text:
Listings in Health & Personal Care, Home Inspection and Real Estate Services in Massachusetts
MEDAlert - Personal Medical Information
in Low Cost, Healthcare, Senior Care, Electronics & Wireless, Personalized Products, Work from Home, Level 1: Under $500
MEDAlert™ makes personal emergency medical information available using today's technology, storing information on a compact digital memory device. It gives emergency professionals instant access to important information for providing the best care.
93 Main Street
PO Box 365
Connecticut 06248
United States
Review this
Home Inventory Business
in Low Cost, Accounting & Tax Services, Insurance Services, Real Estate Services, Home Inspection, Maintenance Services, Storage & Organizing, Personal Insurance, Work from Home, Level 1: Under $500, Real Estate Services
A valuable & in-demand service that can be easily started in your area. Now is the time to take advantage of this unique opportunity. Be the first in your area to offer homeowners protection & peace of mind by starting a new business today!
93 Main Street
PO Box 365
Connecticut 06248
United States
Review this


text:
There are no items in your cart at this time.
Sign up to receive new arrival, sale & special event info from us.
Note: we do not share your personal information with anyone. Period.
"Dear Footwear etc. This is my first order and your service is really excellent and off the hook. I am so amazed how fast the turn around is and today I am heading out to the gym with my new MBT Boost Shoes. Thank you so much. I have recommended you to my friends and family. Keep up the excellent work."
©2020 Footwear etc.. All Rights Reserved. For any questions or assistance call 1-800-720-0572.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hammered, Solar Quartz Hoop Earrings. Beautiful and unique quartz with windows of mossy inclusions highlighted by a handcrafted and hammered tear shaped hoop earring. Gleaming strands of delicate cable chain hang through center. These handcrafted hoop earrings can be crafted from either 14k gold filled metal or sterling silver. You will love the light weight of these earrings and the ease of wear as the neutral colors go with everything.
This listing is for the hoop earrings only.
To see the solar quartz open hoop earrings, click here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/517915232/solar-quartz-earrings-dangle-earrings?ref=shop_home_feat_3
To see the solar quart briolette simple necklace, click here:
Earring length from ear wire to bottom of hoop: 2 inches
Hoop width: 1 1/8 inch
Why Gold Filled is better than plated? Quality!
It contains 100% more gold than gold plated. With proper care, it lasts a lifetime. It looks exactly like karat gold. It's affordable. It regulated by the government whereas gold plated is not. The chain, hoops and findings in this jewelry is 1/20 14k gold.
3-5 business days
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 7 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 14 days of delivery
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Jewelry is shipped in either a white shipping box or padded envelope for smaller items. All jewelry (except large beaded bracelets) are shipped in an anti- tarnish plastic bag which is placed inside a satin grey bag with Laura Hunter Handmade Jewelry stamped outside. Perfect for keeping your jewelry nice or for gift giving.
If your item is a gift and you would like me to add a note to the recipient, please contact me directly through Etsy's messaging feature.
All geode and druzy/drusy is unique and one of a kind. I do my best to pair geodes and druzy for earrings based on color or size. With that being said, when you order a pair of earrings the druzy will NOT be identical. This is what I find interesting and beautiful about these earrings.
Feel free to contact me if there is something specific you have in mind. I am happy to try to accommodate requests. Some geodes are color enhanced.
These are real sliced stones not plastic or glass. They are beautiful and delicate. They hold up well in jewelry when treated with care. If you drop your earrings or necklace on hard surfaces like travertine or granite, to name a few, it will cause damage or breakage. This is not a craftsmanship issue. I provide backs to earrings to keep them from slipping out. Necklaces have a secure S clasp and stay fastened around the neck.
Please treat your geodes with care and you will have jewelry that lasts for years and years.
Most photos are samples only. You will NOT receive the exact piece pictured UNLESS it is stated in the listing that it is one of a kind. I photograph most jewelry using a macro lens to show detail. Please refer to the sizing in the listing for accurate size.
If you have any questions or special requests I will be happy to try to accommodate them. Please use Etsy's contact feature for inquiries.
This is a handmade micro-business. It's just me making each piece of jewelry with care. My processing time to make the jewelry is 3 - 7 business days unless otherwise noted on the listing.
I generally offer either USPS First Class Mail or Priority Mail. When I generate your shipping label, Etsy will send you a tracking code. I can not guarantee USPS' shipping times.
Please contact me directly about UPS, FedEx or other upgraded shipping.
ON A DEADLINE? Need it for a birthday or before a certain date? Let me know and I will work with you on accommodating your need.
All Etsy's Return/ Exchange Policies Apply.
EU has 14 days to contact me for return/exchange.
Build your own Druzy necklaces are custom items: You can choose your geode slice/ druzy on my blog. You will find this information in the listing. If I don't hear from you about which druzy you would like, I will choose for you. Custom Items are not returnable.
Chains: I can not return/exchange a chain on a necklace. You can purchase a new chain for your necklace. Please contact me for details.


text:
First Song From Sage Francis' 'Li(f)e' Debuting At Pitchfork Now
Pitchfork.com is currently premiering "Slow Man" the first song off the new album Li(f)e by celebrated iconoclastic rapper Sage Francis. The song is a unique collaboration originating from a musical composition by Arizona based Tex-Mex, alt-country rockers Calexico. The music was subsequently arranged by lyricist Francis and recorded in studio by Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of experimental folk ensemble Califone under the guidance of producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, Gomez).
The end result is an intensely captivating and moody blues tinged shuffle which powerfully complements Francis' soulful, world weary delivery and unconventionally ruminating lyrics: ""If you can't keep up to speed with the mother ship and can't take the heat then your man needs the oven mitts. I can't be the judge of it. These hands bleed because they reached for some answers and got trampled by a stampede of know-it-all homogeneous types. The look-alikes. The kids burn my music and the parents burn the books I write. "
"This song went through quite the journey before it became the official version people are now hearing." Francis explains. "It's been over a decade ago since I had my short stint as a resident of Brooklyn, NY but much of the song has me reflecting back on that time, applying it to my current living situation. I'm not sure if it was because of the energy of that city or because I was still young and impressionable, but it definitely made its impact. Everything between now and then seems like a blur, but of course back then nothing was moving fast enough for me. The slow man likes to hurry up and wait."
Li(f)e is the innovative fourth album by Sage Francis and features additional collaborations with artists Jason Lytle, Tim Fite, Yann Tiersen, Mark Linkous, Chris Walla, DeVotchKa, and Jim Becker and Tim Rutili of Califone. Li(f)e will be available May 11th via Anti Records.
To hear the song Slow Man off Sage Francis' new album Li(f)e at Pitchfork.com, just go href="http://pitchfork.com/news/38306-premiere-sage-franciss-slow-man/">here>.


text:
Duchess Kate was spotted in a Berkshire petrol station today by Jade Armitage who was travelling through when two land rovers pulled up and Kate stepped out. Jade very kindly shared a photo she took via Twitter.
|Jade Armitage Twitter
Jade described Kate as "beautiful".
|Jade Armitage Twitter
Kate bought a packet of Mini Cheddars, a brand of baked cheddar cheese biscuits, which have a granular crumbly texture unlike crackers. Mini Cheddars are a very popular snack, and perhaps the Duchess is craving the savoury snack?
William and Kate are most likely spending New Years with the Middleton family at their home in Bucklebury, Berkshire as they did last year. It is also possible William is working in Anglesey at the moment as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot. The couple spent Christmas Day with the Middletons before travelling to Sandringham for Boxing Day where William participated in the annual shoot and Kate attended a picnic. The Duke and Duchess were notably absent from a Church Service at Sandringham today obviously because they had already departed the Queen's Norfolk residence.
Kate wore a cream sweater quite possibly her Zara basic sweater which she wore during a visit to the Widehorizons Adventure Centre in June. The colour of Kate's sweater looks lighter but that could well be due to the quality of the photo which appears to have been taken from a distance.
Kate also wore the sweater on a shopping trip to Peter Jones.
|Farrah Zerrai Twitter
Kate teamed her sweater with a short skirt, brown belt, blue scarf and what appears to be her Russell and Bromley 'Charge It' black suede boots.
|Russell and Bromley


text:
9 x 12 inches
Limited Edition of 100
Archival pigment print on 100% cotton archival paper.
Unframed: 9 x 12 inches
Full Bleed: 10.5 x 13.5 inches
Float: 12.5 x 15.5 inches
Signed by Horace Panter
This print is shown with Bar and Frolic Room by Horace Panter.
Each PCP edition is crafted in the USA by master screen printers.
Premium quality is extremely important to us, and a great deal of consideration is taken in our selection of materials. Your print has been crafted using the finest 100% cotton archival paper and high-quality inks that are able to withstand time.
Prints are individually numbered, embossed with the PCP seal and validated by a certificate of authenticity.
Visit our Why PCP?section for more about what makes our products so special!
We offer custom, made-to-order framing options that are built to last and will never go out of style.
Full Bleed, frames your artwork directly to the edge, letting your artwork bleed under the edges of the frames.
Floated, raises your art ⅜" in front of the mat board behind it, offering the work a sense of depth and drama while showcasing the artwork and artist signatures.
Shipping is FREE on framed orders.
Each frame is custom made with the utmost care, please allow 15-24 business days to receive your order via FED-EX. At this time, framing is only available for customers within the USA. Shipping on framed orders is free.
