What do the oldest fabric in the world and a vintage typewriter have in common with my dentist? And what do they have to do with art?  Well, I encountered each of them in the course of one week, and the intersection of these seemingly disparate things gave me an “a-ha” moment about the symbiotic relationship between creating with technology and hands-on art making in our School’s art studio.

As a mixed-media artist, I am naturally drawn to tactile, malleable, hands-on materials and adore using these materials in my lessons. If you walk into Greensboro Montessori School’s art studio, you will see a variety of rich textures, fibers, paints, clay, found objects and nature. You will also find a technology wall where one of the School’s 3D printers, a computers and iPads live. These two worlds co-exist harmoniously in our art studio and with each new day I am learning and teaching how technology and art are interwoven and applied in the world beyond the studio.

For instance, many Greensboro Montessori School faculty recently participated in an excellent coding workshop from Code.org. During this workshop I learned how coding is fun and creative and identified a great way to apply this technology in my classroom. Once armed with coding knowledge, students can practice their skills by writing an algorithm resulting in a specific design being drawn on their computer. They can bring this code to their art lesson and exchange it with another student. From there, students run each other’s algorithm to see if it produces what the creator originally intended.

Another project where technology and art intersect is stop motion animation.  Students use a stop motion app on our classroom iPads to tell stories, but they also use physical objects make stop-motion animation the good old-fashioned way (by moving an object in small increments, taking photos of the object after each movement, and viewing multiple photos per second in a continuous sequence to create the illusion of motion). One of the most famous stop-motion animation films is the 1964 television special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In our classroom, students manipulate KEVA planks, not wireframe figurines, to make their movies. The excitement has been great, and upper elementary students often rush back to class to ask Cathy Moses to come see their work!

Middle school students have been very helpful in teaching upper elementary students about the School’s 3D printer and 3D drawing program, SketchUp, which brings me back to my “a-ha” moment about the connection between art and technology.  Within the course of one week at school I led a felting project demonstrating how to create with the oldest fabric in the world and guided lower elementary students in a freedom of speech exercise where they used a vintage typewriter to create art with their own words. I was reminded how each of these discoveries represented a technological shift at the time of their invention. At the end of the week, I went to the dentist and experienced a modern technology and art revolution in the making.

As crazy as it sounds, and as personal a story it is, my time at the dentist was real-world affirmation of the integration of art and technology. I was scheduled to get a crown and had anticipated my visit being the first of two required to complete the procedure, but then I was introduced to CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) dentistry. While I was in the office, my dentist used technology to capture a 3D rendering of my tooth (CAD) and reproduce it onsite with a grinding and milling machine (CAM). While the grinding process used in my dentist’s office is different from the fabrication method used in 3D printing, the use of technology to produce sculpture in both cases highlights the inspirational interplay between technology and art. (And to top it all off, my ceramic crown was fired and glazed onsite, just like our students’ pottery is fired and glazed in our kiln!)

As we continue to create with our hands in collaborative and productive ways in Greensboro Montessori School's art studio, we will continue to grow the use of technology as well, because technology helps strengthen the development of our students 21st century skills and introduces them to career opportunities where art and technology co-exist.

In this GMSCA interview, we invite you to meet Sophia Dubrovsky, Alex Trestman and their sons, Luka and Ethan, ages four and two, respectively. This interview was conducted by Amy Blanton, GMSCA Communication Coordinator, and fellow Montessori mom.

We were excited to recently catch up with Sophia and her family to learn more about them! It was such a pleasure to interview Sophia as she is a beacon of kindness, warmth and light. You may recognize Sophia from the GMSCA Events Team. Last year she led the effort to organize our school's International Fair which is an annual event held in late January. 

GMSCA: Hi, Sophia! Thank you for being our first GMSCA feature family for 2016. We are so excited to chat with you! Tell us about a bit about your family!

