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What is The Hidden Treasure? Montessori kids find out at New Jersey Montessori School

Moorestown, New Jersey –  Montessori Children’s House continues the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Curriculum after spring break as the children enter unit three to discover  The Hidden Treasure – gratitude.   As usual things kick off with the Young Master’s pledge,  “I promise to use my gifts everyday….”  After reading  The Hidden Treasure, children discuss all the different things our characters, Phylos and Butaan, are grateful for.  The children are then directed to close their eyes for a few moments and think about what they are grateful for.  Each child puts a little heart inside a pinata treasure chest as they claim the things or people for which they’re grateful –  family, friends, school, the beach, sunshine and trees.  The list goes on as they explore what’s important in each of their lives.

The children then learn about a very special gift.  Each child is asked to lift the top and look inside a beautifully wrapped gift box to discover the greatestStephanie Pelly and The Hidden Treasure giftof all.  What could it be?  “It’s not something that can be bought in a store,” said  class facilitator Stephanie Pelly.  They are each asked to open the box and look inside.  “Don’t tell anyone what it is,” Stephanie says, “wait for each person to have a turn.”   Each child opens the box and peeks inside only to see their own reflection in a mirror placed at the bottom of the box.  A big smile appears each time a child realizes the greatest gift  is – them.  Beautiful,  unique, special – them. Once everyone has a turn looking inside the box they place their hands on their hearts and say, I AM A GIFT, an affirmation of self-realization and acceptance of their own intrinsic value.

The greatest gift

Next in the center of the circle a gift box is placed and Stephanie tells the children she’s going to use her imagination and give each child a gift.   They won’t be able to see it but if they use their imagination they’ll know what the gift was.  Each child accepts a gift according to their own imagination.  What fun!
The day’s lesson ends by playing a game and singing the song, Circle of Appreciation.  When the lyric says “point to the one you’re thankful for,” each child points to their friends and says “I’m thankful for you.”
One child remarks, “I like the way each book ends with “thank you for being here.”   Another little boy confesses to his teacher “I love Tuesdays.” When he was asked why he said “because Miss Stephanie comes on Tuesdays to share the YOUNG MASTERS program.”  These children are indeed thankful for Miss Stephanie.  What are you thankful for?  And what gifts are you accepting for yourself?
Stay tuned for next week when this Montessori class discovers  a new secret of the heart – courage!
See video clips of the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery program:
Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Curriculum is available now for free.  Find out more by clicking here.
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Naudain Academy, a Montessori School, uses the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program to teach friendship.

What is a Young Master?  Someone born with gifts.  A Young Master is YOU.  This is what each and every child in the extension program at Naudain Academy is learning.  They are indeed Young Masters.  This week they continued to explore friendship as they reviewed  the Secret of The Heart they are focusing on for the first month.  They began as always.

“Let’s stand and say the Young Masters Pledge,” said Stephanie Pelly, the program’s director.  Proudly they stood with peace sign over their hearts and said  the pledge with and without the CD.   “I promise to use my gifts every day, in every way, for I am a Young Master.  The children already remember the pledge and state it with great enthusiasm.” said Stephanie. “With each meeting they understand a little more, what it means.”

They reviewed the book they read at their first meeting.  Many children recalled not only the title of the book  The Friendship Seed, but  were also able to share the author’s name, Bunny Hull and the illustrator Kye Fleming.  They discussed the names of the characters in the story and she then asked them if they could remember, “what was the Friendship Seed that was shared in the story…who can tell me?” she asked.  Together the children cheered – a smile.

They talked about how plants and flowers grow transition from a tiny seed and  how a friendship can grow from one single smile.  They talked about how it’s important to take care of our friendships, to nurture them and they explored how to do that.  Together the class created a “friendship flower.” On each petal they wrote an idea that could help their friendships grow in school.  They could “be kind”, one child said,  “and say kind words.” Another child said, “I could help a friend or cheer a them up if they were sad.”  They  talked about how they could “include others,” or “share with a friend.”  “What about unkind words,” asked Stephanie. ” Those are like weeds that don’t help friendships grow,” they all agreed. “We don’t want those in our garden!”

