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Families are drawn to Montessori schools for many different reasons. Sometimes parents are looking to continue in preschool the child-centered environment they have established at home. Others wish to see their children thrive in the our enriched classrooms. Still, other families choose Montessori preschools because they want their children to learn and socialize in a non-competitive environment. Whatever the reason parents choose Montessori, they often have many questions during their child's first year.
To help answer these questions, MSGL offers a 1 ½-hour Montessori Basics class each Fall and all new families are expected to attend. Preprimary teacher Kelly Sallee presented this year's class on September 25th to a packed house of over 40 parents and grandparents. Kelly focused her presentation on the Prepared Environment, the Sensitive Periods of a child's development, and the Role of the Teacher. If you were unable to attend this year's Basics, follow this link to read more about Kelly's presentation. Below are a few tips for new parents.
Kelly's Tips for New Montessori Parents
Do your best to control the environment, not the child. Organize the child's belongings to help him be independent and successful.
Don't worry if your child is unable to sit still or to focus for long periods. "Even when we feel they're not listening, they are learning."
What's in your child's cubby does not necessarily reflect their work because many activities have no "paper" component. Look at classroom photos and videos on SmugMug to see what the children are working on in class. Your child's teacher will also have this information available for you at parent/teacher conferences.
Give your child the gift of time. Try not to rush her through tasks. When a child is allowed to dress herself in the morning it may take longer but she will develop the skills necessary for independence.
Allow your child to work without interruption, when possible. Periods of uninterrupted work strengthen a child's ability to concentrate for longer periods of time.
Allow your child to complete tasks without correction. "I don't know any adults who walk around with their shoes on the wrong feet. They will figure it out with time."
Give your child the opportunity to be a third-year student. Our mixed-age classrooms allow children to move from being the youngest who look up to role models to being the role models themselves. "Children who are the youngest in their families need the third year to be the leader that they don't get to be at home."
Photo courtesy of Lena Atkinson
What is Montessori?
Rather than explaining what Montessori is, I am offering an excerpt from an article that does a beautiful job of describing what Montessorians do. Maria Montessori's Decalogue is a set of 10 rules for adults working in a Montessori classroom. It is relevant to parents, grandparents, and caregivers of all types who strive to relate to children peacefully and respectfully in any environment.
I hope you will enjoy this expanded version of the Montessori Decalogue as written by The Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
The Montessori Decalogue
1. Never touch the child unless invited by him (in some way or another).
Unless there is a very strong reason to (like avoiding an accident, for example), one should never touch a child unless a child requests it. Picking up a child without the child's consent, even if in a playful manner, or grabbing her hand, pushing her, etc., should always be avoided. If children are engaged, looking at a book, working, playing, resting, the same principle applies. Children invite contact in many ways, and parents and adults in general, who work with children, know how to interpret the signs they send. It is important also to respect a child when she is angry and does not want to be touched or picked up.
2. Never speak ill of the child in his presence or absence.
Speaking ill of a child, or making negative comments about a child, either in the child's presence or absence, denotes lack of respect for the child. It also sets a frame of mind and denotes an attitude that is negative and conducive to confrontation—and not always open! Preconceived ideas often linger as negative thoughts and breed reactive behavior. If an adult falls into this trap, it is very easy for a lack of patience and negative attitudes to creep in and damage the relationship with the child.
3. Concentrate on strengthening and helping the development of what is good in the child, so that its presence may leave less and less space for what is negative.
If adults focus on negative behavior, children will feel inadequate. This will result in low self-esteem, and a self-fulfilling prophecy like behavioral patterns will take over. Negativity will become second nature. Instead, by focusing on what is positive, the child will feel safe and confident. Children are learning what is and is not acceptable behavior can and cannot be done, etc. They do not need punishments or rewards. Simply to be shown what is and is not acceptable, by adults that model appropriate behavior.
4. Be proactive in preparing the environment, take meticulous and constant care of it. Help the child establish constructive relations with it. Show the proper place where the means of development are kept and demonstrate their proper use.
If the child is presented with a prepared environment, there is little need for much more. Again, modeling appropriate behavior is essential. A child that is shown an orderly environment will likewise feel encouraged to keep it orderly. If a child has available manipulatives she can handle, play and work with, rather than things she cannot touch, she will feel at ease to explore the world around her. If objects are at reach, that the child may break or hurt herself with, she should be shown how to handle them, rather than told "don't touch!" A kitchen is a world full of wonder for a child! Cutting, cooking, stirring, pouring, etc., are all activities the child will want—and need!—to master in order to become independent. Include the child in as many activities as possible at home, from cleaning to cooking; there is enough to keep any child busy and engaged all day long.
5. Be ever ready to answer the call of the child who stands in need of you, and always listen and respond to the child who appeals to you.
