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1280 Simmons Avenue
Kirkwood, MO, 63122
United States

(314) 822-2601

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We Did It! Happy Last Day of School!

Well, we did it! We closed out the 2019-2020 school year... from home! When the the pandemic hit our region, we closed our campus for Spring Break, hoping to be able to return in only a week or two. Then that week or two turned into a month... and then two months... and then the rest of the school year. And while we mourned the temporary loss of our lovely school environments, we are so proud of what we accomplished in our distance learning program.Our superhero-caliber team of guides, assistants and support staff worked around the clock these past nine weeks to keep our students engaged and motivated to learn.Despite the stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic during these last months of the school year, our students were able to continue to follow their love of learning and stay connected with their guides and each other through their virtual classrooms.We have missed being able to see, hear and talk to all of these children, and we cannot wait to be together again! In the meantime, be sure to check back on the blog in June for posts about each of our wonderful sixth-year graduates.Here's to our on-campus reunion in the 2020-2021 school year! And to 2019-2020, our Children's House Guides put it best when they say (sing)...[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://vdm.provelpizza.party/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/goodbye.mp4"][/video]See you next year!! 

Calling All Parents - VdM Children's Houses are Now Enrolling!

It's been a couple of months since we moved off campus to keep our families safe from the spread of COVID-19. We have missed seeing our families on campus every day, missed the hum and activity of Montessori children working and growing together. It is a beautiful thing to witness and we cannot wait (truly, cannot wait!) to all be together again.There has been one positive thing to come out of all this—we now know for sure (there never was much doubt) that our community is the best. Our faculty and staff have come together in innovation, creativity and hard work to create distance learning plans that have kept our students motivated to keep learning. And our parents... well, they are rock stars. They have thrown themselves into this new reality, while managing their own stress and uncertainty, and have collaborated with our guides to ensure that their children have stayed engaged with their school and community.So now we are calling on that collaborative spirit to ask our parents to help us keep our community strong and growing, and to pass this news along: our Children's Houses are now enrolling for the 2020-2021 school year!During a typical year, spring brings many prospective families to our campus for tours. This year, we have not been able to give a tour, to introduce VdM to a new and wonderful family, since March 13. And we have missed out on meeting many new families.Villa di Maria families have always been our best recruiters, our strongest advocates, and we know we can get our open spots filled with your help. If you know anyone looking for a lovely school for their young child, please send them to our website to request a tour. Or, better yet, share this post!During social distancing, a prospective family can set up a conversation, a virtual tour and/or an on-campus tour that follows social distancing protocols. They will have the chance to ask their questions about our school and Montessori and tell us all about their children.Thank you all for not keeping VdM a secret and for supporting us by spreading the word. We can't wait to see you—and to meet our new families!—in the fall. Until then, stay healthy!Complete admissions information, including procedures and fees can be found here.Photos courtesy of Melinda Smith.Villa di Maria does not discriminate on the basis of race, skin color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Cronan Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people.Today, we'll meet JoAnne, Kyle, James and Caroline Cronan, who joined VdM in 2015. James is in his second year in the Racks & Tubes Lower Elementary classroom and Caroline is going into her culminating year in Mrs. Steinman's House. Villa di Maria: Where are you from and what brought you to St. Louis?The Cronans: JoAnne is a St. Louis native and Kyle grew up in the bootheel of Missouri, in a small town called Portageville. He came up to StL after finishing his undergrad at Southeast Missouri State and a few years later he decided to go back to school at University of Missouri St. Louis to study Piano and get a music degree. That’s where we met, because Jo was there to study cello. We’ve never really played any duets though. Hmm.We always joke that we met in Dr. Ott’s 8:00 am music theory class and the rest was history... because immediately after Dr. Ott’s class we had to rush across campus to get to Music History by 9:00. That’s when Jo got introduced to Kyle’s sweet 1989 Camaro.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?JoAnne: In orchestra at UMSL I met an amazing friend Katrina, a kooky and amazing violist from Tacoma Washington and a proud product of Montessori. She planted the seed, and then on maternity leave I read a lot about it and fell in love. I sort of secretly decided that we would do Montessori if we could.I went back to work and we found a babysitter we and James love so so much. She does in-home preschool, and with my long hours (I was a CPA by then working 14 hour days in tax season) we had no idea how we’d be able to fit our life into school hours anyway, so I almost gave up the idea. Then I landed a sweet new job in mid-August and the stars aligned. Villa still had an opening, so I came for a tour with Laura.I just saw the beautiful campus in Camp Pegnita mode, a quick glimpse of the Montessori Mornings children doing all the things in their swimsuits (heart eyes), and Laura handed me the Montessori Madness book of course, but I was already sold. And then I told Kyle he was sold, and he was sold too! Haha. He went along with it, but he became really sold when Caroline started and he saw his baby girl doing all the things.VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?The Cronans: Jo is the Chief Financial Officer at Logos School, a therapeutic alternative middle and high school in Olivette. Kyle is—get ready—the Associate Director of Graduate Financial Aid at the Olin Business School of Washington University. Phew. He especially loves working on the yellow ribbon program, wherein WashU matches the GI Bill benefits so that military veterans can attend Olin.VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?The Cronans: Mostly we’re just trying to say “why not” to things we never had time for (made time for... ), like camping out on our own deck, baking stuff, painting the front sidewalk, riding bikes, washing cars, and doing experiments we saw on YouTube like Soda+Mentos and Elephant Toothpaste.VdM: A question for James and Caroline - Would you rather live on a beach or in the mountains? And why?The Cronans: Caroline definitely wants to live at the beach. She is a sun goddess and loves swimsuit fashion. She said she could build sandcastles and find mermaid crowns.James admittedly loves the beach too, but would choose to live in the mountains because he loves dirt and adventure, wild animals, and the cool mountain breezes.Thank you, JoAnne, Kyle, James and Caroline for sharing your lives with us today on the blog and at VdM every day.Photos courtesy of the Cronan family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Jente Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people.Today, we'll meet Jess, Michael, Sammy and Ellie Jente. Jess joined VdM in 2013 as the assistant in the P1 Children's House and has been on parental leave to care for her daughter Ellie this school year. Sammy joined us on campus this school year in Mrs. Steinman's Children's House.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about your family.Jess: Michael and I met in high school in 2004 (!!) and have been together ever since. We’ve been married almost 9 years. St. Louis has been our home our whole lives except for one lovely year spent in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for Michael’s job. After returning to St. Louis, we eventually bought and renovated Michael’s grandparents house and moved in when I was 1,000 months pregnant with Sammy. Sammy turned three in January and loves swimming, anything train related, riding his bike, going on adventures around town, and spending time with his grandparents and cousins. Sammy started VdM this year in P3, just a couple weeks after his sister, Ellie, was born. Sammy has been such a kind and helpful big brother. He LOVES school and spinning with his friends on the playground. He can’t wait to see Mrs. Steinman and Madame Beth again!VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Jess: I happened to stumble upon Montessori and VdM the summer before Michael and I moved to Sioux Falls. My friend, Ms. Megan, was looking for an assistant for the Montessori Mornings program to work with Mrs. McAuley. I had just quit a job that wasn’t meant to be in PR and took Megan up on her offer for the summer. I was a long time Camp Pegnita attendee, from ages 5 - 12, and then worked as a counselor many summers in high school. I was so excited to be back, doing something new.Reghan quickly taught me the ropes of the classroom and I was intrigued to know more. I love how Montessori fosters independence in the child, and watching the children move about the classroom in their special prepared environment is truly magical. When we moved to Sioux Falls, I worked in a more traditional school setting and realized how much I appreciated and agreed with the Montessori method. I came back to VdM the following summer and have been here ever since (except when having babies). Sammy had been on the VdM waitlist since he was born in January 2017!VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Jess: When I’m not on maternity leave, I work as the assistant in P1 with Mrs. McAuley. It’s the best! Michael is a lawyer, working first as a law clerk, and now at a law firm in downtown St. Louis.VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?Jess: It's been so wonderful having everyone together. Michael works crazy long hours most of the time, and Sammy and Ellie are enjoying every minute having their dad home all day.When we bought our house from Michael’s family, we also inherited a large, attached greenhouse that needed a lot of love. I know (knew) nothing about gardening or greenhouses but this winter I decided our greenhouse needed some TLC. The whole family has spent so much time cleaning and fixing our beloved greenhouse. We still have a ways to go but we have started our seedlings and are getting ready to plant them outside in our garden! Sammy loves planting and helping me dig, discovering worms and insects along the way.VdM: A question for Sammy - What are you most excited about this summer?Sammy: I am excited to play in the sprinkler! I like to ride my bicycle in the sprinkler.Thank you, Jess, Michael, Sammy and Ellie. We can't wait to see you all again soon!Uncredited photos courtesy of the Jente family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Desai Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's pandemic closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected!Today, we'll meet Padmanabh, Roopa and Aditri Desai. The Desais joined VdM in 2018, and Aditri is currently a first-year in the Racks & Tubes Lower Elementary classroom.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about your family.Padmanabh: We are a family of three—Padmanabh, Roopa and Aditri (Adu, she goes to Racks & Tubes). We live in a beautiful neighborhood of Ellisville, MO.Roopa: Me and Padmanabh grew up in India. Padmanabh's work brought us in United States in 2011. Adu was born in Illinois. Padmanabh's work kept taking us different places. Before coming  to St.Louis, we lived in Illinois and California. As a family, we love exploring places, traveling and cooking/baking. We also love going to farms to pick fruit and vegetables. One of the things we all miss since we moved to St. Louis is beautiful California beaches. Going to the beach almost every weekend was our go-to thing to do!We love St.Louis. It's a great place to bring up a family. Taking walks with Adu to the library through the trail is a favorite thing to do in summer. She has recently learned crochet and practicing almost everyday! She misses going to YMCA for her swim lessons and practice and is looking forward to some swim time in summer.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Padmanabh: When we moved to St.Louis, Adu was almost 2 and we were in search of preschool for her. We heard about Montessori through someone in our extended family. From there on Roopa looked up and did quite a bit of research and the more we learnt about Montessori the more convincing it was for us. As parents, we liked a different style than traditional style of education. Hence, Adu started going to Montessori since she was about 25 months old.Adu went to a different Montessori school before joining VdM. When we moved to Ellisville, we looked for other Montessori schools in nearby area and we found VdM. After a couple of tours, extensive discussions with Laura, we thought VdM would be the place for Adu. She joined VdM in P3 with Mrs. Steinman and last year Adu moved to Racks & Tubes with Ms. Sarah.Roopa: We love getting lessons at parent-education meetings and are always amazed how concepts can be uniquely presented through Montessori materials.VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Padmanabh: I work as a supply chain solution architect in one of the world's biggest food/pet food companies based here in St. Louis. Roopa recently started her volunteer work at UMSL. Before coming to United States, she used to work in information & technology field and later she chose to a be a homemaker.VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?Padmanabh: Trying hard not to lose it!!! But in all honesty, we (mainly Roopa and Adu) have been trying different things like arts & crafts, planting and besides Adu's online school, we are baking or cooking a lot of different things and having fun.Roopa: The extended break has given us a great opportunity to connect with our family back in India. Before this we used to talk only on weekends, we've been calling our families almost everyday now. Adu is having a great time talking, reading aloud and doing magic tricks with her grandparents. Also, we are watching a lot of baking/cooking shows and videos. VdM: A question for Adu - If you could snap your fingers and go anywhere in the world for one day, where would you go, and why?Adu: Of course India, because that is where my grandparents live and my cousins' parents and cousins live.Thank you, Padmanabh, Roopa and Adu! We are so happy to have you in the VdM community!Photos courtesy of the Desai family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Smith Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's pandemic closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Melinda, Brian, Nathan and Jacob Smith. Melinda is currently the assistant in our Racks & Tubes Lower Elementary classroom and has been our resident photographer for years. She is also the woman behind our fantastic (and beautiful) yearbooks.The Smiths first came to VdM in 2013, when Nathan started in the P2 Children's House. Nathan is now a fourth-year in Upper Elementary and Jacob is a first-year in the Checkerboard Lower Elementary classroom.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about your family.Melinda: We are a family of four, well five, if you count our newest addition, Teddy. He seems to take up all our family time of late. I’ll start with him—Teddy, our Australian Labradoodle, joined us right before spring break and he keeps life fun, stressful, and up all night all at once. He also keeps us exercised and out of our PJs. Jacob, my next youngest, just celebrated his 7th birthday and he, like Teddy, has an adventurous and playful spirit. Nathan, double digits, 10, is a history lover and a strategist. All that's left is Brian and me. I guess the best way to describe us is that I love to take things apart and he likes to put them back together (Brian obviously being the more responsible adult). VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Melinda: Oh, my favorite story! I was pregnant with Jacob at the time and Nathan had just turned three. We decided it was time to find a place for Nathan and not knowing where to start, I asked one of my closest friends, Melissa Urspurch (co-head of ATI) where to look. She only had one suggestion, Villa di Maria. Villa happened to be having a Silent Journey coming up and she told us to attend. Once we went through the Silent Journey, as is a common story at Villa, we fell in love. I remember thinking, if only I had pin maps growing up, maybe I would know where all the countries were! Then life and pregnancy took over until I got a call from Melissa saying we missed the deadline to enroll Nathan... oops! Melissa then went ahead, filled out our application, paid our enrollment fee and Nathan would be attending Villa in the fall with Mrs. Milos![gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="7987,7986"]VdM: What did you do, career-wise, before coming to VdM? And what does Brian do?Melinda: Before Villa, I was a photographer. I worked at a few portrait studios but while getting ready for Jacob, we decided it was time to start my own very small photography business. Once again, my good friend Melissa put things in motion and let Laura know I was a photographer. So my path to Montessori began, volunteering as a photographer for Villa’s website and media. That continued and also evolved into volunteering in the parent association, cooking with the Upper Elementary, and then finally as an employee. My first two years I was an assistant to Anna Schwind, my forever cheerleader. In order to better assist the children, I started asking her for lessons every week. She guided me as she guided them and like the children, I loved school and learning. Now, four years in, I listen to Ms. Sarah’s lessons and her lovely singing voice and love watching the children solve and engage in the material. It all still brings me much joy.

