tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18746735.post4629338640470253637..comments2023-09-30T08:03:34.019-07:00Comments on What's New Since Terminal 4: Update on EllieJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05742080780893323654noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18746735.post-78063918202000312492010-10-25T01:42:34.112-07:002010-10-25T01:42:34.112-07:00Jennifer, you are spot on with the fact that the t...Jennifer, you are spot on with the fact that the teacher should have spoken to you and not directly to Ellie on this point and I'm furious on your behalf. As an adult I still share Ellie's sensitivity to "rules" and their (perceived) infringement and, sadly, Sophie seems to have inherited the same sensibility. To have quashed Ellie's joy and pride in such a manner is just too cruel.<br /><br />Get that bubble wrap ready!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18746735.post-34608974604780231492010-10-21T23:48:33.201-07:002010-10-21T23:48:33.201-07:00She is indeed a tender little soul. I wish I could...She is indeed a tender little soul. I wish I could wrap her up in bubble wrap and protect her, but I know it will help her far more if I teach her how to deflect life's barbs in the first place. She's only five, and we have a LONG way to go!<br /><br />I was furious about this, as I can see you are. I felt the exact same way. It is a magnet with an image that is only a few inches in size. The lunchbox and magnets are inside a plain, pink insulated bag, so it was hardly offensive or disruptive. Lots of kids have TV cartoon characters on their stuff, so the unicorn issue really ticked me off (not least because Ellie chose those for the rainbows and hadn't even noticed the "horse"). <br /><br />BUT.<br /><br />I have to clarify that it isn't Maria Montessori's doing. She lived in a time when fictional characters were not mass marketed as they are today, so she couldn't have foreseen this scale of the issue. The problem lies with the principal and the school's board, though the biggest issue lies with inconsistency. As I said, many kids have backpacks featuring Thomas the Tank Engine or Dora or something, and those take up the whole backpack. I myself can see the problem with those, as it does encourage competitiveness and distract from the otherwise reality-based environment. However, seeing that so often, it never occurred to me that Ellie's little unicorn magnet would be a problem in any way. I just wish the teacher had told ME, not Ellie, and certainly not on her very first day back. Thus the meeting. Problem corrected, this time anyway. This will be a short term, and then there is a long summer holiday before resuming in February. Plenty of time to bubble wrap the kiddo!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05742080780893323654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18746735.post-75058685915487020002010-10-21T17:57:45.257-07:002010-10-21T17:57:45.257-07:00Oh what a tender little soul she is. She is bless...Oh what a tender little soul she is. She is blessed that you recognize and nurture what others cannot. I cannot bear to think of her crying like that. I mean really Montessori people, get a life, it is a MAGNET and children are SUPPOSED to have imaginations. Marie M., you may have had a lot of insight, but I think you were wearing blinders on this issue.Mimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05171518883418247515noreply@blogger.com