Dear Cathie— We have been visiting Montessori schools and considering enrollment for our child. We notice that there is a lot of food work in the classroom. Often, children seem to wander around with food. We have also visited traditional preschools, and they usually have snack altogether. Why is there a difference? — An enquiring […]
DEAR CATHIE— It will soon be time to decide if we send our child to her local public school or stay at the Montessori school for Kindergarten. We have loved the Montessori school for the last two years, and he has done very well there. But we want him to fit in socially and academically […]
Dear Cathie— Our children are both in Primary Montessori classrooms. One is a young three-year old-who just entered, and the other is four and one-half. They talk in passing about the Peace Corner and peace works that they do. Although the peace curriculum has been mentioned in our parent education talks, it still seems vague […]
Dear Cathie. I am looking for a preschool for my child, who will be three next summer. I hear good things about Montessori schools and plan to investigate them as a possibility. My friend said to go and observe. What exactly should I be looking For? -A Mom Beginning the Preschool Search Dear Mom, Observing […]
Dear Cathie, Our daughter has entered a new stage, where she whines and pouts when she does not get her way. She is quite dramatic, and some of these incidents last a fairly long time. What can I do to help her snap out of it more quickly? Why is this happening? Her younger sister […]
Dear Cathie, My four year-old son loves to cut, color and paste. He can spend hours and hours happily doing just these activities. I wonder if he gets enough opportunity for creative expression at his Montessori school. I know children are encouraged to repeat the exercises they have had lessons on, but do they ever […]
Dear Cathie: I like lots of parts of the Montessori system. But I am confused about why children are supposed to be quiet and calm all the time. When I watch my children at home, they seem to need to scream, run, and jump almost constantly. It seems that the Montessori schools go against what […]
Dear Cathie, I hear that Montessori schools recommend books that are realistic and do not have talking animals. My preschooler loves books with animals as main characters, and many of these do talk. Is it negative to read such literature to her at this stage of her development? —A CONCERNED PARENT Dear Concerned Parent, I […]
n our training, we all discussed the value of variations. I want to consider and explore the potential overuse of variations and the effect it can have on the child and the classroom. What is a variation? A variation, in a Montessori classroom, is an opportunity for a child to practice the same work at […]
Dear Cathie, How important is it to keep my child in the Montessori class through the kindergarten year? After all, she will have to transition to her neighborhood school at some point. Isn’t it best that she do it when all of the children are entering the local elementary school? If we don’t transition at […]
DEAR CATHIE, I understand the Montessori philosophy of “Follow the Child” and I really try to do that! But I also understand the importance of setting limits. Somehow that seems harder for me though. I seem to find these two tenets of the philosophy at odds with each other. How can I let my child […]
Dear Cathie, In our school the children bring lunches from home and there are no facilities to warm up the food. I find my choices of menus very limited and boring. Sometimes my son doesn’t even eat it, and most of it comes home, or he tells me he threw it away. Can you offer […]