There is nothing worse for a child than to feel insecure and ignored. Abandonment is a feeling no child should have to live with. "If a child asks for attention, then that child needs attention," stressed Montessorian Margaret Homfray. When people brush a child aside and say, "she just wants attention," that person is missing the point: a child only wants attention when she needs attention. Children who feel cared for and do not have to worry about being abandoned, even if for a short time, are far more likely to care for others and show concern for and trust others, than those who experience this sort of "cold shoulder" treatment. Also, "timeout" and "go to your room and stay there" approaches are also expressions of abandonment.
6. Respect the child who makes a mistake and can then or later correct it herself, but stop firmly and immediately any misuse of the environment and any action which endangers the child, its own development or that of others.
Avoid rushing to correct mistakes a child has committed. Children are learning to cope and function. They will persist and practice to their heart's content whatever skill they need to acquire, until they master it. If a child starts throwing things around and disrespecting the environment, by all means, stop her. Yet, explain why you had to stop her. Reason and listen to what the child may have to say. Maria Montessori said that "a child's first tantrums are the first ills of her soul." There is always a reason for everything. Try to bring the reason to light. Punishing, isolating the child, etc., will only feed her pain, and burry deep those reasons—she will learn to hide rather than communicate.
7. Respect the child who takes a rest or watches others working or ponders over what she herself has done or will do. Neither call her nor force her to other forms of activity.
A child that is idle is often not idle at all… Children need to be given space to find what it is they are interested in and want to do. Once they do, they pursue their interests with unrestrained passion and perseverance! A child that is observing other children or adults is also learning. If the child is resting, she is not being lazy and doing nothing just lying there—she is most probably processing information, observing, reflecting on something she did, or saw, or is planning on doing.
8. Help those who are in search of activity and cannot find it.
Be sensitive to the needs of the child including differentiating when apparent inactivity is inner activity, or in contrast, a child is simply lost. A child in search of activity and unable to find it is usually restless. If sitting or lying down, it can be noticed that she is not "engaged;" she is not resting, but simply lost and prostrated. There is a thin line that separates these two worlds. It is the adult's responsibility to observe carefully and find out the signs—often very different from child to child—that can reveal what the child is experiencing. Abandonment differs from rest and contemplation.
9. Be untiring in repeating presentations to the child who refused them earlier, in helping the child to acquire what is not yet her own and to overcome imperfections. Do this by animating the environment, with care, with purposive restraint and silence, with mild words and loving presence. Make your ready presence felt to the child who searches and hide from the child who has found.
A child may need to be shown the right way to do something, say a word, express her feelings or acquire any sort of new skill, many, many times. One should never grow tired of repeating it, such as reading the same bedtime story or singing the same jingle. Children seek perfection in all they do until they reach a level which meets their needs (not what the adult may think "perfect" is, or means.) To be always available but not intrusive is an art. When a child needs help, she will ask for it. When a skill has been acquired and the child no longer needs assistance, adults should respect the child's new acquired or reached level of independence.
10. Always treat the child with the best of good manners and offer her the best you have in yourself and at your disposal.
Children who are respected will learn to respect others. Giving the child the best one has to give helps the child learn that you are someone she can count on, and teaches her to also give others the best she has to give. It is important the way Montessori puts it, "the best you have in yourself," as if to say, always reach higher, but do not feel dismayed if you fall short, and "the best" that you can give is not the best you think or know you should give. If your best manners are not always what they should be—a common feeling parents harbor when children seem to be pushing their patience beyond the limits, do not lose heart. The way Dr. Montessori put it, is basically this: have realistic expectations towards the child, and yourself too. Give the best you have to give, but don't feel guilty if you fall short. Simply keep striving to improve and always do your best. If you commit a mistake, giving the child your best may well be recognizing it and apologizing. "Amy, Mommy got upset and shouted. That was not nice of me. I am sorry." Children also need to recognize mistakes, learn to apologize, and that parents are not always perfect.
These are basic principles. What Montessori strives for is to protect the child from all sorts of negative influences that can create deviations in the child's spirit and psyche. To preserve the natural curiosity of the child, help her find her interests, protect her passion for learning, foster it and let it grow in a healthy way. In this way, the child can contribute her best to society. This is conducive to world peace, as Dr. Montessori envisioned it, and Montessorians believe is possible. It takes passion, it takes commitment, and it takes working together.
- Excerpted from Montessori: Committed People with a Passion for Children by the Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
Grace's first day of Montessori preschool, 1997.
Last summer, my 19-year-old daughter was getting ready to move into her first apartment. I was excited for her to have the chance to live on her own and had been setting aside household items that I thought she could use. One day, after admiring the "steal" of a chair I had found at Goodwill, she asked me, "Aren't you sad that I won't live here anymore?"
"Well, honey," I said, "I always imagined that you would grow up and move out of the house. That was our goal all along for you to be an independent, self-sufficient person."
"I know," she said. "But I'm kind of sad that I won't be sleeping here anymore."
I reminded her that she had hardly slept at home at all since she started college last year. She lived in the dorm, four hours away from home and we often didn't hear from her for days.
"Yeah, but this is different. I just can't believe this won't be my home address anymore. Are you going to change the garage door code?"