Brian works two jobs at the moment. The first is my tech support—he helps me with all my current computer woes. But in reality, Brian works as a software engineer and architect at World Wide Technology.  He is a consultant, helping customers build new mobile apps, websites, and other technology. Brian’s office is a dynamic environment where software developers work in pairs and small groups and he has told me how similar the elementary environment at Villa is to his own office.

VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?Melinda: I mean, we have a puppy, that’s enough right!? There are also several house projects but... with the weather turning nicer, our time will be spent outside with our new kiddie pool and puppy.VdM: A question for Nathan and Jacob: If you could teach Teddy any trick in the world, what would it be?Melinda: Nathan has hopes of teaching Teddy how to catch a frisbee, Jacob simply wants Teddy to learn not to bite. Research question, when do puppies lose all those sharp puppy teeth?Thank you, Melinda, Brian, Nathan, Jacob and Teddy! Villa di Maria would not be the same without you.Photos courtesy of the Smith family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Kunz Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Andrea, Peter, Stephanie and Sarah Kunz. Stephanie has worked at VdM in Late Stay and at Camp Pegnita as a counselor, and Sarah joined VdM's Lower Elementary in 2017. She is currently a fourth-year student in Upper Elementary.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about your family.Andrea: Pete and I grew up in Youngstown, NY, north of Niagara Falls—as far north you can go before reaching Lake Ontario. Although we grew up about a mile from each other, we met sailing together in the mid-eighties. We sailboat raced together during the summers and would go our separate ways to continue our education. We were reacquainted in 2006 and married in 2007, at the Yacht Club where we met, worked together, and grew up sailing. Both of our daughters, Stephanie (19) and Sarah (10) enjoy it and learned how to sail in Youngstown as well! Last summer was Sarah’s first year in the Jr. Sailing program and she won most improved in the July program and most improved of the entire summer! We were all very proud of her.In 2017, the family collectively made the decision to move on from the (Columbia River) Gorge in Oregon and take a new opportunity with Boeing in St. Louis. We enjoy attending Cardinals and Blues games as a family whether the season is going well or not. It has been a while since we lived in a place where there are (good) professional sports. We try not to talk about the Bills. Overall though, we enjoy spending time together no matter what the activity is.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Andrea: Our oldest daughter attended a Montessori school before we moved to Oregon. There wasn’t one when we moved there but when Sarah turned 2 ½, she was ready to go to the new Montessori school that had just opened.I diligently researched schools when we found out we were moving to St. Louis. I immediately put Villa on the top of our list. Peter checked out the school and after meeting Laura and Robyn he was sold too! We were able to visit as a family just as the Elementary building was completed and that built the enthusiasm for Sarah. Now we are here for our 4th year and loving VdM! Sarah enjoyed her Lower Elementary years but is LOVING Upper Elementary and thrives on anything and everything math related. Everything she experiences in the classroom is directly introduced into our home, especially practical life.VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Andrea: Pete has always been fascinated by flight and studied Aeronautical Engineering at Penn State, earning his Bachelor's in 1993 and his Master's in 1997. In between he spent a few years working in the Marine industry fixing and commissioning sailboats. Following Penn State, Pete headed to Stanford to again study Aeronautics, earning his Ph.D. in 2003. Stanford offered tons of opportunity, working on everything from an America’s Cup campaign, to Mars exploration aircraft designs, but his thesis work centered on how tiny things fly—insects and micro-drones. For his "first job" Pete stepped a bit sideways from aerospace and took a role as a defense technology development engineer for a private firm in Phoenix. He spent a little under a year in Afghanistan, living and working with U.S. Army and International Forces. In 2006, Pete joined a small company in Washington (state), building small robotic aircraft where he served as CTO. He led the aerodynamics team, designing the outside shapes of the airplanes and predicting how they would perform.Pete is currently Vice President and Chief Technologist for two small Boeing groups,  NeXt and HorizonX. These teams use active and experimental approaches to developing corporate strategy, active technology development and market research on future mobility (a.k.a. flying cars). In addition to these day jobs, Pete also serves as Boeing’s Senior Chief Engineer for Unpiloted Systems, with a primary eye on safety in design and operations.Dancing at a young age, I knew I wanted to be involved in dance and theatre as an adult. After a knee injury in high school (and the fact that I was not going to grow taller), I knew my aspirations of being a Rockette were not in the picture. I continued with theatre and worked in the Marine industry with Peter in the mid-nineties prior to continuing my education. I graduated with a BFA in Theatre and Fine Arts from Niagara University, a private Catholic University. This experience led me to work with several regional theatres and at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Most recently I worked as an event planner, in the traditional and nonprofit sectors. I also taught theatre, dance and set design at a high school in Oregon, while homeschooling Stephanie.Currently I am a stay at home mom and the biggest cheerleader for Sarah’s Schooling-At-Home efforts! In an effort to ease back into theatre, I hope to teach an after-school Dance and Movement Club for the primary children next school year.VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?Andrea: Sarah has embraced the interests of both of us, my theatre and art and Pete’s math and engineering, as well as our mutual interest in cooking and baking. It makes it easy to find enriching things to do that engage our interests with hers. Spring Break brought more opportunities to play while now we are busy with School-At-Home most of our days. During Spring Break, screen time was relaxed a bit as we watched movies and musicals and played some video games as a family, Animal Crossing being the favorite! With school back in session, our efforts are focused on less screen time. We get out for some walks, but nothing can compare to playing with friends!We have enjoyed being able to have lunch every day with Peter while we are all home. We have been cooking, baking, playing board games and card games to keep busy. Running around with our three Border Collies (Luke 15, Missy 13 and Buddy 11) has been a great way for us to get some of the pent-up energy out. Sarah has also enjoyed the process of sketching out, CAD rendering and 3D printing with Peter.VdM: A question specifically for Sarah - If you could snap your fingers and go anywhere in the world for 24 hours, where would you go? And why?Sarah: I would go to Oregon to visit my old friends and have a sleep over because I really miss them and we haven't been back since moving.

