Minds on Montessori

Perhaps there's a rising three-year-old in your life - or there once was, or will be - you may be thinking about preschool and the best environment for this child.  Google defines the word flourish  as follows: "to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment."  Bring your precious three-year-old back to mind, and follow me on a thought journey through non-Montessori and Montessori three to six-year-old environments.  Let's determine where that child has the greatest opportunity to flourish and thrive. Enter your neighborhood preschool: non-Montessori or Montessori.  Like any school, it could have an exemplary reputation, an average one, or one that's poor or unknown.  Hopefully, you live somewhere with more than one choice.  Like any preschool, it could be housed in a stand-alone building, an office complex, church, or someone's home.  And it could have a brand name like Goddard...

Parents want the best for their children, whether the highest rated car seat or the most organic , most   heirloom , most   free-range egg.  Hey, no shame, I do, too!  Why should the level of research, attention, and care be any different in choosing the type of environment that helps form children during one of the most developmentally impactful times in their lives?  In keeping with the organic, heirloom, and free-range theme, would it help to add that Montessori materials are often made of natural resources like wood, wool, cotton, and metal over customary preschool plastic, the philosophy hails from the elegant (cough, heirloom) Italian city of Rome where it was developed by one of Italy's first female medical doctors, and that children are offered freedom in Montessori environments to move around the room and use the Montessori materials when their interest and motivation directs them - all towards the development of the whole child?  Are we get...

Imagine spending your most formative years learning to live and work successfully in a community by means of a time-tested, research-supported, and globally practiced educational method, which has produced some of the 20 th century’s most visionary creators and leaders across fields.  In your learning community, there are people of different ages, varied experience levels, and diverse personalities.  People use their words to express themselves; sometimes they have to wait for what they want; and everyone takes care of shared resources.  People practice managing available time, following interests, and deeply concentrating.  Does this sound like your adult workplace, or what you wish your workplace could be?  This is what children experience every day in Montessori communities for children ages three to six years old.  What better preparation could there be for curious, engaged, and well-adjusted adult life? Leadership, Empathy: In the first year in ...

Scrubbing slowly circles round till the middle when she goes to town Suds on table, suds on nails Some get soap suds in the hair Three years old and dampening her sponge, this ol' table's getting washed again Once, twice, a bundle of times, now she's following her inner guide Sing to her, call to her, now I dare So deep in work, she won't know you're there Damp, sudsy, damp, dry a montage plays before my eyes What's this? A break?  She hangs her towel. Refreshed, relaxed, just look at this child!

To create a Montessori classroom, you need a prepared environment with specially designed materials tailored to the sensitive periods and characteristics of children in the particular plane of development.   You need a prepared directress to connect the children to the prepared environment.   And you need the children.   Many adults who study Montessori feel strongly that it is the best way to educate children.   Some of these adults go on to become Montessori directresses. These directresses-in-training learn the history of Montessori education and the facets of its theory.   They learn precise purposes and extensions of materials and the ways to present them.   They study details such as how to walk across a classroom, how to position one’s body when talking to a child, how to use encouragement instead of praise, and the list goes on.   Through observation, these directresses learn to follow the child. Some directress training happens in lectu...

Dear Mr. Geoffrey Canada, Thank you for pushing tirelessly to help children succeed. I think your approach of working with the child, family, and community more fully addresses the challenges that low-income students face.  I'm writing because I feel strongly that the Harlem Children's Zone would benefit from the institution of a Montessori program.  Montessori is a comprehensive, time-tested philosophy of education that is all but entirely backed up by modern psychological research (see Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Lillard).  Montessori is becoming popular in some urban areas as we speak and has been popular in others for many years .  The last chapter of Montessori: Modern Approach by Paula Polk Lillard focuses on why Montessori is important today, particularly in low-income communities.  I believe that Montessori is the education that all children deserve.  As a recognized education leader, you are uniquely...