A-ha! Then I figured it out. She was worried about cutting the cord from the house where she grew up. I had been concerning myself with making sure she was comfortable "out there" and she was worried she would no longer be welcome back at home.
It occurred to me that not much has changed between that day and the day sixteen years ago when we were preparing to send her to preschool here at the Montessori School of Greater Lafayette. Back then we were so excited to help our "baby" pick out a new lunch box and indoor shoes but we had little idea what to do to help prepare her (or ourselves) emotionally for this new chapter. She sailed through preschool and is now working through nursing school just fine, but we have learned a lot since then. Today I am sharing some tips and advice gathered from teachers and parents here at MSGL to help you and your child prepare for the first days of preschool.
Talk about school - mindfully.
Talk with your child about preschool when he is in the mood. Maybe he will bring it up or you can start the conversation, just don't push too hard. If your child seems "done" with the conversation or is becoming anxious, let the topic drop until later. And be honest about your feelings when you do talk about school. Some children worry that their parents will be sad or lonely when they are gone. When you say, "I am going to miss being with you in the morning, but it makes me happy to know you will be enjoying yourself at school," it lets him know that you will miss him but you are confident that school is a good place for him to be.
Check out the new environment.
MSGL's Parent Work Day is Saturday, August 16th. This is a great time to get familiar with the school and classroom environments and to be part of the school community. Children are encouraged to help clean lockers, pull weeds, and load and unload wheelbarrows full of mulch right alongside their parents and new classmates. And, each family member's time counts towards your volunteer hours requirement.
You will have another opportunity to get familiar with the school when your child attends her New Student Orientation visit on Monday, August 18th. This is her first opportunity to see her teachers and classmates in her new classroom. She can put her indoor shoes in her locker, locate her cubby and extra clothes box, and see where the bathroom is. The whole family can attend the Parent Orientation later that evening and maybe your child can give a tour of her new classroom.
Make new friends.
You will receive a class list via email in August. Consider contacting a few families on the list to set up a playdate before school starts. Even if you can't get together with any other families, you and your child can look over the names on the list together. You may discover that one of his classmates lives on your street or maybe someone has the same name as a sibling or a friend.
Help her dress for success.
Our Montessori classrooms are prepared to encourage your child's independence and you can help by providing your child with shoes and clothing that she can put on and take off by herself. Belts, suspenders, and jumpsuits look smart but they can be difficult for your child to use successfully. Provide your child a choice of clothing that allows her complete independence in her self-care routines. And please remember that preschool is a time to jump in and explore. Paint, snack, sand, and dirt from the garden can stain your child's clothing, so please send her to school in clothes that can stand to get dirty.
Plan a morning routine.
Now is a good time to do a mental run-through of your morning routine. Consider how much time your child needs to wake up, get dressed, and eat breakfast. Allow time for packing lunches, finding coats and shoes, and getting on the bike or in the car. Then add a few extra minutes. Parents and children who are not in a rush tend to have much better experiences at drop-off. Some families even do a few "practice runs" in the summer to see if they can get to school and work on time.
Create a goodbye routine.
Discuss with your child how you each want to say goodbye at drop-off. Some families say, "After you put on your inside shoes and put away your lunch box, we will walk to the classroom and I will give you three hugs and two kisses before I go to work." Some children like to wave to dad out the window and some parents leave their children with specific plans for what they will do after school. "Sonia is picking you up today" or "we are going to the Farmer's Market on our bikes after school today." Children have so little control over their daily lives that they appreciate at least knowing what is happening and when.
And while we're talking about goodbyes, let's take just a moment to consider the specter of separation anxiety.
What if my child cries when I walk away?
Separating from your child that first time can be heart-breaking, but remember - it's only for a few moments. The majority of children who are sad when they separate from their parents are able to calm themselves and choose an activity within a few minutes. If you have gone through the goodbye routine and are finding it hard to turn around and walk away, ask your teacher for help. Sometimes parents say, "Please help me. I need to leave." That is the teacher's sign that she needs to hold your child's hand or pick her up so that you can walk away. Teachers don't want to step in before you are ready to go but they are happy to help when you ask them.
The best thing you can do for your child at drop-off is to be consistent and walk away when you say you will. Lingering tends to just prolong the heartache for the parent and the child. The first few times you drop your child off may be difficult, but trust that with consistent repetition you and your child will develop a peaceful good-bye routine.
Talk with the teachers.
Talk with your child's teachers about how the adjustment period is going. The teachers help dozens of children adjust to school every year but this may be your first time. They expect you will have questions and concerns. Email is a great way to communicate with your child's teachers and all of the contact information is available on the classroom web page at Msgl.org.
Help your child talk about his day.
If this is the first time your child has been away from home you will no doubt be very eager to know what he did all day. Unfortunately, preschoolers often say they "did nothing" or "just played." A lot of things happened between the time you dropped him off that morning and when you picked him up several hours later, but he might not yet be able to give a sequential list of his activities. Here are some ideas to help your child tell you about his day.
Take care of yourself!
