Technical Guidance

It�s not how much we give, but how much love we put in giving. � Mother Teresa I met a fifth grade boy recently who was happy to share his feelings about the upcoming holidays. �I�ve given up on Christmas,� he said. �I�ve come to realize that, no matter what I ask for, what I really want I just won�t get. I asked for an Xbox last year and got a book. Whenever I ask for video games, my mom tells me to go outside and play. Why doesn�t she understand I just want to be like the other kids?� I have to admit, his cynicism tugged at my heart strings. I know his mother, and I know and respect the reasoning behind her parenting decisions and their family values. I know, too, that she feels guilty at times over values, wants, and needs. Gift Giving as a Montessori Parent In her article �Anger, guilt and spending on kids: 8 questions to ask before buying anything,� psychotherapist and parenting coach Debbie Pincus states that �Guilt and anger are both uncomfortable emotions; and as different as t...

Maybe Christmas,� he thought, �doesn�t come from a Store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more! � Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas When I was growing up, my mother and grandmother had a little impish elf among their holiday d�cor. He sat quietly on the shelf, watching the holiday festivities, without being an interactive part of our holiday. Today, the popular �elf on the shelf� that appears at the holidays is used as a sort of secular advent countdown to Christmas. Often, children are told that the elf is there watching for their good behavior. While the elf is supposed to ensure that the children are behaving well, he is notorious for getting into mischief himself. Children wake up daily to see what kind of trouble the elf has gotten into overnight. Modeling Kindness During the Holiday Season The elf�s antics may seem harmless to adults, but what message are we sending the children? We ask children to be on their best behavior during a time that can be stressful...

The great task of education must be to secure and to preserve a normality which, of its own nature, gravitates toward the center of perfection. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 239. In Chapter 23, Dr. Montessori explains that the fundamental difference between her method and conventional methods is based on the social cohesion found within the environment. This cohesion, she tells us, springs spontaneously when we allow the child to develop based on their needs. These needs are inherent in all children and are set forth by nature. �It is the society of little children who are guided by the magical powers of nature. We must value it and treasure it, because neither the character nor the social sentiment can be given by teachers. They are the products of life.� (p. 234) The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 23: Cohesion in the Social Unit Montessori found that social cohesion is an unconscious power whereby children work together for the greater good. They work without needing rewards and ...

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. � Cicero In the Montessori community, the lessons of Grace and Courtesy are integral at every level. From young infants to adolescents, children are taught to live together in community. Grace and courtesy goes beyond the common social niceties of �please� and �thank you� by demonstrating the value of courteous and empathetic behavior and communication as a vital life skill. Gratitude and Thanksgiving in the Montessori Environment Gratitude is one of the lessons of Grace and Courtesy. We teach children to say �thank you� as a rote habit. But to truly understand the value of being thankful builds character through �generosity, humility, wisdom, joy, integrity and trust.� (Arrien) To help children learn to value gratitude, we can incorporate it into our daily Montessori activities. With younger children, we can learn to talk about what we appreciate. We begin by modeling, using our words and tone of voice to...

�no one acting on the child from the outside can cause him to concentrate. Only he can organize his psychic life. � Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 222. I have been involved with Montessori education for over 13 years. When I talk to prospective teachers or parents, I find that they always ask the same questions. They want to know about the materials, the idea of mixed age grouping, the ideal class size, the amount of adult involvement, and the concept of freedom. In chapter 22 of The Absorbent Mind , Dr. Montessori addresses all of these questions. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 22: Social Development How were the Montessori materials chosen? Although the materials used in the environment were developed by Dr. Montessori, it was the children who chose which ones were important. �We started by equipping the child�s environment with a little of everything, and left the children to choose those things they preferred.� (p. 223) It seems that the children were partial to certain mater...

What is the difference between redirecting and distracting children from unwanted behavior? The biggest difference is in the approach. Redirection involves guidance; distraction merely diverts attention. Let�s look at a few examples and see if we can tell the difference: 1. Baby Sarah gets upset and cries when Mommy leaves for work. As Mom closes the front door, Sarah�s caregiver gives Sarah a toy and says, �Look at this pretty toy.� Redirection or distraction? This is distraction. There is no acknowledgment of Sarah�s feelings, and the toy is unrelated to the event. Redirecting Unwanted Behavior Versus Distracting in the Montessori Environment 2. Miles likes working with the small hammer that he uses with his peg board. He starts to use the hammer on his puppy. Mom says, �Miles, you may only pound your peg board with the hammer. You may not use it on the puppy.� She guides him back to the peg board. Redirection or distraction?  This is redirection. Mom takes the t...

