A new series all about Montessori for babies.
In our book The Montessori Baby we wanted to highlight families from around the world applying Montessori from birth. As there wasn’t space to fit in all their photos and the full interview with each of them, this is the perfect place to let you get to know these families even better.
Meet Ahoefa, Gabin, Yannis and Kenzo from Raising Yannis and you can follow them on Instagram. They are a Togolese family currently living in Japan.
1. How has Montessori helped you with your baby?
Montessori allowed me to be intentional with my children. It was the guide we needed as first time parents who were looking for a different parenting style.
2. What were your favorite moments when they were newborn?
The talking stage was my favorite. My boys are very vocal. It started with the baby talk so we followed their lead and continued the conversation.
3. What did you wished you had done differently?
I wished I’d taken the time to embrace our Montessori journey at home. During our first year, I was very focused on making our home identical to a Montessori classroom. This caused a lot of confusion and difficulty for us and my child until we decided to embrace this journey from our home. Montessori at home is amazing and very flexible.
Our routine is very flexible. My day is divided into three segments- Morning, Afternoon and evening.
Our morning routine is our time together, we eat breakfast, morning routine.
Afternoon(12-5pm) The afternoon hours are for outdoor, gross motor activities. Majority of our time is spent outdoor in nature or somewhere historical and culturally diverse. If we are not exploring then we are running errands, self-care, real world practical life experiences. Very flexible part of our day.
Evening Hours: (6-bedtime at 8pm) This is the most important part of our day when we come together for our evening meals, share our dad and the boys get to spent time with their father. They read, play games and activities together before bed-time.
5. Any Montessori advice for new parents?
Montessori is a lifestyle, if used properly, it can help establish a healthy bond. My advice to new parents would be to live what you want your children to learn.
Thank you so much for sharing Ahoefa. And so lovely to have you as part of The Montessori Baby book.
You can find more from this series here:
- Montessori for babies with Maria from Montessori Chapters
- Montessori for babies with Junnifa from Nduoma Montessori
- Montessori for babies with Theresa from Montessori in Real Life
- Montessori for babies with Neus of Montessorian by Heart
- Montessori for Babies with Jaya from Forest Montessori
- Montessori for babies with Nicole from The Kavanaugh Report