PCP uses DHL and the United States Postal Service (USPS) for international shipments. Shipping rates and options vary based on location.
DHL Express (2-6 business days)
* Insurance and tracking fees are included in your shipping cost.
Priority Mail International (7-12 business days)
* Insurance and tracking fees are included in your shipping cost.
Fees are determined and collected per specific country. PCP is not responsible for duties and/or taxes on shipments.
Our shipping days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with the exception of national holidays.
Generally, orders will ship within 1-3 business days of purchase. 95% of the time, we ship within 24 hours of receiving your order. Priority Mail orders placed after 10am PST will ship the following shipping day. The cutoff for Express shipments is 12pm PST. Orders placed after that will ship the following shipping day. We are not responsible for USPS delays due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.
PCP can deliver to P.O. boxes as well as APO addresses using USPS.
All packages returned to PCP by USPS, either because of insufficient addresses or attempted deliveries, will be the responsibility of the customer. If the package is returned to us, the customer will have to repay shipping charges again before PCP re-ships the package.
PCP is NOT responsible for package lost or stolen packages. If tracking shows that a shipment was delivered and the customer did not receive it- the customer will need to file a report with USPS directly. No replacements will be made for lost or stolen packages.
You'll receive tracking information via email once your order is placed. You can login to the order status page on our website and see the current status of your order. Packages can also be tracked via USPS's tracking service using your tracking number. Please Note: Sometimes, the package travels faster than the website is able to update. If you don't see your package in route, please be patient.


text:
Artificial Grass in Uk
Looking for quality artificial grass suppliers in Uk?
Easy to maintain, always looks good, and a range of prices depending upon quality and fitting, it is easy to see why more people choose an artificial grass lawn. Ideal for small areas especially with children and pets, but also available commercially for large areas such as schools and other sporting facilities.
Artificial grass costs and sizes
Most suppliers in and around Uk offer artificial grass in 2m or 4m widths and are priced by length but typically the price range from £10 to £30 a square metre depending upon quality. At these prices it is obviously much dearer than natural turf and on a par with the cost of carpets inside your home!
Thickness can range from under 10mm to 40mm and the look and feel varies so much. Many suppliers will offer free samples but a visit to your local major DIY stockist will allow you to look and feel which quality is right for your budget.
Laying artificial grass yourself or installed
Yes you can lay artificial grass yourself but as always preparation is the key. You need to dig out the surface area, remove any hard objects such as stones, ensure a firm base, lay a base of fine stone or sand and even a membrane to avoid weeds growing, and consider how be edged and retained. There are plenty of guides available online that provide good advice but many people will choose to have a professional fitting.
Expect to pay the same for professional installation as for the product itself.
Density and colour of artificial grass?
The pile height is important but so is the density which is often reflected in the weight of the product and therefore the price.
Not all artificial grass is green! If you remember the days of the first products they looked a bit anaemic but now nowadays, and some appear greener and more natural than others. For a more realistic look to turf there are options of a brown fleck in the pile.
What can go wrong laying artificial grass yourself in Uk?
More reason to have a professional fitted lawn can be imagined by some of these instances: Dogs pulling up the edges and not properly secured, uneven surface due to insufficient base, weeds appearing as no membrane was installed, wet areas as the ground was not even or sufficient drainage aspects were addressed. Get the picture?
Please use google search below for more information.


text:
- PrintMag
Print's October 2013 Issue
By: Print Magazine | September 19, 2013
Behind every graphic design is the heart and soul of a great story. In this issue of Print Magazine, we look at storytelling from every angle, from an authentic narrative that sets a brand apart to interactive storytelling that brings the reader in and engages them like no other story could, we even share personal stories from designers themselves. After all, every successful designer is really a great storyteller at heart.
PURCHASE COPY or PURCHASE PDF | DOWNLOAD SINGLES | SUBSCRIBE (In Print or iPad Version)
Cover design by Wendy MacNaughton.
Grids+Guides Wine barrels become art; designers give advice; an exhibition walks you through a story; tattoo artists with graffiti style inspire a book
Evolution Today's stock photos have their roots in 16th century engravings and 19th century "cuts" that were popularized by printers.
Interview Storytelling guru Stanley Hainsworth shares his secrets for creating brand narratives that people connect with.
Dialogue Will Gay, creative director for Disney's Yellow Shoes, shares this beloved brand's approach to storytelling
Observer Many graphic designer's don't read comic books or graphic novels. Find out why you should give this medium another look
Cover Stories How do book cover designers tell a story that makes us want to read the one inside? Learn more about the ins and outs of book cover design and get the scoop on 7 brand new covers. By Michelle Taute
Behind the Brand How do you find a brand's genuine backstory? Kit Hinrichs ad Alina Wheeler share their advice and present case studies of successful branding projects. By Melissa Mazzoneli
Graphic Content 8 intriguing tales from a new book full of essays from graphic design's most celebrated creatives By Brian Singer
Inside Story Playful designs pull audiences into the narrative. Read about 3 creatives who have turned interactive storytelling into a contact sport. By Karli Petrovic
Propaganda: The Art of Lying The word propaganda is nearly synonymous with lying. Here, we examine 5 works that are steeped in subversive storytelling. By Steven Heller
Reflections on a Puddle A visual essay by Debbie Millman, one of the industry's most notable storytellers. By Debbie Millman
Reviews Reviews: Chip Kidd's new book aimed to teach children about graphic design; New interactive game that elicits both a competitive and emotional response; Claire Lui on Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love" latest book cover, Douglas Wolk with the story behind Eleanor Friedberger's "Personal Record" album
The Last Word Seymour Chwast signs off with Oscar Wilde.
#design #bookdesign #StevenHeller #PrintMagazineTOC #SeymourChwast #graphicdesign #Printmagazine #inspiration #storytelling #branding


text:
A dog�s tail is a perfect communication device. Since dogs don�t speak Mother English, their tails are their primary communication. Once you figure out their body language, you�ll know a lot more about them. That�s important if you don�t like dog bites.
No. 1, dogs, unlike humans, do not tell lies. Their tails are a strikingly honest window to their souls.
There�s a lot of tail research happening. Really. Check out Psychology Today. Sophie Collins� book �Tail Talk� cracks �the secret language of dogs.� Or ask your letter carrier. Carriers are dog experts, given their years of coping with them at nearly every house.
The studies even have a name, �tail reading.� That makes them official.
OK, here�s the overview. And yes, we have most of it wrong.
We think a wagging tail means a dog is playful and happy. That�s only partially true and can be dangerous. A stiff wagging or moving in slow motions means �Warning: I�m in attack position.�
I noticed this with our doxie Lily. When she does her guard dog thing, her tail is wagging. I thought she was having fun, but no, that�s a preparation for attack.
We often think a lowered tail indicates a dog is ill or sad. Most often it means Fido simply is relaxed.
Our concept of �tail between the legs� is true. Fido is retreating from something he fears or he is shy. He probably has been abused. In extreme cases, it means �don�t hurt me.� If you see this, be aware. If the dog feels cornered, an attack may result. Let the dog come to you, not you to him.
We rescued our dog Amber. We were certain she was taken off to the pound on a leash. That�s why her tail went between her legs when we wanted to walk her, and she refused to leave the safety of our house.
Our Lily was rescued from a terrible life in a puppy mill. Dogs don�t forget these sort of things. When humans are beasts, dogs begin believing all humans are beasts.
When somebody comes into our house, Lil goes into self-protection mode. He tail wags stiffly. She�s barking and we believe she�s saying, �You�re not taking me away from here.� It takes her quite a while to be convinced this is not true.
Now we get to the good part. A happy, friendly wag is unmistakable. The whole rear end wags, too. A big dog then may knock you down in his unbridled joy to see you. Down boy.
Lily has no concept of time. She greets us the same way if we�re gone 10 minutes or eight hours. Her tail goes supersonic.
She wakes us up in the morning often with a tail in the face. Then she does her �I�m so happy to be here� tail dance. Amber did the same thing, except she chased her tail, probably to give it maximum emphasis.
Dog owners can be glad the Code of the Tail is cracked. It�s easy to understand and as obvious to humans as it is to other dogs. The United States is the only nation on earth where owners amputate the tails of some breeds. To a dog, that�s like losing a voice. What price vanity?
Contact Jim at email@example.com.
Jim Hillibish: Code cracked: Tails are a dog's loud voice
A dog�s tail is a perfect communication device. Since dogs don�t speak Mother English, their tails are their primary communication. Once you figure out their body language, you�ll know a lot more about them. That�s important if you don�t like dog bites.


text:
Green Fairy Quilts in owned by the incredibly talented Judi and her supportive husband. They specialize in Moda and Riley Blake precuts: Fat Quarter Bundles, Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs, Layer Cakes, etc. They always have the newest collections at great prices. In fact, everything in their shop (even brand new collections!) is 25% off through Monday, July 9.
Be sure to visit Judi's blog to catch a glimpse of her crazy-incredible quilting talents too!
Thanks so much Judi!


text:
Look What You Can Make With - Plastic Foam Trays
We aim to fully disclose the condition of each that we sell to ensure that you will be happy with your purchase when it arrives. Therefore all books are inspected, cleaned and any minor repairs made, including covering any identifying signs of previous ownership. Books are then graded based on their condition, the grade appears in the book description, below is a guide which outlines some of the key indicators which determine how a book is graded. Additional images of any items listed are available on request.