Thank you, Andrea, Peter, Stephanie and Sarah for sharing your lives with us today on the blog and every day at Villa di Maria.

 Photos courtesy of the Kunz family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Chelgreen Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Amy, Shaun, Kaia and Barrett Chelgreen. Barrett joined Mrs. McAuley's Children's House this school year.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family and what brought you to St. Louis.Barrett: We moved here because “somebody wanted to go to our old house.” My family takes good care of me.Kaia: My Mom got a promotion. My parents work for the government, and my brother is 3 and very smart. I play the cello, and I did synchronized swimming for a couple years. We like to do crafty things, especially Mom, Barrett and me. Barrett does his “projects,” we like to do chalk drawings, Mom helps fix stuff. Mom and I did a lot of crafts and outdoors stuff with Girl Scouts and school when we lived in Virginia.Amy: We are a close-knit nuclear family. With two introverts at the head and having always lived far enough from extended family that visits took planning, our family has evolved to be self-reliant, but also deeply appreciative of the close bonds formed with friends who become family. Our house is always a wreck because—life with a 3-year-old boy. No, that’s not fair—my house has always been a wreck except when I have company coming because I prefer to spend my precious time outside of my job hours doing things that bring me (and now my family) joy.I am what brought us to St. Louis. For the second time in our family’s history, me and my career growth have caused our family to move away from our home where roots had started to grow deeper. Each move was a promotion, and ultimately proved to be good for our family, but it is not a decision I take lightly. The first move kept us within the same state and actually moved us closer to my family. This move from Fairfax, VA to St. Louis, MO weighed on me greatly and I did a lot of research to make sure it would be good for my family as well as my career.Shaun: We came here for my wife’s career. We are a creative and unique group of people who love each other.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Amy: I attended a Montessori preschool program. As a former elementary public school teacher, and after watching my daughter go through public elementary school, I knew early on that traditional public school would not be the best learning environment for our son. Barrett’s licensed, early childhood caregiver also expressed concern before he turned 2 that a traditional preschool program would not fit our son’s combination of intelligence, sweet compassion, and energy. I researched good Montessori programs in VA, and made it to the wait list for the Children’s House 2019-2020 program at the school we chose. Being on the wait list proved serendipitous, as we found out a few months later I was selected for the promotion that would bring us to St. Louis. My main concern was finding good schools that fit each of my children. My research led me toKirkwood HS for our daughter, and Villa di Maria for my son. The big hurdle for both was that we would be moving toward the end of September, and the kids would miss the first 6 weeks of school. For Barrett, we had obviously missed the normal application and acceptance process. I sent emails and made phone calls hoping against hope that somehow there would be a space for Barrett at Villa di Maria. Right about the time I was starting to get really anxious and trying to figure out alternatives, I received the phone call that there was indeed a space for Barrett! We are a faithful family, and we felt Barrett’s ability to join the VdM family was yet another sign our family was meant to move to St. Louis – that there is purpose here for us. The tour of VdM on our first morning in St. Louis cemented that feeling. We are so thankful to be a part of the VdM family, and we look forward to building stronger connections over the coming months and years!VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Amy: As I move up in leadership positions, the move to St. Louis brings the opportunity for me to see how multiple aspects of my organization operate under one roof since the local field office has employees working in many of the business lines under the administration of my agency. I hope my strengths and skills will also allow me to bring positive change to the organization through my work here. Eventually, my goal is to become a senior leader in the agency. Prior to the federal government, my resume reflects my varied interests and skills. I have been a teacher, an aquatics director, a published freelance author. One of my most cherished vocations is that of a Girl Scout volunteer, having been my daughter’s troop leader in various locations for most of her life. Life is too busy here to volunteer on the same level, but I look forward to finding a GS niche soon. Helping people and working to be an agent of positive change are the two common themes in the jobs and positions I’ve held as I look back all the way to when I first started working as a swim lesson instructor and lifeguard.I am fortunate to have a husband who realizes his career needs to take the back seat for me to continue on my path. Therefore, moving here to St. Louis meant a change in career path for Shaun—taking a lower-graded position in an entirely new division in order to support the move and our family. He is enjoying learning his new position and a new way to serve the agency’s mission. Prior to working for the federal government, Shaun worked as a police officer for over 10 years. While we are both glad the swing shifts and dangerous work are behind him, we recognize that officers like the one he used to be are the ones needed most in this world. Shaun had the ability to talk to anyone and could often diffuse a situation just by talking to the person. This important skill is much more appreciated in officers today than it was when Shaun was on the force. Shaun also strives to help others in the jobs and positions he holds. He prefers to work quietly behind the scenes when possible.VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break.Barrett: Play cars and play games!Kaia: We are doing more movie nights and game nights.Amy: Although I still dread the question of “what’s for dinner?” each day, I’m enjoying cooking more with the family. We’ve enjoyed some really yummy home-made pizzas we wouldn’t otherwise have made when we could easily purchase frozen pizzas or delivery. Our daughter has really stepped up and demonstrated both her maturity and compassion by taking care of her brother while my husband and I work full time from home and she figures out how to complete her HS e-learning! A favorite joy of mine is working upstairs when suddenly, the sound of my 3-year-old passionately singing “Let It Go” can be heard despite the closed door and space between my work space and his location.Shaun: I have enjoyed spending more time with my kids—watching my son use his imagination and play outside, and watching my daughter play with her brother.VdM: A question specifically for Barrett -What's your favorite thing to do outside?Barrett: Play games outside [like] pretending to be a super hero, being a monkey on my new space dome.Thank you, Amy, Shaun, Kaia and Barrett. We are happy you're here!Amy's published book is out of print, but used copies might be available. The title is Patrick Henry: Voice of the Revolution, published under the name Amy Kukla and co-written by Jon Kukla. It was published in 2000 by Rosen Publishing.Uncredited photos courtesy of the Chelgreen family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Matlock Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Jamie, Sean, Camille and Marlow Matlock. Camille is a VdM alum and Marlow is in his second year in Mrs. Steinman's Children's House.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.The Matlocks: We are the Matlocks! Often caught smiling and on the go! Sean and Camille are the stability of the group; balanced, logical, and calm. While Jamie and Marlow love to the core, with a bit of a wild streak. We are typically a go-with-the-flow, happy-go-lucky crew that is along for the ride and down for just about any adventure! We love to be outside, being active, hanging with family and friends, and traveling. Camille is 11 years old and is in 6th grade. She is incredibly kind, eager to learn and help others, and a wicked athlete. She is a great soccer player, swimmer, and has been dabbling in some distance running, but can pretty much “pick up” any sport she tries. Marlow is 4 years old and feels all of his emotions to the deepest level! Whatever he is into at the time, he is all in and you will know it! He is all things fun and fast, but loves settling down with some solid cuddle sessions. He loves (the social aspect of) school and ADORES his teachers ;). He is fearless and like his sister, is down for almost anything! He talks constantly and wants to know allll the details!VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?The Matlocks: When Camille was 2 years old, we were looking for a school-type setting for her to go to during the day a few times a week, but also somewhere that she could go to early/after care as needed due to our work schedules. We were looking for something more than daycare, however, it was difficult to find (we didn’t know about VdM at the time!). We stumbled upon a Montessori preschool/daycare and had a wonderful experience. Camille attended up until her culminating year! Camille's teacher had just finished AMI primary training and knew we were interested in continuing this method of learning. She told us about two schools in the St. Louis area that we should tour. We were all in, took tours at both schools, and naturally, VdM took the cake. Camille joined Mrs. McAuley's classroom for her culminating year (almost 7 years ago!) and continued through most of elementary. When it was time for Marlow to attend, we knew exactly where he would go (and I maybe begged a time or two for them to take him early)! :) VdM is truly a magical place and we feel so lucky that both of our children have been able to experience this magical community!VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?The Matlocks: Sean is a Financial Research Analyst for a firm here in St. Louis. His job entails lots of travel, which the rest of us get to piggy back on from time to time! Jamie is a Speech and Language Pathologist. She works part-time at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Hospital and also sees children privately. Jamie also is the assistant coach for Camille's select soccer team. That is maybe her most demanding job of all ;)VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?The Matlocks: We are typically BUSY! I would be lying if I didn't say we enjoy keeping busy schedules (I think?!). Between the sport commitments (ohhh, the many, many practices, games, meets, classes, etc), Jamie's workout schedule ;), staying connected with friends and family, and squeezing in as many impromptu getaway trips as we possibly can, we typically have jam packed schedules! So, during this extended break, we are all learning how to NOT have ANYTHING to run to! Loads of fun family time, being outside as much as we possibly can, reconnecting with hobbies we never knew we missed and needed, lots of evening movies showing Camille some old favorites, and just overall slowing down. I think it's good for us. But we are all missing the chaos a little bit!VdM: A question specifically for Camille -If you could snap your fingers and go anywhere in the world for 24 hours, where would you go? And why?Camille: I would go to my uncle’s home in Hanalei. There are so many other places I would want to go, but with only 24 hours, Hanalei seems like the best choice. We can swim, surf, hike, and play at his ranch house all in one day. It‘s perfect!VdM: A question specifically for Marlow - Which do you like better, riding your bike or skiing? And why?Marlow: Riding my bike! Because it’s very fun! Because I can go around and around very fast and skid!Thank you, Jamie, Sean, Camille and Marlow! We are so happy your family is a part of the VdM family.Photos courtesy of the Matlock family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Scott Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Lauren, Andrew, Selena and Lincoln Scott. Selena joined Mrs. Steinman's Children's House in 2018, and Lincoln will join her in the fall.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.Lauren: Hello! We are the Scott family! I am Lauren and my husband is Andrew. We have two children: Selena (P3) who is 5 and Lincoln (soon to be P3) who is 2. Can’t forget to mention our sweet pooch, Oliver. We currently reside in Ballwin. I grew up Arnold, MO and Andrew grew up in Jamaica until he was 17. We met in college at Missouri Baptist University. We both majored in Biology and participated in the track & field. It’s funny—something else we had in common was the same last name!VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Lauren: We found VdM through my very good friend Megan Milos. Megan and I worked together starting in 2016. When her son Grayson started school at Villa she always mentioned how amazing Villa is and what Montessori is all about. She really encouraged me to visit VdM as we were looking to place Selena in a preschool setting. After a few months we finally scheduled a tour. Andrew loved that the school was very similar to the way primary school was in Jamaica and I loved it too! We had our hearts set that our kids would attend! All the details that go into the prepared environment is fascinating!VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Lauren: I am a registered nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital on an acute medicine floor. I have recently graduated from a family nurse practitioner program and cannot wait to transition into a new role, hopefully soon!Andrew has a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Logan University. Shortly after graduation, he realized his passion still lies in track & field, so he has started his own track & field club named Tallawah Track & Field. In Jamaica, the word Tallawah means “small, but strong.” He also coaches at Whitfield High School in the spring as a track & field coach. He loves to work with the student athletes and help them find their confidence to not only navigate the sport, but in life as well.VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?Lauren: To make the most of this extended break, we have been doing a lot of outdoor play that includes nature walks to the creek and bike riding, lots of practice with our daily work from the google classroom, and just enjoying the time that we have together by playing games, watching movies, and baking. Selena does miss her friends very much but the Zoom meetings and videos from the VdM staff always bring a smile to her face so we are very thankful for that. One thing I’m very thankful for is that Lincoln and Selena have become very close during this quarantine and do EVERYTHING together.