Help me to help myself. �Maria Montessori The Child in the Family, p. 72. In her book Children Who are Not Yet Peaceful , Donna Bryant Goertz says, �We wisely welcome into our classrooms that small number of children whose behavior strikes us as eccentric, complicated, challenging, or confusing. These children are the indicators of how well the classroom is meeting the needs of all the children. They react when others don�t � and react overtly in ways that cannot be ignored. We have found that to assimilate these children and support them in their personal transformation, the class must be providing the maximum benefit to all children.� (Goertz, 2001) If we truly believe that all children can and have the right to learn, then there is a place for all children in your Montessori environment, including those with learning disabilities or who are �at risk.� Guiding Children with Learning Disabilities in the Montessori Environment It is true that some children will require additional time...

The child is the spiritual builder of mankind, and obstacles to his free development are the stones in the wall by which the soul of man has become imprisoned. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 221. When my son was a toddler, he was intrigued by the minutiae of his environment. Ants crawling along the pathway were fascinating to him. Their tiny parade seemed to race from one place to another. As his tiny foot lifted in an attempt to learn what would happen if they were crushed, I gently stopped him, saying, �Ants are living creatures. Let�s watch where they are going instead.� Following their linear progression, we quietly observed them carrying food back to their nest. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 21: Children�s Possessiveness and Its Transformations This type of care and observation was repeated with all living things. Flowers were examined to count how many petals they had or observe the delicate shades of their color variations. Glistening spider webs were viewed as fragile g...

Children construct their own characters. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 208. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 20: Character Building is the Child�s Own Achievement Montessori tells us that the child�s sensitive period for character building is between the ages of three and six. This is the result of �a long and slow sequence of activities carried out by the child himself between the ages of three and six.� (Montessori, p. 208) Surprisingly, Montessori says that character building does not happen from our teachings. �At this time, no one can �teach� the qualities of which character is composed.� The reason behind this is due to the fact that one�s conscience begins to function between ages 6 and 12. Up until then, children cannot understand or �visualize the problems of good and evil.� (Montessori, p. 208) Adults often use the phrase �use your words� with young children when assisting them to solve conflicts, but this is rarely helpful to the children. The idea that children know w...

To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control, is to betray the idea of freedom. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 205. Previously, we discussed how to add variety to the Montessori three-period lesson to help children learn to generalize, or transfer information. Behavior interventions will also play a role in developing good judgment and impulse control. Helping Children with Executive Function Challenges in the Montessori Environment The Montessori environment is set up to allow freedom of choice. Yet, as the opening quote warns us, giving the child freedom when he is not ready for it will backfire. A child who has not developed self-control will not be able to make good choices in work or behavior. Cognitive behavioral interventions are used to help children think about their behavior and how it affects them and those around them. When I started teaching, I would tell my high-school students to �make me proud� when we went on trips. When...

Along with controlled error and freedom to choose your own work, nothing is quite as Montessori as the three-period lesson. The three-period lesson is a focused and precise way of presenting new vocabulary and concepts to children in a consistent manner, allowing them a sense of comfort and security. They know what to expect every time something new is presented and can focus their entire attention on the concept rather than on the structure of the lesson. The structure of the three-period lesson is simple. It is made up of three phases: 1 This is� (Naming Phase) 2 Show me� (Recognition, Association Phase) 3 What is�? (Recall, Confirmation of Knowledge Phase) The Three-Period Lesson and Generalization: Helping Cognitive Processing in the Montessori Environment If we look at Bloom�s taxonomy, the three-period lesson aligns with the first three levels of the pyramid: (Cornwell, 2011) from http://juliaec.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/blooms_taxonomy.jpg While the process of the three-period...

A while back, we presented a blog called What is Executive Function? Montessori Perspectives . In that article, we discussed that executive function involves working memory, inhibitory control, and mental flexibility. Executive function is important for cognitive, social, emotional, and moral development. It helps us understand, internalize, and fulfill the steps required to solve a problem: Recognize a problem. Make a plan to solve the problem. Execute the plan. Evaluate effectiveness. Executive Function and Childhood Development Executive functions are controlled by the frontal cortex, one of the last regions of the brain to mature. We reach developmental milestones related to executive function by the time we are 1 year old, during early childhood, and during puberty. Some development in the brain continues well into the 20s and even 30s when myelination occurs, which is the process of forming electrical sheathes around the axons of the neurons. With all this continuous, long-range ...

The transition from one state to the other always follows a piece of work done by the hands with real things, work accompanied by mental concentration. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 204. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 19: The Child�s Contribution to Society � Normalization In chapter 18, Montessori discussed two categories of character traits; those observed in children with strong wills and those observed in children with weak wills. In chapter 19, Montessori goes on to say that society groups children into three categories: those whose character or behavior needs to be corrected; those who are models of good, albeit passive, behavior; and those who are thought to be superior to others � these are often noisy, �exuberant� children whose parents think they are brilliant, even though others may not find them agreeable to be around. Montessori says that all of these characteristics/behaviors, good or bad, disappear �as soon as the children become absorbed in a piece of work that ...

