The Montessori Way

School is back in session. Classrooms are settling into their routines. Children are learning where things go. Teachers are getting to know their students. Parents have figured out the drop-off line. Everyone has survived the busy start of the year. But the most...

Your child brings home a familiar story. Again. Or tells you they worked with a material you know they used last year. Again. Perhaps you watch in the classroom and see your child doing something that looks almost effortless, and a natural thought occurs , why is the...

A mixed-age Montessori classroom allows children to follow individual paths through a carefully prepared environment.   Visit a conventional classroom and you'll likely see most children working on the same subject at roughly the same time. Visit a Montessori...

A calm, caring moment at the classroom doorway can help a child move from home to school with confidence. Your child was excited about school last night. Everything seemed fine over breakfast. Then you arrive at the classroom door, and suddenly your child's arms...

    At the beginning of the year, children are learning how to participate in a community as well as how to choose and complete their work. Parents naturally want to know that school is working. We want to see progress : children coming home talking...

Exploring a smooth stone, pinecone, fabric, leaf, and wooden spoon through touch and sight. Young children are constantly taking in information. They notice differences in color, shape, texture, sound, weight, temperature, size, smell, and movement — long before they...

The school-day story often begins with a warm reunion, even when words do not come immediately. You pick your child up from school. "How was your day?" "Fine." "What did you do?" "Nothing." After school, a quiet transition can...

The Pink Tower is arranged from the largest cube at the bottom to the smallest cube at the top on a low wooden shelf. If you've visited a Montessori classroom for young children, you've probably seen it: ten pink cubes, ranging from quite large to very small, sitting...

An excited child explores numbers with a parent in a calm home learning environment. Your child comes home excited about numbers. Naturally, you want to help. So you pull out some paper and show your child the way you learned to add. Or perhaps you begin teaching...

Walk into a well-established Montessori classroom during the morning work period and you may be struck by how it looks. An established Montessori classroom may look simple at first glance, while purposeful activity unfolds throughout the prepared environment. One...