Maria Montessori developed this educational system through lots and lots of observation of young children. She noticed qualities common among children under six, and one of these qualities she called Maximum Effort. As is so often the case, this term seems a bit mysterious, but once there’s an understanding, it’s crystal clear. Maximum Effort is […]
There are these terms in Montessori Education that are used, but sometimes, we don’t really think about what they mean. “Follow the Child” is one of those. We thought we’d discuss this meaningful phrase in this post, and if you’d like to listen to more, there’s a podcast, too! So, Follow the Child. What does […]
Freedom and Discipline are fundamental parts of a Montessori classroom, but they’re tough for a few reasons. We’ve written about Freedom and Discipline before, and we surely will again. Each day, we learn more deeply what these mean, more intricately how they’re tied, more fully how children are capable of great capacities in each. To […]
Lara Jacobs is gifted. She is a wealth of experience, and always happy to share her observations, thoughts, or a helpful hint. She’s also always learning. She lives and breathes Montessori, and shared these thoughts about the internal preparation we do in order to be the most present to the children. We loved her words […]
How do we tend to the empathetic nature of children, the human desire to be in relationship with others, the important social education? Montessori is education of the Whole Child. Social interactions, development of independence, learning academics are not individual skills, but closely tied, and we work to support the growth in these areas simultaneously, […]