The best thing you can do during these last few weeks of summer is to give you and your child the gift of a regular bedtime that allows enough sleep to wake up refreshed and ready for the big days ahead. Fill up with a good breakfast each morning and be extra patient with your child and especially with yourself. Parenting preschoolers, like college students, is hard work and there is no right way to do it. Follow your heart and follow your child, and in sixteen years, or so, you will be very proud of the people you have both become.
An MSGL preprimary student prepares carrots at home using a chopper and cutting board of her own.
Dozens of MSGL students are enjoying increased independence at home thanks to the "Bringing Montessori Home" parent development night held January 21, 2015. Thirty parents and grandparents attended the 1 ½ hour event that offered live demonstrations of Montessori-inspired activities children can do at home as well as hands-on activities, and an introduction to the Montessori philosophy.
Small groups of parents rotated through three different classrooms to observe and take part in presentations. Dena Saunders and Emily Frazier presented Care of Self and Care of the Environment. Getting dressed, caring for plants and pets, and cleaning up spills were some of the topics covered. Dena elicited "oohs and aahs" from one group when she demonstrated how to use masking tape to make a square on the floor so a child can easily sweep spills into a dust pan.
Angie Shamo and Machelle French demonstrated how to put together a few simple art activities on a shelf at home for when a child wants to work creatively and independently. The cutting strips, which consist of thin, sturdy paper strips on a tray with a pair of scissors, allow the child to practice cutting safely and successfully. Another suggestion was to offer just three colors of watercolor paints at a time - in the beginning - so a child can successfully create a painting without all of the colors mixing into brown. Families were also given the school's popular recipe for making play dough at home.
Many parents tried their hands at peeling and chopping carrots and peeling clementines in the food preparation class led by Anita Trent and Ana Ramirez. Each activity was arranged as it could be in the home, including child-sized tools. Hand-washing and serving etiquette were also discussed as these are important aspects of food preparation for young children. While one parent offered sliced carrots to the group, Anita said, "Imagine how it feels for your child to serve you just like you have always served your child."
After the presentations, many parents said they were excited to try these activities at home with their children. They also felt that some of the things their children were already doing at home, such as preparing a salad and feeding the fish, meshed nicely with the Montessori philosophy.
Each family received a selection of child-sized items to use at home.
Each family in attendance received a materials bag containing a child-sized vegetable peeler and chopper, a small pitcher, a dust pan set, cutting strips and scissors, child-sized sponge and towel, and a hook to hang the child's coat or book bag at a level where she can reach it. Families also received a custom-made photo book - created by the teachers - that reviews materials covered in the presentations as well as offering additional ideas and resources.
Materials bags and books are still available for purchase in the office for $10.
Thank you to everyone who attended! MSGL plans to offer "Bringing Montessori Home" again next year and will include new activities and take-home materials.
Miss Emily tries out a science experiment during the Teachers' Silent Journey and Discovery.
Have you ever wished you could experience Montessori through a child's eyes? We would like to offer you the next best thing. Please join us on Monday, September 22nd from 6:00 - 7:30 pm on the MSGL campus for the Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery. This is your opportunity to see the classrooms as your children do and to use the same materials they use to develop their bodies, minds, and spirits.
The Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery will take you on two guided tours of the school, starting as an infant and progressing through the Toddler, Preprimary, Extended Day, and Elementary classes. The first tour is silent. Your tour group will spend 5 minutes in each room looking at - but not touching - the classroom environment and the various materials. After the first tour, your guide will once again take you to each of the classrooms, but this tour will be the Discovery portion when you can use the materials, ask questions of the guides and teachers, and take part in the teachers' presentations. We will wrap up the Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery by gathering together for refreshments and discussion afterwards.
Miss Stacie presents the Squaring Chains.
We are very excited to offer this new parent education event and we highly recommend it for all new families and anyone who would like a hands-on experience in our Montessori classrooms. This is also a nice tour for grandparents and caregivers. The teachers practiced the Silent Journey and Discovery in August and really enjoyed the experience. You can read about one parent's experience with a Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery on the I Heart Montessori blog.
Childcare is available for children ages 2 and older who are currently attending MSGL or familiar with MSGL. All of our teachers will be on hand for this special evening and we look forward to seeing you there, too!
Please register for this fun event and sign up for childcare in the office or by phone by this Friday, September 19th.
Have you ever wished you could experience Montessori through a child's eyes? We would like to offer you the next best thing. Please join us on Wednesday, September 23rd from 6:00 - 8:00 pm on the MSGL campus for the Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery. This is your opportunity to see the classrooms as your children do and to use the same materials they use to develop their bodies, minds, and spirits.
The Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery will take you on two guided tours of the school, starting as an infant and progressing through the Toddler, Preprimary, Extended Day, and Elementary classes. The first tour is silent. Your tour group will spend 3 minutes in each room looking at - but not touching - the classroom environment and the various materials. After the first tour, your guide will once again take you to each of the classrooms, but this tour will be the Discovery portion when you can use the materials, ask questions of the guides and teachers, and take part in the teachers' presentations. We will wrap up the Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery by gathering together for refreshments and discussion afterwards.
