When you enroll your children in a Montessori school, it will quickly become apparent that such a school offers more for your kids than most institutions of learning. For example, the American Montessori Society requires that all students who are at the early childhood level or older experience an uninterrupted work period that lasts for at least two hours four days each week.

All accredited Montessori schools offer this uninterrupted work period. Some parents may be confused about what this entails. That can be especially true if your children were previously enrolled in other schools where every activity throughout the day was structured. (more…)

As the weather turns warm, many parents of young children break out of the house, anxious to take advantage of parks and backyards. However, as the weather turns from warm to hot, families retreat indoors again, fearing heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburns. The summer months can start to drag, with more and more parents relying on TV or tablets to pass the time.

The Montessori model of early childhood education celebrates curiosity, brain development, learning experiences, and diverse sensory activity. Screen time provides none of these benefits, and too much time with a screen can actually decrease a child’s ability to learn, visualize, create, and emote.
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Whether your child attends a Montessori school or you’re just interested in implementing the Montessori method in your own household, you may wonder what you can do to expand your child’s sensory world.

While much discussion of the Montessori method centers around the tactile sensory activities that tend to be popular with preschool-, kindergarten-, and early elementary-aged students, from magnetic sand to water play, activities that challenge the aural senses can also be invaluable in inspiring your child to move beyond his or her comfort zone.

Read on to learn more about five music-based activities that can help your child develop a lifelong love of music and rhythm patterns. (more…)

Have you ever noticed how different people prefer different learning styles? You may prefer to learn by reading, while your child might learn best by holding and touching different objects.

Unfortunately, the traditional school system typically favors two kinds of learning styles: verbal and logical. The Montessori Method addresses all learning styles, with a greater focus on visual and physical learning styles. (more…)

When you think about sending your child to school, you may expect the linear model of learning, where the teacher provides information and the children internalize it to learn answers, letters, numbers, and events. While memorization is a key part of retaining knowledge, the best learning is done with the senses.

Sensory activities are a huge part of the Montessori classroom simply because they have the greatest impact on early brain development and learning patterns. Have you wondered why sensory play and learning is so important for your child? Here’s what you need to know about engaging the senses and how it relates to education.  (more…)

The Montessori method encourages self-directed learning through exploration and play. We help children learn through a variety of specially developed materials. These materials may look like fun toys, but they are designed to help your child learn and master difficult concepts.

Here are some of the most common learning materials you might see in a Montessori classroom. (more…)

The guiding philosophy of the Montessori classroom is that children are empowered to learn through exploration. As children “teach” themselves about the world and how it works, they become eager to learn even more on a never-ending path of self-motivated discovery.

There is no reason why this philosophy can’t “come home” with your child at the end of the school day. Whether your child is in pre-school, elementary school, or secondary education, you can easily adopt Montessori principles into your home for greater learning and independence. (more…)

Parents who are considering the Montessori approach for their children will be interested to learn that a single Montessori classroom holds children from a broad age spectrum. It’s a significant departure from the model of public school, where children are strictly grouped according to age.

What are the advantages of having an age-diverse classroom? As a parent, you’ll be interested to know the unique benefits that can come from mixed-age classrooms. (more…)

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If you were to walk into a traditional preschool classroom, you might notice the décor first. Many classrooms fill the walls with brightly colored charts, posters, and decorations. Some of these items have educational purposes, such as bulletin boards to track students’ progress, but many are simply intended to liven up the space.

In a Montessori classroom, you might also notice the décor first, but not because of its bold colors. In this blog, we discuss the principles behind Montessori classroom elements and how those principles benefit students. (more…)