child development Archives

Supporting our child’s social development – yes, it’s also part of Montessori!

Today we'll be looking at how to support our child's social development. Do we force them to be more social? How do we accept them for who they are and teach them skills? Our children are in community from the day they are born. Their first community is their family,…

Toddlers are brilliant – The Montessori Notebook

WHY I LOVE TODDLERS Most Montessori teachers have a favourite age to work with. For me it is working with my toddler friends. People are often confused by this preference. Toddlers can be hard work, they are emotional, and they do not always listen to us. I want to paint…

Looking after toddlers is hard – and what we can do about it

Looking after toddlers is indeed hard. They are impulsive. They run the other direction when we want them to get dressed. They throw things. They don’t listen. They ignore us and others while they are busy mastering so many skills for themselves. They need to move. They need to test…

Montessori and testing: why do we keep asking “What colour is this?” and other questions to test our child?

So today I’ve been wondering why do we test our child? We keep asking questions like “What colour is this?" and so many others. I’ve done it too. Before I had any exposure to the Montessori approach, I was unknowingly and constantly testing my son. “Can you show grandma how…

How not to stop a tantrum. Yes, you read that right.

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who responded to the recent tour of our Montessori toddler classroom here. And to everyone who has been receiving their copies of The Montessori Toddler book and sharing them. The excitement has been infectious. So fun to be part of a revolution to…

Montessori and pretend play: a complicated question

What is the Montessori approach to pretend play, imagination and fantasy? Dr Montessori has been recorded as preferring reality to pretend play in the classroom. The most commonly referenced is when she introduced traditional toys in her classroom. She found that children gravitated instead to the real thing. For example,…

Summary of The Whole-Brain Child

You know those books. You hear about them for years but you just don’t get around to reading them. Then once you read it, you are kicking yourself, “why didn’t I read this sooner?!" This is exactly what happened when I finished reading “The Whole-Brain Child" by Dr Daniel Siegel…

The ultimate list of Montessori activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Hi everyone, I have been busy with this list of Montessori activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers for weeks! I’m so happy with how it has turned out. Download the pdf and look up your child’s age and you will see age-appropriate activities for all areas – daily life, eye-hand…

Are sensory bins Montessori or not?

I started to doubt myself. Everywhere I looked on social media, people were sharing their Montessori sensory bins and invitations to play for their toddlers. I even saw many toddler classrooms with Montessori cylinder blocks and the pink tower. And I’m thinking, “did I miss something in my Montessori training?!"…

10 ways to deal with a child who has trouble sharing Montessori-style

Why is it difficult to share? When a baby is around a year, another child can usually walk up to them, take the toy they are playing with out of their hands and the baby will turn around and pick up the next closest toy. Then, around 16 months, they…

Siblings Without Rivalry

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. We have been trying to make the most of the good weather. But this weekend we were pretty lazy around here. One of the highlights was sitting on the front steps in the sun and eating our lunch with our plates balanced on…

Age Appropriate Chores for Children

It is amazing what young children take joy in doing. Here is a list of age appropriate chores for children. Some people might read these lists and not believe it is possible. But if you would like your child to not only do these chores, but enjoy contributing to the…