Montessori Method

The Montessori Method is often misunderstood. On This American Life the other week, it was referred to as “lovey dovey” or something similar. Oh they have no idea. 

Our neighbor is an uber Montessori teacher. She teaches the teachers that run Montessori schools. I have learned a lot from her. For one thing, Montessori schools are all over the board. It seems anyone can call their school Montessori. To find a real one they need to be licensed by AMS. On top of that it all depends on who runs the place. I’ve been to schools where there’s a happy buzz of activity and the kids and teachers look genuinely happy to be there and schools where the kids were so quiet it was spooky and the teachers a little too serious.

To really grasp how bad ass Maria Montessori was, I cite my favorite quote from her:

Who does not know that to teach a child to feed himself, to wash and dress himself, is a much more tedious and difficult work, calling for infinitely greater patience, than feeding, washing and dressing the child oneself? But, the former is the work of an educator; the latter is the easy and inferior work of a servant.

Zing.

Another Maria Montessori quote along the same lines:

These words reveal the child’s inner needs: “Help me to do it alone.”

So with Montessori you give them the tools they need and the direction they want to be self sufficient. Give them tools that are their size – a short table, a small glass, a small brush.

Montessori believes that children want to work hard. They want to put forth the most effort for the least reward. So when we see our children struggling to do a task our first instinct is to help them. Resist the urge says Montessori! Wait until they really need your help. Montessori also says not to reward or punish in the traditional sense. They have a chapter in the Montessori Method titled:

Abolition of prizes and external forms of punishment.

They also believe children like to focus. For hours. And Montessori says never to interupt. Not with a “Good job” or a critique. Montessori says to wait until they break their concentration to do positive reinforcements. And with Montessori that usually means describing what the child did back to them in an interested fashion. “You stacked the blocks!”

And lastly, Maria Montessori believed the hands should be as busy as the mind.

The human hand allows the mind to reveal itself.

Which goes along well with my belief of inspiration through doing. Get those hands busy! For example in the Montessori classroom they do math with these things you can hold in your hand called bead chains. It seems most things they teach have a tactile tool to go along with it. My only question there is how they get into abstract math. I’ll find out from my neighbor and report back.

So that’s what I find most important with the Montessori Method. They have soooo many wonderful tools that you can use at home. I’ll make many, many more posts on things I like from their ways. But do not be fooled. They are not fluffy hippies. They are kind, firm and hands on.

More on Montessori:

Explore a classroom – A nice Montessori near us has a great example of what to expect.

International Montessori Index - A lot of stuff

Michael Olaf – All the gear for a proper classroom/home plus insight

Montessori Services – Great store

American Montessori Society – Find a licensed school

The Montessori Method – The book, for free