Last week, the Parenting for Peace group at the Friends School of Portland hosted an evening lecture entitled “In the Moment: Mindfulness for Families and Educators.” The event was held at the University of Southern Maine. It featured Kathryn Brynes and Irene McHenry. Brynes is a professor of education at Bowdoin College. McHenry is Director of the Friends Council of Education, in Philadelphia. What role does mindfulness play in raising children? There is a growing body of research suggesting that family members and caregivers who engage in mindful practices feel more satisfaction and less stress. The speakers gave examples of mindfulness in practice and encouragement to parents and educators to explore this area of self-awareness. Many educators and parents are beginning to teach the skills of mindfulness to the next generation. Susan Kaiser Greenland is one such educator. She is the founder of the Inner Kids Foundation and author of The Mindful Child. Here is a link to a TED talk by Susan Kaiser Greenland entitled ‘Teaching the ABCs of Attention, Balance and Compassion.”  Hope you enjoy this reference and have a safe and happy holiday...

  It’s that time of the year where children are becoming more active and energized. With that comes testing the boundaries of appropriate behavior. Parents ask us a lot of questions about how to approach setting limits with toddlers and preschoolers. A popular phrase in the Montessori world is “follow the child.” This may give the impression that “anything goes,” which is far from the reality. In the classroom, we are regularly setting limits and following through to help children understand and respect limits around safety, gentleness and kindness. Last year, we posted a link to Elevating Child Care, a blog about caring for young children with respect. The blog is written by Janet Lansbury, a parenting educator in California. A frequent topic on the blog is setting limits. Ms. Lansbury has a new podcast where you can here more about the topic of setting limits and hear some examples of using this approach this with young children. Here is the link to the podcast: http://www.janetlansbury.com/2014/04/setting-limits-with-respect-what-it-sounds-like-podcast/ Happy listening and Happy Mother’s...

  A tradition at Winfield Children’s House is to hold a May Pole Dance and celebration on May Day. This year, we held our May Pole Dance on Friday, May 2. A local dance instructor brings a beautiful May Pole and a sound system for playing traditional English and Irish music. She teaches the dance to each primary classroom. The children from the Bambini and Toddler programs come to play musical instruments and watch the preschoolers and Kindergarteners perform the dance to wind the ribbons around the pole. This is a wonderful way to celebrate the season and build community at our...