YES! Thoughts and growth in conversation with others.

I’m thrilled to be working with an incredible group of women on a project to open a public Montessori school in Livingston, MT. Our vision integrates Project-Based Learning, Forest School principles, and STEAM education. What I’m enjoying most about this process is collaborating with smart, passionate women who engage in thoughtful discussions, weighing the pros and cons of different educational approaches.

You can learn more about the Yellowstone Experience School (YES!) here: https://yeslivingstonkids.com/

If you think this is beneficial for Livingston, please send in a letter of support!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the aspects of this project that excite me the most. In no particular order, here are a few of the ideas we’re exploring:

• The importance of movement in learning—how physical activity supports cognitive development.

• Creating a structure that doesn’t rely on rigid schedules or clocks, allowing children to engage in tasks at their own pace.

• Meeting each child where they are in a shared space, alongside peers who may be in different stages of learning.

• The role of nature as a teacher, and how the outdoors can be a powerful learning environment.

• Focusing on the whole child—academically, physically, socially, and emotionally.

• Understanding behaviors as a form of communication, rather than simply viewing them as disruptions.

• The school as a community hub, fostering connections and civic engagement.

• Our role as teachers and guides in supporting students' natural curiosity and development.

• Achieving academic success without formalized tests, through observation and individualized assessment.

• Encouraging a broader societal conversation about what our ultimate goals for children should be in education and our society, in general.

• Meaningful, relevant projects that promote critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.

• Rethinking the role of screen-time in children’s lives and education.

I’m sure that as I continue to reflect on this journey, more thoughts and topics will emerge. I look forward to sharing and discussing them with all of you!

Thoughts.

I love listening to the podcast On Being with Krista Tippet. She is often talking about the human condition and our interactions with the world, asking questions about it all to very interesting people. I’m constantly inspired by these conversations - I’d like to try putting them into words here. Mostly because I truly believe that when we are looking to change something, it is only by giving children the tools that we are able to see true change.

“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” -Dr. Maria Montessori

It will not be perfect. However, I share all of these thoughts with love and curiosity. I hope that you can listen - and please talk kindly back to me.

Some ideas to explore more deeply, especially as I am working on the Charter draft for YES - Yellowstone Experience School:

• little d democracy. My definition of democracy is a system of leadership in which power is vested in the people. It is a commitment to sitting in a circle with the people who are most affect by an action and talking one at a time and listening to each other. How can we do this as a family unit? A classroom? A school?

• Solving societies problems with a different mindset - stopping the harm cycle. In many ways, the paths that we have taken to make the world a better place aren’t working. Prisons are getting bigger. Instead of punitive actions, how can we create change? (Hint: with children!)

• The world we live in is changing at an unprecedented pace in so many ways. The power of imagination in shaping and reshaping the world as it evolves. When we allow children to use their imaginations, then we get the MOST creative solutions. We must trust children - give them the freedom and patience from adults so they can truly use their imaginations for big ideas (instead of just unicorns and mermaids).

• Emergent strategies on the human condition - people talk about strategic planning - but whose strategies? Focusing on being in and of nature as opposed to scared of it. Strategies that are grounded in gratitude towards the gifts of our Earth. This is true of businesses and with our interactions with each other.

• Developing human potential - what if every child was given the opportunity to be the best human that they can be? If our mission is to teach reading, writing and arthmatic, then think of all the layers that are being ignored! I’ve heard the comparison of traditional way and topics of education being compared to being a brick layer. However, when you can zoom out and teach to the whole human, than the capacity for Cathedrals are available.

Those are my thoughts for now. I’ll be back to keep thinking out loud.

Observation is a key component of the Montessori philosophy. Dr. Maria Montessori’s pedagogy is based on a deep understanding of children that grew from curiosity around her medical subjects.  Through scientific observation, she noticed their capacity to learn easily about endless subjects; their desire to do things for themselves and their community; and their greatness and beauty, over all their little mistakes.

Many teachers get into teaching because they love children and want to do something to help them.  I did not get into teaching for this reason. I was terrified of children - I am the youngest in my family and never had opportunities to babysit or be around those who were much younger than me.  I still have moments of “oh! what am I about to go do? be in a room full of small children?! eek!”

I actually think that this is one of my strengths as a Montessorian.  I don’t have any expectations about children relationships; instead, I’m curious.  I have learned a lot of child development.  It’s fascinating to learn that a child between 18 and 24 months will begin to engage in symbolic play, such as using a rock for a phone. The part that thrills me is the all of the different ways that the emerging symbolic play can appear - through pretend food in the sandbox, pushing a sensory bottle and making car noises, setting a baby doll at the table to eat lunch, and the list can go on.  

There is no one way that a child manifests the developmental milestones, even in something that seems more universal, like walking.  There are so many varied body positions, confidences (fast vs. slow, looking before stepping or running with their eyes closed), and more that it is truly fascinating to discover all their different strategies.

When one of my Montessori mentors talked about observation, she recalled a story where she was watching a child that had prepared a snack.  They set their plate on the table, picked up their chair, walked across the room and sat down.  Her assistant came over and asked the child to move their chair to their plate.  The toddler complied quickly and my mentor was left wondering what the child was trying to accomplish.

