Walking in a Winter Wonderland
It’s well and truly winter here in my part of the world. The holidays are over, celebrations done and in this corner of England at least, Spring feels a long, long way away. It had been unseasonably warm by comparison; first shoots of daffodil, snowdrop and tulip had pushed their way out of the earth. The garden birds had started to sing and it was mild enough to go for long walks on the beach (although despite what my daughters seemed to think, the water was still cold when it floods over the top of your wellies)
But it’s a false dawn; we are still weeks away from Spring and very recently, the snow we'd been waiting for finally fell; how will those tender green shoots cope? How will the birds and animals fare with this sudden icy blast? Nature might have been fooled, but not me. I’m still working hard at my assignments. I have two more to go. One last big push to get me through to that end point, which is almost beyond my imagination. Just as I can barely remember what life was like before the winter came, so I struggle to recall how things were before I spent every spare minute working on an assignment.
As a mother of three small children, I’m quite used to multi-tasking, but these last months since I started the Early Childhood Course have taken it to a whole new level. When I have eventually shovelled everyone into bed, I hit the books. I walk around like a bloodhound searching out a scent, whether I’m shopping or strolling in a wood, on the hunt for something I might be able to use in an activity. I am finding it hard to answer the door without tripping over piles of Useful Scavenged Stuff that hasn’t thus far proved that useful, but from which I daren’t part.
At night, I struggle to sleep because my brain is whirring, trying to think of ideas for my lesson plans. There is never any rest! I got the inspiration for my current assignment while doing the washing up, writing a shopping list and insisting that it really isn’t warm enough for a three year old to go outside without tights on.
So, here I am, planning these last two assignments, waiting for Spring, knowing that when it finally does arrive, I will have finished. But the thing is, I know in reality I will never finish. I'm just beginning. I may not have any more assignments to do. But I’ll have teaching practice, exams… and even after they’re over (which I guess one day they will be) I won’t stop. I will never cease the hunt for activity materials. I will never stop taking inspiration from Nature. My house will never be a cardboard free zone. This is my life now, my Montessori life. And I love it.
In what ways has Montessori changed your life? Let us know in the comments below.