Stephanie then invited one child at a time to come to the front of the classroom and hold a “friendship flower”, this was a beautiful red rose that she had brought to class.  Each child said something they liked about their friend, until everyone had a turn.  This activity made each child feel that what they had to say was indeed important and valued. They were showing kindness to their friend.

The children were given an activity sheet to take away so they could complete their own friendship flower at home and discuss it with their families. The Young Masters Journals were introduced for the  first time.   The children were excited about receiving their new books which will allow them to track their journey of discovery as they learn how to use the Secrets of the Heart.

Before the program ended they listened to new songs from the Friendship Seed CD and sang THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE in English and Swahili, which they learned was the language of Kenya.  Finally they listened to Hey Young Masters and played air guitar as began to learn the words. “The music is one more important way the children begin to grasp the very important concepts they’re learning,” said Stephanie.

It was good day at Naudain today as the children moved one step closer to learning what powerful little beings they are and how their creativity as Young Masters can create a world of friendship, for them and for the world they live in.  They’re learning they make a difference.  Stay tuned for the next adventure as the children of Naudain Academy continue their quest to the Secrets of the Heart.

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Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program Continues at Naudain Academy, a Montessori School

Voohees, New Jersey –  It was a rainy day and the children were ready for some indoor fun.  The theme of imagination continued on their favorite day, the day Stephanie comes to conduct the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery program .  As always Stephanie Pelly began with the Young Masters Pledge.  “I promise to use my gifts everyday, in every way, for I am a Young Master.”  As they reviewed what they had learned during the last class, the children remembered that their Magic Eye was –  inside their mind.  Stephanie asked, “when can you use your imagination?” “On a rainy day like this,” one little boy answered, “or when I’m laying in bed, driving in a car, at school or with my brother, sister or friend – anytime.” 

Today they played imagination games, beginning with The Magic Circle. One child at a time came up to the front of a classroom and began using their imagination to create something in the hula hoop.  One girl pretended the hula hoop was a mirror and she held it up to look at herself and strated to brush her hair.  Classmates took turns guessing what she was doing.  Another child pretended The Magic Circle was a garden of beautiful flowers.  One by one she picked a flower and brought it up to her nose to smell its fragrance.  Another young boy imagined he was typing on a computer. Even Stephanie took a turn, making a big snowball and throwing it at one of the children.  Lots of fun!

The second game they played was Magic Ball.  Stephanie used her imagination as she pretended to pull a magic ball out of her pocket.  She bounced it and tossed it in the air.  Finally, she called someone’s name and threw to them.  Using their imagination they caught the ball with both hands and passed it to a friend next to them.  The imaginary ball moved around the circle being rolled, tossed and thrown across the room even like a pitcher does in a baseball game.  Sometimes the ball grew really really big and sometime the magic ball became very small.  The children got a chance to stretch their power of imagination.

The last group activity for the day was story time.  Everyone worked together to create a story.  Stephanie began by holding up a microphone.  “Once upon a time,” she said.  The next child held the mic and continued, “There was a little boy.”  The story unfolded with each child speaking into the microphone to add their new idea.  It went something like this:  “A little boy was watching tv… and then he saw something on the news… he got scared and then went into his bedroom… and began dreaming…he dreamed about a door that was opening… and then he heard someone calling his name…he woke up only… to later hear his alarm clock ringing… he was just dreaming.”  The children cooperated by taking turns and their story was told.  “We all have a story to tell,” said Stephanie.

The program ended today by singing Thank You For Being Here and then they quietly laid their heads down to listen to some soft, gentle music.  This was one more opportunity to use their imaginations.

Stay tuned for our next Young Master LIttle Wisdom Discovery adventure.  See you next time!

Visit Naudain Academy  at www.naudainacademy.com/

 

 

 

 

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The Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program teaches the children of Naudain Academy, a Montessori school, about “The Hidden Treasure” – being grateful

Voorhees, New Jersey – The children of Naudain Academy were excited to learn about The Hidden Treasure today and as they discovered the next Secret Of The Heart. Students had several guesses before Stephanie Pelly, the program facilitator, revealed the secret. “Is it love, friendship or sharing with your friends?” they asked.

Stephanie slowly drew the the word gratitude from her special container. This was a new word for most of the children, so she explained that gratitude means being thankful. She also explained that being grateful is showing appreciation for people or things in your life.

