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Understanding the Three-Hour Work Cycle

Understanding the Three-Hour Work Cycle

by | Child's Work, Early Adolescence (12-15), Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Later Adolescence (15-18), Lower Elementary (6-9), MFA, Mindfulness, Montessori Education, Montessori Teachers, Upper Elementary (9-12), Young Adults

Tired and agitated, Sara got ready for bed. What had happened to the day? She had woken up fresh that morning, ready to have a productive day. During breakfast, Sara’s assistant had called to alert Sara that she wouldn’t be in to copy the reports for the next day’s meeting. When Sara went to make […]

Montessori Myths

Montessori Myths

by | Free Reads

Each year, during the start of school, teachers and administrators try to explain to new parents the essence of the term Montessori. In this article, we’ll try to explain what Montessori is and is not, dispelling, we hope, a few misperceptions about Montessori...
Montessori 101: What Teachers Wish Parents Knew

Montessori 101: What Teachers Wish Parents Knew

by | Family Resources, Health / Nutrition, Infant, Infant-Toddler (0 to 3), Kindergarten, MFA, Montessori Family Life, Montessori Parenting, Montessori students, Montessori Teachers, Primary (3-6)

t a teachers’ conference a couple of years ago, we broke into groups to answer the following question: What are the most important ideas you’d like to communicate to parents of the children you teach? Here are the thoughts from over one hundred teachers and school administrators. Respect the work of your child. Children are […]

Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Spirit: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” — Parenting adage

Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Spirit: “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” — Parenting adage

by | Archived Issues / Montessori Leadership, The International Montessori Council

inancial security is one of the long-term goals parents wish for their children. Being financially secure has connotations of knowing how to make money, how to save money, and how to use money to help others. Financially secure suggests that we have a realistic expectation about the amount of work it takes to make a […]

Finding the Best Fit tor Parents

Finding the Best Fit tor Parents

by | Montessori Administrators, Montessori Parenting, Montessori Teachers, Parent Education, The International Montessori Council

hat I found over the years is that most people will tell you what you want to hear. To find those families that were the best fit for my school, I took a tip from Elvis Presley. Elvis’ business manager, Colonel Tom Parker, required every venue that asked Elvis to perform to deliver a matchbook […]

Santa: Making the Invisible Visible

Santa: Making the Invisible Visible

by | Imagination, MFA, Montessori Parenting

ve never gotten a present from Santa Claus,” said Iliana, my 12-year-old seatmate on an east coast flight. ”My parents thought I should only be given verifiable facts. They told me there is no veracity in Santa Claus.” ”It’s too bad that no one ever told your parents about the Secret of Santa Claus. When […]

The Two-Second Rule

The Two-Second Rule

by | Brain Development, Discipline, MFA, Montessori Parenting, Montessori students, Montessori Teachers, Primary (3-6)

“Look, mommy! I’m daddy!” hree-year-old Scotty opened a blue marker and scribbled on the wall as his mom, Margie, cut vegetables for dinner. Scotty had watched his dad paint the kitchen over the weekend. Now Scotty was trying to ‘help,’ or so Margie surmised in the split second of disbelief and dismay as she took […]

Ten Signs of On-Track Development

Ten Signs of On-Track Development

by | Family Resources, MFA, Montessori Curriculum, Montessori Family Life, Montessori Parenting, Primary (3-6), Psychology

hildren who are on-track with their development display ten specific behaviors and characteristics. In Montessori terms, we call this process of natural and normal development, normalization. As parents and teachers, we are concerned about doing the right things with our children. When our children go through difficult periods, we can spend nights tossing and turning […]

Webinar: Freedom and Responsibility

Webinar: Freedom and Responsibility

by | MFA, Montessori Education, Montessori Family Life, Montessori Parenting, Montessori students, Webinars / MFA

If you keep hearing about “freedom within limits” at your child’s school but you’re not quite sure how to apply this principle at home, join us for this webcast. It is loaded with examples of real life situations and strategies for allowing freedom with responsibility.

The 18th Hole of Miniature Golf

The 18th Hole of Miniature Golf

by | MFA

ach began the 18th hole of miniature golf. Twelve-year-old Zach was ahead, and one under par. A wager of a pizza with my husband was in the balance. Zach stayed focused and won the match by two strokes. There should have been fireworks. The band should have played a Sousa march. The mayor should have […]

What Should We Teach Our Children?

What Should We Teach Our Children?

by | Early Adolescence (12-15), Infant-Toddler (0 to 3), Later Adolescence (15-18), Lower Elementary (6-9), MFA, Montessori Education, Montessori Family Life, Uncategorized

hat should we teach our children? Research shows that 80 percent of the facts we learn for tests are forgotten in a month. We remember best that information with which we have an emotional connection. It’s a lot easier to remember your birthday than the year of the Battle of Hastings (1066, in case you’re […]

Ten Signs of On-Track Development

Four Keys to Raising a Self-Disciplined Child

by | Discipline, Family Resources, MFA, Montessori Education, Montessori Family Life, Montessori Parenting, Montessori students, Primary (3-6)

o you dream of having a child who is self-composed, articulate and respectful of others, young or old? In our children’s pre-verbal days, it seems like those attributes may be impossible, but there are some teaching tools you can use to help your child have the self-discipline to live a peaceful life as a toddler […]

Developing Insight into What It’s Like To Be So Small

by | Infant-Toddler (0 to 3), MFA, Montessori Education, Montessori Family Life

retend that you just found out that you’ll have to be in a wheelchair for a year, possibly longer. What adjustment would you have to make to your home to accommodate this change? “This week, crawl around your house, through every room, and make a list of changes that you would make. That’s your homework. […]

Ten Signs of On-Track Development

Stop! Look! Listen!

by | Infant-Toddler (0 to 3), MFA, Montessori Education, Montessori Family Life, Montessori Parenting

n effective, yet, counter-intuitive teaching and parenting suggestion took me a while to understand and put into use. The idea? “Don’t just do something – stand there.” Our first inclination when we see things that we think we need to stop is to jump right in and fix it. One of the interesting discoveries of […]