Montessori Basics: How we Teach Handwriting

Handwriting or penmanship; no matter what you call it, it was likely an important part of your early education.  Pressured by time and content constraints, many schools have abandoned explicit handwriting instruction.  This is resulting in a generation of children who do not know how to write in cursive, and who sometimes even struggle to […]

Montessori Basics: Reality vs. Fantasy

Our Montessori Basics posts are created in order to teach parents about Montessori philosophy and curriculum.  Today’s post helps illuminate how one element of the philosophy drives the curriculum.  We all know Montessori classrooms differ vastly from their more conventional, traditional counterparts, and views on how children developmentally react to fantasy and reality are one […]

2 Types of Assessment: Which One Do Montessori Schools Favor?

Assessment is a topic often discussed in the many corners of the education world.  Whether a child is enrolled in their local public school, an independent school, or is homeschooled, assessment will most likely play a role in that experience.  To what extent it plays varies greatly, however, as does the prevalence of the different […]

A Peek at the Montessori History Curriculum

Montessori elementary classrooms certainly do lots of work with math and language, but they also rely heavily on what is often referred to as cultural studies.  These cultural studies include geography, science, and history, and today’s post will focus on the latter. Think back to when you first learned anything about history.  Perhaps your earlier […]

Montessori: Not Just for Children

Montessori is a method of education that was created with children’s development in mind.  Educators honor each individual child and make every attempt to create an environment in which they may learn and grow with as much independence as possible.  In recent decades, many people are recognizing that the basic ideals might support all people […]

Montessori Basics: Respecting the Child as an Autonomous Person

The title of this post may seem a little unnecessary.  You may be thinking, “Of course the child is an autonomous person, and of course we respect that!”  If you are here reading this, chances are you care deeply about your child’s education, and more importantly, you care about your child as a person.  When […]

A Montessori Mini-Dictionary

Dr. Maria Montessori created her methodology over a century ago, and those of us who study her work and practice her ideas know it really works for children, even all these years later.  Like any specialized approach or body of work, Montessori education incorporates unique terminology.  Curious to learn more about what we mean when […]

Preventing Math Anxiety

Researchers from the University of Cambridge recently released a report following their study of math anxiety in primary and secondary students.  [https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/290514] Their findings illustrate interesting characteristics of children who experience math anxiety,and suggest a potential connection to interactions with teachers and parents.  The interview-based study included 2,700 children in primary and secondary school in […]

Montessori Basics: What is Grace and Courtesy?

If you are just beginning to learn about Montessori education, you’ve probably heard the phrase grace and courtesy.  You may be wondering what that means in a Montessori classroom, and why we go out of our way to identify it as something special. Simply put, grace and courtesy is all about helping children to understand […]

5 Ways Montessori Appeals to the Senses

Learning with all our senses involved allows us to have a fuller, richer experience.  Montessori classrooms strive to provide multi-layered sensory opportunities for children.  The result?  Children who have a strong ability to distinguish the variances in the environments around them.   1. Montessori digs deeper than the classic five senses. Growing up, you undoubtedly […]