SophiaWe moved here from Connecticut and remain in Greensboro mostly due to the community we've found at Greensboro Montessori School. Alex works for Honda Jet, and I have my own consulting company called Plant Based Made Easy. Luka started at Greensboro Montessori  when he was 18 months old and is now in his second year of Primary in Isabelle and Gail’s classroom, and Ethan just started his first year in Toddler with Skye and Marie.

GMSCA: How did you end up at Greensboro Montessori School?

Sophia: We toured the School when Luka was just 14 months old. I immediately felt at home, especially in the gardens. I knew instantly that this is where I wanted my kids to spend their days. I love the exposure to the outdoors, and the opportunity they have to develop into their own people. It is a very lovely, cozy environment that I felt would allow Luka (and later Ethan) the freedom to explore. Greensboro Montessori is not a cookie cutter program; it gives children the opportunity to mature into their own interests. That was important to our family!

GMSCA: Tell us about your involvement in the GMSCA.

Sophia: Being part of the GMSCA has been wonderful! All of our family and friends live in Connecticut. It wasn’t until joining the GMSCA that I felt like I had found my tribe. We love how community-focused the School is, and it has given us a reason to grow roots in Greensboro. Volunteering is a great way to meet other families. You can volunteer as much or as little as you want. I’ve loved being a room parent for Luka's and Ethan’s classrooms; it’s a great way to be involved with the life of the school and support the teachers. Last year I was the chair of the International Fair and it was an incredible experience reaching out and learning about all the different cultures represented at our School. If anyone is looking for a way to get involved with the community, show up to our next monthly GMSCA meeting.

GMSCA: We can’t wait to see what is in store for this year’s International Fair in January! Tell us more about your sons, Luka and Ethan.

Sophia: Luka and Ethan are both adventurous and charismatic boys, and Greensboro Montessori has been instrumental in Luka’s growth over the last four years. I love that he has a place to explore without the pressure of workbooks or homework. Ethan just enrolled this fall and the toddler program is a great outlet for his strong desires for gross motor play.

GMSCA: You mentioned you run your own consulting firm. Please give us a window into your work with Plant Based Made Easy.

Sophia: I am passionate about nutrition and sharing with the community about how easy and monumental a plant-based diet is for your whole family! I offer cooking classes, consultations, and I frequently post reviews and recipes on my blog.

GMSCA: Thank you so much for your time and for sharing about your family, your work and your deep connection to our School!

If you are a parent of a Primary student then you may have wondered about the square pieces of paper with tracings of geometric shapes that your child brings home in her work folder. When she tells you what it is, you may ask her to repeat herself because it sounds like she is calling them "metal insects." Secretly, you think to yourself, "funny, these don't look anything like insects." And you would be right!

These designs are made with a fundamental Montessori material known as the Metal Insets. 

The Metal Insets, predominantly found in the Primary and Lower Elementary classrooms, are used to develop a core set of skills that build upon one another in sequence.  In the Primary classroom, this material is the first direct preparation for handwriting. The introduction to the Metal Insets usually follows a lot of indirect preparation for handwriting that is developed through the use of the Practical Life materials and the Sensorial materials (e.g. the three finger pincer grasp used with the small tongs, eye dropper, and knobbed cylinders aids the child in correct pencil grip).

"In this way...children perfect themselves in writing without actually writing." - Dr. Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method

Becoming proficient in using a writing instrument is a long process. When children work with the Metal Insets, they engage and practice a host of fine motor skills including lightness of touch, evenness of pressure, continuity of line, and control of line.  Not to mention, this work also aids children in the development of concentration, memory and a sense of order (all necessary for executive function).

The physical material that is displayed on the shelf is both beautiful and organized in appearance. The Metal Inset materials consist of ten geometric shapes that each fit into a corresponding metal frame (like a puzzle piece). There are five straight-lined figures and five curve-lined figures:  square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, trapezium, circle, oval, ellipse, curvilinear triangle, and quatrefoil. The shapes correspond directly to the curves and angles found in the letters of the alphabet.

