the details
“The teacher becomes the keeper and custodian of the environment. She attends to this instead of being distracted by the children’s restlessness. From this will come healing," Maria Montessori
Hello. It’s been quite a while. I’m still here, chugging along through the first full year at Sage. We’re working with Golden Beads. We’re cleaning up water spills. We’re learning what we can do if we accidentally bump into someone. Our days are filled with work that is interesting and hard and joyful. Some of us (me!) are learning how to navigate enrollment and admissions and fundraising.
It feels like there are always one million things to be done, which isn’t new because I think all Montessori guides and all educators in general feel this way. We could spend hours in our classrooms and never feel finished with the work, right? My food preparation shelf needs a refresh. I have admissions emails to send. I have a fundraiser/community event coming up. But the one precious hour I spent in my classroom last weekend was framing new pieces for the wonky gallery wall. My Practical Life shelves sat empty, but I got these new pieces framed. And it felt reminiscent of a year ago, when we were getting ready to open our doors.
Almost a year ago, we were waiting for our final use and occupancy letter to submit as the final piece of our childcare licensing. We were waiting on one final fire inspection. There were a million things to do as we eagerly awaited the green light from the powers that be for children to walk in the door. I remember sitting in the classroom floor framing art for a gallery wall, feeling like I should be doing a million other things. But it felt important to me. An important detail that was an important part of what I wanted Sage to be. A place that respected young children enough to care about the art on the walls. I imagined this gallery wall being rotated out, exposing children to all kinds of visual art. Of these frames being a window into culture and cultures.
A few families commented on the art during tours, and I felt a little swell of pride. Some affirmation—oh, this detail is important to other people, too. But this detail has gotten swallowed up in the dailiness of life.
It’s a year later and I haven’t changed the art in the frames out nearly as much as I’d like. There are so many things that require my attention when I am not working directly with the children—tours to schedule, floors to mop, Practical Life shelves to refresh. A sewing shelf that mocks me. When things feel busy and full, it can feel frivolous to focus on a detail that feels unimportant. The world will keep spinning if the art doesn’t get swapped out. There are more pressing tasks, right? But maybe not. Maybe it’s those details in the children’s environment that are the most important.
“The teacher becomes the keeper and custodian of the environment. She attends to this instead of being distracted by the children’s restlessness. From this will come healing, and the attraction that captures and polarises the child’s will. ” Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
I finally gave the gallery a little refresh, and framed some pieces by Alma Thomas. The pieces have brought color and warmth to the darker, colder days of late winter.
In Februarys past, Alma Thomas is one of the artists we’ve studied for Black History Month. If you’re interested in doing an artist study on Alma Thomas, here are a few of my favorite resources!
Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey. I love this book! It is definitely worth adding to your collection!
Alma’s Art by Roda Ahmed. This is a great book to read aloud that is engaging for three-to-six-year-olds. The storyline is simple and the illustrations are beautiful!
I checked this Alma Thomas coffee table book out at the library, and put it on the art shelf for the children to explore. This is a coffee table book I’d like to eventually purchase for my home! I photocopied some of the pieces from this book to frame (I reduced the size in the settings).
As always, thanks for reading. I’m so glad you’re still here!