We are very excited to offer this parent education event and we highly recommend it for all new families and anyone who would like a hands-on experience in our Montessori classrooms. This is also a nice tour for grandparents and caregivers. You can read about one parent's experience with a Montessori Silent Journey and Discovery on the I Heart Montessori blog.
Please register for this fun event in the office or by phone by this Friday, September 18th.
- Thanks to Jennifer Tyrrell for this guest post. Jennifer is a Montessori teacher who worked in the Spruce Toddler class at MSGL from 2003 - 2005.
One of the arguments I hear most often when I'm describing Montessori is that the open workspace—in particular the freedom to move around, to work where you do best for a specific task, and the ability to make a snack when you like—is not properly preparing children for the realities of life or the workforce: at some point they will have to learn to stay at their desk and do their work like everyone else. I think my husband's workplace shows the opposite to be true.
My husband Jeremiah took the family to visit his "office" in Cummins's COM building. Cummins is a well-known, large, international, Fortune 500 company that makes diesel engines, and they've recently built this COM building in their Columbus, Indiana, headquarters with a "collaborative workspace" design. They have converted several spaces in other buildings to this open style, as well. With this collaborative workspace, departments are located on the same floor, as much as possible. Though employees can work wherever they like on any floor, they are encouraged to work amongst their department's floor.
He showed us his locker (hook and cubby) with a couple drawers for his personal items and work laptop (each employee is given one as their primary work tool), and a thin cabinet for his coat and outerwear. Then we walked around a huge floor with areas that have a variety of tables, some standing height, some for chairs; other areas with couches and coffee tables; other more intimate areas with armchairs and footstools (Jeremy's favorite). A couple of kitchenettes with long counters and stools (snack tables) are located centrally with no walls enclosing them. There are cabinets (shelves) that divide some places and contain files and materials for everyone to access.
There are even treadmills with laptop spaces and hookups for those who need movement as they work (they are calibrated for walking, not running . . . we walk in the workplace :) There are walls to divide the elevators and small conference rooms (which can be used and reserved by any employee), but other than those areas, there are no rooms, no "offices", no cubicles, it is all shared space: managers working amongst underlings. It looks like, well . . . a grown-up Montessori classroom :)
They are doing this to encourage collaborative problem solving and to make the workday more pleasant so that Cummins continues to retain younger employees. Please share with anyone who questions the appropriateness of Montessori's open workspace. :)
You can read a news article about more of the company's redesigned workspaces see additional photos, here.
Great post! Thanks for sharing


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Tonight and tomorrow mark Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance day. This memorial day holds special significance to me as the grand-daughter of survivors.
Tonight I participated in a special seder, originally developed by Rabbi Avi Weiss, to ritualize remembrance of the Holocaust. We read from a short book, sitting on the floor as mourners in a darkened room around six candles to represent the 6,000,000 Jews who perished. The evening had four sections: physical destruction, spiritual destruction, destruction of children, and resistance. An important part of the seder is to pass the first-hand experiences of survivors to future generations so that the memories never extinguish and can continue to be passed l'dor va dor (from generation to generation).
Since no survivors were able to join us, I asked my mother to share with me some stories from her mother so that I could re-tell her experience as part of the "resistance" portion since my Bubbie's attitude, wit, and courage is what helped her survive. Here is what my mother wrote as if she were speaking as her own mother:
I was born in a small town named Sandz (Novisoncz (sp?) in Polish), Poland. Since my mother was busy working in the family business, I was sent to live with my older sister in a larger city Katowicz. I went to school there and because at some point this was a town in Germany (borders changed a lot in those days) the schools taught German as well as Polish and I learned a "high German." Who knew that it would later help save my life.
Money and diamonds helped some people live through the war if it wasn't taken away from them by the Germans; knowledge/education was something that they couldn't take away from you.
I was sent to a labor/work camp when the war broke out. I was in my late teens and thin and pretty; I always looked taller than I was so they thought I was older and would be a good worker. I worked in the kitchen, mainly peeling potatoes for the "potato soup" to be fed to the worker Jews in the camp — peels and water for the Jews, real hearty potato soup for the Germans. There was an adjacent men's work camp and I could see young teenage boys, 11-12 years old, skin and bones, through the barbed wire fence. They were working hard too and quite hungry. One evening I was leaving the kitchen and stole a pail of potatoes, intended mainly for the teenage boys to keep them alive. On the way back to the barracks with the pail of potatoes, I was seen and stopped by a German guard. He asked me what I had in my hand and I answered in German that it was some potatoes and I was hungry. He said that I was carrying way too many potatoes just for myself and asked what was I going to do with them. I answered him in the best High German that I knew and said, " They are just for me. Did you think I would be so stupid to just take a few every day and risk getting caught each time? " He answered, "Verschwind!" in German meaning disappear, and said that I should get out of his sight quickly and never do that again.
My wise-ass German answer helped save my life.
