So far I’ve celebrate the “month of love” with some things I love: family, books/chapstick/pretty things, and paper/feet/food. A bit random, but hopefully interesting. Onto the finale of Things I Love….
#1 – Chocolate.
Particularly with peanut butter. Whoever first mixed peanut butter with chocolate was a genius. Second best combo is mint.
#2 – Biblical Womanhood.
John Piper says it better,
It is not wimpy to say that God created the universe and governs all things to magnify his own grace in the death of his Son for the salvation of his bride. That’s not wimpy. And it doesn’t lead to wimpy womanhood.
But it does lead to womanhood. True womanhood. In fact, it leads to the mind-boggling truth that womanhood and manhood—masculinity and femininity—belong at the center of God’s ultimate purpose. Womanhood and manhood were not an afterthought or a peripheral thought in God’s plan. God designed them precisely so that they would serve to display the glory of his Son dying to have his happy, admiring bride. (see here)
#3 – Montessori.
You know Montessori, right? Maybe not. She’s that Italian lady who did something with education. Now in all serious the Montessori is my preferred philosophy of education. What is it? It’s a method of education that educates the whole child.
Montessori’s approach to the education of the child is unique in that it is based on the observation of the child and following his or her abilities and interests. By observing children closely, you are able to identify when a child is most willing and ready to learn a specific skill. The method is based on the freedom of the child to explore and learn, mostly, through self-direction.
The Montessori philosophy nurtures a child’s sensitive period by allowing the child ample opportunity to be absorbed and focused on whatever task they are driven to at the time. Montessori believed that children learned more quickly and easily during this time, for this specific task, than any other time and that children should not be punished or redirected during their sensitive period. (see here)
For those of you who may not know, I taught as an assistant teacher in a Montessori preschool (3 to 6 yr old) for three years before I had my son. In the fall, I finished my Montessori Infant/Toddler training and am a certified Infant/Toddler Montessori teacher through the North American Montessori Center.
