Change

No, I'm not talking about Obama's campaign slogan (although I am dreaming about it!), I'm talking about the changes -- from obvious to subtle -- in Huckleberry Cheesecake Lily and Children's House Montessori Lily.

People often ask me "what is Montessori." Well, two months in to it, I'm still trying to get the Cliff Note's version. The Montessori method -- which is based on the late 19th century theories of Italian educator Maria Montessori -- can, sort of, be boiled down to four basic tenants. Or at least my totally rudimentary knowledge of it can be boiled down to four.

Montessori is self-directed; teachers introduce concepts and then become "observers;" children learn through discovery (ie, doing/feeling/etc.); and children learn best during periods of intense concentration (distractions, including 95% of Lily's wardrobe, are discouraged).

Ok, so there's a ton more to it than just that. But I'm only on pg. 4 of Montessori Today. Full disclosure: I've been on pg. 4 for, well, 2 months now.

Anyway, perhaps one of the most noticeable differences in Lily pre- vs. post-Montessori is in her creative expression....something I was terribly worried, BTW, that she wouldn't be exposed to in a Montessori setting.

Lily's art projects, which she is forever in the middle of, are pretty amazing now. She digs through kitchen drawers, finds bits and pieces of odds and ends, and next thing you know you've got art. Tape and tin foil are now permanently on my grocery store list....all in the name of creativity!

She comes home talking about operas and ballets.

And her song repertoire has changed pretty dramatically. I almost died when, from her carseat in the back, she started belting this one out... I fear, though, that she's inherited my tone deafness.