Do You See?

Join Angie and her friend, Chuck, to explore the language of Latin! Angie and Chuck go over some Latin self-study tips, basic vocabulary, and grammar. Most importantly, they explain why a knowledge of Latin would be relevant for a modern English-speaker. This week's homework: help your kids understand that the modern English language is derived from many different, older languages.

This week's episode is all about frustration tolerance. It turns out-- a higher frustration tolerance leads to a more easeful life! Angie and Alisha discuss strategies for talking about frustration with children and practices for everyone to build a higher frustration tolerance.

This week we are continuing to talk about how computer science education is being implemented at MW Montessori. We are joined by Scott Robison to talk about his python elective class that is offered to MW Montessori middle schoolers. Scott, Angie, and Alisha discuss the history and applications of the python coding language.

This week we are joined by Alden Thorpe, computer science specialist at MW Montessori Academy, to talk about the benefits of studying computer science at all grade levels.

Join Angie and Alicia as they talk about strategies for raising independent and self-confident children. The material from this episode is based on the book, Raising Independent, Self‑Confident Kids: Nine Essential Skills by Donald A. Moses and Wendy Moss.

Join us for the comeback episode of Do You See?! In this episode you will hear what Mountain West Montessori have been up to since the pandemic started and how they are adapting to better serve their students and staff. The homework for this episode is to have a conversation with your family about strategies for determining truth.

This episode was written and recorded by the students in our Costa Rica Travel Club. These students are going on an educational eco-tourism trip to Costa Rica in April, and created this episode to ask for donations toward their trip. They have been diligently fundraising to be able to go! If you are able to support them, send an email to podcast@mwmacademy.org with your name and phone number as well as the amount you would like to donate, and we will contact you. Donations can go to the whole club in general or be designated to a specific student. We appreciate your support!

Episode 32: A Lasting PeaceIn this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and special guest Dr. Lois Bobo discuss Montessori peace education in two parts: (1) the teaching of conflict resolutions skills and (2) the instilling of values inherent in long-term respect for each other while still disagreeing. Book recommendations: Education and Peace by Maria Montessori, Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children by Thich Nhat Hanh, Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful by Donna Bryant Goertz, You Can’t Say You Can’t Play by Vivian Gussin Paley

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha acknowledge the importance of friendships to children and discuss how to handle friendship trouble in a way that communicates capability and allows children to develop resilience by struggling with the bumps in the road while relying on the firm foundation of family routine and love.Book recommendations: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Montgomery, Real Friends by Shannon Hale, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Laura discuss gratitude and how practicing gratitude can increase resilience. Ms. Angie introduces a gratitude exercise that can rewire our brains to decrease our innate negativity bias and train ourselves to scan for positives and appreciate the beauty in life. Book recommendations: El Deafo by Cece Bell, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, An Awesome Book of Thanks by Dallas Clayton, The Thank You Book by Mo Willems, The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Melissa talk about our school guidelines for bringing infants to work, and Ms. Melissa shares her experience in bringing her baby, Rosie, to school with her for the past few months. We explore the procedures and guidelines that make this family-friendly option work and discuss the benefits to our students of having an adorable baby at school.

In this short solo episode, Ms. Angie offers enlightenment on just what Title I funding is, where it comes from, and what it is used for at our school. She also reviews MWMA’s Parent & Family Engagement policy and the Parent Compact. If you have ever wondered what Title I means, this episode is for you!

In this episode, Ms. Angie and her special guest, her son Cambell, discuss high school. Cambell talks about his experiences at Bingham High and gives his tips for having a heart-to-heart conversation with your teenager without offending them. He talks about having a part-time job while in high school, and, in a stunning moment, admits that his parents may be a bit wiser than he is, having lived longer. Recommended book(s): The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson, How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish (warning: from the 80’s), Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, and All Joy & No Fun by Jennifer Senior

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha discuss gamification in education. Ms. Alisha spills the beans about her classroom theme next year, and shares her expertise about how to incorporate student academic work into a framework that correlates with curriculum, increases motivation and engagement, and fosters both friendly competition and collaboration among students.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Sandee discuss power struggles—what they are, why they happen, and how to avoid them. Parenting tips abound in this useful discussion, which might reframe your perspective on strong-willed children and help them turn this trait to their advantage.

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha explore the fascinating topic of sleep. How much sleep do we need? What is the importance of dream sleep? Do insects sleep? Why does good “sleep hygiene” look like? You may be surprised to learn that getting adequate quality sleep is one of the biggest things you can do for your health. “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life.”

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Kari explain the Montessori Great Lessons. What exactly are they? Why do we have them? How are they presented? They are part of an authentic Montessori curriculum and are designed to inspire children and ignite their imagination and curiosity. From these Great Lessons come all of the subjects that we study—science, history, language, math and the cultural threads that tie them all together.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Olena discuss mathematical anxiety—is this a real thing? How does it happen? What does it look like? How can we recognize and alleviate it at home and in the classroom? If you’ve ever had your heart race when asked to calculate something, or your child is avoiding or failing math, better give this episode a listen!

