3 Montessori Principles That You Can Implement At Home

Education & Development Blog

When it comes to educating your child, finding the right school is only part of the process. Children are learning all the time, no matter where they are, and it's important that your home is also a place where they can learn and grow. If you've decided that the Montessori style of learning is right for your family, you'll be happy to know that Montessori educational principles don't have to be confined to the classroom. It's not hard to put these principles to work in your home as well. Take a look at how you can get started.

Learn By Doing

In the Montessori classroom, learning is an active process, not a passive one. That means that children learn by moving around and doing things, not by sitting and listening, reading textbooks, or filling out worksheets. For example, certain math concepts are taught with a puzzle called a binomial cube, which is first introduced in preschool to teach pre-math skills, then reintroduced in the primary grades and again in high school to teach algebraic concepts. Children learn by manipulating the puzzle pieces with their own hands.

You can reinforce the principle of learning by doing at home. Set limits on television, video games, and computer or mobile devices – screens have their place, but as they all involve sitting still, the kind of learning they encourage is passive. Instead, when you're looking for toys to entertain your child, purchase puzzles, blocks, clay, beads, and other items that your child can use actively. They'll still be playing, but they'll also be learning to strategize and think creatively while moving and using their hands and bodies.

Learning Is Its Own Reward

In Montessori classrooms, teachers generally don't use bribes, prizes, or punishments in order to ensure that children complete their work and learn. Instead, children are allowed a lot of freedom to choose their next activity. Since all the activities and toys found in a Montessori classroom are chosen purposefully to provide a learning experience, a child can choose whatever activity they like and still learn something – there's no need to insist on one activity over another. And children are encouraged to see completing an activity as a reward in and of itself.

If you've stocked your home with useful, educational materials for your child to play with, you're allowing learning to be its own reward at home. There's no reason to bribe or punish your child to stop doing one activity they like to do another one that they like less when both are equally educational. It also helps to allow and encourage children to participate in household activities they express interest in – for example, pouring their own glass of juice, for a small child, or cooking a meal, for an older child. Instead of giving your child a reward for completing an activity, praise them for completing the activity. Finishing the puzzle, pouring the juice without spilling, or creating a tasty meal is the goal, and their reward is that they accomplished their goal. This helps your child learn to be motivated by their own desire to accomplish something, instead of being motivated by some external punishment or reward.

Don't Teach; Facilitate

Many parents balk at the idea of supplementing their child's education at home, because they don't believe that they know how to teach. But in the Montessori philosophy, a teacher isn't someone who lectures or instructs; they are a person who facilitates learning. They do this by providing materials and an environment that's conducive to learning, modeling appropriate behavior, and providing enriching experiences.

The role of a facilitator is a natural role for a parent. You've been facilitating your child's learning since they were born – or possibly before that. When you chose a visually stimulating mobile to hang over your baby's crib, you were facilitating learning. When you sang your toddler a lullaby or read them a nursery rhyme, you were facilitating learning. When you bought them crayons and coloring books, you were facilitating learning. When you took them to the park or the zoo, you were facilitating learning. That doesn't stop when your child becomes old enough to go to school. Don't worry about "teaching" your child in the sense of books and homework. Instead, provide them with experiences, materials, and opportunities that they can use to learn.

Parental involvement in education is one of the key factors in raising academically successful children. As a Montessori parent, you can easily bring the principles of the classroom into your home to enrich your child's educational experience. 

6 December 2016