April 22, 2013 Dr. William F. Tate Department of Education Washington University in St. Louis One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 Good morning, Dr. Tate: I'm writing to recommend that the Washington University's Department of Education create a dual degree program with the Montessori Training Center of St. Louis.  The program could allow students to earn their Master's of Arts in Education with a specialization in Montessori Education while completing their AMI Primary training with Montessori Training Center of St. Louis.  Similar partnerships already exist between the University of San Diego and The Montessori Institute of San Diego , the University of Hartford and the Montessori Training Institute of New England , and Loyola University Maryland and the Washington Montessori Institute . Montessori is a comprehensive, time-tested philosophy of education that is all but entirely backed up by modern psychological research (see Montessori: The ...

Becoming an AMI - trained Montessori directress or a student in an AMI-recognized Montessori school can be expensive.  Fortunately, there are an increasing number of scholarships available for trainees and students and a growing presence of Montessori in the public school sector .* For Trainees: AMI's Margaret E. Stephenson Fund  AMI's School Sponsorships (list updated yearly) Montessori Schools of Massachusetts Some AMI-recognized schools offer loan options for trainees For Students: Open Montessori Initiative Montessori For All Public Montessori schools *Keep in mind that Montessori is not a patented name, so schools can say they are Montessori but not sufficiently adhere to the tenets of the philosophy.  For a full list of the AMI-recognized Montessori schools in the U.S., click here .

I could not have been more delighted when I read recent Wall Street Journal article, " The Montessori Mafia ."  WSJ readers are some of the most educated, powerful, and wealthy individuals in our country: people who are able to leverage their cultural and economic capital to advocate for and secure the best opportunities for their children. The Montessori philosophy is a clear choice for every parent, and the parents in WSJ readership are a savvy, connected, and empowered enough bunch to recognize this value and demand the opportunity for their kids.  The Montessori philosophy should be demanded; it is a child's right.  The article, written by Peter Sims, suggests that attending a Montessori school raises a child's chances of entering the creative class.  Sims cites the overwhelming number of creatively successful alumni from Larry Page and Sergei Brin to Julia Child and Anne Frank, a study showing Montessori educated kindergarteners to be better prepared for ele...

I have long enjoyed the comprehensive, aesthetically beautiful, and philosophically on-point how we montessori blog.  Written by Kylie, mother of Caspar and Otis, the blog chronicles how this Canberra - based family implements the Montessori philosophy at home. In addition to providing home practices, the blog shares other families' Montessori stories, endorses high-quality Montessori products, and generates funds for the spread of education and the Montessori philosophy worldwide.  Sponsorship dollars received by "how we montessori" are donated to A Girl & Her World - a foundation that supports education for girls in Fiji.  Kylie also co-authored a book called Kids in the Kitchen: Simple Recipes that Build Independence and Confidence the Montessori Way , proceeds of which go to Montessori For All and their progress toward building free, public Montessori schools in Texas.  This blog is not to be missed.

This post is inspired by recounts of the AMI Montessori Refresher Course held in Tampa, FL in February.  At the conference, Montessori Teacher Trainer Ginni Sackett of Portland led a session on working at the "intersection of home, casa, community, and culture."  Sackett advised directresses to "meet the child at the door" to recognize that each child comes to school from a different family, value set, neighborhood, socioeconomic class, and the list goes on.  Children are wired to absorb the cultures that surround them.  If a child is born in Vietnam, she will learn Vietnamese; if a child is born in Ecuador, he will learn to eat rice, beans, potatoes, and corn.  If a child frequently watches cartoons or plays videogames, he will become accustomed to these activities.  We cannot begrudge a child for absorbing the cultures he experiences, but we can "meet him at the door" of the Montessori Children's House and help him apply order to the many parts ...

This is a two-part introduction I give with tremendous excitement: first to the Montessori Madmen, and second to founding members Bobby and June George . The Montessori Madmen are "an impatient, ragtag group of dads and advocates from around the world, united by a common zeal to bring the Montessori method to millions more.  [Their] mission is simple: to advocate for Montessori education so that one day it's not called Montessori school; it's just called school." I'll be using the Montessori Madmen label quite a bit to highlight events and campaigns being tackled around the country by this ambitious group. Two Montessori Madmen founding members, Bobby and June George, are making quite a splash in the Montessori field already. Together they founded The Baan Dek Montessori School , an AMI-certified school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  You can follow The Baan Dek School on its blog . They recently created the first Montessori letter and number board books ....