VdM: A question specifically for Selena -Which do you like better, painting or drawing? And why?

Selena: Painting! I like to paint the pictures my dad draws for me!Thank you, Lauren, Andrew, Selena and Lincoln for being a part of the VdM community and for sharing your lives with us today. And a special thank you to Lauren for being a nurse. Your time, hard work and compassion keep us all safe, especially during this pandemic. We hope you continue to stay well and healthy, and we can't wait to see you all again soon.Photos courtesy of the Scott family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Newbold Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Katherine, Andy, Emma and Lillian Newbold. Emma joined Mrs. Steinman's Children's House in January of this year.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.Katherine: Andy and I met at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) our senior year of college. We moved to St. Louis at the beginning of 2007 and have been here ever since. We had Emma in January of 2017 and Emma became a big sister to Lillian in November of last year. We love to be outside, in the summer you can catch us at the pool most weekends. We love to go to the Kirkwood Farmers Market, the Zoo and the Magic House. Our favorite vacation is our annual trip to the beach in August and are really looking forward to going this summer.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?Katherine: We were looking for preschools for Emma and a colleague of mine had told me about VdM, his wife had worked there for years and had just retired. We didn’t know a lot about Montessori but once we did the research we were sold. We have enjoyed watching Emma make friends, and really start to learn and be interested in learning.VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?Katherine: My husband Andy is a Mortgage Branch Manager at First Bank, he is a loan originator as well as a manager to a team of 5 Loan Officers. He has been in the Mortgage business since 2007 when we moved here from Oxford, MS. He has been at First Bank for 3 years, after spending 11 years at PNC.

I work as an HR Specialist at Switch, which is an Experiential Agency. I do recruiting for our corporate hires as well as recruitment for field teams all over the country. I also handle all on-boarding and see the complete employee lifecycle of over 500 Brand Ambassadors out in the field.

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?Katherine: We are trying to all be working in the house at the same time as well and managing a 3 year old and a 4 month old. We are trying to slow down a bit, focus on kindness, cleanliness and just making it through till we are all back to our normal routines! Trying to have some fun too!

VdM: A question specifically for Emma - What's your favorite animal and why?

Katherine: Emma loves Cheetahs because they are super fast!Thank you, Katherine, Andy, Emma and Lillian! We are so glad to have your family as part of the VdM family.Photos courtesy of the Newbold family.

The Kitchen is Open! Cooking with Kids During Distance Learning

Like much of the world, Villa di Maria has made the decision to close our doors for the rest of the school year in the effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. We are heartbroken to be away from our families for the next few months, but we are also so proud of how our community has come together in the face of this challenge. In collaboration with our parents, Villa di Maria guides and staff have worked every day to keep our children connected and motivated through our distance learning programs.One of my favorite things about our distance learning programs is that they include something VdM children love to do—working in the kitchen! On campus our children work in the Children's House to prepare snack and bake bread or biscuits, and Elementary children plan, shop for and prepare meals each week. Preparing food and cooking for their classmates fortifies our children's sense of community—it gives them a sense of pride and belonging.And there others benefits. Cooking gives children a chance to practice reading, grow their vocabularies and develop measurement and math skills. It teaches sequencing and order; builds gross and fine motor skills; engages the senses; promotes creativity and attention to detail; and develops time-management and organizational skills. Children who cook are more likely to try new foods and eat more balanced diets. And last but not least, cooking is fun!In today’s post, we’ll share ideas from our distance learning programs (and beyond) to get children in the kitchen!

Video Tutorials

During distance learning, our youngest children have been baking with the video guidance of our Children's House guides. Children have access to two (and more to come!) video tutorials: one for baking bread and one for making pasta from scratch (links to the recipes can be found at the bottom of this post). In each video, a guide leads the children through the process, step-by-step.Video tutorials are especially suited to young children who haven't started to read and are great for anyone who benefits from visual learning. Streaming services and YouTube are filled with cooking and baking shows for all ages. Here's a short list of videos that offer cooking instruction and inspiration:

  • Charli's Crafty Kitchen is hosted by tween chef Charli Kelly and features all sorts of fun recipes for getting creative in the kitchen.
  • Cook with Amber is a cooking show all about eating healthfully, hosted by the now-teenaged Amber Kelley.
  • Cooking with Kids is hosted by Jamie Oliver and his son Buddy. It has great, simple and delicious recipes for everyday food.
  • FullTimeKid by PBS Parents has fun videos for making treats, as well as ideas for crafts and other activities.
  • Hoopla Recipes is a great YouTube channel for kids who love to bake and decorate cakes.
  • MasterChef Junior is a competition show for ages 8 through 13. It's a great source of inspiration and entertainment. You can find it on Hulu.
  • Nailed It is a fan-favorite of many kids and adults for inspiration and hilarious entertainment. Adults compete to recreate fancy desserts and usually come up short. You can find it on Netflix.

