Montessori Moms: Planting the Seeds of Growth

Every year the same questions come up at Parent Teacher conferences, "What should I be doing at home with my child?" or "They won't sit and do work for me at home, what should I do?"  These are difficult questions because as parents we want our children to be successful.  There is so much pressure from others to compare and "grade" children.  I know when my children were preschool age I would get caught up in what their friends were doing and wondering if they were falling behind, or if I was doing enough at home.  Even with years of teaching and child development experience I would still fall into this trap.   As Montessorians we believe that all children learn at their own rate and to try and "push" them ahead can be counterproductive.  A child in a Sensitive Period for writing may refuse to do any sort of Math activities.  Their minds and bodies are primed and ready for writing and fine motor activities, why try and force them into an acti

It’s 5:00 PM and your kids are underfoot but you have to get dinner ready.  Everyone wants your attention, and of course even though we have playrooms, and family rooms etc.  they want to be where you are right?    What do you do? Look to your kitchen as a classroom for your child.  Your drawers and cupboards are filled with exciting activities for your little ones to explore.   Many of our classroom Practical Life activities are fashioned from kitchen supplies.  These activities are filled with hidden skills such as developing concentration skills, increasing attention span, refining fine motor control, not to mention all the math that can happen in the kitchen! Here are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling: (2-3 year old) Materials: Cupcake tin Large bowl Dried pasta 1.             Place pasta in the large bowl. 2.              Using a large grasping motion show your child how to transfer the pasta from the bowl to one of the                       cupca

UPDATE: Now that we are home for an extended period of time with our families, setting up spaces for our children to play or work can be very important to the family enviroment.  Our children need a safe place to work and play independently.  Make sure to limit choices available and rotate items when interest decreases.  Having all their toys available can be overwhelming and lead them to not be able to choose a toy to play with and look to you to play with them.  Allowing them to expore and play independently will create confidence, increase attention span and allow them to rely less on others to "play" with them.  Of course interacting and playing with your young children is important, however, encouraging self direction and independence are useful skills that are utilized throughout life. During this time,breaks when your child can occupy themselves, even for short periods of time, can be very important. Below are tips on creating play spaces for your child. They can ea