The Child Who is Not Peaceful The Child Who is Not Peaceful. In Montessori, we believe in each child’s innate goodness, their potential for peace and grace. How do we approach the small child who is anything but – the child who hits and hurts others? This is the sevents in …
Read More »On Being the Parent
On Being the Parent. On Being the Parent. So much of what we discuss here on this blog – and in Montessori in general – focuses on the child: studying, understanding and responding to their needs. However, what of the other side of the conversation: the parents, and other adults …
Read More »Montessori Infants and Toddlers: Maximum Effort
Montessori Infants The child does not follow the law of the least effort, but a law directly contrary. He uses an immense amount of energy over an unsubstantial end, and he spends, not only driving energy, but intensive energy in the exact execution of every detail. —Maria Montessori The Secret …
Read More »The Benefits of Cooperation and Teamwork
Was your child eliminated from the spelling bee and came home in tears? Have you heard of an athlete who took steroids to win? How did you feel when you were chosen last in a game because you were not as “good” as the others? All of these events reflect …
Read More »Montessori Classroom and Beyond!
As Montessori teachers, we start the school year by teaching grace and courtesy to the children. We know that grace and courtesy lessons help children become oriented to the prepared environment. We know these activities serve as tools for functioning in the classroom, using the materials, and interacting respectfully with …
Read More »How Children Get the Most from Celebrations
How does your classroom mark holidays? Which do you celebrate in class? How do you decide? There are as many perspectives on holidays in the Montessori classroom as there are teachers! As a community, we’ve come up with so many unique and creative ways to address “special days.” Yet classroom …
Read More »Many Ways to Give
Helen Keller was only seven years old, yet she had already grasped a universal spiritual truth: “For it is in giving that we receive.” (St. Francis of Assisi) How do we help foster in our students the human tendency to want to give to others? What are some suggestions we can give …
Read More »Walking on the Meandering Line
Sanford Jones and Jean Miller* both recall that when Maria Montessori’s son Mario and his wife Ada visited America in the early 1970’s, they were puzzled to see children doing the Walking on the Line exercises on a line in the shape of an ellipse (used in many classrooms for …
Read More »The Importance of the Silence Game
To Montessori’s surprise, when she experimented with this very first Silence Game, the group of over 40 children waited quietly and patiently to hear their names whispered. After they refused the sweets she thought they might need as a reward, Montessori reflected, “They seemed to say, ‘Don’t spoil our lovely …
Read More »