Cookbooks

For a break from screens, introduce your child to cookbooks. Cooking while following a written recipe is a great way to slow down and practice reading and following directions. Click here for a good list of cookbooks written just for kids but don't be afraid to explore cookbooks of all types and discover new foods. Or break out your grandmother's old recipe cards—you and your child will connect to tradition and history while also creating a delicious meal.

Cooking Challenges

During distance learning, our Elementary students have been participating in a weekly "UE Chopped Challenge" hosted by Upper Elementary Assistant Justin Shepard. Each week, Justin challenges the participants to create and prepare a recipe using three mystery ingredients. The students are encouraged to express their creativity in designing their own unique culinary inventions. After the student-chefs create their recipes, they record the reactions of their family members in a short video to share with the class. To recreate this fun at home, come up with the challenge ingredients for your child to cook, have her record your reactions and share the videos with family and friends. To get you started, you can use last week's UE Chopped Challenge ingredients: cocoa powder, banana and avocado. And you can find more inspiration by watching Chopped Junior on the Food Network.

Meal Kit & Cooking Box Subscriptions

Meal kit subscription boxes don't have to be just for adults. A meal kit can be a great family activity and a way to introduce new foods to children. They also offer another opportunity to practice those reading and sequencing skills.There are also several subscriptions out there designed just for kid-chefs—cooking kits that introduce kids to new foods and help them develop their skills in the kitchen:

  • America's Test Kitchen's Young Chef's Club offers monthly recipes, activities and experiments as well as access to an online library of videos and activities.
  • Baketivity is a great choice for kids (and parents) who love to bake and decorate treats. You can order just one box or subscribe.
  • Foodstirs is all about baking treats using lower sugar and all natural (and fun!) ingredients. There are kits every other month for festive treats like cookies, donuts and cakes. An adult sous-chef might be required for this one.
  • Kidstir has monthly boxes with fun, themed recipes, puzzles and games. Kids build a cookbook out of their favorite recipes using Kidstir's recipe cards and binder.
  • Raddish Kids offers seasonal, global and holiday themed kits each month, and each box includes three recipes, a cooking tool, three specific skill lessons and a creative kitchen craft project.

Food Journals

Last but not least, for kids who love to cook—and eat!—there's food journals. Encourage your child to record her favorite recipes and make notes on the finished products. She can also write reviews, complete with star ratings, of family meals. Not only will the journal-keeping offer an opportunity to practice writing and encourage critical thinking and creative expression, your family will gain a lovely record of your child's early culinary explorations.

Recipes and resources:

Ms. Braud's Homemade Pasta RecipeMrs. McAuley's Homemade Bread RecipeA Chart of Cooking Skills and Recipes by AgeFiction Books for Elementary FoodiesPicture Books for Younger FoodiesThank you to the Andre Zheng, Guerriero, Ott, Smith and Steinman families for sharing their photos.

We are VdM (at a distance): The McAuley Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto, especially during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected!In today's post, we'll meet the McAuley family: Reghan, Aidan, Brennah, Gabrielle and Ella. Reghan McAuley has been our P1 Children's House guide since 2010, but she first joined the VdM community as a parent in 2005.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.Reghan: We are a family of five. I would describe our family unit as spunky, passionate, spontaneous, rather silly and a quite a mess at times. In order of age: Reghan, Aidan, Brennah, Gabrielle and Ella. We all love Montessori! And even though our girls have graduated, we continue to feel as though Villa is our touch stone, the place from which we pull our strength. We feel privileged and honored to be a part of the Villa di Maria community.VdM: Where are you from and what brought you to St. Louis?Reghan: I was born and raised in a small Oklahoma oil town and Aidan is from Saint Louis. I met Aidan, my husband, when I was attending college at Oklahoma State University. I was the bar manager at Willie’s Saloon, birth place of Garth Brooks… and Aidan was the Bud Man. We married, started our family and lived in Tulsa for a couple of years before moving to Saint Louis, which we felt was a great city to raise our girls.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what first brought you to VdM?Reghan: I first heard of Montessori through my mother-in-law, Mary, and immediately began my research before my first baby was born. A stranger to St. Louis, I literally found Villa di Maria in the yellow pages (that’s a 1900s term, as Brennah would say). After a tour, I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere, the land and the gentle hum of learning. My first memories are of the children outdoors. A child reading under a tree. A child roller skating to the dumpster to take out the trash. A small child filling the bird feeder. That was it. I was sold!The girls were each a part of the VdM community from 2 ½ years of age through their 6th year. Gabrielle and Ella each attended MAP, which is now The Academy of Thought and Industry, for the 7th grade. They’ll all be at Clayton High School in the fall of 2020… one last year together at the same school.As a Montessorian (a typical Montessori story really) I started as a parent. I sought out and found the best place for my children to grow and develop. My children not only blossomed, but exposed to me their true love for VdM, and my curiosity took over. I began asking questions every chance I could. Fortunately, directresses love to talk about Montessori. When Robyn asked “have you considered the training?,” I immediately knew the answer.Thanks to Robyn and the late Dr. Haines, I now have AMI Montessori training in two age groups, birth to three and three to six. I can’t explain the depths of my love for these young children, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with the fascinating process of human development and knowing that through the interaction with their environments, actions, activities, choices and friendships that they will become who they will be. It’s an awesome responsibility. Thank you, Maria Montessori. Thank you, Robyn and the team of incredible people I have worked with.VdM: Tell us something about Brennah, Gabrielle and Ella, now that they are teenagers.Reghan: What I can say is that each is driven, passionate (although about different things), kind and thoughtful. Brennah, our soon to be senior, is interested in a range of studies… from law and politics to medicine and psychology. She’s independent and loves to work and earn her own money. She’s busy implementing the 10% rule…"10% of everything you earn is yours to keep."Gabrielle, who will be a junior, charts her own course and always has a full schedule whether it’s as an intern at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Academy of Science, planning activities for her community project called "Beautify STL," or trying the latest vegan recipe. She was most proud of taking 3 minutes off her cross country record from the year before, an endurance sport that she credits for her academic achievements as well.Ella has had a blast as an 8th grader at Wydown this past year and revels in anything related to physical movement… from gymnastics to the trampoline to casual activities like shooting hoops to kicking around the soccer ball. She bounces around among her many "friend groups" with ease and delight.VdM: What is something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?Reghan: I think, like most of us, we started with walking multiple times a day, reading, baking, tending to household projects, and yes, we watched "Tiger King." Aidan and I work from home and the girls have distant learning which helps us maintain a routine. Gabrielle installed 20,000 new bees for her 2 hives. Ella is my videographer for those hit videos on the primary google classroom. Brennah is sharpening her political knowledge as she gears up for voting in 2020. They each tend to their distant learning, then as Montessori children do, they continue learning naturally following their unique personal interests for the rest of the day.Our day-to-day was previously pretty splintered off from one another with work, travel, sports and separate schools. In quarantine, there is a great deal of healthy family bonding happening with our share of disagreements as well. It is nice to see the girls love for one another become visible again with hugs, play and plenty of laughter. Montessori has allowed their individuality to shine and they truly respect and even adore each other's different strengths.We have also taken on the handstand challenge, and our newest quarantine goal is a family card game of spades.VdM: A question for Brennah, Gabrielle and Ella - What is one of your best memories from Villa di Maria?Brennah: I loved going outside to learn. At Villa we always were given the opportunity to learn "hands on" by going outside and interacting with the environment. One time, I was given the lesson of life with Ms. Nidhi. We laid out a timeline that stretched all the way down the road. It started at the very beginning of time and went to the current time. I was always able to picture what we were taught and remember it well because of how we experience work and learning in the Montessori environment.Gabrielle: Today, I can connect my passion for the environment directly to the Earth Day celebration at VdM. Each and every Earth Day my classmates and I were invited to work in the garden and pick up trash around our campus. I planted delicate flowers with Mrs. Milos, bigger plants with Mrs. LeBeau, and worked in the whole entire big garden with Ms. Rebecca. Throughout my years at Villa, I loved exploring our six acres and taking care of what I discovered. After I graduated I continued my interest at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and created a small community garden in the city. VdM’s positive spirits surrounding Earth Day remain important to me today, because the holiday is often under-celebrated elsewhere.Ella: Over the course of my time at Villa, I made countless memories. However, my favorite one developed towards the end of my Villa experience. At this point in our VdM journey together, my classmates were no longer just friends, but family. So, I was extremely close to every individual. My favorite experience was the Montessori Model United Nations (MMUN). This is the trip to New York City that all of the sixth grade students take every year! There is a lot of work and research throughout the 6th year in the classroom prior to, but in the end, we traveled to the UN. My favorite memory of this trip was the experience inside of the UN building. Here we voted in the general assembly. It really felt like we were making an true impact on the world. One of our very own classmates was nominated to speak in front of the thousands of people from the actual podium. It was an experience that I will never forget!The McAuleys' Favorite Family Travel Spots: Colorado mountains, Ocracoke Island, and Costa Rica! We prefer to seek out the local culture when traveling, away from the resorts and dive right in to a real experiences.Family Song: "Cassiopeia" by Sara BareillesFamily Restaurant: Three Kings on the Loop is our celebration location!Thank you, Reghan, Aidan, Brennah, Gabrielle and Ella! Villa di Maria would not be the same without you.Photos courtesy of the McAuley family. 

