News & Blog

Montessori Australia are hosting an introductory series on Positive Discipline Tools for Building Respectful Relationships Useful for parents, carers and educators of children of all ages. Visit Montessori Australia to see the dates available: Positive Discipline Course | Montessori Australia

Say milk. Say milk. Come on, use your words.” We all know what comes next. The parent holds the milk away, expecting a verbal response. First, there’s the stare-off, then the classic reach and grunt, ending with the baby howling at the injustice of being asked to speak. On the opposite end of the spectrum, […]

Montessori educator Katie Lannaman gives tips to parents and teachers to introduce diverse foods and healthy eating habits to young people.    

A common critique of the Montessori approach is that it pushes kids to grow up too fast. People see infants drinking from open glass cups, toddlers dressing themselves and sweeping the floor, preschoolers reading independently or multiplying and dividing large numbers, and they fear that we’re rushing child development—that we’re pushing children to do things […]

To get into the new year, let’s take stock of where we are at and how we can support our child’s development going forward. So I’ve put together some questions for you to ponder what you learned last year and to consider what you would like to take into the new year. Note: None of […]

We are witnessing so much violence, without a seeming end in sight. How do we raise our children in such a world? It’s hard not to lose hope. It is hard to see how to educate for peace while also educating kids about history and conflict   In this this webinar held by Lead Montessori […]

Our children are in community from the day they are born. Their first community is their family, then they may attend child-care and playgroups, and soon after they will join preschool and school. Here are some ideas to help the young child to develop social skills: 1. The child needs to understand themselves – They […]

Some years ago, Code.org, an organization dedicated to educating children on computer programming, produced a remarkable video. It’s a heartfelt exhortation to children, extolling the virtues and pleasures of software engineering. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a watch. It expresses a joyous and idealised view of learning. The explanations of programming, though targeted at children, […]

Children in a Montessori environment make stunning achievements. Children learn to drink from an open cup made from real glass, they learn to put on their own coats and shoes, they build the foundation of phonics and often read their first book by 4. And it doesn’t stop there. Out of proportion with Montessori’s small […]

From infancy on, play is an important part of a child’s life. For babies and toddlers, simple, playful interactions with adults help develop sturdy brain architecture, the foundations of lifelong health, and the building blocks of resilience. Through games and playful activities, children can practice and strengthen important executive function skills that will help them throughout their lives, including learning […]

Educators face a seeming paradox. On the one hand, there are things we know to be good for the student to learn. From literacy to the chronology of history, from math facts to human anatomy, we have important knowledge to impart. On the other hand, learning is voluntary. It’s something the student has to choose to do. The student […]

In The Absorbent Mind, Maria Montessori describes an interaction between one of her students and a visitor to the school: A lady of high rank once paid the school a visit and, being old-fashioned in her views, she said to a little boy, “So this is the school where you do as you like?” “No, ma’am,” […]

“I’m bored!” and what we can do about it Sometimes we feel like we have to constantly be available to entertain our child/ren. We have children because we want to enjoy their company, share experiences, watch them grow, and support them when needed. And we can also create inspiring environments that our children can use […]

One of the things we teach our toddlers is how to independently put on a coat or jacket. Putting on a coat is a surprisingly difficult task. One has to sort of wriggle one’s shoulders into it without having a clear line of sight. This is why it’s nice when someone helps you with a […]

A couple of weeks ago, the venerable Emily Oster published a newsletter piece titled “Is Montessori School Better?” Unfortunately for Montessorians, her answer followed Betteridge’s law of headlines: any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with no. More precisely, her answer was something more like: the question “is X educational or parenting philosophy better” is […]

Connecting the Dots Between Early Learning and Lifelong HealthFor families with young children, some of whom will be entering a classroom for the very first time this year, this can also mean a renewed focus on early learning and literacy. We have long known that when young children are exposed to rich learning environments, work with […]