Montessori Parent Guide: 3-6 Years

Parents/whānau frequently ask: ‘So, how do I know it is really Montessori?’
What are the essential elements of Montessori education?
What should we look for when considering a Montessori education for our tamariki?

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

You can read your Parent Guide online:

Parent Guide 3-6 Years

or download a print version.

Your Parent Guide is in three sections

In each section, we have identified the following:

Essential Elements: These are provided to help you better understand what Montessori can offer your tamariki.
What it looks like: Examples are given of how the essential element may ‘look’ in practice.
Questions to ask Montessori staff: Some questions that you could ask the Montessori early learning centre kaiako (teachers) are provided.
Questions to ask yourself: By observing in a Montessori early learning centre you can answer some of your own questions.

Montessori Aotearoa New Zealand recommends:

  • visit more than one Montessori early learning service
  • take time to observe the community of tamariki
  • visit the Montessori early learning service more than once, and
  • deepen your understanding of what each Montessori early learning service has to offer your tamariki.

You could also visit other early learning services to understand how Montessori early learning communities offer a different experience for tamariki in the early childhood years.

Download