Posts Tagged ‘Important Things’

Raising the Bar on Montessori Education

As a mother and advocate of the Montessori way, Castle Montessori Schools founder and Head of School, Varsha Patel and her team of dedicated teachers and administrators have set the bar when it comes to providing a top-notch education for the young.

In a day and time where many schools are cutting their staff members and faculty to save money in a tough economy, Patel’s approach runs counterintuitive to the trend.

The addition of two outstanding AMS/AMI Certified Montessori education experts on staff, each with over 15 years of experience, has catapulted Castle Montessori Schools of Carrollton, Flower Mound and McKinney into the position as the premier choice of North Texas parents seeking a high-quality Montessori education for their children.

Patel has recently made a substantial investment in the forward development of each school’s program through the addition of the schools’ first Education Program Directors.  The Primary Education Program Director specializes in children ages 3 to 6 years of age while the Toddler Education Program Director specializes in younger children ages 18 months to 3 years of age.

As part of the management team, the Education Program Directors work in concert with Patel to ensure that the quality of the education being delivered is consistent not only from classroom-to-classroom but also from school-to-school.

When it comes to the sometimes challenging aspect of toddler life, the Education Program Directors have many answers. A deep love for children in this age range is a must, and the Toddler Education Program Director serves as a direct resource for parents who oftentimes are at a loss when it comes to the behavior and emotions of their little ones.

“It’s exciting that we are able to not just provide for the care and education of the very young child, but we have now put in place more ways for parents to learn important things about their child. When I was a young mother, I would have loved to visit with an expert on toddlers about so many things,” Patel said.

“I know it can be very stressful to have a toddler, and parents can sometimes feel very isolated and alone. We want to make sure our families know we are here to support them,” Patel added.

Castle Montessori Education Program Directors are also available to help families set up a home environment which meets the developmental needs of their child, and also works with teachers to deepen their understanding of the needs of children.  This, in turn, maximizes the ability of the child to receive the full benefits of a Montessori education.

Both directors also work daily to provide continuing education support for teachers and their assistants by providing training in new courses as well as refresher courses. Patel believes the school’s teachers are free not only to teach, but to learn as well.  The position also serves to help with all areas of classroom management and acts as part of a unique teaching team which is focused on ensuring quality education for each and every child.

“I really believe in a team-based learning environment for our schools when it comes to our staff,” Patel said. “In this way, everyone feels supported and staff members know they always have somewhere to turn to gain or share new ideas for improving our educational processes.  “The Montessori way is certainly not just for children. It’s also a philosophy that transcends into all human interaction, if we allow it to do so,” Patel said.

“Dr. Maria Montessori dedicated her life’s work to helping children discover and nurture their potential, and through my schools I hope children gain a sense of community, a culture of respect, choice, and independence. I love the fact that in each of my schools we have created a place where children feel successful, at peace, and are actively engaged in purposeful and focused learning,” Patel said.

Each Castle Montessori School campus is built featuring state-of-the-art computer labs, indoor gymnasiums, outdoor playgrounds with upgraded play structures, music rooms with baby-grand pianos and closed-circuit monitoring security systems. A distinct sense of order and beauty is seen throughout each classroom.

All lead teachers (Directresses) are certified by the American Montessori Society (AMS), Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), or the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).  Teachers holding certifications from these organizations have undergone a rigorous two to three year Montessori training program and have achieved their teaching certificates only after having passed their exams and internship requirements.

Castle Montessori schools offer year-round programs for children ages 18 months to nine years, before and after-school care, nature study, music programs, computer programs, two foreign language programs (Spanish and Mandarin Chinese) as well as extra-curricular programs such as dance, martial arts, indoor soccer, golf, and more.

New students have a unique opportunity to spend time (free of charge) to ensure the transition period into Castle Montessori schools is an enjoyable and stress-free time.  Parents may bring their child into the school for as little as a few minutes or as long as several hours so that both parent and child can gradually adjust to the new school environment.