- New (Unopened/Unused) OR
- Gently used (Like New)
- Minimal amount of creasing to spine
- Minimal discolouration to pages
- Dust jacket present (if applicable)
- No marking on pages
- No tears or rips on pages
- Used
- Minor creasing of cover
- Minor wear to corners of cover
- Minor reading wear to pages
- Minor discolouration
- Name or identification of previous owner covered
- Minimal highlighting or note-taking (minimal pages highlighted or notes in pencil)
- Well Used
- Spine may be creased
- Scuffing on hardcover edges / corners
- Wear to cover corners
- Cover may have discolouration and / or creasing
- Pages may be discoloured
- Markings and note taking do not interfere with readability
- May have slight water damage
- May have some minor tear(s) (repaired)
- Very Well Used
- Numerous marks
- Heavy creasing, folds in pages
- Badly discoloured pages
- May have water damage or warped pages
- No text is obscured and book remains readable
- Does not make the grade but too good to throw out
Please note that books that have been listed in a particular category may have all or some of the indicators shown above.
Where possible we will provide a photo of any significant faults on the listing, however if you have any questions or would like to see additional images for any of our items listed, please feel free to contact us by using the Contact Us page or eMail Us.
Perth Metropolitan Area - Delivery / Postage
Thrifty Teachers does not offer "Free Postage'
Cash on Collection - No Longer Available
Note: Any orders that have not been paid for at time of placement will automatically be cancelled as we are no longer able to accept cash on collection orders.
Local Pick Up - Singleton
As soon as your order has been picked, Thrifty Teachers will notify the customer either by email or SMS for the preferred day & time for collection.
The SMS / Email is considered a 'Quote' and the same conditions apply should the order be cancelled. For full details please see https://www.thriftyteachers.com.au/pages/refund-policy
- Deliveries are made on Saturdays (Unless otherwise arranged)
- Deliveries cannot be made to a PO Box or Parcel Locker Box
- Free parking must be available close to the delivery address. In the event, delivery is attempted and no free parking available the order will be returned, if a delivery fee was paid, this fee will be forfeited, if the delivery was free a charge will be applied to the order for the failed attempt.
- Delivery Fees: (Perth Metropolitan Area Only)
- $10 All Orders Under $75.00
- Free All Orders Over $75.00
Regional and Interstate - Postage ONLY
- Orders are posted using Australia Post (Unless otherwise arranged)
- Order dimensions is used to calculate postage on orders (max 5kg per satchel) (as per Australia Post requirements)
- Customers can request
- Alternative courier/delivery service (at customers cost), conditions may apply
- Express Post, Signature on Delivery, Insurance (Additional cost will be incurred)
Postage Rates for Pre-Paid Satchels (Nationally):
Small 220 mm x 355 mm $ 9.20
Medium 390 mm x 270 mm $12.45
Large 310 mm x 405 mm $15.70
Extra Large 435 mm x 510 mm $18.95
** Oversize and Overweight Orders - Quote Provided Prior to Dispatch
Request a Quote for Postage
- Acceptance of quote for postage / delivery must be received within 7 days of quote.
- If accepted, payment must be made within 7 days of acceptance
- If quote is unacceptable, a full refund will be provided, as long as orders are cancelled 7 days of receipt of quote.
- Should request for cancellation not be received within 7 days, the following conditions apply.
- Between 8 to 14 Days - Refund less 10% Admin Fee
- Between 14 - 21 Days - No Refund, Store Credit Only
- After 21 Days - No refunds or store credits, your order will remain on hold until payment is received
- In the event that orders contain a large quantity of items or we believe that the cost of postage will be high vs value of order, an estimate quote will be provided to confirm customers will accept paying for postage. Once received, the order will be picked and final exact quote / invoice provided. Should customers then chose to cancel order, a 10% admin fee will be deducted from refund.
Thrifty Teachers makes every effort to make contact with customers by email and text, it is the customers' responsibility to ensure that all contact details are included and correct when placing orders. However it is also the customers response should they feel they have not received any correspondence to contact Thrifty Teachers either from the 'Contact Us' link at the store landing page or direct to email@example.com
Large Quantity Orders (over $75 value or more than 25 items)
These require a considerable amount of time to pick, quote and package. Therefore an interim quote will be provided to give an indication to the potential cost of postage. Once indication that you are happy to proceed, the order will be picked and packed.
Please Note: In the event that postage is not paid and order cancelled a 10% admin fee will be deducted from the refund.
Postage Days
All postage orders are lodged at the Post Office no later than 4:30 pm WST on the following days:
Monday - Orders placed after Thursday 6pm and before Sunday 6pm pm WST
Wednesday - Orders placed after Sunday 6pm and before Tuesday 6pm WST
Friday - Orders placed after Tuesday 6pm WST and before Thursday 6pm WST
Note: The above days/times indicate the latest, in a majority of instances postage, is lodged the same or next day.
Bulky / Oversized / Overweight Items
Some items are bulky and cannot be posted using satchels, in these instances, please contact us and we will provide an individual quote, based on the cubic measurements of the items to be posted. We do our best to minimise the cost of postage as much as possible.
If additional charges are applicable, you can choose to accept the charges or cancel part or all of your order. For further information regarding additional charges see below or, please feel free to Contact Us.
Additional Postage Charges
In some cases, additional postage charges may apply to your order, for reasons such as:
- Incorrect postal charge selected at check-out (e.g. selected Perth Metropolitan Rate for Remote or National delivery address)
- Weight (orders over 5kg will be provided with an individual quote - based on final weight, dimensions and delivery location prior to despatch)
- In some instances, Australia Post may charge an additional fee for items that do not comply with their size restrictions.
In the event that an additional charge applies to your order, you will be notified by email prior to your order being dispatched and given the opportunity to accept the charges or cancel part or all of your order.
Delivery Times
Please refer to Australia Post delivery time calculator here (enter 6173 in the 'From' box).
Cash on Delivery (COD)
Thrifty Teachers does not offer Cash on Delivery (COD).
* Minimum order now $75 - updated 13th September in conjunction with huge price reductions throughout the store.
* Australia Post Price Increase as at 30th September 2019 Here
We are happy to offer discounted postage for our regional and interstate customers who order Over $75.00 for a discounted rate (Excludes Express Parcel Post or Orders that do not fit into a pre-paid Australia Post satchel and require customised packaging) - We do not offer FREE Postage.
Interstate Orders
XL Satchel (3kg to 5kg) - ONLY $11.00 (normally $18.95)
Lge Satchel (1kg to 3kg) - ONLY $ 7.85 (normally $15.70)
Med Satchel (500gm to 1kg) - ONLY $ 4.70 (normally $12.45)
Sml Satchel (up to 500gm) - ONLY $ 1.50 (normally $9.20)
Western Australia Orders
Orders will be delivered FREE of charge within the Perth Metropolitan Area, discounted postage will apply for all Western Australia regional/postal orders, which will be based on the weight and dimensions of the final order.
To qualify for this offer:
- Orders must total more than $75.00 (excluding postage / delivery fees)
- Items must weigh comply with required weight and size dimensions and fit into a Pre-Paid Australia Post Satchel.
- 1 x discounted postage satchel per $75 order value, e.g.
- Orders $ 75 - $149 = 1 x Discounted Satchel
- Orders $150 - $224 = 2 x Discounted Satchels
Incorrect, not as described or damaged itemAll products are checked and packed safely to avoid and minimize damage in transit. Should you receive a product that is damaged, incorrect, or not as described, please contact Thrifty Teachers within 5 business days of delivery so that we can assess your claim and discuss refund or exchange options. Please note:
- Refunds will be made to the same credit card (or tender type) that was charged for the original purchase.
- If a product is returned for any reason other than it being faulty, an incorrect item or not as described, the customer will be liable for postage.
- You are not entitled to a refund if faults with the product were indicated in photos or in the item description on the website at the time that you purchased the product.
- You are responsible for the return of the product, if your refund is approved you will be reimbursed the cost of standard postage by providing copies of the original receipts showing costs. If the item is returned using Express, Next Day or courier without prior approval from Thrifty Teachers in writing, refund of standard Australia Post costs will only be given.
- As soon as your refund has been approved we will aim to have your credit processed as quickly as possible.
- For refunds of the return postage copies of the original receipts must be provided before a refund can be issued.
Change of Mind (excludes 'Orders on Hold')For orders that have already been dispatched, we are unable to provide a refund for 'change of mind'. However, store credits may be provided, excluding delivery or postage fees. The following conditions apply:
- Cost of returning the items to Thrifty Teachers to be at the customer's expense.
- Any discount on postage or delivery provided with the original order will be deducted from the store credit, if applicable.
- Charge for delivery will be deducted from order if 'free delivery' was provided with the original order.
- Items must be returned within one (1) week of receipt.
- Items cannot be accepted after this time frame.
- Store credits cannot be used to pay for postage or delivery charges or with any sale or promotion.
- All items returned must be in the same condition as dispatched.
- Refunds will be provided in the same method as the original payment of the order.
Quote for Postage
After receiving a quote for postage, should you wish to cancel your order, a full refund will be provided if the order is cancelled within seven (7) days of the provision of quote. However, should the order be cancelled after the 7 day period, the following conditions will apply.
