While the history of Dr. Montessori is not only impressive but fascinating, what I’m most intersted in, however, are the lessons she can teach us about children and ourselves. For she believed, “A child is mysterious and powerful and contains within himself the secret of human nature.” And I believe that if we can understand children […]
You may already know a bit about the Montessori work period, also known as the work cycle. What exactly is it, and why is it so important? A Montessori work cycle is an uninterrupted block of time. During this time children are able to explore the prepared environment and engage with materials of their own […]
As parents, our interest in Montessori comes always from a place of love–expressed as a desire to provide the best environment possible for our baby’s learning! Montessori is sometimes known as “education for peace,” which intimately connects it with love. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori curriculum and an expert on early childhood development, […]
Download The ultimate list of Montessori activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers provided by The Montessori Notebook.com
You may think your toddler is relatively dependent and that the things they do around the house don’t matter, but you’d be wrong. Simple actions parents take at home can have a long lasting impact on the way your child enters their first years of school. Here are 80 life skills you can allow your […]
August 31st is a special day. Maria Montessori would have turned 149. She passed in 1952, but her legacy lives on. Children all over the world are working daily in classrooms just like the one she cobbled together in 1907. Adults are witnessing the same discoveries she made. Generations later, has childhood really changed all […]
Families want to be supportive of their children’s development. We all get the same 24 hours in the day, so whether our work is unpaid as a primary caregiver or takes us outside the home for most of the day and many special occasions, between chores and school and sleep and the zillion other unnameable […]
Most of us who work with children and/or have children of our own know well that little boys and girls are not the only ones who can find it challenging to handle anger and stress. We can too, of course. A significant challenge when being around children can be stress. That stress has many different […]
First of all, who doesn’t say “good job!” to their kids? It’s a catch-all sort of praise that you can easily blurt out while you’re also skimming the news, chopping vegetables or peeking out of the bathroom to watch your child do some sort of jumpy twirly move that he’s obviously very proud of. Yet, […]
There’s this beautiful quote from Dr. Montessori’s Words of Advice to Teachers, published 95 years ago. “She must give her lesson, plant the seed and then disappear; observing and waiting, but not touching.” May 6th marks the anniversary of Dr. Montessori’s passing, and, like many dates of note, often has us feeling a bit sentimental. We’re […]
A quick glance into many Montessori classrooms will showcase not just students, guide, materials, and furniture, but also often plants. Why is that? Does the teacher just like ferns, or is there a reason? As usual, there is always a reason in Montessori. For why we have plants, there are several reasons! Let’s explore those together. […]
What do you think of when you think of work? What do your family members, colleagues, peers, employees, and children say or think? If you google, “define work,” you will come up with a definition that you will probably find surprising. Using the word work as a verb, it states, “be engaged in physical or […]
Children are aware and can be introduced to toilet learning and independence as soon as they are autonomously mobile. They will often show signs of readiness long before the adults are organised to help them achieve toilet independence. As adults we have little control of our children toileting, what we do have control of, is […]
We’re very concerned with preparing children for the future. It’s a very unsteady time to be a parent. The world has changed more in the past ten years than in the past hundred, and things really aren’t slowing down. We’re using more technology for more common daily activities, and one thing is for sure, it’s […]
How does redirection work in a Montessori environment & what can you practice to make things easier.
Why would I want to send my child to a Montessori? What do you offer that a childcare/family day care program/staying home with a primary caregiver doesn’t? These are such natural questions. With an abundance of options, wanting to prepare our children the best we can for an unknown future, and no clear right or […]
Consequence seems like such a negative phrase. Consequence is punishment, punitive, prison. I’m going to make you regret that mistake. You’ll absolutely learn from this experience, and I’m going to make sure of it. Consequence has no innate negativity. The definition is, “a result or effect of an action or condition.” There’s nothing bad about […]
There’s a tool we use almost constantly in the classroom. In fact, we all use it, all the time! It’s something called a Three Period Lesson, and it’s essentially how we all learn language. There are three different periods, or stages. First, we Name something. Second, we Recognise it. Third, we Identify it. In the […]
When toddlers and young preschoolers start in Montessori, parents are often amazed at the sudden spurt in independence and skill their children display. If your child is starting in a preschool program, and you want to witness this incredible development in your own child, it helps if you are able to prepare your home environment […]
“Do as I say, not as I do” is a phrase that has been around for centuries. Many of us even heard these words as children, usually in response to “but…” Maybe we’ve even heard ourselves, against all our best efforts, accidentally having these words tumble out, even as we try and pull them back […]
