Montessori Moms: Planting the Seeds of Growth

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Well Christmas morning may be but the lead up to it can be quite overwhelming for young children.  We expect children to be "good" because Santa or the Elf is watching, but we are filling their days with baking, decorating, lights, trees, late nights, shopping, presents etc. and we want them to "behave". Kids thrive on structure and knowing what to expect. The Christmas chaos throws that out the window for sure.  As adults we get so wrapped up in the perfect Christmas we sometimes miss the simple things that will create the memories we are seeking.  Here are a few tips I have learned (it took me a while) through my own kids and observing many families over the years. 1.   Make sure you stick to bed times!  There are so many activities happening around this time of year.  Shopping, concerts, parties etc.  Try your best to make sure your child has enough rest! 2.   Behavioral expectations need to b...

As adults we make hundreds of decisions every day without even thinking.  We have had practice and understand the consequences of our bad decisions as well as the good.   Making decisions does not come naturally to all children.  In the classroom some children will wait for the teachers to choose works for them. They may need support in deciding to have snack and what friend to ask.   If they require assistance they may be hesitant to ask for help.  As their guides we direct them and help them develop comfort in their decision making skills.  We focus on the natural consequences of poor decisions and the joys of good decisions.   Decision making in general, whether good or bad, takes practice.  At home you can give your child opportunities to make decisions every day.  Encourage them to choose what clothes to wear or what to have for a snack.  Decision making for some children may need to be more structured.   Ins...

Update:  I wrote this 9 years ago and although my children are in or done with college, a lot of this still holds true.  My 2 college students are antsy and are looking foward to getting back to their routines.  Our days are not filled with poolside games and daytrips any longer but rather work, time with friends and concerts seem to rule their summers.  Looking back those summers were filled with fond memories that I would not change for the world. It is hard to believe but September is just around the corner.  I love the beginning of the school year but my children would stay in summer vacation mode for eternity, (although they start to crave structure about this time of year, they just don't realize it yet!)  Summer vacation, in our house, is pretty relaxed. Everyone has daily jobs and expectations, but it's pretty loose as far as scheduling and structure.  We do some camps in July, but mostly my kids are free to get together with friends, play game...

Don't sweat the small stuff.  I know easier said than done!  In a day when social media is bombarding us with "perfect family photos", praises of a child's test scores and accomplishments, Pinterest projects gone wild etc. it is so easy to feel as though you are not making the cut as a mom/dad.  Trust me you will not look back on your child's early years and remember the clean house, the healthy balanced meals made from scratch every day or the perfectly matching clothes etc.  You will remember the fun, the laughs and the quality time you spent together.  That is not to say that the above mentioned are not important, they just should not be how you judge yourself as a parent. To quote a good friend who has an adult child, "All the times I was so worried about making everyone happy and looking like a good mom....Making sure my house was clean, the cupboards were perfect, my child looked perfect... to be honest I don't remember any of those times.  I rememb...

Montessori Moms: Planting the Seeds of Growth: What Happens After Montessori : So your child attended a Montessori school for preschool, now what?  Will they have difficulty transitioning to traditional schooling, will ...

So your child attended a Montessori school for preschool, now what?  Will they have difficulty transitioning to traditional schooling, will they have friends since many of the local children went to a traditional preschool, will they be behind academically........these are many of the questions I have been asked over the years about the children leaving our program and moving on to kindergarten or first grade.  Every child is different, but it has been my experience that most of our students transition with little difficulty to a more traditional setting, however the lifelong skills they learn from their time at Montessori will be benefit them time and time again. My children all went through Montessori and completed the 3 year cycle.  Upon entering first grade I was honestly a bit nervous.  We had been teaching them based on their ability, interest etc and was a bit worried what would happen when faced with an "assignment" they did not want to do or a tim...

What is Montessori? Truth be told the first time I stepped into a Montessori classroom I felt like I entered a whole new world.  I was not prepared to work with children who could sit where they were comfortable and do their work, choose work that interested them or even prepare their own snacks.  Having a very traditional schooling background my first thought was “this educational philosophy is way too alternative for me”, but I needed a job.   By my second week of working as a teaching assistant I was applying to a teacher training program and rethinking my career path.  That was 18 years ago and I am still in awe at times at what children are truly capable of given the right environment. Montessori to the untrained eye can look a bit “chaotic” and unstructured.  The opposite is actually true.  The teachers are trained to observe and teach to each child as an individual.  We plan activities and lessons based on each child’s development. ...