Learning the old skills is direct communication from the Ancestors to the Children of the Future. In today's world, stepping into frontier living is like a metaphor the child can participate in and act out. Life is simplified to its bare essentials. Children learn to observe, to think to reach inside themselves for new resources in dealing with challenges and unfamiliar situations. They gain knowledge, wisdom and strength to enrich their lives in contemporary society. (Thomas J. Elpel)

An old American Indian proverb holds that "a People without knowledge of their history are like buffalo grass blowing in the wind." Knowing history is important to knowing who you are and where you are going. Consciously aware, the present moment is the point of power.

The feather graces the page as if guided by an artist. Letters become art when written using a feather nib, ink well and the heart. At Another Way Montessori, children learn the art of writing letters the old fashion way. They learn the control needed to lightly grace the page and create smudge free, heartfelt, handwritten letters; even using the alphabets peculiar to the 1700s. Who wouldn’t want to receive such a gift from a child?

The children are taught the technique and style of writing used by their ancestors by Mr. Richard James, a life member in the American Mountain Man Association, and a founder of several of the 1900s Rendezvous patterned after those of the 1830s. He has worked in making films, taught outdoor and historic skills classes and maintains a never ending study of books, artifacts and museum collections.  With a rich historical background coupled with hands-on experience, he brings timeless skills and coordination to the children.

Mr. James teaches frontier skills every other Monday to the older children attending Another Way Montessori. The core of this learning is based on the lifestyle of American Colonial frontier living.  It is keyed to recognizing and solving problems as individuals and collaboratively. Problem solving skills on this level can be parallel techniques for solving the problems that come with greater maturity and are as valuable in today’s modern technological world as they were 200 years ago – perhaps even more so. From these classes, students gain a much expanded awareness of the many skills and products encountered in everyday life.  And from this growth of awareness and skills, we note a new exuberance and change in dialogue as well.

The question: “What is the importance of teaching frontier skills to today’s children?” is certainly valid.   “It is really a teaching devise in problem solving and decision making: recognizing and identifying a problem, analyzing, proposing a solution and then acting on that decision to solve the problem at hand.  In our class, we isolate ourselves on the "new continent", beyond outside assistance, and discuss our basic needs:  food, water, shelter, transportation, defense, communication, tools and others . . .  We then set out to solve our problems with daub and wattle shelters, water, food, fire without matches, writing with a feather using ink of our own making, making a lead pencil out of musket balls. “This is a class of young people quite removed from those who have never had a chance to share such experiences,” believes Mr. James.

 Another Way believes through fostering independence, discovery and problem solving children can be encouraged to develop a creative, proactive style of learning. Another Way staff believes that today’s children will be facing an extremely challenging environmental, economic and social situation. Educational methods and environments designed to meet 19th Century Industrial standards will not prepare them for the 21st Century world. By restoring the innate connection between nature, humanity and the ancient wisdom of our ancestors while encouraging innovation and creativity, Another Way provides the children with an out-of-the-box education that will more effectively prepare them for the future.

The following listing gives examples of some of the things children will be making during the school year Most all materials fees are included in the tuition. There are some specialty materials such as those used in drum making that may include an additional charge. Parents can determine if they want their child to participate in this activity or not.

• Stitchery, Ditty Bag, making period clothing (frontier, mountain man, or American Indian), setting up a frontier camp, fire starting, the stories and lore of the times
• Medicine bag, beadwork and leather work, stories and lore
• Chokers, coil pottery, moccasin making, Fremont dolls, stories and lore
• Drum making, Atlatls, making a target, practice with Atlatls, Primitive games, the stories and lore
• American Indian music, Indian dancing, face painting, American Indian Sign language, the stories and lore

All activities are based on an apprenticeship model. All materials are authentic and replications of the period presented.

As stated in the article above, the intention of these workshops is to pass along the problem solving skills, the exceptional manual dexterity and ancient knowledge of our ancestors. The children learn the laws and ways of thriving in the natural world and can emulate the models presented to them. The experiences enhance their ability to creatively solve the complex problems that confront them in our ever-changing technological society. This occurs because the children become familiar with nature and the natural laws that govern the outcomes of their decisions.

Children step into history developing self-discipline, personal accountability, respect, communication skills, social skills and problem solving skill all of which prepare them to step beyond the ordinary "do it this way" mentality of contemporary society. They realize that there is always “another way” to successfully approach and resolve any situation with which they are confronted.

Due to the high skill level required for these workshops, the ability to focus attention over a period of time is required. It is not practical, nor feasible to include very young children in some of the frontier skills activities.