We are VdM (at a distance): The Speckhart Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet the Speckhart family: Amy, Henry, Ronan, Clara and Wiley. Ronan graduated from the Children's House in 2018. Clara is in her culminating year and Wiley is in his first year, both in Mrs. Steinman's Children's House.Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.The Speckharts: We are the Speckharts—team of 5. Amy grew up in Wisconsin and Henry grew up in central Illinois.  We met on Match.com (yes, we really did!) and honeymooned in Haiti (our second honeymoon was in Hawaii). Ronan was born in 2011 and has been moving full speed ahead every moment since. Clara is 6.5 and in her culminating year. She is an artist, monkey-bar specialist and loves to learn. Wiley is in his first year at Villa and enjoys sharing the classroom with his sister. He just turned 3 and loves to play with trains, all things yellow, and (like Olaf) likes to give warm hugs. We also have a puppy named Faldo who has lots of energy and likes to snack on pencils, markers and whatever other object happens to be on the floor.VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?The Speckharts: When Ronan was two years old we knew he needed to start preschool. As Kirkwood residents we looked at our options in our local area. We actually didn't know that much about Montessori but really enjoyed our tour and were excited that they had a few spots for the new classroom they were adding (P3). We did some research on Montessori and were sold! VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?The Speckharts: Henry is a Senior Associate Actuary at MetLife—he works with a lot of numbers and is an Excel wiz. Henry's non-paying other job is a stand-up comedian, he does shows daily at our house and he is his biggest fan. Amy is a Talent Development Specialist at Bunzl. She helps with the training requirements and development for the employees within the organization.

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?

The Speckharts: Well, we have been staying in, ha ha ha... (Henry's dry humor). If weather is nice, we try our best to get energy out of Ronan. We take walks in the neighborhood and bike rides. When inside we are learning some Spanish, cooking, navigating Disney+ and how to have more patience that we realized was possible.

VdM: A question specifically for Ronan, Clara and Wiley -What's one thing about summer that you're most excited about?

Ronan: Baseball.Clara: Swimming.Wiley: Sunglasses (he really does love them).Thank you, Amy, Henry, Ronan, Clara and Wiley for sharing!Photos courtesy of the Speckhart family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Juntunen Pytka Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected! Today, we'll meet Jacob Juntunen, Meghann Pytka, and their daughter Zocha, who joined VdM in 2018. Zocha is currently in her second year in Mrs. Steinman's Children's House.

Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.

Jacob: Meghann is from Rhode Island, and I am from California.Meghann: Because geographic information is the most important thing about us.Jacob: And sarcasm is the most important character trait of Meghann.Meghann: I think of it less as sarcasm and more as dark irony.Jacob: We met at Northwestern University where Meghann got her PhD in History and I got my PhD in Theatre—Meghann: Go Wildcats!Jacob: Did you ever even go to a football game?Meghann: Does soccer count?Jacob: Northwestern soccer?Meghann: Yeah.Jacob: Sure.Meghann: And go Meghan Markle, our princess!Jacob: A shared love of Poland was part of what drew us together—Meghann: What about our love of dogs?Jacob: True, the way Meghann tells it, at the party I hosted where we met, I greeted her rudely at the door, and she only stayed because my dog was friendly.Meghann: He was more than friendly, he was enthusiastic. He was also very large.Jacob: We’ve returned to Poland again and again for work and pleasure, hence Zocha’s Polish name. We’re city people, but we lived in Carbondale, IL for about 6 years until Zocha was school age. That was when we found VdM and moved to St. Louis. We’ve been here about a year and a half and love it!

VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?

Meghann: Theatre. It’s always theatre.Jacob: I went to Montessori pre-k through kindergarten, and when I was in Minneapolis doing work at The Playwrights’ Center, the education director there was from St. Louis and her kids had gone to VdM! At the time, Meghann was in Cambridge, Mass on a fellowship to learn Ukrainian, so me and Zocha drove up from Carbondale to see VdM and it was love at first sight!Meghann: Note how conspicuously absent I am. It gets better.Jacob: While Meghann was still out of town, I bought a house, signed Zocha up for school, and told Meghann I’d packed up the old house, but that was largely not true. When Meghann got back from Cambridge, there was still much packing to do.Meghann: I was wildly enthusiastic about this. Because moving is the best.Jacob: She was wildly enthusiastic about the new house and St. Louis. Not so much the lack of packing on my part.Meghann: Sigh.

VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?

Meghann: I teach everything, mostly online—Jacob: Which is handy these days.Meghann: I’m actually a historian.

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?

Jacob: While Meghann had to postpone a fellowship to work at Warsaw’s Polin museum this summer, we are very lucky that our schools have moved to teaching online. This means, between our work, we can do a variety of crafts and activities with Zocha. We watch the Cincinnati Zoo’s livestream just about every day, have “recess” with the dog out back, and are preparing to do some YouTube dance classes in the near future…Meghann: I keep wanting to write a book. Instead I panic recreationally.Jacob: I’ve pretty much given up trying to write anything.Meghann: Zocha and I also swatch lots of makeup.

VdM, A question specifically for Zocha: What's your favorite animal and why?

Zocha: A tiger because of its sharp claws, big teeth, and striped tail! I like to be a tiger at recess!Thank you, Jacob, Meghann and Zocha! You are delightful and we appreciate you sharing your lives with us.Photos courtesy of the Juntunen Pytka family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Steinman Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected!Today, we'll meet another longtime VdM family: the Steinmans. Heather Steinman has been our P3 Children's House guide since 2014, but she joined the VdM community as a parent in 2002. Her youngest daughter is currently in Mrs. McAuley's Children's House and her youngest son will join his sister next fall. Read on to get to know Heather, her husband Brian and their children, Danny, Andra, Emerson and Miles.

Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.

Heather: There are a lot of us! Our crew includes me, my husband Brian, Danny, who is 21 years old, Andra is 19, Emerson is almost 5, and Miles just turned 2 years old! Of course, I cannot leave out our family mascot Jackson, he is a 90-pound yellow lab that we love like crazy.My husband Brian is the Executive Chef at Charlie Gitto’s on the hill. We have known each other since middle school, and he makes me laugh every day.Danny is a VdM alum and he even worked at Villa during late stay hours and summer camp in his high school years (some may remember him as “Mr. Danny”). He is currently a student at Ranken Technical College studying electrical engineering and will graduate this spring. Upon graduation, he will be moving to Huntsville, Alabama for a job working with Sargent and Lundy.Andra is also a former Villa student and she too worked at late stay and summer camp! She is currently in her freshman year at the University of Kansas where she is studying nursing. She has also enjoyed being a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.Emerson is in her third year in Mrs. McAuley’s Children's House. She is a bundle of energy and super excited about her upcoming birthday and turning 5!Miles has just turned 2 and spent his Tuesdays this school year in the parent-child class, he will join his sister in Primary 1 this coming fall. He is the baby in our family, but he is ready for some big things!

VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?

Heather: When my older children were little, I was a stay at home mom. Around the time Danny was 2 ½ I realized he needed more than just being at home with his mom and little baby sister and began looking for play groups and nursery schools so that he could be social with other children. After spending some time at a little school in Kirkwood we came across Villa di Maria. When I came to visit the school, I was immediately intrigued and excited about what I saw, and we signed Danny up immediately. It didn’t take long for me to become fascinated with the Montessori method and I volunteered at Villa as much as I could. By the time Andra began coming to school in the Children’s House, I was lucky enough to get the chance and come to work at Villa as Mrs. Milos’ assistant, and the rest is history!

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break from school?

Heather: I think mostly, we are trying to embrace the fact that we can all be together, we do not get that chance usually. Brian and I usually work opposite schedules and the older children are always on the go when they are here. We rarely have time for the whole family to be together, so we are thankful for that part. I’m pretty sure Jackson thinks he has hit the lottery! We try to get some time outdoors each day despite the weather, and family dinners each night have been pretty great. And MUSIC, we listen to a LOT of music and have ridiculous dance parties. If you are not yet incorporating the music you love into your days, please do, music can heal, inspire, create joy and spark activity. Mrs. Steinman loves to dance and sing ? We are hopeful for life to return to normal but for now, we are just making the most of an unbelievable situation.

