create his interior life before he can express anything; he must take spontaneously from the external world constructive material in order to ‘compose’; he must exercise his intelligence fully before he can be ready to find the logical connection between things. We ought to offer the child that which is necessary for his internal life and leave him free to produce." (Spontaneous Activity in Education). By unlimited exposure in the Montessori environment, we free the child’s creative and imaginative process, giving her the means to write and tell her own story.

Related NAMC blogs:

• Montessori Math Curriculum Overview: Early Childhood through age 12
• Montessori Musings: Development Needed Before Reading
• Developing Penmanship: Montessori Elementary Work

See other related NAMC blogs:

• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Sciences
• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Geography
• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Math

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Summer Solstice – More Montessori Activity Ideas for 2010

June 21 is the Summer Solstice and a great time to celebrate the season with creative Montessori activities encompassing history, geography, astronomy, and the arts. Last year, we gave you some information and ideas in Summer Solstice the Montessori Way.

Here are some further ideas to spark the imagination of your Montessori students:

• As a class, write a play that explains the summer solstice. You could personify the sun and earth to create characters or create a metaphorical tale. Perform the play for parents and other Montessori classrooms.

• Start an annual tradition of a summer solstice festival (or attend one as a class that already exists in your area). You could include nearly any of the other listed activities as part of your festival.
• Working in pairs or small groups, challenge your Montessori students to create a model and demonstration (using only supplies in the Montessori classroom and/or available on campus) to explain the science behind the solstice. Discuss the similarities and differences behind each other’s presentations.
• Create a “quiz show” game with questions about the summer solstice. With older students, ask them to create the game.
• Help your students research what summer solstice has meant to different groups of humans in different parts of the world at different times in history. How did these humans celebrate the summer solstice? Are any of their activities something you would like to do as a Montessori class?

Books

• The Summer Solstice, by Ellen Jackson and Jan Davey Ellis
• Under Alaska's Midnight Sun, by Deb Vanasse and Jeremiah Trammell
• Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children, by Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw
• In Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth, by Patricia Montley

Resources

• Scholastic - The Summer Solstice
• National Geographic – Xpeditions
• BBC – Science & Nature: Space
• Astronomical explanation of the summer solstice
• Astronomical Applications Department
• Family Education - Summer
• Summer Solstice for Kids

More Montessori curriculum resources: NAMC's 6-9 manuals - Matter and Astronomy: Supernovas, stars, asteroids, meteors, satellites and galaxies! Students discover the wonder and power of a tiny atom, and all its potential. This comprehensive curriculum provides plenty of activities to explore the mysteries of the universe, to discover many answers to why and how things exist and behave, and to seek further answers to questions that inevitably arise - see sample pages from manual.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Summer Vacation: Ideas for Montessori Families

Though summer can be a time of relaxation and rest for a Montessori student, for a parent, summer can be daunting. As a parent of a Montessori student, it is important to find the balance between the freedom and bliss of summer without losing the routines and knowledge for which you and your child worked so hard during the school year.

Of course it is acceptable to ease up on schedules and routines during the summer months. Bedtimes and rising times can be moved around and numerous opportunities for spontaneous activities can present themselves. Simply remember to start easing back into your school year schedule and other transitions a couple of weeks before Montessori school starts again in the fall.

Visit a bookstore as a family on the first day of summer vacation. Help your children select a blank book or journal. Encourage them to record something in this book every day during the summer. This helps with literacy skills and creative writing. It also has the potential to serve as a keepsake your children will cherish for years to come. As summer sets in and siblings begin to squabble, redirecting your Montessori children toward journaling their feelings can also aid with conflict resolution. A summer journal can be an annual tradition for your family.

Explore local resources and places of interest. Historic homes, farms, zoos, walking trails and many other interesting opportunities that are close to home can be fun and educational adventures. Take small field trips throughout the summer and include your Montessori child in the planning.

