We understand that there's a lot of content to read and watch about Montessori and early years education. The following videos are taken from our YouTube channel & are a good starting point for developing your own view & understanding.
Living Montessori: The Parent Perspective
A great video from the American Montessori Society. Parents tell you, in their own words, what makes Montessori education special. Go “beyond 2+2” and see the difference that Montessori can make in your child’s life
Dr Steve Hughes: Montessori and the Future of Education
Get a good understanding of the principles and science behind Montessori in under 4 minutes.
Montessori Madness
The father of three Montessori students, a business jet pilot, author, and international speaker, Trevor Eissler provides a quick overview on Montessori and the differences with traditional or mainstream education.
You can learn more about Trevor over at his website http://www.montessorimadness.com/
Montessori Principles
A brief overview of the principles of Montessori education.
LET THE CHILD BE THE GUIDE
As a young father, watching his daughter go through her life experiences, film director Alexandre Mourot discovered the Montessori approach and decided to set his camera up in a children’s house (3 to 6 years of age) in the oldest Montessori school in France.
Alexandre was warmly welcomed in a surprisingly calm and peaceful environment, filled with flowers, fruits and Montessori materials. He met happy children, who were free to move about, working alone or in small groups. The teacher remained very discreet. Some children were reading, others were making bread, doing division, laughing or sleeping.
The children guided the film director throughout the whole school year, helping him to understand the magic of their autonomy and self-esteem – the seeds of a new society of peace and freedom, which Maria Montessori dedicated her life work to. Read about this feature film.
Looking to Montessori to Guide Education Reform: Anna Lee at TEDxMidA
Anna Lee has been described as an "educator to the bone." Lee is a first generation Korean-American from the DC region. She believes that the human potential begins within the hands of a child. In 2010, she was appointed the Director of Education at Meadows Montessori in Frederick. With thirteen years experience teaching Montessori, her dedication to early childhood education spans far beyond her years. She has also served as an Intensive Individual Support counsellor for Autistic teens. An avid world traveller, she advocates and consults for Montessori programs for schools all over the world.
February, often known as the month of love, is a reminder of the importance of the bonds we share with our loved ones. You can cultivate a strong bond with your child beginning at birth. As you welcome your little one to the world, and create a nurturing environment, you will be laying a lifelong […]
The Montessori method is full of insights into parenting, teaching, and learning. Here is a Montessori glossary to help you get familiar with this brilliant and proven educational methodology. First, who was Dr. Maria Montessori? Dr. Montessori created the Montessori method. She was the first female doctor in Italy, and overcame many obstacles (like […]
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, […]
What’s the best way to motivate children? The intrinsic motivation to learn about the world around us begins in infancy. This type of motivation can either be encouraged or suppressed by the experiences adults provide for children. Psychological research points to a set of promising approaches that parents and practitioners can use to promote positive […]
What is motivation? The brain systems that govern motivation are built over time, starting in the earliest years of development. These intricate neural circuits and structures are shaped by interactions between the experiences we have and the genes we are born with, which together influence both how our motivation systems develop and how they function […]
New scientific research shows that environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. In fact, scientists have discovered that early experiences can determine how genes are turned on and off and even whether some are expressed at all. Thus, the old ideas that genes are “set in stone” or that they alone […]
Dr Montessori outlined four consecutive planes, or stages, of development from birth to maturity, each plane spanning approximately six-years. At each plane of development children and young people display intellectual powers, social orientations and creative potential unique to that stage. Each plane is characterised by the way children in that plane learn, building on the […]
I regularly get asked by people what activities might be suitable for their child. So over the coming newsletters, I’ve decided to make a Montessori shelfie by age group. Hopefully this will be a helpful resource over the coming months. Also, don’t forget I put together this free 42-page download for you of Montessori activities […]
Montessori-Inspired Tips to Get Preschool Kids Involved in Making Lunches Tips abound online on what healthy foods to pack into your preschooler’s school lunch (see articles here, here, here, here—or just Google “packing school lunches”), yet rarely does anyone ask the question of who should be packing the lunch. What can and should your child’s […]
“Can we apply the Montessori approach at home if our child doesn’t go to Montessori school?” Isn’t it funny how there seems to be one question everyone is asking at the same time. The last two weeks this is what I keep hearing… “We can’t afford a Montessori school”/”We don’t have a Montessori school in […]
The 31st August 2020 is 150 years since the birth of Maria Montessori. Montessori was ahead of her time in her research, educational approach and pioneering work for social reform. The work of Montessori today continues to motivate people to change the world for the better and has impacted the lives of children and teachers […]
Download The ultimate list of Montessori activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers provided by The Montessori Notebook.com
With the explosion in podcast popularity we thought we would list our favourite’s for Montessori inspiration. Baan Dek Montessori Montessori Education with Jesse McCarthy Dr Montessori’s Own Handbook The Art of Parenting Let us know if you have come across other great podcasts we should share with our community. Great Podcasts for (Montessori) Kids Do […]
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 […]
I’m often asked, “What is Positive Discipline?” For me, and I don’t mean to be too dramatic, it was a rude awakening, changed my life and saved it at the same time. Let me explain… I discovered Positive Discipline during my first year working in a mixed age Montessori classroom. At 43, I had decided […]
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 […]
