Parenting Ideas

This booklet has been designed to support you with different ideas that you could do with your young child to assist him/her in developing in ways that will cultivate a sense of independence, self-respect, love of peace and passion for self-chosen work done well. We hope you find it useful. View or download a copy…

If we look closely at Maria Montessori’s writings, we notice how much she emphasised children’s need for routine and purposeful activity, so you could organise your holiday with your child with these two principles in mind. Before the holidays start, I would recommend discussing or creating a daily routine with your child. What needs to…

Seven suggestions from collaboration, to good leadership, from observation to opportunity. What Montessori values can you use in your parenting? Foster a spirit of collaboration with your child Building collaboration with children involves taking an interest in them as human beings – let your child know that you enjoy their company. Listen to your child…

It can be very beneficial for young children to choose the same activities every day. By repeating and repeating the activity, your child is mastering the skill or refining her understanding of the concepts involved. While the child is still learning and gaining from the activity, a Montessori teacher would not deter her from choosing…

One of the most common questions that I hear from parents is, “What can I do at home to help my child read?” The urge to help your child is understandable since literacy is a fundamental life skill; when your child has mastered it, you can breathe a little easier as a parent. You may…

Maria Montessori was an Italian educator who began her involvement with young children more than one hundred years ago. Her observations and pedagogical method, however, continue to offer new insights into the understanding we have of young children’s learning. When Montessori first began observing children in the slums of San Lorenzo in Italy, schools of…

A Montessori teacher shares some ground rules established at Montessori, which help adults talk effectively with children. Go slowly, be gentle and use your words! Go Slowly We have a classroom “rule” which says Go Slowly. If you are going slowly, you have time to react to situations as they arise.  Contrary to general assumptions, children don’t…

Dr Maria Montessori strongly believed that an adult’s pace of life is not the natural pace of childhood, and too often, children are expected to speed up rather than have the adults around them slow down. I was aware of this before I had my son Lincoln, so I came into parenting with strong beliefs…

The activities are from the Practical Life curriculum in the Montessori classroom. In a class for three to six-year-olds, this area is set up with many different activities and experiences that have underlying benefits and often subtle messages for our children.  Practical life exercises such as table or window washing or pouring exercises are often…

In one of her last books, The Absorbent Mind, Dr Montessori makes this comment; “Passive children are thought to be good. Noisy and exuberant children with vivid imaginations are thought to be spiritually brilliant.” (p. 201) Dr Montessori believed that the goal of children is to ‘aim energetically and directly towards independence’. The Montessori method…

The development of a young child is facilitated by the absorbent mind and unique periods of sensitivity to the environment that nurture skills, knowledge and understanding of the material, social, natural and social worlds in which the child participates. It is a distinctive flow of relationships and experiences of which the young child becomes increasingly…

When an older child is encouraged to help a younger child in a Montessori classroom, their own learning is surprisingly enhanced rather than limited. The older child is more sensitive to the degree of help the younger child needs, intuitively respecting the essential need of childhood, which is not to be helped unnecessarily. In ‘teaching’…