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha introduce “memory palaces” and the human talent for spatial memory, as elucidated by Sherlock Holmes and Simonides, the ancient Greek poet who left the banquet only to have the building crash down behind him. We also demonstrate how to perform this feat to increase your own memory powers (by memorizing the middle school camp packing list), and explore the correlation between memory and intelligence.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Coach Austin delve into the nitty-gritty details regarding childhood nutrition and the brain. Spoiler alert: kids can learn when they eat healthy food. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about omega-3 fatty acids and where to find them, including the long list of foods most kids hate and the one item that most kids will eat!

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Audrey answer all those burning questions we received from students and parents, including the all-important one about Ms. Angie’s Tesla. Feel free to send your question to podcast@mwmacademy.org.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Kari discuss mindfulness. What is it? And is it a bunch of “woo” or is there solid research behind it? Ms. Angie dates herself with a classic “kids these days” statement and Ms. Kari teaches how breathing can activate the parasympathetic (“rest & digest”) nervous system.

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha host a guest panel of three 9 th grade students who share their hopes and fears for high school as they finish up their time at our school…a vulnerable look at how it feels to be a teenager poised on the verge of the next big adventure.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Mr. Alden, Ms. Terra, and Ms. Karen talk about initiative and the importance of so-called “soft skills” in success. Do our students sit around waiting for someone else to do something? I don’t think so! Mr. Alden gives a parent homework assignment that is important.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Rebecca, and Ms. Melissa K. talk about the human need for belonging and the importance of creating classroom communities of acceptance, inclusion, and social support. Ms. Angie remembers a funny story from Ms. Melissa’s classroom.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Autumn discuss focus and how students engage with work. They examine the idea of the state of “flow”, as researched by a Hungarian psychologist whose name Ms. Angie bravely attempts to pronounce, and Ms. Alisha says some things that she hopes her students never hear!

In this episode, Ms. Angie and Ms. Alisha interview three students, a 7th grader, 8th grader, and 9th grader about their school experiences and get all the pro tips about surviving and thriving in Middle School. They may or may not also get all the dirt on the Middle School teachers…

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Chef Rick Pettingill discuss our amazing school lunches and Chef Rick shares some tips for getting our students to try new foods. Ms. Angie shares some research about how important good nutrition is for developing bodies, and tells the story of her financial fight to create a “full prep” kitchen when the school was built. Chef Rick throws the teachers under the bus!

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Hailey talk about the essentials of the Montessori method and the difficulty in trying to explain it all quickly, because there is so much to it! With 20/20 hindsight, we postulate that perhaps this should have been Episode 1 instead of Episode 11, and instead of homework, Ms. Angie offers parents a bonus.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, Ms. Melissa, Ms. Sheri, and Ms. Kimberly discuss the love of reading, and the amount of literacy expertise in this group is sure to impart some wisdom. They tell the stories of their own pathway to loving books, and give some opinions on graphic novels and some advice on struggling readers. Ms. Angie reminds us that books give us access to the minds of geniuses and dead people!

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Kari discuss boundaries and the Montessori notion of “freedom within limits”. They also dispel the myth that students in Montessori school can do whatever they want, expound upon the safety that consistent limits give to children, and Ms. Angie gives her best classroom management tip.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Laura discuss experiential learning and the ways in which going out into the world can benefit students. Ms. Angie is a glutton for punishment when it comes to taking students on trips, Ms. Laura’s secret nickname is revealed, and Ms. Alisha tells the notorious Ouija board story.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Allison discuss the terrifying topic of the adolescent brain. It turns out this is the second biggest time of change for the human brain, as you might have guessed if you happen to have a teenager around the house. Ms. Angie has survived raising three teenagers and gives parents some homework: to examine one of their teen’s irritating behaviors (if they don’t currently have one, just wait a few minutes) in light of the insights of this episode.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, Ms. Melissa, and Mr. Alden discuss growth mindset, which emerged from research at Stanford University, and how we can help children become friendly with their mistakes and develop the resilience to take risks. Mr. Alden creates a metaphor using the weather, and Ms. Angie recommends a song from Zootopia.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Becca lucidly discuss some recondite vocabulary words and ask: how do we learn new words and how do we foster a rich vocabulary in children? Ms. Angie puts Ms. Alisha and Ms. Becca on the spot with a vocabulary test, and Greek and Latin roots are highlighted.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Katie discuss creativity and present some excellent evidence that Montessori-educated children are more creative than their traditionally-educated peers. Ms. Angie asserts (not for the first time) that her job is never boring, and brags about some of the amazing innovators who were educated at Montessori schools. Also, Ms. Alisha sings!

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Melissa discuss conflict resolution and the four styles of communication, as well as the use of the peace table to increase students’ emotional intelligence. Ms. Angie tells of a peace table between a young boy and girl that may or may not reinforce the stereotypes of communication styles of men and women everywhere…

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, Ms. Melissa, and Ms. Rebecca talk about the benefits of positive thinking and gratitude. They stress the importance of having fun at work, which they certainly do, and Ms. Rebecca tells a story about the longest word in the Oxford dictionary, despite the fact that she is our kindergarten teacher.

In this pilot episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Melissa explore confirmation bias, in which humans fool themselves by giving more weight to evidence that confirms their existing ideas than to evidence that contradicts them. Ms. Angie confesses her own confirmation biases.