Spring is in full swing at The Cottage and flower transfering is very popular in the play yard. Sun hat optional! Writing practice is most fun when done in brown rice. So much nature to discover. He found a friendly moth. Friends deciding who might drive. Beautiful Mother's Day gifts being painted with care. Continue reading

Oh those "terrible twos".... The body that goes limp as a noodle while walking through the parking lot or the grocery store, the frustrated screams that occur when things don't work out just right. This budding little person is learning that he is very much an individual, but that the world around him is most of the time out of his control. Allowing our little ones to practice self care can ease the frustration of the toddler years. Something as simple as being able to pour oneself a glass of water (placed on a low shelf in a small pitcher)... Continue reading

A moment A creation A glimpse A sound There is beauty all around Continue reading

The Cottage now has a Montessori infant and toddler program! They work just as hard as the big preschoolers and sometimes pause mid-lunch for a nap! Here are a few snapshots from our week so far. Enjoy! Continue reading

When the cold keeps us inside everyday, the children get quite creative! The ever-changing nature table is full of winter items: Snow, pinecones, bird seed, animal tracks, & wool. Loving the oh-so-careful water transfering exercise! Taking a bit of a break. Making new discoveries. Continue reading

We have been busy bees at The Cottage. Using an idea from one of my favorite blogs Zach Aboard (written by old friend and homeschooling Mama extraordinaire Cindy Wallach), we have been felting soap for holiday gift giving. We LOVE wool roving at our school and find any excuse to enjoy its myriad of textures and colors. Wrapping a bar of soap in colors of their choosing, the children dip it in hot water and start scrubbing. They then wrap the bars in old nylons and set them out to dry. The end result- a beautiful handmade gift! Happy Holidays... Continue reading

One of my favorite holiday cookie traditions is making "Stained-Glass" sugar cookies. This can be done any time of year, but we always did these at Christmas time when I was growing up. It is a fun way to personalize cookies. Start with your favorite sugar cookie dough. Using small glass containers, mix one egg yolk with one tsp of water to make your "paint" base (one for each desired color). Add food coloring to each container. Paint your unbaked cookies. Use clean new synthetic paint brushes (these don't tend to shed into your cookie), the cheap ones found in... Continue reading

Cottage Latkes 6 potatoes 2 eggs 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 small onion, grated 2 TBSP flour 1/4 c. oil for frying Peel and grate the onion and potatoes. Mix all the ingredients together except the oil. Pour oil into frying pan and heat. Once the oil is hot drop by tablespoonful into hot oil. Fry Latkes until golden brown and then turn and cook other side. Serve with applesauce and sour cream. YUM! Continue reading

Our school is located in the beautiful river-town of Parkville, Missouri. Our building sits on a shady wooded campus that includes a fenced play area, outdoor learning environments and wooden decks. Housing classrooms, a teaching kitchen with adjacent dining hall, a library, a gathering space and a nap room, Parkville Children’s Cottage is well equipped to meet the needs of the child. We strive to create natural, inviting spaces where children will develop a love of learning, follow their interests, and strengthen their creative spirits. 5215 NW Crooked Road December 9, 2010 5-7:30 p.m. Come meet our staff, enjoy some... Continue reading

December is here and we are getting into the holiday spirit! This week we have many new activities on the shelf. One of the children's favorites are felt place-mat kits that they use felt-board style. All of the pieces are in the basket, and the children decorate the gingerbread man and penguin as they wish and then take it apart and return it to the shelf. Some decorative stockings found in the dollar bin make an inviting matching activity for the Sensorial shelf. Play-Doh, that perennial favorite. . . On the art shelf we have an ornament making activity. The... Continue reading

Check out "The Cottage News" : Download November news Continue reading

It is the end of the harvest season at The Cottage, and we begin to make preparations for the cold winter days ahead. Our children have been grinding wheat and corn into flour using a grain mill. By adjusting the texture dial, we can crack corn for the birds and squirrels to enjoy too. We explore the many ways that humans have used grains throughout history. Here the children examine a Native American grinding stone from Blacksmith cave in southern Missouri. The children are fascinated that people from either the Kickapoo or Osage tribes used this to make cornmeal. We... Continue reading

As the weather changes our classroom transforms to reflect the seasons. Right now we find leaves, gourds and nuts for art, science, math and language. Cooperative games become a natural part of our day as we come together to relax in the afternoon sun. Caring for our environment with wood polishing. Group lessons happen spontaneously. Enjoying the beautiful day. Continue reading

