VOL: 012 SEP 2015
with the rains come new things to learn about. thefreethinkingschool.com
flashback it’s been a busy month for our little freethinkers as there’s been a whirlwind of activities and learning all month long. we learnt about clothes and the different clothes that we wear to suit the different seasons. the children got the concept so beautifully and have become more conscious of the fact that they dress in accordance with the weather outside. we learnt new words pertaining to clothes such as, half sleeve t- shirt, full sleeve t-shirt, sleeveless t-shirt, boots, scarf, raincoat, etc. children enjoyed getting their hands into bubbly, soapy water, while washing clothes and drying them on the clothesline. we also learned how to make our clothes more colourful by dying them with a natural vegetable colour. (beetroot). a special thanks goes out to all the freethinking moms for the efforts taken to dress their children up in their traditional outfits on ethnic day. most of the children spoke about the region from which their clothes originated and were flaunting it throughout the day. there's nothing more refreshing than a trip into the great outdoors! our little freethinkers have been learning about clothing all month long; so as a summative activity we took them to shahi exports -a garment factory where clothes are manufactured. they were able to witness first hand the processes involved in making t-shirts. at the storage facility they saw humongous rolls of knit fabrics stacked upon racks, up on the first floor they saw how fabrics were laid out and layered upon lengthy tables, marked using stencils and cut to size with the help of specialized machinery. climbing up to the next level they bore witness to a room full of people at their sewing machines. they stopped at regular intervals to watch them tailor, button and make buttonholes all the way down to the finished product. on the topmost floor they were intrigued by the methods used to fold, tag and finally pack the garment into polythene bags. truly learning can be so enjoyable when involed in the experience. i bet our freethinkers just can't wait until the next field trip!
mommy and me night”! it’s around 6.00 pm and a friday evening. the “freethinking” staff members eagerly await the arrival of their young free thinkers and their mom’s. it’s unlike any other day for our little thinkers. they get to bring their mom along to school and celebrate together their journey in learning so far. for the moms, it is an excellent and unparalleled opportunity to see what life is like inside a montessori home! the young free thinkers escort their moms on a personally guided tour of their environment and present their “choice of work”. the mothers were able to see for themselves the unique way in which the freethinking students discover their voices academically, spiritually and personally. as the evening unfolded what came through clearly was “the magic of grace and courtesy”, how to wait for a turn, respect someone else’s space, ask politely for permission to touch someone else’s share, help or offer to help someone else! it sounds so simple, doesn’t it? these are skills for a lifetime and yet, it’s taken practice and patience to get to this point in your child’s journey. what was endearing was the display of confidence and joy in which the children presented their work to their moms. and the moms rejoiced in their children’s learning. it was truly “a celebration of learning”. mom’s night would not be complete without thanking our freethinking teachers who have spent months, guiding and preparing the children to arrive at this point. also 5 brownie points go to the moms for being there!
fast forward in the month of september, keeping the overall theme, “needs of man” in mind we will be addressing man’s need for shelter. our emphasis will be on – the different kinds of houses and why we need shelter. dad’s night – dads you are invited to attend a special night intended for you and your child alone. after sharing a short circle time together; you will be escorted by your child on a personal tour of his/ her favourite work and activities. this is a wonderful opportunity for all you dads to get a sneak peek into your child’s working world and to catch up with all the progress made over time. it is a big event for them and one that they look forward to with great enthusiasm. no siblings please. dads, please mark your calendars for friday the 11th of september from 6pm - 7pm.
upcoming events 4th september – teacher’s day 11th september – dad’s night 17 september – ganesh chaturthi holiday 23 september – eid celebration 24 september – bakrid holiday
parent resource the good enough mother by elaine heffner, csw, ed.d. amy, the mother of a four-year-old boy, was upset. she had just had the final conference of the year with her son's nursery school teacher. she heard some really good things about her son; she heard that he is very bright, makes friends easily and is very well liked. but the teacher also told her that sometimes he gets silly and babyish. sometimes when she works individually with the children, he refuses to work with her. so amy worried about whether there was something wrong with her son and wondered what she might have done to create these "problems." why do mothers tend to think that everything is their fault? as mothers, we want everything to be perfect for our children. more than that, we imagine we can make it so. sometimes there are things we don't like about ourselves or our lives and blame our upbringing. we want to fix what we think went wrong with us and do it right for our children. if only we could be perfect mothers, we could create the perfect life for our children and they in turn would be perfect. but since children are not perfect, we think there must be something wrong with us – that we must be at fault. besides, everyone acts as if a mother is responsible for everything her child does. people glare at you in the supermarket if your child acts up – as if you don't know how to manage him. they make comments on the bus if your child is unruly. if your daughter protests loudly when you leave to go out in the evening the babysitter or your mother might think, "she never does that with me."
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as if that isn't enough, there are so many theories about how children should be raised in order for them to become emotionally well-adjusted, smart, successful and happy. and mothers are the ones on the hot seat. now that so much has been learned about brain development, mothers feel responsible for that too! child development research from its beginnings has, too often, assigned mom the role of primary influence, responsibility – and blame! the message mothers take from all of this is that there is a right way to do things, and if you do it the wrong way you will damage your child. any problem must mean you are doing something wrong, and so it is your fault. to be a good mother, it seems as though you have to be perfect and never make any mistakes. the trouble with this idea is that even if you were a perfect mother (if there ever were such a person), that's not what would be best for your child. your child has to grow up to live in the real world, and the real world isn't perfect. a child can't expect always to have people around her who understand her or cater to her every wish. children have to learn to share, take turns, wait for what they want and realize that other people have needs and moods, too. having to learn this can be frustrating, so children act up in various ways to show their displeasure. they show their feelings by behaving in ways that adults don't always like, and sometimes lead mothers to believe that they have done something wrong to cause that behavior. but what about amy and the teacher's report? was amy responsible for her son's behavior? well, only if you think it was her fault for having a second child (which, by the way, she did feel guilty about). actually, her son's babyish behavior was his way of saying that he wanted some baby treatment — like being carried or drinking from a baby bottle – and didn't want to be considered a "big boy." when amy realized that his behavior was saying something about him, rather than about her, she was able to find many ways to help him appreciate being four instead of still being a baby.
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so being a good mother does not mean being a perfect mother. a good enough mother is good enough. a good enough mother:
loves her child but not all of his behavior.
isn't always available to her child whenever he wants her.
can't possibly prevent all her child's frustrations and moods.
has needs of her own which may conflict with those of her child.
loses it sometimes.
is human and makes mistakes.
learns from her mistakes.
uses her own best judgment.
there are no perfect mothers and no perfect children. if we accept our own limitations, we are better able to accept those of our children and of life itself. in that way we become good enough mothers. and good enough mothers are the real mothers.
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