One story that my mother had never heard, but that Bubbie shared with my younger sister was that in addition to working in the kitchen, she also worked in the laundry. This afforded her the opportunity to actually cook the potatoes in hot water under cover.
When my sister was in Israel a few years ago, she took some photographs in Yad VaShem's Valley of Destroyed Communities of the cities where my grandparents grew up: Poppie was born in Chrzanów and grew up in Krakow; my Bubbie learned the German that saved her life in Katowice.
I am proud to say that though my grandparents are no longer alive, they worked hard all of their lives, passing on the legacy of higher education to their children and grandchildren, and even managed to save a few dollars to help provide for future generations. They had "made it" in America. And they did make some investments in jewelry and left this necklace to me which I cherish and wear regularly.
In preparation for the seder, I thought about the potato peels that my grandparents often sustained themselves on. To help reenact part of the resistance experience, I made potato peel crisps. Don't be mistaken – this is NOT a dish to remember my grandmother by — I think of her when I eat grapefruit or Chinese food (we used to take her out to Kosher Chinese in Miami and she would always order a hamburger, insisting that she didn't like Chinese food, and then proceed to pick from all of our plates, exclaiming how much better our dishes were…).
Potato Peel Crisps
I chose russet potatoes for this "recipe."
Preheat oven to 500°F.
Wash potatoes well to remove any dirt. Peel potatoes and soak in water. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and spray with oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until crisp.
Zachor. Remember.
[Thank you to Elisha for sharing this special ritual with me and other members of our community, and encouraging my family to document our stories.]

subset: commoncrawl


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The latest results are in, and they dont look good for Colorado. No, I dont mean the postseason demise of Broncos fans dreams of the Super Bowl.
United Cerebral Palsy has released its 2012 The Case for Inclusion report. This report analyzes the state of services for people with intellectual disabilities across the United States. It looks at a variety of indicators that include community living vs. institutionalization, employment of people with disabilities, support of families, waiting lists for services, community involvement and state spending on people with intellectual disabilities, or ID.
Colorado did not fare well. The 2012 report lists Colorado as 28th in the nation, a significant slip from its position as ninth in the 2010 report. Comparison with our neighbors is even more dismal: Revenue-strapped New Mexico came in 14th and Arizona is No. 1.
Why did Colorado show so poorly? Several factors seem to have contributed to the decline. During the last few years, the percentage of people with ID dropped more than half, from 35 percent to 17 percent. Though many job losses were likely the direct result of a struggling economy, decreasing support for employment programs certainly was a factor. Colorado numbers in supported employment fell while U.S. averages stayed relatively stable.
By 2010, 164 Coloradans with ID were still housed in large state-run facilities, which seems minimal compared with the more than 8,000 served in community settings. Yet when you factor in that the average per-person cost (more than $174,000 per year) is more than four times the cost of community living (which averaged $41,000 per person per year), it is clear that Colorado may not be serving people in the most cost-effective way.
Colorados failure to participate in the outcome-based national quality assurance program (National Core Indicators, or NCI) also contributed to its drop. The states current quality-assurance program is based on issues of compliance timeliness of data input and use of the prescribed services rather than looking at actual outcomes experienced by those who receive the services.
Probably the most significant factor, though, was the large waiting lists. Based on this report, more than 1,500 people currently are waiting for residential support in Colorado (although ID programs across the state have questioned the accuracy of the states estimates, believing the true numbers are higher). It would take more than 33 percent growth in current programs to place everyone in services. Currently, Colorado is allowing people in only the direst emergency situations to enroll in residential services. The estimate is that it could well take 15 to 20 years for someone getting on the residential waiting list today to receive those services.
Are we satisfied being No. 28? After all, we did better than 23 other states, many of which were historical poor Southern states. While United Cerebral Palsy points out that all states still have work to do, Colorados recent slip shows its particular need to concentrate on improving the quality of support for some of its most vulnerable residents.
For more information about Colorado services for people with intellectual disabilities, call Community Connections at 385-3445 or email email@example.com.
Tara Kiene is the director of case management with Community Connections Inc.


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[12 Posts]
Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 6815
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK
Posted: Fri 12 Dec 2008, 17:27
Post subject:
Is Full Internationalization Puppy Possible?
Subject description: From an idea elewhere
The Origin of this idea is here
droope wrote:
Aitch wrote:
I've often posted requests for full internationalisation
To me it's one of
what could be
puppy's strong points, as we have so much of the globe covered already
Just some devs keep forgetting
Keep pushing it, please
@Aitch, I agree, internationalization is an important matter for puppy. I think that internaliozations are available in other distros and puppy should not be left behind.
I don't know if it is important for puppy itself, but it is very important for a few blokes that need puppy in their languaje in order to learn linux/computing.
I can think of a puppylinux.org website that offers translation to many languajes in form of .pets!
How nice would that be! One click to have your whole OS translated
Subsequently, esmourguit posted
is a french localized pet for Puppy 4.1.
Then Droope posted
droope wrote:
"Puppy en español" for Aitch
¿How about a wiki page to get started?
