Overcoming Descartes: Movement in Montessori
February 19, 2018For all her might, Maria Montessori has yet to be taken seriously as a philosopher. Yet, as we hope this post shows, and The Absorbent Mind demonstrates, Maria Montessori was an exceptional thinker. Perhaps, even →
Defining Success in Montessori
February 15, 2018It’s true, there are no “tests” in Montessori. There are no grades or report cards, no “holding back,” no “skipping ahead.” But this doesn’t mean we don’t care about success. In fact, we care deeply →
Montessori Dictionary: Consequences
February 12, 2018There are these words we use all the time, and we assume we all have the same understanding, the same definition, of these words. But language comes with baggage. It comes with history and emotional →
Book Review: The Montessori Toddler
February 8, 2018In her exceptional new book, The Montessori Toddler, Simone Davies sets out to set the record straight: "Toddlers are misunderstood humans." The key part to this thesis, which is a subtlety that might go overlooked, →
Speaking and Silence in Montessori
February 5, 2018Montessori is an art and a science of balance. We believe in and implement individualized education, independent work carried out at primarily one-person tables, but the Montessori classroom is an incredibly social place, with children →
Math Always
February 1, 2018Math jokes are pretty common. We make jokes about how bad we are at math, jokes about how useless geometry and algebra are, jokes about how math teachers told us we wouldn’t carry a calculator →
Trustworthy
January 29, 2018The relationship between child and educator is special, and important. Nowhere near as important as the one between parent and child, but still one of mutual respect, and necessary. There are times when a child’s →
Book Review: The Art of Screen Time, by Anya Kamenetz
January 25, 2018Anya Kamenetz has written, what we believe to be, the definitive text for families concerned about the role technology plays in the life of their children. Her excellent new book, The Art of Screen Time, →
Self-Discipline in Montessori
January 22, 2018We Follow Through. It’s one of the ways we support children. We don’t just say something once, we’ll demonstrate and remind and model and assist and observe a thousand times, and then we’ll do it →
Tidy Like At School
January 18, 2018If we were to play a word game, thinking of ways to describe the Montessori classroom, a few words might naturally emerge. Even without knowing what happens in this space, even without the children and →
What Happens in Montessori Kindergarten?
January 15, 2018There are a few aspects which are fundamental to Montessori education. One of these aspects is the Mixed-Age classrooms. Children begin in a Montessori Primary classroom typically between two-and-a-half and three-and-a-half, and remain in the →
Montessori Encyclopedia: Cylinder Blocks
January 11, 2018How do you use this material? The Cylinder Blocks are one of the first materials a child might be introduced to in the Sensorial Area. There are four cylinder blocks. When they’re on the shelf, →