Please Note: Orders that select "Local Pick Up Singleton" a text or email requesting time and day for pick up is treated as a 'quote' and same conditions apply, should the order be cancelled.
- Between 8-14 days- Refund Less 10% Admin Fee
- Between 14 - 21 Days - Store Credit Only
- After 21 Days - No refund or store credit available, your order placed on hold until payment for postage received
Stocktake / Sales
At various times throughout the year, Thrifty Teachers will undertake a stocktake, as we generally only have one of each item available, we are unable to offer refunds, store credits or amendments to orders during these times
- No refunds, store credits or amendments will be available during these times, orders that are pending payment of postage or change of minds.
* For orders 'On Hold' please see separate terms and conditions in respect to cancellations and change of minds here!
Thrifty Teachers makes every effort to make contact with customers by email and text, it is the customers' responsibility to ensure that all contact details are included and correct when placing orders.
Errors and OmissionsThrifty Teachers makes every effort to provide accurate pricing and product information. Because of the dynamic nature of this industry (e.g. supplier price changes and other variables beyond our control), prices, promotions, versions and availability advertised are subject to change without prior notice. Please be assured of our every effort to ensure the accuracy; however, the documents, text and graphics published may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Thrifty Teachers makes no representations about the suitability of this information; it is provided as is without warranty of any kind. If an error is made or a product is listed at an incorrect price, Thrifty Teachers shall maintain the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed. If the order has been confirmed and charged to your credit card, Thrifty Teachers shall immediately issue a refund.
Return of Item for Refund or Exchange
The address for return or product will be provided to customer on request should an item qualify for refund or exchange.
We recommend when posting your item that you get a tracking number, which is standard with postage of all parcels with Australia Post. Thrifty Teachers is not responsible for the product during transit and is unable to issue a refund if the product is lost and not received. Should you need to deliver your order to Thrifty Teachers please contact us to arrange a mutually agreeable time.


text:
Mid-week laughs are always available– just check out Chopped Chumps!
Grace Curley was born in Milton, Massachusetts. In 2014 she graduated from Providence College. She started working at the Howie Carr Show shortly thereafter. She is now an Executive Producer and a columnist for the Boston Herald. She has a daily news segment on the show in the 4 o'clock hour. She reads Hate Mail Monday and Police Blotter Fax Friday every week. Her expertise includes celebrity break-ups, reality TV and pop culture news in general.
Prev Post
Next Post
Comments are closed.


text:
Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront Hotel: 2105 Hotel Reviews
- Mackinaw City Hotels
- Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront Hotel: Hotel Reviews
- Traveler Review #17725
Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront Hotel
Traveler reviews
114 rooms on property
Hotel Website
Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront HotelAAA rating
Traveler reviews
505 South Huron AveToll-Free: 800-944-1615
Mackinaw City, MI 49701
Mackinaw City, MI 49701
114 rooms on property
Hotel Website
FREE Wi-Fi
FREE Breakfast
FREE Indoor Waterpark
Make a Reservation Write a ReviewLakefront Rooms with private European style balconies. Close to Mackinaw Crossings, featuring free nightly laser show, concerts, live theater. Adjacent to Mackinac Island Ferry Docks & Restaurants. Free 25' Breakfast Bar. High Speed Internet Access, Indoor Pool & Oversized Whirlpool. Unlimited access to new waterpark across street. Honeymoon suites with heart-shaped jacuzzis. Hair Dryers, Irons, Boards, Air Conditioning, Color TV with HBO. In room coffee.
- #2
- of Mackinaw City Hotels from Traveler Reviews
The Best Western Dockside has earned the highest AAA rating in Mackinaw City for quality and service. We are conveniently located adjacent to Mackinac Island Ferry Service and across the street from the main shopping district.
Our luxurious lake front rooms, extravagantly decorated, overlook the beautiful Straits of Mackinac and Lake Huron. Each has a private balcony.
Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront Hotel is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on 2105 user reviews.
Traveler Review
Friendly Staff at Check inTraveler Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Best Western Plus Dockside Waterfront HotelBest Western Plus Dockside Waterfront #17725 stayed October 2020. Sandy from WaterfordFriendly staff at check in. Staff was helpful on their recommendations of places to dine. Housekeeping was doing very good job. In these times of Covid 19 everyone was masked and if guests forgot they were quickly reminded to mask up.
Reason for staying: visting the area


text:
Come together with other parents for coffee and friendly conversation. This month's topic is how to use basic Montessori principles at home to resolve and even avoid conflicts with your children by fostering their independence. Heather Harvey is the presenter. Please REGISTER HERE or in the office.
You are your child's first and most influential teacher.You set the tone for your child's love of learning from the very start and it is you who bridges the gap between school and home. But how do you begin to create a "Montessori" environment in your home? We can help!
Join us for "Bringing Montessori Home: A Parent Development Course on Practical Life" on Wednesday, January 27th from 6:00-8:00 pm. Our teachers will demonstrate activities you can use to prepare your home environment to nurture your child's independence. From getting dressed in the morning, to preparing lunch or snack, to cleaning up and putting away toys - you will get hands-on presentations to help you help your child to "do it myself."
Everyone who attends will also receive:
Soon your child will be pouring his own juice, chopping his own vegetables, and cleaning up his spills while you marvel at the confident and independent individual he has become!
This event is open to the public but registration is required and limited to the first 40 families to sign up. There is a $20 supply fee per family for the take-home materials.There will be NO CHILDCARE offered for this adults-only event. Please register today online. Deadline to register is January 20th. REGISTER HERE or in the office.
An MSGL preprimary student prepares carrots at home using a chopper and cutting board of her own.
Dozens of MSGL students are enjoying increased independence at home thanks to the "Bringing Montessori Home" parent development night held January 21, 2015. Thirty parents and grandparents attended the 1 ½ hour event that offered live demonstrations of Montessori-inspired activities children can do at home as well as hands-on activities, and an introduction to the Montessori philosophy.
Small groups of parents rotated through three different classrooms to observe and take part in presentations. Dena Saunders and Emily Frazier presented Care of Self and Care of the Environment. Getting dressed, caring for plants and pets, and cleaning up spills were some of the topics covered. Dena elicited "oohs and aahs" from one group when she demonstrated how to use masking tape to make a square on the floor so a child can easily sweep spills into a dust pan.
Angie Shamo and Machelle French demonstrated how to put together a few simple art activities on a shelf at home for when a child wants to work creatively and independently. The cutting strips, which consist of thin, sturdy paper strips on a tray with a pair of scissors, allow the child to practice cutting safely and successfully. Another suggestion was to offer just three colors of watercolor paints at a time - in the beginning - so a child can successfully create a painting without all of the colors mixing into brown. Families were also given the school's popular recipe for making play dough at home.
Many parents tried their hands at peeling and chopping carrots and peeling clementines in the food preparation class led by Anita Trent and Ana Ramirez. Each activity was arranged as it could be in the home, including child-sized tools. Hand-washing and serving etiquette were also discussed as these are important aspects of food preparation for young children. While one parent offered sliced carrots to the group, Anita said, "Imagine how it feels for your child to serve you just like you have always served your child."
After the presentations, many parents said they were excited to try these activities at home with their children. They also felt that some of the things their children were already doing at home, such as preparing a salad and feeding the fish, meshed nicely with the Montessori philosophy.
Each family received a selection of child-sized items to use at home.
Each family in attendance received a materials bag containing a child-sized vegetable peeler and chopper, a small pitcher, a dust pan set, cutting strips and scissors, child-sized sponge and towel, and a hook to hang the child's coat or book bag at a level where she can reach it. Families also received a custom-made photo book - created by the teachers - that reviews materials covered in the presentations as well as offering additional ideas and resources.
Materials bags and books are still available for purchase in the office for $10.
Thank you to everyone who attended! MSGL plans to offer "Bringing Montessori Home" again next year and will include new activities and take-home materials.
I was excited to capture this video of a preschool friend doing the 9 Layout recently. The 9 Layout is a Montessori math activity that presents the ideas of place value and increments. Beads representing ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands are counted and matched with the numerals. Here, my friend has completed the ones place and has started the tens. She is adding bars of ten until she makes ninety. (You might turn down your volume. The background is a bit noisy.)
What I noticed when I reviewed the video is how she stops to reflect after each increment. She moves the bars up, adds one, then sits back to review or reflect on the work. This is one of the beautiful aspects of Montessori - or really, just scientific pedagogy in general - the child doesn't need a teacher to step in and say, "Great! That makes 60!" All she needs is to see how to do the work then be allowed to do it. When she is all finished with the tens, then she looks up at me. My mentor, Don Czerwinskyj, made sure I understood the importance of offering a child a reflection when they were finished with work. He told me to wait for the child to finish and watch her face when she looks up. Is she pleased? surprised? excited? confused? Wait for her to assess her own work before offering any feedback. In this child's case, when she looked up at me and seemed satisfied, I said, "Ok. You did it! You completed the tens. Are you ready to count the hundreds?" She said she was and she continued.