The children were excited to hear the story from the Young Masters Little Wisdom book,  The Hidden Treasure. They began to understand that while it’s wonderful to receive gifts, the true gift is being thankful.  They discussed the many things for which Butaan and Phylos were grateful for in the story and after the story they shared all for which they were grateful as a class.

Then Stephanie passed around a red gift box and told the children that there was a wonderful, amazing, awesome, super, fantastic and great gift inside.  In fact it’s the greatest gift.  She told them they could all have a chance to peek and see it, but they would need to keep the gift a surprise until each person discovered the gift themselves.  One by one the gift box was passed as each child took a peek inside.  She repeated, “thank you for being here, you are a gift!”  as one by one they each looked inside the box and saw a star mirror and  – their own face looking back at them.  Some children got it right away… some took a moment to realize that they are the gift.  It’s who they are and all that they can share with other.  Some were a little confused and didn’t see themselves as a gift, so after each person had a turn Stephanie asked, “So what is this wonderful, amazing awesome, super, fantastic and great gift?”  One little boy raised his hand and said, ” Each one of us is a gift to the world!”  “Exactly,” Stephanie said.  “We can share our smiles and friendship with people every day! We each have something to give. Something for which to be truly thankful.”   She then asked the children to share some of the gifts they can give to others.  Immediately they chimed in, “friendship, imagination, love, kindness, sharing and playing together.” “Yes, all the secrets of the heart,” said Stephanie.

 

Stephanie then told the children she was going to use her imagination to give each child a gift.  One child said, “we learned all about imagination in the book The Magic Eye.  They remembered.  She went on to tell them that  in order to receive the gift she was giving them, she would need to use her imagination… and so would they.  One by one she pulled out “imaginary gifts”  and placed something inside each child’s hand or around their necks or once in awhile I even rolled a special gift to a child.  Every child said “thank you” and said they were grateful for their gifts.  One child said… “I know what my gift is, a baseball.”  Another child said, “You gave me sparkles.”  “My gift was a mircophone!” “I got a telescope.”  “I got a necklace.”  One child pondered long and hard and might still be thinking about what his gift really was.  “You can think about it while you’re in bed tonight, ” Stephanie said, and added, “I gave you each my love with your gift…and that’s the best gift.”

They sang “Circle of Appreciation” and had fun playing a game where the students got to point to all their different friends during the song.  They loved this song and game.  The lesson ended as they passed  around earth ball and shared the many gifts they earth gives to us.  “Something for which we are are very grateful,” said Stephanie, “to be on this beautiful Earth with our families and friends.”

Stay tuned for the next secret of the heart and the continuing journey for these very fortunate Young Masters at Naudain Academy.

See what wonders are happening at Naudain Academy.

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This Little Light – The Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program teaches the gift of love to students at Naudain Academy, a Montessori School

Vorhees, New Jersey – The Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery program begin with the Young Masters pledge as a group. “I promise to use my gifts everyday, in every way, for I am a Young Master.” Several children wanted to say the pledge by themselves or with a friend or two. They took turns.  One of the youngest girls, said the pledge all by herself with no help. Stephanie heard a child say, “What’s today’s gift?”  Each week Stephanie pulled a Secret Of The Heart  out of her cermaic gift box.   “Oh,” she said,  you mean what’s today’s Secret of the Heart?….well…”  Imaginary drum roll……as she reached in and pulled out the word LOVE.

Stephanie explained to the children that in this week’s book Young Masters:  This Little Light, that Butaan, Phylos and EEtha  share the gift of LOVE with their family, friends, teachers, pets and even the earth.  Since today was the last day for a while, she wanted to honor each child in a special way.  They read the book and then shared some of the music.

For the activity, one at a time, she asked each child to sit on a chair in front of their classmates.  They were invited to, if they wanted, wear Stephanie’s special red heart-shaped glasses.  The children took turns saying three things they loved about their friend.  A few things the children said were  “I love when she plays with me outside!,”  or “I like the way he makes me laugh,”   Children even gave compliments, like, “I like your hair or I love your shirt!”  One little boy sat in the chair for his turn and said, “Can my friends say five things they like about me?”  “I guess he loved hearing kind words,” Stephanie said, admitting she is truly entertained by the honesty of children.