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood- Touch of manner, hint of mood; And my heart is like a rhyme, With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time. The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry Of bugles going by. And my lonely spirit thrills To see the frosty asters like smoke upon the hills. There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir; We must rise and follow her, When from every hill of flame She calls and calls each vagabond by name. -Bliss Carmen Continue reading

The beautiful Fall weather is drawing us outside to work. The children love to map out spaces for themselves with rugs and tables and become engrossed. But with such beautiful leaves rustling in the wind, they pause occasionally to enjoy nature. Then, it's back to work as they follow the natural rhythm of their day. An early morning jam session on the deck... Luncheon for three with Dad... Enjoying a walking stick friend... Pumpkin pounding concentration... ...A favorite October activity! Window washing inside and out. Continue reading

The winds are tempestuous and the clouds are on the move. Our Mums are in full bloom bringing us Fall cheer as we romp through the garden. Our final harvest of Brussels sprouts led to an impromptu lesson on the role of roots followed by yummy sprouts sauteed in brown butter. The children love preparing and eating the vegetables they have nourished throughout the summer. A late Monarch was spotted on it's way to Mexico. We made our own PB & J sandwiches and arranged flowers for a beautiful lunch. And so much Montessori work! Continue reading

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” -Maria Montessori By week three our children are beginning to feel confidence in their own capabilities. Since we are a newly started school, the majority of our students are fresh to the environment. It is a very real joy to see some of our youngest (who came to the Cottage for the first time in mid- August) eagerly hanging their totes, putting on slippers and unrolling a rug without any prompting. This week there is a great deal of interest in fine motor activities. After watching... Continue reading

Learning quantities with the spindles is so much fun. Music makes The Cottage hum... We began our language work with the first set of sandpaper letters! A lovely, sensorial experience. Friday Pizza Day is a great way to express our creativity... Africa on dough with tomatoes and pepperoni turns lunch into art! Continue reading

We are back in full swing! Here are a few images from our week... Practicing our walking... Enjoying lunch with our new friends... Practicing concentration... Practicing pouring.. Practicing silence... Harvesting tomatoes... Becoming engaged in our work. Continue reading

We are taking a break from this space for a week or so to prepare the environment for the Fall Session. Enjoy these lazy days of summer and we will see you back here in a few weeks! Continue reading

That's right! A big part of learning to cook is tasting and enjoying different foods and flavors. So we had food brought in from three restaurants in Parkville: Cafe Cedar, Frank's, and Shogun. The children loved sampling different foods from Japan, Lebanon, and Italy and had some surprising revelations. And we fully illustrated the elements of taste: salt, sweet, bitter, sour. Miso soup was a great hit! Overheard: "I didn't think I would like it but I tried it and love it!" We love it when the children come up with this concept on their own. Pita bread and hummus... Continue reading

Well, it is no secret that we love to cook at The Cottage so we made a week of it. Our students practiced their pouring, measuring, slicing, dicing and mixing and even reviewed some local restaurant dishes, too. I think we incorporated tomatoes into nearly every dish this week to accommodate our bumper crop! And the children felt free to graze in the garden, wrapping tomatoes in basil "blankets" and eating them like candy. Carefully measuring ingredients for Bavarian pretzels... Organic honey cereal makes counting and practicing quantity more fun... Juicing so many lemons... And making the sign for... Our... Continue reading

On Thursday we turned our sights to outer space. We introduced the solar system to our campers with a fun kinesthetic activity in the parking lot. We drew the sun and the orbits of the planets on the blacktop with sidewalk chalk. The children each drew the name of a planet, the sun or the moon from a basket. After learning facts about their selection, they made their costumes. Then- a trip through outer space! Next we found our orbits...... Walking together at an even pace, we discovered that Mercury completes its orbit cycle first- and that Pluto is so... Continue reading

This has been a fun filled week of all things science related including chemistry, botany, biology, geology, zoology, and astronomy. On Monday and Tuesday we explored the weather patterns and chemistry through food. We were able to observe wind patterns and the concept of lift by making airplanes and parachutes. After reading the exciting Dr. Seuss tale Bartholomew and the Oobleck we made our very own Oobleck. Oobleck 16oz. corn starch 3 cups water with food coloring, if desired. (we used green just like Dr. Seuss) Mix thoroughly and watch the magic. This is a wonderful, easy way to explore... Continue reading