Remember to include your Montessori children in your daily household activities. If they aren’t doing so already, summer is the perfect time to encourage their assistance with planning meals for the week, grocery shopping, and meal preparation. Tending to (or starting) a family garden is work that will see delicious rewards. Do you have a clothesline? If not, install one immediately. Your children will love snapping wet laundry, hanging it on the line, and wagering how quickly it will dry in the summer sunshine.

Start a family book club. Ask everyone to suggest one or two book titles that they have not read. Debate the titles as a family and vote on one that everyone will read and then discuss at a later date. Are some members of your family too young to read? In lieu of television, end every evening by taking turns reading a book aloud. The anticipation of knowing what will happen next will keep everyone coming back for more.

Put together a scavenger hunt for your Montessori children. This can be a great option for a rainy day, but on a sunny day you can include biology and botany related clues outdoors. The hunt can be fun and educational in origin, testing your children’s knowledge or research skills (via the internet, books, etc.). Another possibility is a work-related scavenger hunt. Maybe a clue is at the bottom of a bowl of potatoes that need to be peeled. Another clue may appear on the washing machine when the cycle is complete. The possibilities are endless; a scavenger hunt is something that may be done just once or several times throughout the summer.

Challenge your Montessori children to solve a problem that exists for your family or home. Want to be more environmentally conscious but can’t decide what to do? Is there constant conflict over one particular game, toy, or activity? Your children will surely have ideas for what needs improving and ideas for solutions. Ask them to present their findings to the family, where a discussion and vote can take place on the solution that will be implemented.

For specific academic skills that may need work or refreshing over the summer, do not hesitate to ask your child’s Montessori teacher, or your child himself, to identify what could be practiced, and create an easy routine that makes practice time enjoyable and fun.

Be creative, have fun, and enjoy summer with your child!

Related NAMC blogs:

• Summer Reading Ideas for the Montessori Teacher
• “Going Out” Montessori Style – Experiencing A Dragon Boat Festival
• Summer Solstice the Montessori Way

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Montessori “Twos” Activity: Observing Nature Close Up

This Montessori Twos activity is an excerpt from the NAMC Twos A manual that offers a sensory exploration in the outdoor environment.

Primary Goal

Expanding experience of the natural world.

Secondary Goals

Developing sensory skills; developing language; developing practical life skills; developing the ability to observe quietly; developing respect for other living things.

Material

• Outside area where there is grass and where the child can sit or lie without harming garden plants. Use a long rope to mark off a small area about 2 feet in diameter.
• Child-size magnifying glass.
• Clothes and footwear appropriate for outdoors.

Safety note: Stay conscious of the weather. If the sun is shining brightly, there is a chance the magnifying glass can burn the child or the grass. Choose an overcast day or choose to do this activity in the early morning or late afternoon, when the sun is not so hot.

Presentation

• This Montessori activity appeals particularly to the interests and abilities of twos 30–36 months old.
• In advance, rope off the area where you want to present the activity.
• Invite the Montessori child to go outside and look for interesting things.
• With the child, get the magnifying glass, then put on outdoor clothing.
• Outside, show the child the area you have roped off. Lie down on the grass on your stomach, with your head and arms inside the marked-off area. Invite the child to lie down beside you.
• Hold the magnifying glass just above a blade of grass and move your eye close.
• Observe quietly for a few moments, then pause and smile at the child.
• Offer the magnifying glass to the child. Show him/her how the magnifying glass makes a blade of grass or a stone look larger. For example, look at the blade of grass with just your eye, then look at it through the magnifying glass. To model respect for the earth, do not pick up stones and do not tear up blades of grass to look at them.
• With the child, quietly look at any interesting things within the roped-off area, such as dandelions, tiny plants, leaves, sticks, and pebbles. If you see an insect, point it out to the child and invite him/her to look at it with the magnifying glass. Again, to model respect for the insect, do not touch the insect or try to pick it up. For example, say: “I see an ant. It looks big when we look at it through the magnifying glass, but it is really very tiny. We don’t want to hurt it, so we won’t pick it up. Look how fast it crawls.”
• Stay with the child for a few minutes, quietly looking at interesting things and watching for and identifying insects.
• Invite the child to continue the activity. For example, say: “Now you watch.”
• Give the child time to continue the activity.
• As soon as the child begins focusing on the grass, quietly get up and let the child work undisturbed. As with all outdoor activities, remain nearby to watch for the child’s safety.
• If the child does not start or does not seem to know what to do, ask: “May I help?” Then gently guide the child’s hand to pick up the magnifying glass and hold it to a blade of grass or a stone. As soon as you feel the child engage, gently remove your hand and allow the child to work on his/her own.
• When the child has finished the Montessori activity, encourage the child to return the magnifying glass to its proper place and hang up her/his outdoor clothing. If necessary, do these tasks with the child. This completes the activity.
• Make sure that the magnifying glass stays available — on a low shelf, for example, for the child to work with when she/he wishes.