I'll contact a guy who is making a greek linux, and see if he would do a .pet file with all his translations.
I'm not very good at wiki things, nor languages, though assisted, where possible, research for 41 language puppy, but feel this is of fundamental importance
The underlying question is, can Puppy be fully/globally internationalised?
Is there
fully international OS, at all?
Is it possible, or are we stuck with the localization project's 5 pagesx30 threads ?
Is it possible to pull this together?
Maybe it would need to be an SFS?
Can someone give a reason why it WON'T work?
Any offers of help?
Lobster, publicity/Wiki, please?
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Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 456
Location: sometimes in France
Posted: Fri 12 Dec 2008, 19:41
Post subject:
Hi Aitch,
I'd love an International Puppy.
I'm not a great programmer (beginner), but BarryK's scripts have very handy comments at strategic places to help those who WANT to learn.
So I've been helping translate Toutou (french Puppy).
Our big probs are UTF-8, localisations and some progs/scripts need ISO-8859-1 encoding for french accents while others need UTF-8 to display french accents correctly.
A simple example : "xmessage" needs iso-8859-1 encoding for french accents while "Xdialog" needs utf-8
and what do you do with a script that contains both ? .. i.e. bootmanager
All binarys need international support compiled in !
Is the kernel international enabled ? The nls_utf_8.ko.gz isn't included in "initrd.gz" nor in Puppy.
The foreign users can't select their correct kbd at Puppy boot time (just typing "puppy pfix=ram" can be hell -> qwerty/qwertz/azerty...)
The specific language xx_xx.uft-8 locale isn't included either, but this is language specific.
On another note, most translators have very limited (non existant) script understanding but are very willing to do the translations.
"esmourguit" uses "po/mo" files that he finds on the net (maybe not the latest version)
But for this to function, the programmers have to do some extra work : use variables in the script and the variables contain the text to translate -> "po" file
They (or the team) are responsible for keeping the "po" file updated for newer versions of the prog !
the translators "translate" the specific language "po" file and submit it for approval.
I probally posted in the wrong topic.. sorry
.. but the heading was exactly what was needed.
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Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 13647
Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Posted: Sat 13 Dec 2008, 01:01
Post subject:
Kernel 2.6.27 uses UTF by default.
I had to modify Muppys init scripts when I upgraded from 220.127.116.11 from iso-code to 2.6.27 with utf8.
You can get a Puppy with that Kernel here:
Maybe also Puppys 2.6.25 uses UTF, I did not check that yet.
replace it with a symlink to gxmessage.
Then you can display UTF like this:
xmessage -encoding UTF-8 "äöü"
my recommended links
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Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 6815
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK
Posted: Sun 14 Dec 2008, 06:49
Post subject:
Thanks maddox, I wasn't aware of this ISO-8859-1 encoding anomaly
Mu, I think your Muppy is probably the best production semi international puppy, & was wondering if the work you have already done with German could be a model for others? Have you experience of any accent anomaly as maddox says?
However, I am aware of the French/Russian/Japanese/Hacao_Vietnamese puppies also, as well as the 41 language Puppy, which uses SCIM or SCIM Bridge to get international characters up
Do you know if all language texts will work with SCIM Bridge?
Is this the common UTF8 solution, for accents & boot keyboard availability??
I believe full internationalisation can be broken down to:-
1 Keyboard selection at boot/(kernel issues?)
2 Character text display in all programs/editors
3 Translations of scripts within Puppy core
4 Translation of Howto / Help files
5 Correct display of browser fonts including flash/browser stability
6 Internationalised Psip/comms progs
Is there anything else? Any other hurdle?
What translation problems still remain, as maybe volunteers can be found, here?
How are Greek, Dutch & Spanish doing? Any others?
See this list
It would be good if people who already have one language characterset/translation working, could maybe try to see
if their working version can be modified to co-exist with another language
e.g. Muppy + Toutou
Russian + German
Toutou + Russian
Vietnamese + Japanese
or something similar/crossed over....?
I realise this is a big leap, and many people are just happy too get Puppy working
at all
, however, anyone feels like experimenting......?
Please post any results/anomalies/problems, and let's see if this is possible
Raffy, Magerlap, Nyu, Irihapeti, Béèm, anyone else, [sorry if I missed you] any ideas/input?
Lobster, can you assist? Is this worth a new Wiki page, yet? ....or maybe just add something here?
[I see this as a step towards St Bernard /Rescue Pup, for anyone interested...]
MU's excellent 76 db Dictionary, for people not aware of it,
... can this be made into an SFS? For incorporation, Mark?
This may be a leap of faith, but it's Xmas, so GoodWill to all Good [International] Puppians [do bad ones
Here's one I like..
