Katy Wright Montessori TEDx Talk

A Montessori Primer, TEDx Talk

Dear anyone curious about a Montessori school, or who presently has children at a Montessori school. WATCH THE FIRST THREE MINUTES and TWENTY SECONDS OF THIS VIDEO. Seriously. Katy Wright was a second grade teacher with multiple education degrees and certification. And then she learned about Montessori. Just listen to her talk about what Montessori…

Thank you, Chapel of Hope!

We wanted to extend a personal and unique note of thanks to all the sailors, Marines, diplomatic staff, and the families based over in Yokosuka, Japan, who have contributed to the Religious Offering Fund in support of Hilltop Children’s House!

Mother Teresa and Montessori

Tomorrow is the memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta, more commonly known as just Mother Teresa. This is an important day for us at Hilltop Children’s House because we have entrusted our work to the intercession of St. Teresa for two reasons: Mother Teresa worked among the underserved, underprivileged, and forgotten people of Calcutta, India.…

Child Learn

Learning. Not “Through Play.”

Montessori is its all about “learn through play,” right? Not so. The article I mentioned a few days ago by Pascal Emmanuel Gobry has a good passage on this topic: Everybody loves the idea of children “learning through play,” and Montessori is sometimes described as encouraging this, but serious Montessorians react to such a formulation…

“I like whatever I do.”

Noëlle posted an article on Facebook today and led off her caption with this quote: “We should be encouraging the children in our care to revel in their childhood, not hurry out of it as if children were no more than miniature, imperfect versions of adults.” This article, “The Problem With Hurrying Childhood Learning” looks…

Our Patron Saint

In the late 1940’s a sister of the Irish order of the Sisters of Loretto began receiving visions of Jesus. She was, at the time, teaching at a school in Calcutta, India. In these visions Jesus told her he wanted her to form an order of Indian nuns that would, among other things, assist children.…

The Front of the Building

Why I am Doing This

Last year, on Palm Sunday, a 15-year-old boy was killed a block and a half from my house. He was shot down in the street because his brother was connected with a gang. At least, that’s the story that I heard. His two companions were also shot, but managed to flee the scene. It was…

Wedding Rings

Unless the Lord Builds the House…

Nothing we are doing is possible without God’s help. When Noëlle and I were shopping for wedding bands we hadn’t given much thought to what we wanted inscribed on the interior of the rings. The question became prominent when my ring was going in to be stretched a little. We discussed a number of options…