Parents are invited to visit the school anytime for a tour with or without an appointment. For more information, please contact the schools directly at www.CastleMontessori.com

Health Insurance – What You Need To Know

Health insurance is vitally important to families in today’s very costly medical world. Without health insurance, you could face large financial difficulties even from a single accident or incident. If your employer does not provide you with health insurance, you have the option of purchasing it yourself. Whether just for you or your entire family, there are several things to keep in mind. Health Savings Accounts One form of health insurance are the newer HSA or Health Savings Accounts. These accounts allow you to put money aside for health costs. There is a tax advantage to using them and the funds can be used as you would like to use them. For example, they can often be used for over the counter medications. Short Term Health Insurance If you have lost your job, or are about to, one of the most important things to do is to get short term health insurance in line. Generally, insurance companies will keep you on for the month you are in when you lose your job. If it is close to the end of the month, ask your employer to keep you on the books until the new month. Finding short term health insurance is not difficult as there are affordable plans readily available. Keep in mind that this type of health insurance may not be available to individuals who have not had health insurance for some time. Rather, it is like a gap filler from when you leave one job until you get the next. Finding the Best Prices for Health Insurance To find affordable health insurance prices, do your research. Talk to several insurance companies and compare the plans they offer to you. Find out why one is better than the next. Look at deductibles, coverage amounts, limitations and costs. The best insurance plan gives you everything you need at the lowest price. Health insurance is a must have. Luckily, most of the work to get it can be done online, including comparing several companies and their policies. By investing the time in comparison shopping, you will be able to look at several different types of insurance available to you. You can also get estimates on cost, coverage options and learn which companies are best to work with.

Five Reasons You Should Consider Homeschooling Your Children

For this article, I thought I would list five reasons that you should consider homeschooling your children.

Homeschooling is becoming more and more common. Estimates are that there is over 1 million kids being homeschooled in the United States. So what are some of the reasons parents decide to homeschool their children? Let’s take a look at five of those reasons.

Better Education

One of the biggest reasons parents decide to homeschool their children is because they feel they can provide for their child a better education. After all, who is going to know the children more and what they need to learn then their parents? If parents choose to homeschool their children, they can decide what the child should know and keep an eye on their education at all times. A child’s education is one of the most important things in their life, it needs to be top quality.

Religion

This can be a heated topic, but many parents choose to homeschool their children so that religion can be brought into the education. Whether you agree that religion should be taught in education or not, it’s up for the parents to decide what their children learn, not any of us. If you are considering homeschooling your children and you want to include Religion, then go right ahead. If you don’t want to use religion, then you don’t have to. It’s your choice! You’re the parent!

Poor Learning Environment

Another reason that parents choose to homeschool their children is due to a poor learning environment at school. Let’s face it, the learning environment at school isn’t usually too great. Classrooms are filled with distractions, interruptions, etc.

I remember one time in sixth grade, right during the middle of class, my sixth grade teacher actually stopped class to run and call into a radio contest show. Was that really necessary? If you homeschool your children, they don’t have to deal with any of this.

Peer Pressure/Safety

Another problem with some schools is the peer pressure from other students and the violence in classrooms. When you send your kids off to school, you just never know who they may interact with and you don’t know what they might be exposed too. Will someone get them to try drugs? Will someone hurt them? Homeschooling your children eliminates that problem.

Family Time

And finally, we come to Family time. This is another reason parents choose to homeschool their children. Life can be busy at times. The kids may be at school during the day, but in the evening, dinner is being cooked, homework is being done, the children are out with friends, etc. How often do you really get a chance to spend time with your kids in the evening? By homeschooling your children, you have the chance to be around them the entire day.

These are just five of the many reasons parents choose to homeschool their children. If you are thinking of homeschooling your children, then good luck with it! I also recommend you check out Professor Homeschool. It is an e-book explaining all about how to begin homeschooling. I went ahead and included the link to this e-book in my author information. It has all the information you need to know to get started. So educate yourself with this information and start homeschooling!

}