Infants and Toddlers
Montessori Sensorial Materials, Part II December 16, 2022
Imagine you are watching a four-year-old boy carry a wooden box with a red lid to a table. Then, he goes back to the shelf of Sensorial Materials and brings over a matching box—this one with a blue lid. (These are called the Sound Cylinders. Each is filled with about one ounce of grains of…
Read MoreParents, Take Charge! August 7, 2022
“Jerry, it’s time to get out of the pool. Time to go now, please.” A father stands at the edge of a hotel pool in summer, clearly exhausted, as his wife walks past him carrying a crying baby girl, a floaty, a diaper bag, and two huge towels. “NO!” The boy in the pool, who…
Read MoreLet’s Play! Montessori’s Playful Nature
As a parent, you may hear Montessori teachers describe your children’s activities as “work.” Your child may use the word, too, saying, “I love my work,” or, “I did a lot of work today!” But then you may wonder, “Why does my child go skipping in there every day?” and, “Why is my child dying…
Read MoreAn Education that Matches Children’s Development
September 2018 by Paula Lillard Preschlack Developmentally, children pass through distinct phases as they age, which are universal across time and place. These phases, or planes, are the basis for Maria Montessori’s approach to education, which caters to the specific needs and characteristics of each plane.
Read MoreReturning to School with Resilience, Creativity, and Courage!
The Montessori Young Children’s Community
August 2019 by Paula Lillard Preschlack Take a peek inside the Montessori Young Children’s Community and see how this classroom provides children as young as 18 months with an environment and activities that meet their developmental needs.
Read MoreThe First Months: Developing an Outlook for Life
March 2019 by Paula Lillard Preschlack New parents can find practical considerations to give newborn children the freedom to move and explore, including suggestions for the arrangement of the nursery, mobiles, and other developmentally appropriate toys for infants.
Read MoreScreen Time and Your Child’s Development: A Montessori Perspective
January 2019 by Paula Lillard Preschlack How much screen time is too much? Paula discusses the Montessori approach to screen time and addresses concerns that parents might have in a technology-driven society.
Read MoreFostering Your Child’s Imagination: Fantasy vs. Reality
December 2018 by Paula Lillard Preschlack Dr. Montessori observed that when young children move their bodies, explore, and interact with the real world, these sensory experiences foster imagination. Fantasy, on the other hand, can be overemphasized and confusing for very young children. Maria Montessori articulates the distinctions between reality, the imagination, and fantasy.
Read MoreThe Four Planes of Development: Child Development in Four Questions
September 2018 by Paula Lillard Preschlack Maria Montessori’s extensive observations of children revealed four universal planes of development. Montessori designed an entire educational system around these stages of childhood, which we discuss here in detail.
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