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Motherschool Activities The passage of time and the importance of
how each day is spent is no more keenly felt than by mothers of tiny
children. Every day, every week, is filled with dramatic changes and growth.
There is a delicate balance that the mothers and fathers strive to maintain
to keep focused and directed in a relaxed and loving mindset. Swings to
extremes — either panic, uptightness and guilt, or letting day after day pass
by without “getting it together” — are detrimental to both parent and child. EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK IS FILLED WITH DRAMATIC CHANGES AND GROWTH. For the parents of the Adelphi
Motherschool, parenting is a career, the most important profession in the
world. It is necessary that each family learn how to make optimal use of
those precious early childhood years in an atmosphere of love, joy, and
enthusiasm along with following the special and variable interests of its
child. As a consequence, the daily schedule of each of our parents varies
considerably. Most days include reading, math, music, manual skills, physical
development, and general information sessions. All of the mothers devote at
least one day per week to swimming instruction, and the two children over age
two take gymnastics weekly with their mother. These two children will also
soon learn a musical instrument through Suzuki instruction. This amounts to a
very full schedule when you add to it the regular responsibilities of being a
mother, wife, homemaker and member of The Adelphi Organization. To give you a
special glimpse of each of the Motherschool mothers, I asked each mother to
share one special time of day or activity she particularly enjoys with her
child. The following is what was said.... Kate, the mother of Sammy, age 33 months,
thinks it is important to emphasize the difference between talking at a child
and talking with a child. Everyday, usually at a quiet time before bed, Sammy
and Kate have, “real conversations which are treasures to both of us.” The
conversations may not be about anything in particular; often they express
feelings, opinions, and thoughts. Kate comments, “Sometimes I’ll ask his
thoughts and opinions on something for which he has no reply. This seems to set
his thought processes into motion. It also gives Sammy a way to find out who
he is as a person.” Marcia is the mother of 14-month-old
Benjamin. Her very special time is the “snuggling time” in the morning. At
this time she also gives Benjamin a head to toe body massage, which he
absolutely adores (this frequently happens before bed in the evening too).
Marcia also added that they play a special game in the living room during the
day. Ben climbs into his red wagon and mom pulls him around the room. Every
other trip, however, Mom stops at the piano and plays a musical couplet...
showing him how that is read on a “bit” card. This circuit is repeated
several times and Ben thinks it’s fun. Debbie is the mother of 31-month-old
Peter. Debbie and Peter also spend a special time first thing in the morning
simply being together. Peter will come into the bedroom and climb in bed with
mom. Here they cuddle and play. Often they will talk about the specific
things they will be doing that day, or Debbie will ask Peter what special
thing he’d like to do. “Often the rest of the day can be so busy we really
look forward to this special morning time together.” Cynthia
is the mother of 14-month-old-Christina. Christina is a determined little
girl who seems to know exactly what she wants. For the first ten or eleven
months of life, Cynthia first introduced the many learning options and
activities Christina has at her disposal. Now, Christina chooses her own
schedule and leads Mom from activity to activity. The first 2-1/2 to 3 hours
in the morning are Christina’s time for fully focused and uninterrupted time
with Mom. Most of the activities are centered in Christina’s room, where she
can choose from “bit” cards, reading words, books, math, xylophone, music,
Spanish, spinning and other vestibular activities, brachiating, writing,
blocks and drawing, and early tumbling. Christina will simply move from one
thing to the next requesting what she’d like to do. On the day I spoke with
Cynthia, she commented, “Today she led me to the balance beam in the dining
room, which we did for about 7 minutes. Then, she moved on her own initiative
into doing forward rolls. We had a great time doing forward rolls for the
next 5-10 minutes.” “She will practice, repeat, and retain any new words I
give her during that sensitive time. Christina has already acquired a huge
speaking vocabulary; long ago we just stopped counting new words!” One
thing you can count on with children is that each one is a distinctive and
unique human being. What is great for one might not be good at all for
another. It is fascinating to see how their special talents emerge as the
children grow. Our job is to expose them to many facets of life and learning,
help them to become as fully competent and capable as they can be, and to
guide them in their special strengths in an atmosphere of loving acceptance. Through
my experience as Director of Motherschool, I have observed that we have good
reason to be proud of the mothers who are bringing up Adelphi’s
Neo-Renaissance children. ∆ |
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