A friend of mine told me recently about visiting a preschool where every child's work was praised lavishly. Every painting or block structure was met with, "Oh my! That's the most beautiful picture/castle/birthday cake I've ever seen!!" Montessori educators try to avoid empty praise because it causes children to look outside themselves - rather than inside - for affirmation. Just like adults, kids have opinions about their work and their performance. If a child is happy with her work then we can be happy for her. If she is unsatisfied with her work or feels she doesn't understand it, we can offer empathy, advice, or suggestions - depending on what's needed.
When this student was finished with the work, I snapped this photo just as she added the last thousand cube. She was pleased with herself, as the photo shows.
Now, because my job is to observe and assess her understanding of the concepts she was learning, I noticed that she had only stacked 8 cubes, instead of 9. This was no time for criticism - look at that beaming face! So I commented on how pleased she was with her work. I asked her if we could count all of those cubes. When she got to 8 thousands she realized that she needed one more. She added one more cube, we counted them again together, and I said, "There are 9 thousands and this says 9000. Is that correct?" She said it was, and together we determined that her work was complete. She then put all of the materials away.
Sometimes we think our grown-up words are essential to motivate children to learn and to keep them on track. But most of the time, we could get by with a few words and more time simply observing and offering reflections. Rather than saying, "That's a beautiful painting," we could say, "Wow! You used 5 different colors in this painting. Do you have a favorite?" It requires more work for us to look so carefully before commenting, but it shows the child that we are truly interested in her work. And, we are interested in the process and not just the product.
If words fail us, we can always try those three little words everyone loves to hear, "You did it!"
~ Heather
A child explores the knobbed cylinders.
"Gradually the children begin to concentrate. One day one child, another day two or three children. After they have concentrated the children are different. They become detached and work for themselves. The disorderly children begin to love order. They all become so orderly that disorder is an extraordinary thing." - Maria Montessori, The Child, Society, and the World
"Gradually the children begin to concentrate. One day one child, another day two or three children. After they have concentrated the children are different. They become detached and work for themselves. The disorderly children begin to love order. They all become so orderly that disorder is an extraordinary thing." - Maria Montessori, The Child, Society, and the World
"Normalized" is the word Maria Montessori coined to describe children in their natural state. She believed that a "normal" child is one who is able to focus on activities that interest him and, through these experiences, he constructs his personality. A normalized classroom is one in which the children interact peacefully while exploring activities that introduce them to the world. Montessori described a normalized classroom this way,
"A room in which all the children move about usefully, intelligently, and voluntarily, without commiting any rough or rude act, would seem to be a classroom very well disciplined indeed." - The Montessori Method.
"A room in which all the children move about usefully, intelligently, and voluntarily, without commiting any rough or rude act, would seem to be a classroom very well disciplined indeed." - The Montessori Method.
At the beginning of the year, Montessori Toddler and Preprimary classrooms are far from normalized. Some children shout, wander the room, and maybe even throw objects or dump materials on the floor. There is crying and spilling. Messes are made and not cleaned up. Disagreements arise. Those first few weeks can be wild, indeed! In traditional educational methods, teachers might respond to these behaviors with reprimands and punishments. In Montessori classrooms, the teachers respond with redirection to purposeful work.
For example, when a new three-year-old is wandering the room and disturbing the work of others, a teacher will take him by the hand and present a new material to him. If he has shown an interest in counting then we might present the Hanging Bead Stair. When this work is completed, we assist him in finding another activity that calls to him.
While polishing the sailboat, a child tunes out everythiing else around him.
Whatever the activity the child is redirected to, the aim is always the same: to develop concentration. Concentration is the key to a child's natural development and all learning takes place in a state of concentration. We can think of ourselves in our adult lives to get a better understanding. When you need to study for your GRE exam, what do you do? Do you head to a busy shopping mall to work on your laptop in the food court with your friends, or do you choose a quiet place? If you need to paint a room in your home, do you do it in the afternoon when the children are busy around your feet or do you save it for those glorious, quiet mornings when they are at school? Adults relish those moments when they can concentrate and really focus on their work without interruption. Children also relish those moments, but they must first know what concentration feels like.
This is what a Montessori classroom does: it provides an environment where children are free to concentrate - without interruption - on work that is essential to their development. A child who is excited and distracted by all the activity around him will transform into a peaceful, thoughtful individual when he is able to concentrate on a work he enjoys. Because concentrating and being in control of his body feels better than thrashing around wildly and causing mayhem, he continues to seek out other activities that allow him to feel this way.
Since concentration is the ultimate goal of every activity in our classroom, we are reverent of it when it appears and we do not interrupt it for any reason. If all learning occurs during a state of concentration, it would be illogical to interrupt a child's concentration in an attempt to "teach" her something. Corrections, points of interest, fixing a lock of hair that has fallen over her eye, picking up the pencil that rolled off the table, reminding her to wash her forgotten snack plate - we must do none of these things. In fact, when a child begins to concentrate on an activity, our job is to quietly step away and behave as though we are not in the room.
"The great principle which brings success to the teacher is this: as soon as concentration has begun, act as if the child does not exist. Naturally, one can see what he is doing with a quick glance, but without his being aware of it." - Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
"The great principle which brings success to the teacher is this: as soon as concentration has begun, act as if the child does not exist. Naturally, one can see what he is doing with a quick glance, but without his being aware of it." - Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
Dressing the baby doll and fastening its clothes requires great concentration. Some children choose this activity nearly every day.
Eventually, in a few weeks or even months, the classroom has been transformed from a noisy, chaotic scene into a peaceful, happy place to learn and play. We have seen this transformation begin in our classrooms. The children are beginning to put their belongings in their lockers and walk quietly into their classrooms. They greet their friends warmly, but not loudly. They choose work, complete the work, and put it away when they are finished. They choose to work with a friend or by themselves. They tap us on the shoulder when they have a question. They pour their own water for snack and wash their dishes when finished. They use the toilet without assistance (although assistance is always available.) They are also preparing to read, write, and count to 1000 - but when you are a young child, those accomplishments are of secondary importance compared to the ability to control one's body and interact peacefully with friends.
Your children always benefit from opportunities to concentrate on an activity. You can provide these opportunities at home by providing space and, most importantly, time for them to focus on just one thing. Maybe painting with watercolors, washing the breakfast dishes, watering the plants outside, looking at the spider web by the front door - let her look and explore for as long as she wishes. Be available to answer questions, but don't obey your urge to jump in and explain everything you've ever heard about spiders or tell her all about color theory. Let her concentrate and formulate her own ideas and questions. When her curiosity is satisfied and she is ready to turn her attention elsewhere, you may notice that she looks refreshed and relaxed. This is a sign that she is learning and making new connections in her brain! Dr. Montessori observed that, "The child who concentrates is immensely happy."
Do you have a story about concentration from your life or your child's life you would like to share in the comments below? We would love to hear about it.
May you find yourself concentrating and immensely happy in the week ahead. Thanks for reading.
~ Heather
Following Friends to Physics
Free play and building with logs and boards is a realistic way to explore physics concepts. MSGL has an outdoor space that allows for more than just "recess." Outside time is not a chance to get away from the classroom, it's an opportunity for children to use their whole bodies to learn and, most importantly, have fun with friends.
On Thursday, a quartet of boys was getting very silly in the back corner of our Montessori classroom. They were speaking with outside voices and using all available paper to make pretend swords so they could have a pretend swordfight. When I tried to redirect them, they asked to make paper airplanes and see whose would fly the farthest. Although Montessori teachers are known for their flexibility and laid-back grooviness, I could not condone sword-fighting and airplane-flying during class on this, only the second full week of preschool. What would people say?
I empathized with these friends because they wanted to play together and needed to actively move their bodies, but it was still 30 minutes before we (read: I) could even think about going outside where this type of gross-motor play was appropriate. They took a half-hearted interest in another activity and I sat at a table nearby to observe. When they realized I was there to stay, they started putting away their work and chanting with dead eyes and sad voices, "No more fun. No more fun. No more fun." It would seem I had officially become "the man." They went to the other side of the room to build a tower with the brown stair and the pink cubes and within minutes, they were using the smallest brown stair as a lever to launch the smallest pink cube across the rug. Clearly, they were trying to tell me something.
What these boys wanted was action. They are perfectly willing to come in each morning and work on their maps or practice writing their names, but after a time they really want to make things move. And it's not just the boys, of course. Girls thrive on kinesthetic learning activities and they are usually the first to line up to walk across the log seesaw.
In fact, all young children are kinesthetic learners. Most mature into adolescents who can learn successfully through watching and listening, but not all. As long ago as 1979, researchers studying how humans learn understood this:
"Restak (1979) and others have indicated that many students do not become strongly visual before third grade, that auditory acuity first develops in many students after the sixth grade, and that boys often are neither strongly visual nor auditory even during high school. Therefore, since most young children are tactual and kinesthetic learners, such resources should be developed and used, particularly for those who are experiencing difficulty learning through lectures, direct verbal instructions, "chalk talks," and textbook assignments."- See the full article at Education.com
"Restak (1979) and others have indicated that many students do not become strongly visual before third grade, that auditory acuity first develops in many students after the sixth grade, and that boys often are neither strongly visual nor auditory even during high school. Therefore, since most young children are tactual and kinesthetic learners, such resources should be developed and used, particularly for those who are experiencing difficulty learning through lectures, direct verbal instructions, "chalk talks," and textbook assignments."- See the full article at Education.com
No one is suggesting that preschoolers should be taught through lectures, but sometimes society (or maybe our high school principal's voice in the back of our head) worries us into thinking that if we don't make our children sit down, concentrate, and learn - how will they ever be successful in school or the Real World that supposedly comes after?