Villa di Maria would like to add something here: Heather has also been working during this break to stay connected with the P3 families and children through emails, phone calls, voice calls and Zoom sing-alongs in our distance learning program. She and all of our amazing guides have been working tirelessly to keep our community together and learning. We would not be VdM without them.

VdM, A question specifically for Emerson: What is your favorite thing about summer?

Emerson: I like the swimming pool in the summer, because it's cool. I like to jump in and have the things that sink to the bottom and you get them.Thank you, Heather, Brian, Danny, Andra, Emerson and Miles for sharing your lives with us today and every day at Villa di Maria. Uncredited photos courtesy of the Steinman family.

We are VdM (at a distance): The Mottl Family

The very best part of Villa di Maria is our people. Our community of families, faculty and staff is something to be proud of and something to hold onto during our school's COVID-19 closure. In this series, We are VdM, we’ll highlight the energies, talents, humor and wisdom of some of our amazing people—and we'll stay connected!Today, we'll meet a family that has been with VdM for over a decade: Meg, Rich, Kellen and Beacan Mottl, and the newest member of their family, Celeste Williams. Kellen and Beacan are VdM alumni, who both currently attend Clayton High School. Celeste is one of the newest VdM students—she joined Mrs. Steinman's Children's House just this spring.

Villa di Maria: Tell us a bit about you and your family.

Rich: The Mottls are lean-in-to-it-ers and doers. We don’t back away. We work to figure things out.Meg: We are basically a cast of characters... BOOK CHARACTERS! Rich is the sole Hogwarts Hufflepuff in our family—full on Cedric Diggory. He seeks those in need of assistance EVERYWHERE WE GO, enthusiastically connects with people EVERYWHERE WE GO, and empathizes with every breathing creature EVERYWHERE WE GO.Kellen’s spirit character is Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web: gentle, kindhearted, wicked smart, agile, fiercely loyal. Toss in a heaping spoonful of “smart-funny,” and that is Kellen.Beacan is a blend of Encyclopedia Brown and Curious George—confident, interested in everything, athletic, passionate, independent, witty, and quick thinking. B has always been in perpetual motion with his brain and his body.Celeste is the spirited and spunky Inge Maria Jensen from When Mischief Came to Town. This gal’s heart is bigger than her body, and her boundless energy is contagious. She wonders, imagines, questions, and loves with her whole being.As for Meg, Rich once said she reminds him of Olive Kitteridge. Not the most flattering comparison, but I can’t argue...Kellen: We’re weird.Beacan: We are crazy. Wack.Celeste: I love my family.

VdM: How did you find Montessori and what brought you to VdM?

The Mottls: The two-word version: Kathy Thames.The lots-of-words version: From age two-and-a-half to three, Kellen questioned her daily existence at the play-based preschool she attended way back when. Examples: “I have a play kitchen at home. Why do I come here? I have swings at home. Why do I come here? I do crafts at home. Why do I come here? I have friends at home. Why do I come here?”Throughout that year, I serendipitously kept running into a former parent from my elementary-classroom teaching days (Kathy Thames) who nudged me to beeline myself over to Villa di Maria Montessori School, convinced that was the place for our family. Kathy spoke the words, “Villa di Maria Montessori” enough times that we finally scheduled a tour.All things Villa di Maria Montessori School sparked and amazed and intrigued.We were ALL IN.Our oldest stepped foot in Mrs. Milos’s classroom in the fall of 2007 and was thrilled on a cellular level to be in the Children’s House. Beacan clamored after her and joined the VdM community in the fall of 2008. We are currently pinching ourselves daily that Celeste is living the dream at VdM, soaking in all the wonderfulness the Primary Montessori experience has to offer. VdM: What do you and your spouse do, career-wise?The Mottls: Rich has been successfully leading the charges at United Surgical Partners for over 13 years as a Vice President of Business Development. The company is based in Dallas and owns over 400 hospitals and surgery centers across the country. Husband Rich travels part of each week, which appeals to his need for constant stimulation and nonstop interaction with a variety of people across all branches of the company. Meg’s curvy career path has circled back to where it started. She taught 3rd through 7th grades back in the day, then stayed home for 3 years when Kellen and Beacan were tiny, owned a small business for several years, worked at VdM in Admissions for a bit, and is currently gearing up to return to full time classroom teaching this fall.

VdM: Tell us about your typical weekend.

The Mottls: We thrive on a full agenda of activity. Bring on the overscheduling of sports and lessons and “forced family fun”! Swim practices, meets, soccer practices, games, music lessons, gymnastics lessons, mountain biking, brisk walks with the dogs, playground shenanigans, scootering, shooting hoops.

As an entity, our family also struggles with a Starbucks addiction. We frequent said establishments multiple times a day. It’s a problem...Other than that, individually...Rich enjoys vino and sinking into the couch at night.Meg deep dives into books. Kellen never tires of socializing with friends with any spare minutes.Beacan alternates between creating music and athletic endeavors.Celeste imagines, dances, and sings… Rewind. Repeat.

VdM: Tell us something your family is doing to make the most of this extended break?

The Mottls: We’ve been plotting and planning a large vegetable garden to plant this spring and nourish our family through the summer. 

We’ve honed our culinary skills in the kitchen, experimenting with new recipes from the New York Times food section.We’ve spent hours each day painting and creating acrylic masterpieces.We formed a family book club and engaged in thought-provoking weekly discussions. We’ve each chosen a new language to master, using Duolingo.Full disclaimer: each statement above is entirely false.The real scoop:

  1. Rich has been grounded from work travel. Biggest perk of this break is that Husband Rich is HOME for an extended period of time!
  2. The scooters, trikes, bikes, and skateboards are logging lots of minutes around the neighborhood and wearing tracks in the sidewalks.
  3. Hours of crafting with beads, water colors, crayons and clay is a plus.
  4. The older Mottl crowd has binged on episodes of Brooklyn Nine Nine. We just need to laugh—loudly and often—these days.
  5. Across-the-street-yelling-while-keeping-social-distance conversations with our neighbors are much needed for sanity and all kinds of hysterical. 

VdM: A question specifically for Celeste: Which do you like more, ponies or puppies? And why?

Celeste: What did you say? No. I like ponies AND puppies. They’re so cute; they’re so fun to play with. I like real ponies like Prince and pretend ponies like Pinky Pie. I have my own two puppies, Mabes and Otto. Mabes is crabby. Otto is my favorite.

Thank you, Meg, Rich, Kellen, Beacan and Celeste. We can't imagine Villa di Maria without you and we are so happy your growing family is still a part of our community.Photos courtesy of the Mottl family.

Outside is Open! Ideas for Outdoor Work and Recess During Distance Learning

While our school has temporarily closed in the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, our community has jumped back in to what we do best—learning! Villa di Maria guides are working in collaboration with parents and students every day to keep our children connected and inspired to keep learning.In today’s post, we’ll share some ideas for an essential part of the day—getting outside. Spending time outdoors is a great way to get moving, reduce stress and improve your overall health. At VdM students move freely between their indoor and outdoor work spaces. It is part of their routine and an easy thing to replicate at home during this time of distance learning.Below we've got ideas for outdoor work, jobs (care for the environment), and recess—or anytime you and your family need a dose of fresh air and vitamin D.

Outdoor Work & Jobs

  • Word collection walk: Take a walk and "collect" all the words for the things you see. This is a great way for younger children to build on their spoken vocabulary. Older children will carry a notebook to record their word collection as they walk. Add challenges to find adjectives or synonyms for the words they find.
  • Observe/collect leaves or flowers: All children can collect flowers and leafy plants to bring inside for arrangements or art projects. Older children can also use flowers and leaves for botany identification and experiments.
  • Build a bird, bug or bat house: Research the needs of a particular species of bird, bug or bat and build a shelter for them. Be sure to measure, draw plans, and offer the right amount of assistance needed depending on your child's stage of development. This website has great ideas for building shelters for bugs and other minibeasts.
  • Bird, bug or wildlife watching: Look for and identify birds, bugs, squirrels and chipmunks in your yard or neighborhood. Use binoculars or magnifying glasses if you have them. Children can vocalize, draw or write their observations.

  • Planting seeds or seedlings: Younger children can help get the garden up and running with your direction, and older children can measure the plot, space the seeds, research the plant's needs and tend to the growing seedlings. You could even double down on this project with older children—they can experiment with seed growth under various conditions and dissect seeds and seedlings.
  • Compost: If you don't have a backyard compost bin and have always wanted one, this is a great time to start—your children can do the research, take the measurements and help build one! Then, children can collect the kitchen scraps and turn the compost on a daily basis.
  • Pet care: Walk, wash or play with the dog. Care for the backyard chickens and collect the eggs. When it's warm enough, and if you have the appropriate enclosure, bring rabbits, guinea pigs, turtles or other small pets outside for a bit of fresh air.
  • Reading, writing, painting and more: If your child is feeling restless but it's not the right time for "official" outdoor work, move the reading, writing, painting or other tasks outside for a change of scenery.

