Whether you currently have a child in a Montessori school, are
considering Montessori education or are even the slightest bit curious
about who Maria Montessori was and how she revered the life of the
child, you belong here.We at Guidepost Montessori want you to know that
your learning journey does not need to be grandiose. In our time
together, we just want to encourage you and help you to see that
understanding and living with Montessori methods is everlasting for both
the parent and the child, and very intimate at that! It is about
learning principles day by day, understanding materials one by one and
being in a more intentional, connected relationship with your child as they grow.
Our
teachers within our Guidepost Montessori schools are asked often by a
parent, “How can I continue my child’s Montessori education at home?”
And this is even asked with angst, as if the parent feels inferior to
her child’s education or that her home environment is not conducive to
Montessori. But continuing Montessori methods outside the classroom
simply begins with better engagement. Here's how you can start today.
Uninterrupted Work Time
In
a Montessori classroom, students work within three-hour work periods.
When they arrive to school in the morning, for example, they begin their
day by choosing work on their own and engaging with a material so long
as they wish. This means the child is left uninterrupted with something
she chose for herself and is also left to decide for herself when she’s
ready to move on to something new.
Even though there are
schedules and possibly other siblings in the home you need to be mindful
of, you can still give your child more uninterrupted work time within
reason.
If you have free time on a Saturday afternoon, for
example, use that time to allow your child to work in solitary, and
observe her choices as she moves along. If she asks what to do next or
asks for your participation, let her know that you are happy to help her
find something enjoyable to do, but then step away from her independent
space. Say to her, "I am right here for you if you need anything." Give your child the time and space to build her concentration, and increase this time as often as you can.
Expected Environment
Montessori
classrooms carefully design a “prepared environment” for the child,
which includes an intentional set of materials to choose from based on
their developmental needs. This also means that the classroom is
orderly, clean, and peaceful, and this becomes an expectation for the
child. They enjoy coming to work in the classroom, because they quickly
learn where things belong and where they can find them. A student must
also always return a material to its place before beginning different
work and must participate in keeping the classroom orderly, which sets
an expectation and responsibility to the child who works in the
classroom.
At home, consider how you can prepare your environment
for your child. It’s unrealistic to expect your child’s bedroom or toy
room to be orderly all the time — when you might have an infant
exploring his sibling’s belongings or a dog who likes to steal the balls
— but you can be intentional about what or how much you set out for
your child, and you can work together to maintain an orderly environment
as a united family.
Close Observation
Being a Montessori parent means being a connected, intentional parent,
one whom is constantly aware of and respectful of the child. You
mustn’t feel obliged to have all the materials within a Montessori
classroom inside your living room, but you can observe your child,
watching for what interests him, what calms him, and where he needs
guidance. Give him the opportunity to work independently,
give him the space to explore independently, and give him the
uninterrupted time he needs to learn about the world on his own terms, and the both of you will flourish.