Category Archive:
Understanding Montessori

Expert Montessori Tips

Expert Montessori Tips

I’m pleased to let you know that Porch.com has added a lengthy piece into their advice section about using Montessori in your home. Contributions from fourteen Montessorians (me, too!) are included in this article entitled, Adapting Your Home and Life to a Montessori Lifestyle, Tips from the Experts.


FREE WEBINAR | What About Kindergarten? A Montessori Perspective

What about kindergarten?

It’s a perennial problem for Montessori schools. How can we show parents the importance of the third year of our programs for children 3 to 6 years old? Because the third year in a Montessori program is truly a leap year! This is a session that you will want to let all of your school […]


The Normalization Series

allowing opportunities for movement

NORMALIZATION: The Process of Natural and Normal Child Development Another Montessori idea closely aligned with the child’s sensitive periods of development is the idea of the process of normalization, or natural and normal development. You may enjoy these articles about how to see your child’s natural and normal development:


BOOK | Understanding Montessori: A Guide For Parents

Understanding Montessori Second Edition

What is Montessori Education? Montessori education more than anything is about understanding and aiding the natural process of child growth and learning. The principles, methods, and materials used in Montessori education for over a hundred years are scientifically supported, researched and time-tested, plus based on common sense. Understanding Montessori: A Guide for Parents seeks to […]


BOOK | Understanding Montessori

Cover Understanding Montessori

Ten years ago I wrote and published Understanding Montessori: A Guide For Parents. Over the years I wanted to do an update, but there was always another project that called.  But this summer I went to work on the second edition and am now pleased to let you know about it.  The paperback and ebook have […]


What Are Sensitive Periods?

What Are Sensitive Periods?

Before the age of six, human beings are in a unique period of learning and development. At this time in our lives, certain information is absorbed by our personalities without conscious effort. Young children learn to walk, talk and do hundreds of things without formal instruction or being aware of learning. Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), […]


Spontaneous Self-Discipline

spontaneous self-discipline

An indicator of healthy and normal development in children (and adults, too!) is the presence of self-discipline that seems to appear almost out of nowhere.  In reality, there are factors that contribute significantly to the development of self-discipline in the child and adult. As a child’s will is strengthened by the use of free choice, […]


Independence

independence

We are raising adults, not children. Our job as parents (and parent support systems) is to guide our children to complete independence. Little by little, day by day, we help our children develop skills and take on more responsibility until they can run at full speed on their own two feet. Unfortunately, it is often […]


Listening And Following The Adult

listening and following the adult

Children naturally want to connect to the adults in their lives.  Obedience to these adults is a sign of natural and normal development in a child. Obedience, though, does not refer to an automatic and unthinking response to an order. Obedience, comes from the Latin, oboediere, meaning to listen to.  When the relationship is built […]


The Power To Act From Real Choice

power to act from real choice

My husband likes to stop and indulge in an Italian dessert at our local gelato shop. On any given day there may be thirty different varieties of gelato on display. New and untried flavors, such as mango/lime, are frequent. My husband usually asks to taste five or six flavors before deciding on two scoops. “How […]