Extensions to this Montessori activity could include exploration of plants and insects in the outdoor environment, reading reference books about what you have observed, drawing pictures, bringing in found objects such as pine cones, shells, pieces of a tree stump, etc., for further work with the magnifying glass.

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Montessori Curriculum Overview: Math

This system in which a child is constantly moving objects with his hands and actively exercising his senses, also takes into account a child's special aptitude for mathematics. When they leave the material, the children very easily reach the point where they wish to write out the operation. They thus carry out an abstract mental operation and acquire a kind of natural and spontaneous inclination for mental calculations. ~The Discovery of the Child, Maria Montessori.

The Montessori math materials are perhaps some of the most inviting and beautiful works in the Montessori classroom. Visitors to my Montessori classroom, young and old alike, gravitate to the math shelves, wanting touch and learn how to use the materials. “Show me this. How does this work?” they ask. Adults usually sigh and wistfully say, “I wish I had learned math this way”.

Montessori Math: Ages 0-6

Maria Montessori believed that the children can absorb mathematical concepts naturally. She recognized that there were sensitive periods in the child’s development whereby the acquisition of mathematics was eagerly and joyfully explored through indirect preparation and repetition of activities with concrete, scientifically developed didactic materials. By means of the Montessori Practical Life and Sensorial activities, children experience the concepts of order, sequence, measurement, calculations, and exactness.

In order to fully develop the developing mathematical mind, Montessori teachers and parents acquaint the child with order and exactness by the intentional way we set up and organize the shelves and trays and how work is laid out on a work mat in the Montessori environment. Work is displayed in a progressive and sequential fashion and each activity is broken down into logical and sequential steps. Young Montessori students learn about making calculations and estimating by determining how many drops of water it takes to fill a vessel and about precision and exactness by learning to measure out drops of food coloring or plant food. These Montessori Practical Life activities not only help the child gain independence, but also provide the indirect preparation for higher level math skills.

The Montessori Sensorial activities help the child learn to discriminate between similarities and differences. Young Montessori students discover relationships, make scientific hypothesis, and draw conclusions as they construct and compare a series of sensorial activities. The activities heighten the child’s awareness of the mathematical relationships found in the natural world.

As the child develops in the Montessori environment, she is ready to encounter more concrete math materials in which to explore more abstract thought, beginning with quantity. Dr. Montessori discovered that a child who could count and recognize the symbols 1-9 could count in quantities of hundreds and thousands. The Montessori “Golden Bead” material was developed to give children the concrete exploration of the decimal system.

Montessori Math: Lower Elementary

The lower elementary Montessori classroom is full of ongoing discoveries. Spurred on by the telling of the fifth Great Lesson, “The History of Mathematics”, children are motivated to learn about their own number system and uncover the mysteries as did those who came before.

The absorbent mind of early childhood has given way to a reasoning mind which enjoys learning about natural truths and laws of nature. The mathematical facts learned in the Montessori Children’s House are now tested to see if there are rules and laws to be discovered and manipulated. Patterns are sought as the child seeks to discover the empirical truths of the universe through the use of the concrete Montessori math materials. It is now that children are able to use their imaginations to see beyond the immediate. They are able to see beyond the concrete representations and imagine higher place values within the decimal system.