For more from Anna Lee, check out the Baan Dek School's Spotlight here .

Trevor Eissler , a founding member of Montessori Madmen, is another Montessori dynamo.  Author of Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education and several children's books, Eissler flies corporate airplanes and creates popular FastDraw videos in his spare time.  "Superwoman Was Already Here!" "Montessori Madness" "How Do You Hug A Child Like This?"

March 6th, 2013 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: I’m writing today in response to your State of the Union Address, specifically the part on early childhood education and the pledge to make high-quality preschool options available to every American child.    As you know, the early childhood years from birth to age six are the most active and critical years for human growth and development.    Studies show that children cultivate 85 percent of their intellect, personality, and skills by age five. Unfortunately, only 3 in 10 American preschoolers are enrolled in a high quality preschool program.   This means that we are squandering the opportunity of these pivotal developmental years, and that the majority of educational investments reach children when they are developmentally less capable of learning.   Montessori Philosophy In response to the pledge f...

I just finished reading The Out-of-Sync Child , written by a seasoned preschool teacher Carol Stock Kranowitz to understand the "difficult, picky, oversensitive, clumsy, or inattentive children" she serves.  Well-researched and filled with examples, the book explains how sensory processing normally occurs, abnormal hypo and hyper sensitivities to the tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive senses (sensory integration dysfunction), diagnosis and treatment by professionals, and how to provide a balanced sensory diet for in-sync and out-of-sync children in the home.  I have gathered ideas recommended in the book, ideas in keeping with its premise, and those which generally support Montessori in the home here .  This site can be used by parents, teachers, or by schools which post activity ideas on Facebook or blogs.  Visually appealing, it helps generate my own enthusiasm for creating a balanced sensory diet for kids!

Dear Parent, I know you love and know your child better than anyone.  However, when you pick her up from Montessori school, remember this: The Montessori classroom is her space, and you can respect this by waiting for her to emerge with her belongings.  You are teaching your daughter that you honor boundaries and, in an adult world, she has her own place .  When she emerges from the classroom holding her coat rather than wearing it, wait for her to put it on instead of doing it for her.  You are teaching your daughter to be independent and helping her build confidence in herself and her skills. When she shows you a picture she made, try to frame your response in interest rather than praise.  "Can you tell me what this is?" or "I see you used lots of colors," rather than "I love it" or "You're so good at coloring." You are teaching your daughter to value her work and the process of creating it, rather than to seek external r...

I. Essential Service, Quality Control James Heckman, Nobel Laureate economist from University of Chicago, has shown that investments in early childhood produce greater returns than at any other time in life .   Heckman delivers clear evidence that each dollar invested in early education produces a 10% annual return – supporting his larger message that prevention is more effective than intervention at stopping the cycle of poverty. The Early Head Start and Head Start programs make this investment through holistic education for disadvantaged children ages 0 to 3 and 3 to 5.   The mission is to build strong cognitive, academic, social and behavioral foundations through enrichment not available in the home.   Currently, Early Head Start and Head Start programs follow different curricula.   Child outcomes vary depending on curricula, suggesting a need for quality control.   President Obama recently mandated Head Start school evaluations, and starting in Dece...

As Angeline Lillard pointed out in Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius , the public school system in the United States is based upon two false premises: schools should function like factories and children's heads must be externally filled with knowledge (Lockean model of education).  In a Lockean model, the teacher crafts a lesson, determines what it may stimulate in individuals and the class, and decides how that package fits into the larger picture of his curriculum. Alternatively, the Montessori philosophy is the most all-encompassing curricula in the constructivist model, which states that the child builds the adult she will become.  The Montessori philosophy was developed by Maria Montessori in the early 1900s; she was the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy and began her work with developmentally challenged children of whom society had limited expectations.  Left to their own devices, Dr. Montessori observed these children molding b...