It was the children themselves who showed that they preferred one another�s company to dolls, and the small �real life� utensils to toys. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 169. Observing Sensitive Periods in Young Children Recently, a friend of mine and her two-year-old daughter came over for coffee. Because I was moving soon, I had already packed up my few remaining infant toys. I was worried that I didn�t have anything interesting to share with my young guest until I remembered Dr. Montessori�s observation that children prefer real objects to toys. Having never visited my house before, young Ellie needed to explore her new environment. She wandered around the living room, checking out the furniture and knick-knacks on the end and coffee tables. Ellie was intrigued by the glass topped coffee table: How did it work? What held up the glass and how did objects not fall through it? And then she saw my large blue art-deco glass vase. Fascinated, she asked to see what was inside. Whe...

There are two main types of shelf work in the Montessori environment. The first is the Montessori materials themselves. The second consists of a series of cards known as command or task cards that provide follow-up work to lessons and activities. Students work with command cards to practice what they have learned. As the name implies, command cards invite the child to do something with what they have learned, showing that they have command of the concept. Command Cards for Montessori Elementary Students An example of command cards common in upper elementary programs appears in the nomenclature work. In the Montessori classroom Nomenclature Cards, also known as three-part cards, are used to learn the names or parts of objects. The material is made up of three parts: a picture card, a label card, and a control card. For elementary students, a fourth card is added that relates to the definition of the object or part. This is a picture of a typical three-part Nomenclature Card that is used...

It follows that the child�s character develops in accordance with the obstacles he has encountered or the freedom favoring his development that he has enjoyed. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 195. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 18: Character and Its Defects in Childhood In today�s era of political correctness, to use the term �defect� with children seems harsh and out of place. We think of things being defective, not people. Etymologically speaking, the term defect means a failure or falling away (desertion) rather than in reference to something being broken. When looked at in that respect, we can read Chapter 18 less defensively. In this case, the defects in character do not stem not from the child but from the behavior of the adults in the child�s life. Montessori grouped character defects in children into two categories: characteristics shown by children with strong wills �who resist and overcome the obstacles they meet,� (Montessori, p. 197) and characteristics shown by child...

As I was driving through my neighborhood this week, I noticed small signs scattered about town that advertised the local Montessori school. All that was written on the signs was the name of the school and the phone number. I don�t think there are many parents who would pull off the road to stop and copy the phone number down. However, these types of signs are meant to call attention rather than give information. If the school is lucky, parents will remember the name and Google it when they get home. If the school has planned well, they will have a strong online presence to satisfy curious parents. Increasing Montessori Enrollments with Online Marketing Why online, you ask? Why wouldn�t just a simple phone number work? Today�s parents are anything but simple. Eighty percent of all births can be attributed to Millennial Generation parents, people born between 1981 and 2000, and these parents are �wired.� (Murray, 2014) A 2012 eMarketer.com survey says that of the 86 million Millenials: 9...

The results we obtain with our little ones contrast oddly with the fact that mathematics is so often held to be a scourge rather than pleasure in school programs. Most people have developed �mental barriers� against it. Yet all is easy if only its roots can be implanted in the absorbent mind. � Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 186. Dr. Montessori tells us that it is human nature to distinguish between and order our world based on similarities and differences of perceived qualities. The world around us is made of precise rules that follow an exact, measured order. �In our work, therefore, we have given a name to this part of the mind which is built up with exactitude, and we all it �the mathematical mind.�� (Montessori, p. 185) The Absorbent Mind Chapter 17: Further Elaboration, Part 3 - The Mathematical Mind Montessori created the Sensorial materials to provide a �system of materialized abstractions, or of mathematics.� (Montessori, p. 186) Each material clearly and concretely d...

Is the child�s mental horizon limited to what he sees? No. He has a type of mind that goes beyond the concrete. He has the great power of imagination. �Maria Montessori The Absorbent Mind, p. 175-76. One of the great arguments against Montessori is the idea that Montessori education is �anti-imagination.� I assure you, nothing can be further from the truth! Montessori believed that �picturing, or conjuring up, of things not physically present depends on a special mental ability of higher order.� (Montessori, p. 176) If our knowledge was based only on what can be gained through our senses, we would have a very shallow grasp of the world around us. When do children develop their imagination? During the first plane of development, children are very concrete thinkers. They must experience the world through their senses in order to process information about it. Montessori found that children who were 3�6 year olds could make abstract connections. For instance, children working with the San...