I often think of this story in two ways - 

1. What was this child trying to accomplish?!  By interrupting the child’s process, we will never know.

2. Not interrupting another adult’s curiosity that is in the classroom with me (or my husband’s curiosity about our own children).

My own daughter tried this experiment when she was two years old and it is one of my favorite videos of her. She knows the expectation that we sit to eat and she is testing what the varied version of this can look like.

Dr. Maria Montessori wrote, “There is only basis for observation: the children must be free to express themselves and thus reveal those needs and attitudes which would otherwise remain hidden or repressed in an environment that did not permit them to act spontaneously.”  This means that when we interrupt their process that we are not actually learning about their needs and attitudes.  

One area that I catch myself wanting to interrupt is when a child makes a spill and walks away from the spill - not in the immediate direction of spill rags.  However, when I consciously remember to wait and to see where they are going, they are often just taking the long, loopy route to get a spill rag. It’s so difficult to be patient when that spill is on the floor; however, it’s such a gift to be curious about the child’s intentions.  

There are times when it is important to interrupt - if the child is disrespecting themselves, others or their environment.  A young child is learning how to have patience and fortitude to live towards the values that they are developing.  Sometimes we must guide them to understand how their actions are effecting their friends or their environment - or could even hurt themselves!

However, it’s also worth noting these times and incidents to see if there is a pattern.  For example, does one area of your classroom or home cause more distress?  For example, our living room never stays picked up.  The girl's room and our craft room stay fairly clean - there are activities to do, but also a place for everything and (for the most part) everything in it’s place.  Our living room has limited activities and the things that are in our living room tend to be more hidden, such as in a cabinet as opposed to on a shelf.  

This is an observation that I made this week and may transfer things to a shelf - or maybe I’ll continue my “I’m going to get the broom” method.  The girls have observed often enough that anything I sweep is eligible for the trash. They hurry and pick up anythings they want before I sweep them into the trash.

When we observe our child, we learn about them, and knowing them builds trust around our child.  The more that we trust our child, the more we are able to sit back and observe.  When beginning to observe, it is a helpful habit to set a time for yourself.  For example, at 9 a.m. I will observe for 5 minutes.  Then at 9 a.m. sit down with a notebook and write down what you see - the what a child is touching/using, the way their hand is holding the object (full hand grasp vs. pincer grasp), the way that they move their body, are they peaceful or excited, etc.  Once you are able to consistently sit down and observe, build your stamina for the amount of time that you can observe.

I do encourage you to write down what you observe.  First, it is a written record of how the child is growing.  You are able to reflect back on the week, the month or the year and see how much progress the child has made.  Reflecting on your observations weekly is helpful in determining the adjustments that are necessary to make to set the child up for success.  Sitting and writing also gives you a task, so if a child asks for you to help them, then you can say that you cannot help because you are doing your own work.  Overtime, they will understand that when you are sitting with your notebook that they have the freedom to explore their environment.

“Wait while observing.” That is the motto of the educator. -Dr. Maria Montessori.  If you are not waiting and observing, then you are not educating because you do not know what you need to educate.  We must learn from the children and be ready to serve them - either in the moment or by altering your environment when appropriate.

Hello.

There has been so much that has happened in Elevate’s short-history. I thought it was wise to share a concise version and continue to share as we evolve.

We opened in our home in February 2020 - right at the start of the pandemic. We preserved with our small group of students.

Our original classroom and first ever student!

In September of 2020, we moved into the First Baptist Church and were able to slowly expand our care to 6 infants, 8 toddlers, 24 primary children, 2 fish and a bunny! Our amazing staff grew from just me to 10 caring and compassionate guides.

In summer of 2023, we had the opportunity to expand our program into the beautiful HRDC building! We decided to do this as it would help the school’s bottom line. However, this happened in at the same time that our family ran out of our savings account. Graham, our EC lead guide and my husband, decided to leave his position in order to make more money.

Our amazing community stepped up to ensure that he was able to stay in his position by raising over $30,000! Our family is incredible grateful for this gift.

However, the story isn’t over… we made a plea to our community to ensure that our staff is compensated for all the work that they do - as compassionate and knowledgable guides, janitors, cooks, nurses, and more! Even more gratitude as our families pay a variable amount based on what they can afford to ensure that we are able to care for their children and financially stay in Livingston, MT.

Our Hummingbird class on a walk and seeing a construction vehicle up close!

Our staff is being compensated, our community is working to create a sustainable solution for the school, we are expanding to support young children in Livingston. I wish that this brief history ended here…

But alas, as things were truly moving in a positive direction, the church that had been our home for the last three years has asked us to find a new home. We stopped our expansion plans in fear of enrolling children and having to say good-bye to them.

The Early Childhood classroom creating a life cycle of Dandelions. Graham taking the time to point out roots to a student.

We think we have come up with a partial solution - moving our toddler program to the HRDC building. However, we feel passionately about keeping our infant program thriving.

So this is also a request for help - if anyone has a space of around 400 sq. ft., please reach out! We would love to find a solution that works to maintain respectful care for our youngest community members.

We appreciate all of your support over the last 3.5 years - we look forward to continue learning and growing with all of you!