Parents sometimes ask, "When will you teach him to sit still and listen to the teacher?" The answer is that he will sit still and listen when what I am saying is of interest to him. It's my job to find the topic that is so fascinating to the child that he can't help but hold his body still so as to not miss a single word. A teacher's job is to be fascinating; but only until the child is so interested in the subject that he sets off to explore it on his own. At that point, the teacher observes and prepares for the child's next question then guides him to find the answers on his own. (Please note: Matters of health, safety, and courtesy are always addressed immediately. No one in the classroom has the freedom to hurt themselves or to hurt or disrupt others.)
Maria Montessori observed that not only do young children learn kinesthetically, they absolutely MUST learn this way for proper brain development.
"Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside. Through movement we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts that we eventually acquire even abstract ideas." - The Secret of Childhood
"Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside. Through movement we come in contact with external reality, and it is through these contacts that we eventually acquire even abstract ideas." - The Secret of Childhood
So, as a good teacher who believes in a research-based approach to education, I am obligated to consider the kinesthetic learning style of my preschool students. I am also obligated to follow a child's interests because a child who is studying something she is interested in, as opposed to an externally-imposed curriculum, is much more likely to retain that information and build connections in her brain. So why were we still inside the classroom and NOT outside studying the physics of flight and simple machines? Because I didn't know they were interested until Thursday. But now I do.
As a result, my assistant and I will be following our 3, 4, and 5-year-olds into the action-packed world of physics this week starting with the simple lever. We will spend a little extra time outside on the log seesaw for some major gross motor exploration, then we will scale down the kinesthetic experience to make smaller levers inside the classroom using blocks, rulers, pennies, rocks, and pompoms. We will introduce the appropriate words such as "load", "effort", and "fulcrum" and we will figure out how many pennies it takes the raise the rock load. I will do my best to be fascinating. There may be squeals of joy and pompoms flying through the air, but no more "No more fun."
Thanks for reading,
MSGL Summer Camp is open to Preschoolers through 1st Graders who are currently enrolled or recent alumni and while it is a really great time for all of those kids who have been here before, it is especially helpful for children new to MSGL and for the toddlers who are graduating to preschool. For these children, Summer Camp is the perfect way to ease into the routines of preschool and to set the stage for a successful start in August.
The absolute best part of being a Montessori directress - or ANY teacher, anywhere, I imagine - is watching the children develop and grow. We spend time with your children each day, observing and guiding them, and we get to see them just as they are in that moment. And what they are, as Grace Harvey says, is "totes amazeballs" (totally amazing). They grow in strength, wisdom, and courage right before our very eyes.
Today I will just speak to their courage because courage is the thing that gets your child through his or her day without you. In more stuffy circles it might be called confidence, but when you are only 28 inches tall and mom or dad just drove out of the parking lot, you've got to be brave to pull yourself together, to turn to face that great big green space filled with people you don't know and sally forth through the rest of your morning.
Maya Angelou said, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistenly without courage." During last week's Summer Camp, there were many examples of children developing their courage and I will share a few.
During Friday's Bike Day, a 4-year-old friend who enthusiastically embraces everything at school stopped his bike right at my toes, looked out at the cars going by on Sagamore Parkway, and said, "I miss my dad and my mom. And my little brother. And our dog. And they are missing me, too." I listened and commiserated and soon he took off speeding around the course. His courage waned for only a moment then he got back on his bike.
The 5-year-olds are totally courageous (one might even say fearless) out on the bike course and they consider their turn during Bike Day to be a race even though there is no starting line and no trophies. As they put on their helmets, their talk is all about who will win. When D missed his turn to ride with his fellow 4-year-olds, he got to ride with the 5's (a truly courageous decision) alonside his big brother. After the race, D was a little upset that he didn't "win." His big brother reassured him, "No, you DID win, D! Did you see all those people going by you? That's because you won!" (Just a note: We have a lot of siblings at camp this year and even though we know sibling rivalry is a real thing, you couldn't tell by watching these brothers and sisters interact at school. Whether it's inviting a little sister to play or feeding a little brother apples during snack, your children take good care of each other when they are away from mom and dad.)
The exploding paint activity required all different types of bravery, especially from the teachers. For this activity, the children put a scoop of baking soda and some colored vinegar in a plastic baggie, sealed it and shook it up before throwing it on the ground to watch it explode. If there was no explosion the child could take a pin-puncher and pop the bag. Loud noises, spraying liquids - it's not an experiment for the timid.
Courage hung thick in the air under the willow tree on Friday as children experimented with the log seesaw. Little ones who started out holding our hands as they walked the length of the log until it dropped to the ground were able to do it by themselves after seven or eight attempts. One group of brave 5 and 6-year-old girls inspired their younger sisters and friends to walk the seesaw and soon there there were eight girls waiting in line for a turn. These are some of the same girls who regularly show others how to draw pictures of princesses and fairies in the classroom. For me, this experience was a reminder that when we worry that a child is "only drawing" or "only playing" it's time to take a break and get a cup of coffee while the children follow their interests.
Maria Montessori observed that by using their senses and their big, beautiful brains, children can naturally learn everything they need to about their world. All they need is a caring community of adults to prepare an environment where that learning can occur. She described it this way, "The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences."
MSGL provides such an environment in our classrooms and on our beautiful campus that has been created by you and other parents like you. When you bring your child to Summer Camp next week or to Preschool this fall, you are allowing her to bravely conduct her own experiences apart from you. And that requires real courage from both of you.
See you soon!
Seen outside Globe Willow class: "I wish this was a boring school and it was longer so I can finish my work."
What did your child do at preschool today? You can try asking, but often they will say they did nothing or they "played." The most common question I receive from parents is, "How can I know he is doing anything at school? He never tells me anything and his cubby has been empty for days."
Please believe me, your child is doing something. A lot of stuff, actually. But he may not remember "doing" anything at all that day. And his accomplishments often cannot be held in the hand or seen with the eye at pick-up time. If he could tell you, it might sound like this:
I concentrated today!
When someone asked to play with me, I said yes.
I looked at the caterpillars in the jar - for a very long time. Then my teacher read me a book about butterflies. Twice. Because I asked.
I sat next to a friend who was labeling the lifecycle of the frog. I handed her the labels and helped her match them. I got her a paper towel when her fingers were gluey.
When everyone was talking about bees I told them, "Bumblebees don't sting. Only honey bees sting. Bumblebees just bumble." Everyone agreed with me.
I looked at a real chicken egg and a real duck egg. I said the duck egg was bigger.
I used the very heavy tortilla press to make playdough tortillas. My friends helped and we laughed. None of us pinched our fingers.
I compromised about sitting in the comfy chair.
I served myself a snack, ate it politely alongside my friends, and cleaned up after myself.
I felt sad - just for a little bit - because I missed my mom.
I noticed that the lizard's food bowl was empty and cut some lettuce for him.
I waited for a turn on the orange bike.
I heard that a friend is going to Korea for the summer and I gave him a hug to say goodbye.
A preschooler's greatest and most important work often doesn't have any external product to show for it. Having and being a friend, acting out of kindness, demonstrating patience and self-control, taking care of oneself, feeling satisfied with a job well done - these things are all internalized. The children in our classrooms build their character and their understanding of the world every day, but they can't always verbalize it. They are doing so much challenging work! But they do not yet see their actions and successes as separate from themselves.
After a sunflower seed sprouts in the garden we might notice as the stem grows taller, but we cannot see the acts of photosynthesis and respiration and transpiration that take place every single day. The sunflower plant continues to do its work converting sunlight to sugars and sugars to fuel - the internal work of living - whether we take notice or not. Then, one day it blooms and we look at it and say, "Finally!"
Maria Montessori believed that the child reveals himself through his work, not through his outwardly visible successes and accomplishments. Every experience he has is internalized and becomes a part of his very being. She put it this way, "The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul."
Stories from their day and recorded work, like the blooms of a sunflower, are parts of the child we can see and they might be pleasing to us, but they are only the product of a monumental amount of internal work. So please don't worry when your child says she did nothing all day. Nothing to grown-ups can be everything in the life of a child.
Lots of peace, lots of love ~ Heather
Photo courtesy of Lena Atkinson
What is Montessori?
Rather than explaining what Montessori is, I am offering an excerpt from an article that does a beautiful job of describing what Montessorians do. Maria Montessori's Decalogue is a set of 10 rules for adults working in a Montessori classroom. It is relevant to parents, grandparents, and caregivers of all types who strive to relate to children peacefully and respectfully in any environment.
I hope you will enjoy this expanded version of the Montessori Decalogue as written by The Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
The Montessori Decalogue
1. Never touch the child unless invited by him (in some way or another).
Unless there is a very strong reason to (like avoiding an accident, for example), one should never touch a child unless a child requests it. Picking up a child without the child's consent, even if in a playful manner, or grabbing her hand, pushing her, etc., should always be avoided. If children are engaged, looking at a book, working, playing, resting, the same principle applies. Children invite contact in many ways, and parents and adults in general, who work with children, know how to interpret the signs they send. It is important also to respect a child when she is angry and does not want to be touched or picked up.