......Well, someone has to push the boat on this one, & now I did
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Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 739
Posted: Sun 14 Dec 2008, 09:48
Post subject:
there's a bunch of material that russian puppy team compiled on russification
we even had to walk through almost the whole linux-in-russian-problems ourselves
and have almost 100% russian puppy( puppyrus) based on puppy 3-4
but the first thing is
UTF-8 must be used!!!!
and surprisingly when i booted new unnamed pupplet(made by wow) with ....27 kernel
i saw unicode locales
also it's the first puppy where usb-pen drive with russian filenames with vfat fs( from windoze) is mounted correctly in pcmanfm
the second thing is to make all puppy scripts support gettext
unless we need to rewrite them
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Joined: 08 Jul 2007
Posts: 739
Posted: Sun 14 Dec 2008, 09:57
Post subject:
i forgot...
we can start with having menus and all the menu entires in different languages
that's very easy to do but it needs to be gathered in one place and supervised
i made a basic rusiian pack for puppy 4.1 ( only for gui, not scripts)
and i think also that it's better to have different lang packs than having all the stuff in one
( but menu can be shared through packs)
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Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 2647
Posted: Sun 14 Dec 2008, 10:05
Post subject:
Using gettext or xgettext in the scripts is the only reasonable thing to do. That way, the text to be translated is not completely mixed in with the actual code. This would mean using bash as the script language as it can work with LC variables.
This is very important and critical because most of what makes puppy Puppy, is done with scripts. Still, there are probably many of the commonly-used Puppy binary programs which lack internationalization. Working on adding i18n support to these programs would make a good project for anyone who wants to get their feet wet with C and/or C++ coding, without having to first become a master. Adding the i18n support is not usually too difficult and is completely separate from doing the actual translations. The same is true for using gettext in scripts -adding support for gettext is a separate task from actually translating.
Here's a link to a basic bash/i18n howto:
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Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 6815
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK
Posted: Sun 14 Dec 2008, 10:23
Post subject:
i forgot...
we can start with having menus and all the menu entires in different languages that's very easy to do but it needs to be gathered in one place and supervised
part reason for the thread...
and i think also that it's better to have
different lang packs
than having all the stuff in one
( but menu can be shared through packs)
I think SFSs are the way this is likely headed, as SFS seems favoured as add-ons for 'barebones type' base
I'd just like to see dev discussion steered towards Internationalisation
- IMHO Puppy needs Globalizing
[It's been 'adopted&adapted' by the Chinese already
Thanks for your input, great work on the Russian Puppy team
amigo - W3 i18n, thanks
gettext in dingo, can it be included in earlier puppys, or as a .pet?
ubuntu gettext/language thread ideas, for anyone interested
thanks, guys
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Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 456
Location: sometimes in France
Posted: Tue 16 Dec 2008, 22:58
Post subject:
The "petget manager" and the pet's displayed in the download list needs to be International too (no language barrier if at all possible).
A user might be multi-lingual, and prefer to install a different language pet instead of using the current locale ..
i.e: a french user, but they prefer to install certain pet's in english or another favorite language...
.. This implies a strict compliance on how to create/translate a pet and use the correct encoding for the desired language,
and opening up the petget manager to translated pet's.
We've translated quite a number of "pet's" , so how do we integrate these language/version specific pets ?
A language specific site/link to download pet's might be an idea.
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Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 47
Posted: Sun 31 May 2009, 22:45
Post subject: Ideas
Sorry for such a late post, but has anyone checked out the latest Firefox. Just downloaded the latest version in Thai and installed on 4.21 Final, also installed Thai unicode fonts, and SCIM (SCIM-bridge method) for my wife. Everything seems to be working, Firefox even selects native Thai sites. Just an idea of how to get basic internationalization started.
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Joined: 04 Apr 2007
Posts: 6815
Location: Chatham, Kent, UK
Posted: Sun 29 Nov 2009, 23:44
Post subject:
Just found this very useful link
Why does ROX-Filer complain that my filenames aren't UTF-8?
In the past, filenames have been stored using the local character set. This means that you can't send a file to someone in a different locale or have two files from different character sets on your system at once.
Therefore, there is a general move over to the UTF-8 encoding (which can represent all characters in a single encoding). Many applications (not just ROX ones) now assume that your filenames are UTF-8 and will complain if not. ROX-Filer displays names not in UTF-8 in red.
You can specify a fall-back encoding by setting the CHARSET environment variable. Use something like this to test it (-n forces a new copy of the filer to start):
CHARSET=iso-8859-2 rox -n
A better solution for the future is to convert your filenames to UTF-8 (use the filer's Rename box to convert individual files, or the iconv utility for mass conversion). You can use UTF-8 names from the shell by setting LANG, for example:
LANG=en_GB.UTF-8 xterm
For more information, see
see also
How do I translate a program into another language?
If the program already supports translations, you can just copy an existing translation (eg, copy Messages/fr.po as Messages/de.po). Edit the file in your favourite text editor, then run ./dist to generate the output .gmo file and restart the application.
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Joined: 19 Jun 2010
Posts: 3491
Location: www.eussenheim.de/
Posted: Sun 18 Mar 2012, 06:45
Post subject: Is Full Internationalization Puppy Possible?
Subject description: woof2 momanager
Aitch wrote:
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