Please Excuse My Appearance

Today I came back from a three day trip with my daughter to a cabin on a lake. We had a wonderful time where we enjoyed the simplicities of summer...swimming, canoeing, fishing and the warm summer sun. As we pulled in the driveway, I checked the mailbox... I have a new book called: How To Train a Wild Elephant & Other Adventures in Mindfulness, by Jan Chozen Bayes, MD.

A vacation after a vacation is always advised; I found a comfortable place hoping this new book will entertain me. It did. Included in this book are simply daily mindfulness practices. My first exercise: Use your nondominant hand. I will be using my nondominant hand to do my ordinary daily tasks such as brushing my hair, brushing my teeth and eating my meals. I would tell you more, but the book advises me to stop reading and read later this week. Try it! I think this might be fun.

How is my typing by the way?

Easy Mindfulness Exercises

Liberating

"To see the child as he is, is made difficult for us as adults on account of our own defects. Between us and the baptized child lies the gulf created by our own sins. Because of this defective vision the adult is generally to much occupied in looking for defective tendencies also in the child and seeking to correct them. We must first remove the beam from our own eyes, and then we shall see more clearly how to remove the mote in the child's. In the "removing of the beam from her own eyes" consists the spiritual training of the teacher." - Maria Montessori, Her Life and Work. (p.300-301)

The answers have always been in front of me. Some were simple, "What are you grateful for?" or "Who do you love?" and some were a little difficult "What is your biggest regret?" or "What was the toughest time in your life?"  for me to answer and just to say it out loud.  This activity was self-searching and brought an awareness to myself. But amazingly it was very liberating. The questions can be found in a previous post, A Montessori Teacher's Mask?.

Mon"tea"sori Herbal Facial, Nurturing Your Spirit and Yourself

Stop sewing aprons, stop making 3 part cards and YES please put down The Absorbent Mind! Did I get your attention? Now I would like you to walk out to your garden and pick some Thyme, Peppermint and Lavender. If you do not have a garden I am sure you can find these herbs locally or in your neighbor's garden. (a little sarcasm) Below is a familiar "lesson" on how to give yourself a Monteassori Herbal Facial. It may fit nicely in your Montessori Philosopy, Botany or Practical Life album.

Monteasori Herbal Facial



Material:  A large pot with lid, water, dried or fresh herbs or essential oils and 2 large towels.

Preparation: Clean your face thoroughly and tie your hair back if needed.

Exercise: 

1. Boil a kettle or pot full of water then add the herbs and fruity ingredients (about 1/3 cup fresh or dried herbs and fruit slices per 4 cups of water). Boil for a minute or two then remove from heat. Cover and let steep for about 5 minutes.

2. Place pot on counter or table on top of a towel and remove lid. Cover your head with a another large clean towel and position your face over the steaming water (with the towel acting as a tent over the bowl to capture the steam).

3. Keep your eyes closed and your face at least 10 to 12 inches from the boiling water during the facial. Enjoy the fragrant steam and relax, but don’t overdo it–keep the facial time between 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Once the facial is over, splash face with slightly cool water and pat dry.

Points of Interest:

1. Nurturing your Spirit
2. Taking time for yourself
3. Need I say more?

Control of Error: Yourself

Direct Aims:

1. Order
2. Sequencing
3. Organization
4.  Thinking

 Indirect Aims:

1. Relaxing
2. Furthering use of herbs
3. Observing which combinations you like.

Ages: 20 and something years.

Variations:

1. Spearmint, Lemon Balm, Lemon or Orange Slices
2. Chamomile, Rosemary, Peppermint
3. Green Tea, Rose Petals, Chamomile
4. Rosemary, Lemon, Honey
5. Lemon Slices, Peppermint
6. Lemon balm, Lavender
7. Chamomile, Fennel Seeds, Rose Petals
8. Thyme, Peppermint, Lavender
9. Parsley, Lavender, Lemon balm
10. Sage, Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme
11. Cinnamon, Orange Slices
12. Peppermint, Cloves, Rosemary

The Teacher, Prepare Self

The Mindful Montessori blog has come to fruition as a goal for my Montessori classroom in 2011-2012 school year. Every year, the Head of School will give all staff members a Professional Development and Goal Setting form that will has several questions. The final question is "What are your two goals for next year?" In the years past, I remember having....finish my Montessori training.....a clean and organized closet...consistent daily record keeping....and now nurturing the spirit. Over time, this has been an area of my montessori environment I have not given as much attention to as I  would like. As time has gone by I began to observe playing the "Silence Game" and Grace and Courtesy lessons are not a Montessorian's only option to establish mindfulness. So where do I begin?...with myself.

This is my summer plan to begin my practice.

• Reading...Nurturing the Spirit, In Non-Sectarian Classrooms ...and any books that I come across I will share.

• Workbook...Shining Through, A Teacher's Handbook on Transformation
• Yoga classes,  2-3 times a week
• Daily Meditation
• Journal writing 

Mindful Montessori will include topics of The Teacher's Preparation, The Environment and Mindfulness Practices. I am looking forward to a Mindfulness year.

Summer Solstice, A New Season

Basic Sun Salutation with Kathryn Budig - Bing Videos

Happy Summer Solstice!

My Mindful Montessori summer plan is going well so far. I have started my yoga routine. Yesterday was my first class in about two weeks. My body is sore! To keep myself going I have made the commitment to go two more times this week. Above is a video on how to do one of my favorite yoga poses...Sun Salutation in honor of the first day of summer.

Meditation has been the most difficult thing for me do. Finding a place where you can have no interruptions may be difficult. My favorite place is on my back deck surrounded by beautiful large trees.  Meditation is the first thing I have to do in the morning, even before I have my coffee.  I find myself wanting to keep my eyes closed but I have read to keep them open and looking downward. I have started with ten minutes and I hope to move to 15 minutes by the end of next week.

I continue to wait for a couple of my books that I have ordered. I am looking forward to future posts. What does all this have to do with Mindful Montessori?... the teacher must prepare herself.  Please leave comments. I would love to hear from you!