2. Never speak ill of the child in his presence or absence.
Speaking ill of a child, or making negative comments about a child, either in the child's presence or absence, denotes lack of respect for the child. It also sets a frame of mind and denotes an attitude that is negative and conducive to confrontation—and not always open! Preconceived ideas often linger as negative thoughts and breed reactive behavior. If an adult falls into this trap, it is very easy for a lack of patience and negative attitudes to creep in and damage the relationship with the child.
3. Concentrate on strengthening and helping the development of what is good in the child, so that its presence may leave less and less space for what is negative.
If adults focus on negative behavior, children will feel inadequate. This will result in low self-esteem, and a self-fulfilling prophecy like behavioral patterns will take over. Negativity will become second nature. Instead, by focusing on what is positive, the child will feel safe and confident. Children are learning what is and is not acceptable behavior can and cannot be done, etc. They do not need punishments or rewards. Simply to be shown what is and is not acceptable, by adults that model appropriate behavior.
4. Be proactive in preparing the environment, take meticulous and constant care of it. Help the child establish constructive relations with it. Show the proper place where the means of development are kept and demonstrate their proper use.
If the child is presented with a prepared environment, there is little need for much more. Again, modeling appropriate behavior is essential. A child that is shown an orderly environment will likewise feel encouraged to keep it orderly. If a child has available manipulatives she can handle, play and work with, rather than things she cannot touch, she will feel at ease to explore the world around her. If objects are at reach, that the child may break or hurt herself with, she should be shown how to handle them, rather than told "don't touch!" A kitchen is a world full of wonder for a child! Cutting, cooking, stirring, pouring, etc., are all activities the child will want—and need!—to master in order to become independent. Include the child in as many activities as possible at home, from cleaning to cooking; there is enough to keep any child busy and engaged all day long.
5. Be ever ready to answer the call of the child who stands in need of you, and always listen and respond to the child who appeals to you.
There is nothing worse for a child than to feel insecure and ignored. Abandonment is a feeling no child should have to live with. "If a child asks for attention, then that child needs attention," stressed Montessorian Margaret Homfray. When people brush a child aside and say, "she just wants attention," that person is missing the point: a child only wants attention when she needs attention. Children who feel cared for and do not have to worry about being abandoned, even if for a short time, are far more likely to care for others and show concern for and trust others, than those who experience this sort of "cold shoulder" treatment. Also, "timeout" and "go to your room and stay there" approaches are also expressions of abandonment.
6. Respect the child who makes a mistake and can then or later correct it herself, but stop firmly and immediately any misuse of the environment and any action which endangers the child, its own development or that of others.
Avoid rushing to correct mistakes a child has committed. Children are learning to cope and function. They will persist and practice to their heart's content whatever skill they need to acquire, until they master it. If a child starts throwing things around and disrespecting the environment, by all means, stop her. Yet, explain why you had to stop her. Reason and listen to what the child may have to say. Maria Montessori said that "a child's first tantrums are the first ills of her soul." There is always a reason for everything. Try to bring the reason to light. Punishing, isolating the child, etc., will only feed her pain, and burry deep those reasons—she will learn to hide rather than communicate.
7. Respect the child who takes a rest or watches others working or ponders over what she herself has done or will do. Neither call her nor force her to other forms of activity.
A child that is idle is often not idle at all… Children need to be given space to find what it is they are interested in and want to do. Once they do, they pursue their interests with unrestrained passion and perseverance! A child that is observing other children or adults is also learning. If the child is resting, she is not being lazy and doing nothing just lying there—she is most probably processing information, observing, reflecting on something she did, or saw, or is planning on doing.
8. Help those who are in search of activity and cannot find it.
Be sensitive to the needs of the child including differentiating when apparent inactivity is inner activity, or in contrast, a child is simply lost. A child in search of activity and unable to find it is usually restless. If sitting or lying down, it can be noticed that she is not "engaged;" she is not resting, but simply lost and prostrated. There is a thin line that separates these two worlds. It is the adult's responsibility to observe carefully and find out the signs—often very different from child to child—that can reveal what the child is experiencing. Abandonment differs from rest and contemplation.
9. Be untiring in repeating presentations to the child who refused them earlier, in helping the child to acquire what is not yet her own and to overcome imperfections. Do this by animating the environment, with care, with purposive restraint and silence, with mild words and loving presence. Make your ready presence felt to the child who searches and hide from the child who has found.
A child may need to be shown the right way to do something, say a word, express her feelings or acquire any sort of new skill, many, many times. One should never grow tired of repeating it, such as reading the same bedtime story or singing the same jingle. Children seek perfection in all they do until they reach a level which meets their needs (not what the adult may think "perfect" is, or means.) To be always available but not intrusive is an art. When a child needs help, she will ask for it. When a skill has been acquired and the child no longer needs assistance, adults should respect the child's new acquired or reached level of independence.
10. Always treat the child with the best of good manners and offer her the best you have in yourself and at your disposal.
Children who are respected will learn to respect others. Giving the child the best one has to give helps the child learn that you are someone she can count on, and teaches her to also give others the best she has to give. It is important the way Montessori puts it, "the best you have in yourself," as if to say, always reach higher, but do not feel dismayed if you fall short, and "the best" that you can give is not the best you think or know you should give. If your best manners are not always what they should be—a common feeling parents harbor when children seem to be pushing their patience beyond the limits, do not lose heart. The way Dr. Montessori put it, is basically this: have realistic expectations towards the child, and yourself too. Give the best you have to give, but don't feel guilty if you fall short. Simply keep striving to improve and always do your best. If you commit a mistake, giving the child your best may well be recognizing it and apologizing. "Amy, Mommy got upset and shouted. That was not nice of me. I am sorry." Children also need to recognize mistakes, learn to apologize, and that parents are not always perfect.
These are basic principles. What Montessori strives for is to protect the child from all sorts of negative influences that can create deviations in the child's spirit and psyche. To preserve the natural curiosity of the child, help her find her interests, protect her passion for learning, foster it and let it grow in a healthy way. In this way, the child can contribute her best to society. This is conducive to world peace, as Dr. Montessori envisioned it, and Montessorians believe is possible. It takes passion, it takes commitment, and it takes working together.
- Excerpted from Montessori: Committed People with a Passion for Children by the Mammolina Children's Home Montessori Kindergarten in Beijing, China.
I had the great pleasure of working in my former classroom today and it reminded me of why the three-year cycle in Montessori classrooms is so beneficial, not least of all, to the teachers.
Our Montessori preschool classrooms are composed of a mixed-age group of children who remain, ideally, in one classroom for three years. A child starts at age three and stays through her Kindergarten year. This is called the three year cycle. Each of those years brings new and unique learning opportunities for the child. As a three-year-old, the child observes her older peers and benefits from their experience. As a four-year-old, she starts to see herself as one of the "big kids" and expands her social circle. In her Kindergarten year she is recognized as a leader and takes pride in helping others.
When I took a sabbatical at the end of the school year in May, I left behind children who had been in my classroom for one or two years. I was able to catch up with many of those students today when I visited the classroom. I observed that two of "my" third-year students, I'll call them S and K, were part of what Montessorian John Chattin-McNichols calls a "roving pack of 5-year-olds." They were wandering around with some other boys and mixing it up a little. I knew these two boys when they were just barely three years old. I knew them before they could consciously control their bodies at group time and even before they could dress themselves successfully. Now, here they were - big, bold 5-year-olds and I was curious to see who they had become eight months after we last worked together.
Angie, my dear friend and the lead teacher of my former class, shared with me that S and K had been working on the squaring and cubing chains in the math area, so I asked them about those activities. They were eager to show me what they had already done and tell me what came next. Within a few minutes, they broke off from the pack and were ready to master the 10 cubing chain.
The 10 cubing chain - or 1000 chain - is a concrete representation of 10 cubed. It's made up of one thousand pea-sized beads organized into bars of ten. The bars of ten are attached at the ends to make a chain. Children are ready for this work after they have mastered the 1 - 10 squaring chains and the 1 - 9 cubing chains. This video from the DuPage Montessori School in Naperville, Illinois provides a good overview of how the squaring and cubing chains are presented in the Montessori classroom.
The 10 cubing chain is nearly 30 feet long so it must be laid out in the hallway outside the classroom. So, off to the hallway we went.
S and K divided up the tasks between themselves. One carried the rolled-up mat and the other carried the chain. We established the space we would use in the hallway and K unrolled the mat while S went back into the classroom for the number tabs. We discussed how they would sort the tabs on the tray and move it down the mat as they worked.
S found the 1000 tab. He knew it went at the very end of the chain but he left it on the tray. There was a pause before they started and I asked what number they would start with. S said, "We have to count them all."
That is certainly one way to do it. But when a child is ready for the 1000 chain, he is generally ready to complete it without counting every number because he can now count by tens and hundreds. Once you trust that 10 is ten, you don't have to count it again.
I asked if they thought they could first put tabs on the hundreds. Yes! They were sure they could. Together, we counted the bars as 10, 20, 30 and so on until we got to 100. S got the 100 tab and marked that spot. K quickly grasped the system and immediately went to work sorting out all of the hundreds tabs in a separate group so that S could place them. This was my cue to find something else to do. I went back inside the classroom to assist Miss Angie while the boys marked off every 100th bead on the chain with the appropriate tab.
They repeated the process, stopping after each bar of ten. K was the sorter, S was the placer. "150! I need 150," S said. K had it ready. There was never any disagreement, that I heard, over who would do which task. They just got started and they each found their niche as they went. And they were really digging their work.