Recess

VdM students are outside, in nearly every kind of weather, for about an hour each and every school day. This is a crucial part of the work day because it provides socialization, movement, fresh air, exercise and relaxation. While socialization is currently limited during distance learning, we can still reap the other benefits at home. Read below for some recess-at-home inspiration.

  • Walking and jogging... and skipping, hopping, and galloping. Travel through the sidewalks of your neighborhood with whichever silly combination of movement your child can dream up.
  • Yard games: Tag, hide and seek, hopscotch, Simon says, red light, green light—get these all back into the rotation for classic, timeless fun. Click here for a great list of outdoor games.
  • Go for a ride: Explore the neighborhood or the path through your local park on bikes, skateboards, roller-blades or scooters.
  • Play ball: Dribble the basketball, toss the football, play a game of old-fashioned catch or come up with a new game-ball-mash-up, complete with a set of child-designed rules.
  • Free time in the yard: On days when the priority is relaxation (and there will many of these), your children should feel free to just be outside. They might want to read, kick a ball around, or just lie on their backs in the sun. This might also be an opportunity to take the laptop to the patio and connect with friends on a video call. The important thing is they have the chance to take advantage of being outdoors.

We hope these ideas inspire you to embrace the outdoors during distance learning. You and your child will learn more, feel more relaxed and have more fun. Happy spring from VdM to you!Thank you to the Andre Zheng, Dosanjh, Smith and Thrall families for the photos. 

Getting Ready for Distance Learning - Independence, Structure and Consistency

While Villa di Maria, the school, is temporarily closed in the collaborative effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Villa di Maria, the community, is just coming off Spring Break and ready to jump back in to what we do best—learning!Our incredible and dedicated guides have been working to create distance-learning plans for each of our levels—the Children's House, Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary—to keep our children connected to VdM and inspired to keep learning. Each level's plan is designed to meet the particular developmental needs of its children (in true Montessori fashion!) but they all share a common framework—independence within structure and consistency.In today's post, we'll share some ideas for getting your home and your family ready to take on the challenge of the upcoming weeks—to get ready for distance learning.

Model calmness, while being both patient and flexible... this transition is new to the children. Children will need help orienting to the new structure and routine, and it will take time for all to adjust.Lower Elementary Guide Megan Eilers

Independence-Inspiring Spaces

As Montessori children, our kids thrive on independence and self-direction. From their first day at our school they have learned that they are capable of working at and mastering even the most challenging of tasks, all by themselves. As we head into this extended break with our children (with them every minute of the day), it is important to remember that they are, by their very nature, capable of working independently. And not just capable—they are motivated by their curiosity and rewarded by their own competence. Working independently boosts their confidence and inspires them to continue to learn.Of course, they might need to be reminded of this. This past week (a week that feels like a year) has been constant change. There's been a huge disruption to our daily lives plus the uncertainty about what comes next. This is anxiety-inducing for everyone, and especially so for children. What came naturally to them in their classrooms just a couple of weeks ago might feel impossibly out of reach right now.To facilitate their confidence-boosting sense of independence with a few modifications to your home environment. Have your children help prepare their work- and play-spaces by tidying them up, organizing the materials they might need for work, and setting those items out for your children to easily access. For younger children, these items might include  scissors, paints, pencils, paper, picture books, and flowers; and for older children: books, work journals, lined and graph paper, rulers and protractors, clay, yarn, flowers and leafy plants, and laptops/tablets.So that's step one—create a space to inspire and facilitate independent learning for children while they're learning from home. Which brings us to step two...

Structure and Consistency

It is a common misconception that independent learning is a free-for-all, that children are let loose in the Montessori classroom to just "do what they want." In fact, their competence as independent learners comes from the overarching structure that their guides and assistants provide. Children rely on structure and consistency—on routine—to feel secure. When they feel secure, their bodies and brains are at their best; they are able to tap into their natural love of learning.Ideally, we at home would all be able to create rock-solid routines that we can replicate every Monday through Friday during this extended break from school. In reality, many of us will need to manage our own work-from-home schedules with the learn-from-home schedules of our children. Use the ideas below to help create the best routine for your family.

  • Waking up and morning jobs - Start the day at the same time every day and with consistent jobs (make bed, make breakfast, wash breakfast dishes, etc.).
  • Morning work cycle - Try, if you can, to replicate the uninterrupted three-hour work cycle at home. Set aside the three hours before lunch for your child to do school work independently. Once distance learning begins, VdM guides will be supporting their classroom families to help facilitate this. For now, the important first step is to carve out that time in your family's schedule.
  • Lunch - Whether you're making lunch for your children, they're making it for you or you're making it together, try to eat lunch at the same time, together, every day.
  • Recess/Free time - Get your children outside every day for an hour or so after lunch to play, exercise and relax. It is crucial to their (and your!) physical and mental health. On days when the weather does not cooperate, do yoga, a dance video or play games inside.
  • Afternoon work - At VdM students work for two hours after recess. Much of this work is independent and some of it is guided with more structure. For Elementary students, this time often includes special projects, foreign languages, art, music, etc.
  • Afternoon jobs - At school, children in the classroom end each day by caring for the environment with specific jobs. Some examples are sweeping, collecting the recycling, dusting, straightening... anything related to their work space.
  • After-school activities - If your child had been going to after-school activities one or two nights a week, try to replicate these at home. If she was going to basketball, have her practice/play with the basketball in the backyard on the same day/time as her class. If the class cannot be replicated, find a substitute activity that your child can do at home.
  • Evening - Try to return to family time on weekdays at the same time you did before the break. Maintain your family's routines around dinner, screen-time, and getting ready for bed.
  • Bedtime - It really is so important to get to sleep at the same time every night. Consistent sleep is crucial to a healthy, happy, less anxious child.
  • Last but not least, weekends - This is going to be a challenge for many of us. Working from home can make it very difficult to clock out for two days. But as much as we can, let's try to set aside the weekend for family time. With the exception of assigned reading in Upper Elementary, children should feel free to ignore their work spaces on Saturdays and Sundays. Reserve the weekends for home-related chores, family games, movies on the couch, long walks in the neighborhood, and virtual social time with friends.

At Villa di Maria, we take pride in our community. We are absolutely dedicated to working with and supporting each one of our families as we power through these uncertain times. We can do it, as long as we stick together. In the coming weeks, the blog will offer ideas to help cope with the extended break, as well as feature more of our fantastic families. Stay tuned! 

Spring Break! 8 Great Podcasts to Entertain (and Educate) Your Family

Next week Villa di Maria is on Spring Break! For some of us that means catching up on projects around the house and for others that means hitting the road. Whatever your plans, we hope you have some time to relax and have fun as a family. And we've got some great podcast recommendations to help!There are so many great kid-friendly podcasts out there—smart, funny, entertaining and great for grown-ups too. The list below is in alphabetical order, and we've included a few key words at the beginning of the description for quick reference. Enjoy! Brains On. Science, humor, conversational. This is a great podcast full of information. The topics are driven by questions from children and range anywhere from "Why do dogs howl?" to "Why are some things considered gross?" The answers come from experts from all over the world. It is a truly fun way to learn. Buttons & Figs. Love of words, kid-powered, creativity. This podcast is pure nonsense, in the best way. In the tradition of Lewis Carroll or Shel Silverstein, kids work with the host to play with words and the rules of language to create smart and playful stories, poems and songs. This is the most fun and silly way to encourage a true love of language and expression. But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids. Kids' questions about any and every topic. Each episode answers several questions (on the same theme) submitted by kids. The topics range from small to big, easy to complicated. The answers are given straightforwardly and with honesty. Eleanor Amplified. Fiction, adventure, powerful girls. In the style of old-time radio shows, this is a radio adventure show complete with fun character voices and sound effects. Eleanor is a world-famous radio reporter after her big story. She outsmarts bad guys and travels around the globe, into space and out to sea, all while staying true to the values of honest journalism. Ear Snacks. Science, art, music, fun. Children's music duo Andrew & Polly tackle all kinds of topics—from pajamas to rain, clocks to the Census. The pair talk about the topic with each other, experts and kids, all with original songs (many of them ear-worms) as the soundtrack. This podcast is informative and super fun to listen to, especially for young children. The Past and the Curious. History, storytelling, humor. This podcast brings history alive with deep-dives into big and small stories in history. The episodes cover everything you can think of and may things you might never have thought of—spies, basketball, The Pony Express, olden-days underwear. There's a great score too! Smash Boom Best. Debate, humor. From the same folks that do "Brains On," this podcast showcases debates in fun and informative ways. Two guests (usually adults) debate topics like "unicorns vs. dragons" or "super-strength vs. super-speed." Each debate is judged by a kid based on genuine debate-judging criteria. It is great fun to listen to and you'll learn something new in each episode. The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel. Fiction, mystery, slightly spooky. Best for older kids. This is a scripted, serial podcast, professionally produced and performed by kids. Mars Patel's friends are missing and his search for them leads him into mystery and danger. The story is fully engaging, the performers are fantastic and the music is incredible It is a great podcast.