Montessori lower elementary age children are much more social beings than they were in the Montessori Children’s House. They enjoy working collaboratively and sharing their discoveries with each other. After all, the laws of the universe are too incredible not to share!

Montessori Math: Upper Elementary

The inquisitiveness of the upper elementary Montessori student is astounding. The beauty of the advanced squaring and cubing materials beckons like beacons, inviting the students to come explore and learn with them. They dive into the study of fractions and decimals, eager to move beyond to more complex mathematics, geometry, and algebra. While the concrete materials are still in place, the need for repetition is gone. “Show me. Then, show me more” is the litany of the upper elementary Montessori math students. Upper elementary students move quickly from the concrete experience to abstract thought. They are eager to test their knowledge with pencil and paper and need, at times, a gentle reminder to return to the materials as a way of building neurological pathways.

See other related NAMC blogs:

• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Sciences
• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Geography
• Montessori Curriculum Overview: Language Arts

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/

Summer Reading Ideas for the Montessori Teacher

Summer is almost upon us. Maybe you are already dreaming of all the things you will do: clean the house, garden, take a trip, catch up with friends, sleep. I always look forward to having the opportunity to read. Of course, I spend a good part of the summer reading books for fun and pleasure, but I try to work in some books related to teaching and Montessori education. By reading these, I find that I rejuvenate my professional self and begin to plan and get excited for the upcoming year. Following are a few ideas for summer reading. Whether you read one or some of these books on your own, with a teaching friend, or collectively as a staff, you will find ideas and inspiration for the next school year.

Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius, by Angeline Stoll Lillard

Read about the research behind eight insights that are the foundations of Montessori education and how they are applied in the Montessori classroom. Topics include the impact of movement on learning and cognition, extrinsic rewards and motivation, and order in environment and mind. Lillard also shares information from research studies that show how students learn best. Not only will this book help to excite your appreciation and knowledge about the Montessori method, it will arm you with information that you can use to answer and inform questioning parents.

Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood, by Paula Polk Lillard

Montessori Today uses classroom anecdotes and examples, to bring life to Maria Montessori’s teaching methods. The author discusses real children and their words and lives. This book describes the Montessori approach while giving an idea of its application from preschool through early adulthood.

Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education, by Trevor Eissler

Written from a parent’s perspective, this book will give you very practical topics and ideas to discuss with parents. Eissler passionately and intelligently sings the praises of Montessori education while allowing the reader to follow his family’s journey with Montessori education.

A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine, M.D.

Dr. Mel Levin feels that a key to individualizing our teaching is to recognize each child’s intellectual, emotional, and physical strengths and teach directly to these same strengths. He also feels that a child’s developmental growth is worthy of the same monitoring as physical growth. Using stories of children, the book defines eight specific mind systems (attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequential ordering, motor, higher thinking, and social thinking) and includes scientific research on these systems and how they can influence children’s success in school. The book includes detailed steps and practical suggestions for implementing the book’s information with your students.

Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Developing Mutual Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in Your Classroom & Positive Discipline: A Teacher's A-Z Guide: Hundreds of Solutions for Every Possible Classroom Behavior Problem, by Jane Nelsen Ed.D.

Filled with endless tools, these books will help you overcome obstacles, reduce your frustrations, and empower students. Nelsen will show you how to help your students increase their confidence and resourcefulness. The Positive Discipline approach works well and is utilized in many Montessori classrooms. The effective and positive strategies in these books will help develop wonderful teacher-student relationships for new and seasoned teachers alike.

For general inspiration, read one of these tales of successful teachers: Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from The Freedom Writers, by Erin Gruwell, Teaching Hope: Stories from the Freedom Writer Teachers and Erin Gruwell, by The Freedom Writers, Erin Gruwell, and Anna Quindlen, & Crazy Like a Fox: One Principal's Triumph in the Inner City, by Dr. Ben Chavis

Enjoy!

North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/