It's a pretty celebratory time of year! Around the world, religious and secular, national and intimate, there are so many reasons to celebrate. Children are often recipients of gifts, sometimes because it's a special occasion →

Baan Dek · Episode 130 - Montessori Rewards Montessori is known for encouraging intrinsic motivation, rather than external rewards. Studies have shown that external rewards decrease motivation -- if I can get a sticker or →

 Baan Dek · Episode 129 - Setting Children Up For Success There’s a scene from the show Schitt’s Creek that, if you’re familiar with the show, you’ll know from the following four words: fold →

Baan Dek · Episode 128 - Magic Words Words are magic. Toddlers learn that when you combine sounds or gestures in a particular order, adults love it and you get what you want. We’re actually →

 Baan Dek · Episode 127 - "What Did You Do Today?" “What did you do today?” This question has been asked by generations of adults at the end of their child’s day, and the →

Baan Dek · Episode 126 - Speaking For Children As I’m writing this, there’s a baby fussing and I asked his mom, “does he know what he wants?” to which she replied, “no he has →

Baan Dek · Episode 125 - Toileting Doesn't Have to be Tough Toileting doesn’t have to be tough. Any new experience is a learning process, sure, but there can be a monster-in-the-closet sense around toileting. →

Baan Dek · Episode 124 - Challenge is Essential If you’ve ever peeked into a Montessori classroom, you’ll see children working at various levels of intensity individually and in small groups. You’ll see children concentrating, →

 Baan Dek · Episode 123 - Reactive to Responsive to Proactive Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “respond rather than react.” There’s a lot of work being done in childcare, parenting, education, and other child-advocacy →

Baan Dek · Episode 122 - Montessori & The Olympics The Olympics are coming up, which is one of the few sporting events I watch. I look forward to them, have them set to record, →

Baan Dek · Episode 121 -- Tearful Drop Offs We’re a few weeks into the start of the school year, and the little moments of “I don’t want to go to school,” or tears at →

For a podcast of this post, listen here or subscribe on iTunes. Baan Dek · Episode 120 - Approaching Challenges Isn’t it wonderful that we’ll experience challenges? Birth is a challenge. Whether you got here →