Montessori Philosophy Archives - Paula Lillard Preschlack

The Power of Independence: How Montessori Education Fosters Self-Reliant Children

A child happily playing alone with blocks

Imagine a classroom where children as young as three confidently prepare their snacks, clean up their workspaces, and choose their next activities—all without being told what to do. This is not a scene from a utopian novel but a daily reality in Montessori schools worldwide. A study by the University of Virginia found that children…

Ready For School!

When my 18-month-old daughter walks into that Montessori classroom, she seems to stretch up taller,” an astonished Forest Bluff parent once told me. For sure, many children do exhibit pride and self-confidence when they are supported to be appropriately independent, from both home and school. We talk a lot about how and why Montessori’s approach…

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…

Montessori Sensorial Materials, Part I November 15, 2022

Why Are Montessori’s Sensorial Materials Important for Children? Great question! We all recognize those beautiful wooden prisms and the pink tower of cubes as being Montessori’s distinct materials for children’s development. The glossy red rods and the blocks with rows of tiny wooden knobs are intriguing. They seem to call out to be touched and…

Returning to Our Montessori Values After Two Years of Screens

We are more grateful than ever for the technology in our lives! During the pandemic, being physically separated from one another was painful, especially for our children who crave social interaction. Out of necessity, we learned inventive ways that computers, iPhones and iPads could connect us–to one another and to information about the world.

Let’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…

An Education that Matches Children’s Development

Paula Lillard Preschlack - girls doing a Montessori activity.

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.