They started the cubing chain work at 9:45 and I checked in with them every few minutes. They finished at 11:00. One of them stopped to use the bathroom then went straight back to his work. Other children would step into the hall to see what was happening and then go back inside to their work.
Sometimes I checked on S and K without speaking and other times I acknowledged their progress. Once, I said I would be back to check on them in a bit unless they needed some help. "We need some help," S said. They could not find the tab for 590. I suggested they leave a space for that number and they could put it there when they found it. They never found it, but they were able to move on without hesitation.
As they got to the very end, S picked up the 1000 tab and started to place it under the 1000th bead. K said, "Hey! We decided we would put that one on together!" And so they did. That's when this photo was snapped.
If you had asked me three years ago if these children were developing normally and if they were going to learn to read and write and grow up to be compassionate humans I would have responded, "Of course they will!" But in the back of my head there would have been a tiny voice saying, "What if they aren't? What if they are never able to sit in a chair for more than 8 seconds? What if they never learn to put their shoes on by themselves? What if they show no interest in reading? What if they always write six as 9?"
That doubtful voice is a familiar one to parents because most of us only get to experience the development of one or two children. We fear we will do something wrong and our children will not achieve their potential. Preschool teachers should know better because we get to observe hundreds of children over the course of our careers, right? But sometimes, even with years of experience, we forget that our job is simply to prepare a nourishing environment. It is the child who must do the work of building the man.
In 1949, Maria Montessori offered us some guidance in our quest to relax and trust that each child will reveal himself as a competent and confident being in his own time. In The Absorbent Mind she wrote, "...for while, in the traditional schools, the teacher sees the immediate behavior of her pupils, knowing that she must look after them and what she has to teach, the Montessori teacher is constantly looking for a child who is not yet there."
Dr. Montessori also implemented the three-year cycle in our classrooms to give us enough time to look for that child and see him before he moves on to primary school.
I am not at all surprised that S and K can count to 1000 by tens and hundreds. I am not surprised that they can recognize 3-digit numerals or that they can prepare, complete, and put away their work. I am not even surprised that two 5-year-old boys willingly work together on a math material for 1 hour and and 15 minutes with only a bathroom break and very limited guidance. I've seen it before.
I am surprised at the sense of joyous relief I feel each time children reveal themselves in this way. It's an experience that never gets old. I suppose that's the ultimate reward of being a teacher.
It is important to say that you are your child's most important and influential teacher. You set the tone for your child's love of learning from the very start and it is you who bridges the gap between school and home. Sometimes this can feel overwhelming.
So please join us for "Bringing Montessori Home," a Parent Development Opportunity on Wednesday, October 9th from 6:30-8:00 pm. Kelly Sallee will be presenting ideas you can use and materials you can make to prepare a home environment that will nurture your child's independence. We hope you might also share how you use the Montessori philosophy to help your child be successful in your home. Register in the office or call or email firstname.lastname@example.com today!
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 9th
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Location: MSGL
Classroom: To Be Decided
Childcare available - call,
sign up in office or email Lena at firstname.lastname@example.com.
We hope to see you there!
Two years ago, before their daughter was even old enough to enroll at MSGL, Zoe Neal and Desiree Chuang made an historic donation to our school. Owners of Virtuous Cycles in downtown Lafayette, Zoe and Desiree gave us a bright orange Strider balance bike to try out on the tricycle track. It soon became the most beloved of all the bikes because it is the only two-wheeler and it has no pedals. And most importantly, it goes FAST! Well, it goes as fast as the square bike track will allow and with all of the tricycle traffic? The bike track is sometimes more like the intersection of 52 and Salisbury when Purdue heads home for the day. Still, it feels really fast.
Old School
On the bikes of my youth and quite possibly yours, I learned to pedal with a set of training wheels attached to the hub of the back wheel to keep the bike, and me, upright. I learned to pedal the bike but never felt what it was like to be truly balanced on two wheels. When the training wheels came off I wasn't really ready at all. I had to learn to balance, and quickly! - and my parents had to watch. Spoiler alert: we all survived.
New School
Balance bikes let a child master the balancing part - the most challenging part - of riding a bike, first. When you are coasting on a Strider bike with your feet not touching the ground it feels exactly like riding a bike. You ARE riding the bike, you're just not pedaling it. And since many children already learned to pedal on a tricycle the year before, the two skills of balancing and pedaling come together nicely after they have mastered the Strider. Several online reviews point out that if a child can walk she can ride a balance bike, so some children skip the tricycle stage altogether.
Maria Montessori observed the importance of a child developing his sense of balance. She created activities such as walking on the line to help fine-tune this sense. At MSGL the Strider is an extension of that balance exercise.
Last year, the Franklin family donated a new, dark blue Strider and now the children can have a turn to ride in half the time. That's important because learning to have a turn and to wait for a turn is one of the biggest works of preschool. The children at MSGL and their teachers have come up with an almost fool-proof system for taking turns on the Striders and all the bikes. It came to be called the "waiting bench."
The Waiting Bench
The waiting bench is right next to the bike shed which is sort of the starting line of the bike track. The first two children take the bikes out of the shed and ride them. When another friend wants a turn, he sits on the waiting bench. This signals the riders that someone is waiting for a turn so they need to consider how many more laps they will take before handing the bike off to the next friend. Sometimes the rider stops riding and negotiates with the waiter.
Waiter: How many more times are you going to go around?
Rider: 10
Waiter: That's too many! How about 7?
Rider: How about 5? (When you're learning numbers and quantity, it's sometimes more important to pick a number you like than to negotiate for the most turns. Negotiation skills improve with experience :)
Once an agreement has been reached, the rider continues his laps while the waiter and his friends count down from 5 to 1. At the hand-off between rider and waiter, the cycle is repeated with new riders. Sometimes there are misunderstandings and an experienced child steps in to mediate. A teacher is always nearby to see what is happening and make herself available to help, if needed.
The idea of the waiting bench just sort of happened, like lots of great things happen in child-centered environments. It's possible that the teachers could have made an arbitrary rule about each child getting only 5 turns, but that would diminish the child's ability to make choices and consider the feelings of others. For example, 5-year-olds can recognize a child who is struggling with being patient and they will sometimes hand the bike over early to help this child. This leads to another cycle that I call the "Cycle of Benevolence." Benevolence is an inclination to perform kind, charitable acts. When a child sees a peer giving freely of herself to make someone else happy, it feels good. Soon, that child is looking for a way to help a friend. The cycle repeats and those kind acts and good feelings spill over into the community and, ultimately, the whole wide world.
Heike Larson, an administrator and blogger at Leport School in California, writes frequently of the importance of fostering benevolence in preschool communities. All of us at MSGL are inspired by her blog. She has also written about balance bikes on the Leport Schools blog here.
If you are considering buying a balance bike for your child, be sure to visit Virtuous Cycles to check out their selection of models and colors. Tell them MSGL sent you and be a part of the Cycle.
Families are drawn to Montessori schools for many different reasons. Sometimes parents are looking to continue in preschool the child-centered environment they have established at home. Others wish to see their children thrive in the our enriched classrooms. Still, other families choose Montessori preschools because they want their children to learn and socialize in a non-competitive environment. Whatever the reason parents choose Montessori, they often have many questions during their child's first year.
To help answer these questions, MSGL offers a 1 ½-hour Montessori Basics class each Fall and all new families are expected to attend. Preprimary teacher Kelly Sallee presented this year's class on September 25th to a packed house of over 40 parents and grandparents. Kelly focused her presentation on the Prepared Environment, the Sensitive Periods of a child's development, and the Role of the Teacher. If you were unable to attend this year's Basics, follow this link to read more about Kelly's presentation. Below are a few tips for new parents.
Kelly's Tips for New Montessori Parents
Do your best to control the environment, not the child. Organize the child's belongings to help him be independent and successful.
Don't worry if your child is unable to sit still or to focus for long periods. "Even when we feel they're not listening, they are learning."
What's in your child's cubby does not necessarily reflect their work because many activities have no "paper" component. Look at classroom photos and videos on SmugMug to see what the children are working on in class. Your child's teacher will also have this information available for you at parent/teacher conferences.
Give your child the gift of time. Try not to rush her through tasks. When a child is allowed to dress herself in the morning it may take longer but she will develop the skills necessary for independence.
Allow your child to work without interruption, when possible. Periods of uninterrupted work strengthen a child's ability to concentrate for longer periods of time.
Allow your child to complete tasks without correction. "I don't know any adults who walk around with their shoes on the wrong feet. They will figure it out with time."
Give your child the opportunity to be a third-year student. Our mixed-age classrooms allow children to move from being the youngest who look up to role models to being the role models themselves. "Children who are the youngest in their families need the third year to be the leader that they don't get to be at home."


text:
The Barcelona-El Prat airport in Barcelona (BCN), Spain is located in El Prat de Llobregat
The official currency is EN_el euro and the official time is the same as in Spain
EN_No requiere visados para ciudadanos europeos, pero recomendamos comprobarlo antes de viajar para el resto de nacionalidades en esta web .
If you need a hotel ...
We use our own and third party cookies to improve your experience and our services. If you continue, we consider that you accept their use. You can get more information on our website at cookies policy[Open in a new window].