The Dos and Don'ts of Montessori
May 10, 2021
In life, there are dos, and there are don'ts. Here are the Dos and Don't of Montessori. These are based on the principles of the Montessori approach and have been tried and tested time and again. Let us know what you think!
Do…Give the child time to figure things out when they are stuck.
Don’t Let them reach the point of frustration.
Building time in your daily routine for fostering independence means that you are intentionally scheduling extra time for your child to put on socks and shoes before leaving the house, instead of rushing to put them on your child, because of time. This extra bit of time (5-10 minutes depending on the task) provides the child with an unhurried opportunity to practice new-found skills. This helps build independence and confidence as they experience the satisfaction of a meaningful accomplishment.
Do…Give the child time to figure things out when they are stuck.
Don’t ...Let them reach the point of frustration.
Children can positively solve problems on their own, if we give them the opportunity. I once watched my son use a broomstick to get a ball from under the couch when his little arm couldn’t reach it. However there is a fine line between problem solving and sheer frustrations. As parents & educators we want to give children time & space to figure things out, but also have to be in-tune with how children are managing a task. While we don’t want to interject and do it all for the child, we can offer help with the difficult part when it seems to be too much.
Do…Celebrate your child’s accomplishments.
Don’t Let your celebration be louder than theirs.
We are often overjoyed when children reach important milestones such as learning to crawl, walk or utter their first word. Similarly, we want to celebrate and encourage children when they overcome obstacles and accomplish difficult tasks. This is a natural part of adulthood and perfectly okay as long as it doesn’t distract from the child’s own celebration. Children celebrating their own successes help to develop intrinsic motivation. It also adds to the feeling of self-fulfillment after deep concentration on a task. We certainly don’t want to interrupt that.
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