Beyond preparing and strengthening the hand for handwriting, there are 7 different presentations of Metal Insets that increase with difficulty starting with the simple tracing of shapes to the gradation, design and superimposition of shapes and colors. Lower Elementary students often revel in making intricate patterns by combining the shapes and observing their geometric proportions and relationships to one another, laying the foundation for true work in geometry.

Click here to learn more about the Metal Insets on www.montessorium.com

“I fell in love with teaching again when I came to GMS."

The 2016-17 school year marks Sandra Lee’s fourteenth year of teaching Spanish at Greensboro Montessori School. For seven of those years she has been leading our 8th graders on their capstone experience end-of-year field trip to Costa Rica where they engage in a tremendous cultural exchange program with our sister school, the Summit Montessori School in San José. Through Sandra's stewardship, our Middle School students benefit from the unique opportunity to experience life immersed in a different culture, testing not only their language abilities but their capacity for adaptation, selflessness and citizenship.

While in Costa Rica, our students are paired with a host family and develop friendships with the middle school students at Summit Montessori School. Those formative relationships make lasting impressions on our students and help give them a deeper perspective of their role and responsibility as a global citizen. Sandra says, “What I love most about this program is that our students get to experience a very different reality and way of life when they are there. Plus, learning language has a lot to do with necessity, and while our students are in Costa Rica they may be staying with a host family that has very limited English. In those situations, their Spanish is essential.”

Sandra accompanies the 2016 field trip to Costa Rica.

Sandra accompanies the 2016 field trip to Costa Rica.

Sandra has taught students of all ages at Greensboro Montessori School. When she first started teaching to GMS in 2003, she taught Spanish in the Primary program. “I have never been more creative than when I taught at the Primary level because for children at that age, you have to be ready to adapt your lesson in a moment’s notice.” After a few years in Primary, she moved up to teach Spanish in Lower Elementary and then Upper Elementary. Now she is a leader and mentor for our team of Spanish faculty, including Susana D’Ruiz and Rossana Aranda, and thoroughly enjoys collaborating with her other colleagues while teaching  in Upper Elementary and Middle School.

“One of the reasons I have loved working with Middle School is because of the strong relationships we end up having with our alumni. My former students often come back and tell me how much they are using what they learned in my classes. I know many GMS alumni who took Spanish 4 or Spanish 5 classes while they were in high school and their fluency is amazing."

Regarding the Spanish curriculum at GMS, Sandra says “since there is no specialized Montessori training for Spanish language teachers, over the years I have developed a hybrid Spanish curriculum that incorporates Montessori lessons together with more traditional teaching methods. I weave together web-based learning through a customizable web program called Conjugemos, textbook learning through Realidades (a traditional source also used in Guilford County Schools), and coordinated lessons with my Montessori colleagues. For instance, in Upper Elementary I work in tandem with the lead teachers to present Spanish lessons in geography and grammar right after the students have had the same lesson in English. It creates a greater context for their learning and makes it more relevant for the kids.”

Sandra holds a bachelor’s degree in English education from Universidad de Talca, Chile and always knew that she wanted to be a foreign language teacher. It is a funny coincidence that instead of teaching English to her fellow Chileans, now she helps the students of GMS immerse themselves in the language and culture of her home. But Sandra wasn’t always a Spanish language teacher. When she first moved to the United States in 1985, she worked as a technical translator and senior editor for AT&T and Lucent Technologies. How did she find GMS? Well, soon after her oldest daughter Isabella was born, Sandra began to explore preschool programs and landed at GMS at the recommendation of her extended family members whose children were already enrolled. Isabella enrolled in our Toddler program in 1998 and that was the beginning of Sandra’s journey with GMS. “I fell in love with teaching when I came to GMS,” says Sandra.

In a recent interview Sandra described GMS as a place that feels just like home. “The kids and my colleagues make me feel so good about myself and my work. The school has been a tremendous emotional support for me over the years and I really love teaching here. Everywhere I go in Greensboro, I see someone I know from my GMS family.”