Montessori Parent Guide 0 – 3 Years

Choosing an education and care service for your infant/toddler is one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent/whānau. You may have made the choice to immerse your family/whānau in the Montessori method of education. But what now?

In New Zealand many of our Montessori early learning centres have a toddler environment. Some centres will enroll an infant but the majority will accept tamariki from 15–18 months. There are also a few playgroups where parents/whānau are able to spend time with their infant/toddler with a trained Montessori kaiako in a specially prepared environment.

Montessori is a philosophy. There is diversity within the Montessori community worldwide. Each early learning centre is unique, reflecting its interpretation and practice of Montessori philosophy, Montessori training of kaiako/teachers, the staff, family/whānau, the facilities, resources available and the vision of the early learning centre.

Montessori Aotearoa New Zealand has produced this Parent Guide to help you better understand Montessori education and to find answers to your questions about Montessori.

You can read your Parent Guide online:

Parent Guide 0-3 Years

or download a print version.

This Parent Guide is in four sections:

  • Vision and Leadership
  • The Learning Environment
  • The Kaiako (teacher)
  • The Community
  • In each section we have identified the following:
  • Essential Elements are provided to help you better understand what Montessori can offer your infant/toddler. These elements are aligned to the Montessori Journey to Excellence Te Ara Ki Huhuatanga (MJ2Ex): Essential Elements.
  • What it looks like examples are given of how each Essential Element may ‘look’ in practice.
  • Questions to ask staff some questions you could ask the staff to gain further insight.
  • Questions to ask yourself by observing in a Montessori early learning centre you can answer some of your own questions.

This Parent Guide may help you answer the question, How can a Montessori centre support my infant/toddler to be happy, safe, secure and thrive?

Download

Parent Guide: 0 to 3 Years