Understanding the Path to Mastery   Few things puzzle Montessori parents more than repetition. You watch your child pour water for the tenth time, polish the same object day after day, or choose the same work every morning for weeks on end. A quiet worry creeps...

  0–3 Years The Emotional Life of Infants and How Montessori Supports Regulation from the Very Beginning   When parents think about emotional development, they often picture conversations with older children (naming feelings, talking through conflicts,...

  12–18 Years The Adolescent Years   For all typically developing children, the transition from childhood to adolescence and eventually to adulthood, with all its expectations and responsibilities, requires a lot of learning. Now, perhaps more than at any...

Beyond Diapers Few topics generate more anxiety for parents of toddlers than toileting. Is my child ready? Am I pushing too soon? Should we wait? Modern disposable diapers have made postponing the process easier than ever before. Montessori offers a different...

All Ages   On January 6, 1907, Dr. Maria Montessori opened the first Casa dei Bambini—the Children’s House—in a poor tenement district of Rome. The children who entered that classroom were widely viewed as difficult, neglected, and incapable of learning. What...

Why Montessori Adolescents Question Authority 12–18 Years The Adolescent Years   Your 13-year-old looks at you and says, “That rule doesn’t make sense.” They point out an inconsistency in something you just said. Or they challenge a school policy as unfair. If...

How Mixed-Age Montessori Classrooms Support Social and Moral Development One of the first questions many parents ask about Montessori is whether mixed-age classrooms are used. Children ages three to six learn together, sharing the same space, materials, and daily...

  DEAR CATHIE— I WISH I COULD MOTIVATE MY CHILD TO DO WHAT I WANT HIM TO DO. THESE THINGS ARE USUALLY THE BASICS OF LIFE, LIKE DRESSING, EATING, TAKING A BATH, AND USING THE BATHROOM BEFORE WE LEAVE THE HOUSE, COMING WHEN HE IS CALLED, AND GETTING INTO THE CAR...

Books to Inspire by The Montessori Foundation Grab a Book   0–3 years 3–6 years 6–12 years   The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin A beautifully illustrated, poetic celebration of childhood that nurtures a child’s sense of possibility and...