Montessori Principles Archives

The four planes of development – a tool for parents

A Montessori childhood from 0 – 24 years old Have you ever thought, “I don’t understand my child any more?" It’s like they have completely changed. Dr Montessori spoke about the four planes of development. A child passes from 0-6 to 6-12 to 12-18 and to 18-24. The child is…

What is the research into Montessori? And does Montessori work?

For Montessori to be accepted as not just an alternative method to education, it’s so important that more and more research is coming out for us to scientifically understand the Montessori method that has been in use for more than 100 years. So does Montessori work? I am no scientist…

Beyond rewards, bribes and punishment – a Montessori approach to building intrinsic motivation

In my last article on a Montessori approach to discipline, I mentioned that we don’t use rewards, bribes or punishment in a Montessori classroom. And there is not a teacher at the front telling everyone what they need to do. Yet if you observe in a Montessori classroom, there is…

Everything you need to know about Montessori observation and why it’s helpful

Have you ever had the chance to ask a Montessori teacher a question, something that is really troubling you, and they’ve said, “Just observe." As a Montessori teacher who has done 250 hours of observation in my training and every day in the classroom for the last 15+ years, it’s…

Does Montessori prepare children for the real world?

Everyone is so kind and gentle in Montessori. How does this help our children in the real world where not everyone is so kind? What about when you have to do something? One part of Montessori is removing obstacles. We try to set up our homes and classrooms so the…

10 ways we can show respect to our child

One thing about the Montessori approach is how we show respect to the child. The most powerful way for us to teach our child how to respect others is for us to model it and for them to absorb it every day. 10 ways we can show respect to our…

The Decalogue of Montessori

Ok. So maybe the language is a bit bossy. But there is so much wisdom to be found in the “Decalogue of Montessori" that I’m hanging it up in my classroom in Amsterdam. The oldest version of the Decalogue of Montessori was found in a 1957 Around the Child publication…

Teach by teaching, not by correcting

Ever been curious about what Montessori teachers talk about when they get together? I can assure you we have some pretty fun conversations and we lose track of time. When Jesse McCarthy of Montessori Education and I got to meet up when I was in the US recently, 2.5+ hours…

Montessori and technology

This fun conversation with my friend Jesse of Montessori Education focuses on the T word – it’s almost feels like a sin to say it – “Technology." People are curious how much technology we should use with our children. Will they be left behind if they don’t have screen time?…

Traits of great teachers & parents

In my ongoing series of conversations with my Montessori friend, Jesse McCarthy, we talk about what characteristics we find important in a Montessori teacher. What 3 or 4 characteristics would you pick? The things that came up for me were: curiosityenjoying to be with childrenbeing able to set kind and…

8 ways you can use Montessori not just with your children …. and change the world

Are you done with feeling like there is nothing you can do when all we hear are negative stories in the news, politics and media? Here are 8 ways you can use Montessori not just with your children …. and change the world. As you maybe already know, I’m a…

Can we apply the Montessori approach at home if our child does not go to Montessori school?

Isn’t it funny how there seems to be one question everyone is asking at the same time. The last two weeks this is what I keep hearing… “We can’t afford a Montessori school"/"We don’t have a Montessori school in our area"/or similar – and do you think it’s ok to…