Here we are in Maria Montessori’s birthday month! Her 149th birthday would have been at the end of this August. And while her career began in the 19th century, we believe that Montessori education is more relevant today than ever, not only because of the needs of our world, but also because of research that […]
When I’m upset — insert also overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, impatient — it takes me awhile to work through it. It’s not easy for me to simply shake it off, restrain or ignore however I’m feeling either. I need time to reflect, talk about and work through strong emotions, and I need empathy in that, too. […]
Do you feel guilty or stressed every time you see a report about the importance of limiting screen time? Do you want to limit screen time, but aren’t sure how to wean your child off of their favorite TV shows? The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released guidelines encouraging very limited screen time for children under 5 years old, but if this […]
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 […]
Clive Thompson, the science and technology writer, wrote a piece in The New York Times, entitled, The Minecraft Generation. In the article, he sought to offer a cultural commentary on what could broadly be defined as how children are learning in the digital world. His use case? Minecraft, the computer game that has become a […]
Valid and reliable scientific research and brain development theory should be the driving force behind any school system. Sadly, in our country, that is too often not the reality. Too many of our nation’s schools are based on an industrial-era, conveyor-belt, “information-in, information-out” style. Missing in this antiquated approach is the child as an agent […]
There are so many incredible options out there if you want to read more about Montessori and early childhood development. Here are 7 best books on the magic of the first years of childhood These are Montessori classics that you will love, covering everything from how to incorporate Montessori in your home, to Montessori theory, […]
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 […]
With emotional intelligence a hot topic in the world’s of parenting and education I (Gavin McCormack) thought I would put together 26 of the best activities parents, carers and teachers can do to allow children to feel emotional grounded. The idea is that we build skills within the children in our care to allow them […]
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 […]
Montessori. Marie Kondo. Minimalism. Three ideas which support each other quite well. So much so that soon after Marie Kondo published her book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying” in 2014, I added a bonus lesson in my Montessori spaces e-course about how we could use these ideas to help us get rid of the […]
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 […]
The Ellipse is a line on the floor of the classroom. It is sometimes in tape, and sometimes painted. Occasionally, classrooms will have different or additional shapes, but the choice of an ellipse is very purposeful; more on that later. A child removes their shoes to carefully walk on the line. First they’ll walk using […]
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 […]
Montessori Australia recently hosted the “Montessori for the Digital Age Forum” featuring the noted digital parenting educator Dr Kristy Goodwin. In her workshop entitled “Plugged-in Childhoods”, Montessori leaders and educators were given evidence-based research and practical information about raising healthy children in the digital world. We present some of her tips here and would encourage […]
Montessori alumnus, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, MacKenzie, pledged to donate two billion dollars to launch a network of Montessori preschools serving young children from low-income families and creating new support systems to help address homelessness in America. As Mr. Bezos told the New York Times on Friday, the new […]
The importance of creativity in business may have been initially recognised with the rise of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple; but its pervasiveness can be seen with the success of Etsy, Tesla and Kickstarter, both of which thrive on creativity in all aspects of life. The Montessori Method recently gained increased exposure and popularity […]
What Sets Northwest Montessori Apart From Other Montessori Schools? If you are reading this, you may be looking for a preschool–and may be curious about whether Montessori is a preschool education that makes sense for your family. As you research Montessori, it is important to know that Montessori isn’t a trademarked term, nor a franchised […]
What differentiates a child that learns to read joyfully, becomes a voracious reader and succeeds academically, from one that struggles to read at foundation level, and falls behind? Decades of research provide a clear answer: for a child to become a reader, he needs three things Instruction in phonics, A systematic way of building a […]
If you follow the discussions about education reform and improvement, you will have heard much about the poor performance of Australian. students in the STEM fields—Science, Technology, Engineering & Math. Whilst there is promise in some of the recommendations in Gonski 2.0 & the promotion of coding activities in Primary School, we feel there should […]
A common question we get asked by first year parents is What would I do to keep my children entertained without a screen? And: What if there is nothing more productive for them to do than use an iPad—wouldn’t it better to have a quality app than boredom and whining? For some well-meaning, busy parents, […]
From 2 July 2018, the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate will be replaced by a single Child Care Subsidy. The Child Care Subsidy will be means tested based on the combined family income, the fortnightly activity of families – such as work, study or volunteering – and the type of service a child […]
Many of us, in a quest for physical and mental fitness, in a desire to push ourselves through uncomfortable situations, and in pursuit of saying “i did it!” Have taken to signing up for spartan races, marathons, warrior dashes, triathlons, ragnar relays, and 100 km bike rides, etc. There is something about preparing to climb […]
Montessori can be hard to sum up in just a few words—it is a philosophy on education and child development that runs deep. It’s a way of seeing the world. I think one of the easiest ways to get an idea for what Montessori means is to listen to the language that Montessori teachers use. Montessori teachers […]
What do you think Montessori would say about Technology if she was alive today ? Would she condemn it, as being overly commercialised and abstract? Or would she embrace it, recommending the purchase of iPads in all of her schools? We think she’d see the issue in the same way she saw the role of […]
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 […]