Today each child was presented a special certificate for being a Young Master and completing the Little Wisdom Discovery Program.  During the past six weeks, the regular teachers have told Ms Stephanie that the children were always very excited to learn about the Secrets of The Heart – Friendship, Imagination, Gratitude, Courage, Creativity and Love.  It’s been a remarkable and memorable experience.  One they will never forgot.

As the class ended each child put their hand on the hearts and said, “I AM A YOUNG MASTER!”  Then they all shouted PEACE!  “Yes, you are,” said Stephanie. They all closed their eyes and sang Thank You For Being Here one last time, with Ms. Stephanie.  “Always remember to use your gifts,” said Ms Stephanie, “you each have special gifts to share with the world.”

Before she left, she noticed all the YOUNG MASTERS books and CDS are in the classroom library.  One little boy commented, “I like to sit at my desk and listen to the books on the CD and look at the pictures of Butaan, Phylos and EEtha.

“It’s been a very rewarding time,” said Stephanie, presenting this program.  “Now off to the next school and a new classroom of Young Masters.”  Join us for Stephanie’s continuing Little Wisdom adventures.

Stephanie Pelly is co-creator of the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Curriculum and conducts the program at Montessori Schools throughout New Jersey, New York and surrounding areas.  Contact us to find out how Stephanie can conduct the program at your school.

Download your complimentary copy of the Young Masters Little Wisdom Curriculum today!

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Children Learn How To Shine Their Light In The Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program at Naudain Academy, a Montessori School

Voorhees, New Jersey – The children of Naudain Academy have been enjoying the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program every other week since November. Their mission has been to learn and practice the Secrets of The Heart based on the Young Masters Little Wisdom books. This past week they learned about the final secret in the first series – love.

The program began with the class saying the Young Masters Pledge together. “I promise to use my gifts everyday, in everyway, for I am a Young Master. PEACE!” “By now the children have learned they do indeed have gifts to share with the world, ” said Ms. Stephanie, “and that’s why they’re Young Masters.”

After the pledge, the children listened to Ms. Stephanie, the program facilitator as she read Young Masters:  This Little Light.  “In this storybook, the children learn the many ways love is shared with people, animals and the earth.”  The story was followed by an activity to demonstrate the power of love.  The activity is called A DROP OF LOVE. In a glass bowl filled with water, Ms. Stephanie  placed a small earth globe.  One at a time, each child took a turn and using an eye dropper filled with colored water placed a drop of love around the globe.  As they shared something they love about themselves, others or the world around them they all saw how the love they had to give helped color the world with love.   “One drop of love makes a difference in the world,” said Ms. Stephanie.  Each child had a turn as ideas like “I love my family and friends, I love my teachers, I love my dog, I love flowers and I love music,” were expressed.

After completing the activity the children created “heartprints”, this was an art project to share with someone they love.  As  they listened to music from the Young Masters:  This Little Light CD, each child decorated four “heartprints” and added their own very special thumbprint to make the shape of a heart.  As they placed their thumbprints on the hearts Ms. Stephanie told them “there is no one in the whole world that has a thumbprint like you and there’s no one in the world exactly like you.  You are unique! And the way you give your love is unique.”   On the reverse side of the “heartprint” children wrote messages like “I love you” or “I love playing with you.” Some children wrote words like “kindness” and “share.”  The children were asked to share their love by giving a “heartprint” away to a classmate, family member, teacher or neighbor. “Sharing love is making someone else feel special,” said Ms. Stephanie, “that’s how you shine your light. That’s what Butaan, Phylos and EEtha talk about in the book.”  “I love hearing the children sing along with the CD while they’re creating,” said Ms. Stephanie. “Music adds so much to a learning experience…music makes learning joyful.”

As their time together came all too quickly to an end, the students repeated the Young Masters pledge one last time and were encouraged to try making heartprints out of clay at home to share with friends or family members.

“Young Masters…learning to make the world a better place.  I love my work,” said Ms. Stephanie. Stay tuned for the next adventure in learning with the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery program.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how you can use this program in your school.

Stephanie Pelly is a peace educator and co-creator of the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program for children and teaches this program and others in and around New Jersey.

Click here to make a difference in the lives of children 4-8 in your world.

Curriculum is still available for free.

Naudain Academy is a Montessori school in Voorhees, New Jersey.