Montessori At Home! - 3 Things Parents get wrong
By Frances Madueke-Ozorue
‘Montessori’ is fast becoming a household name. But while it’s pretty well known as an alternative form of education, there is often still an air of confusion around it. Parents are yet to understand what it truly means or how they can incorporate Montessori at home.
It’s not surprising to learn that parents whose kids attend Montessori schools know little or nothing about Montessori.
For the purpose of clarity, I need to describe Montessori using the simplest terms.
So, what is Montessori?
She developed this method of education with the child in mind! At the time, she was working with kids wherein she made wonderful discoveries about the child. She found that the adults seemed to work around and for the kids while totally ignoring the child.
She compared the old way of learning where adults made decisions for the kids hardly letting them do things themselves and discovered the missed opportunities these caused the kids. In order to change this, she introduced materials, employed an assistant and let the kids work on the materials with little guidance.
She noticed a fantastic change in the kids; they were eager to learn, developed relevant skills and had a total reformation in their behaviors. It was beautiful to watch that kids could love order and work.
She concluded that any child can assume his/her full potentials when given the right guidance, treated with love and respect, put in ‘prepared’ environment where hands-on materials are provided and they are left to use the materials at their own time, learn at their own pace and given freedom but with limits.
She opined that for a child to blossom, the adult caregiver must recognize that his/her role is at the back seat and the child’s is right in front- being in charge. That way the child develops a sense of belonging, gains confidence and learns the required skills to tackle any challenge and soar in any situation.
However, as much as ‘Montessori’ seems to be the best way to raise kids, some parents do not know how to incorporate it at home to foster learning.
In my years of working with parents, I found that they felt reluctant to incorporate Montessori at home because they got certain things wrong about the method of education. They always thought Montessori interfered with their parental authority.
I will discuss 3 major things parents get wrong about Montessori.
1. I can’t have a prepared environment at home because Montessori materials are expensive:
2. My home will be untidy when I let my child play with whatever he likes and whenever.
3. If I let my child be in charge won’t that mean my child will disobey me and ignore my instructions?
Creating a Montessori home doesn’t have to be confusing, expensive or overwhelming. It is possible that you’re already practicing a few Montessori principles. With the right guidance, you can bring more of this into your home with ease.
If you're looking for more information about how to incorporate these ideas into your family's environment or where to buy Montessori materials you can follow and find on Instagram- https://instagram.com/_themontessoriplace?igshid=1oh8yrffdp9tn
Considering sending your child to a Montessori school in Festac Lagos, Nigeria?
Geneva Heights Schools is a Montessori Foundation School in a serene and secured environment in Festac, Lagos.
We hope you'll consider Geneva Heights Schools. Contact us on +234 812 615 6502
Frances Madueke-Ozorue
Frances is a trained Montessori educator and has taught for over 5 years. She was on the Management team in a leading school in Lagos where she was the Foundation Head. She is currently the Founding director of a Montessori Foundation school(Geneva Heights School) in Festac Lagos, Nigeria. She is also a toddler parent coach that work with parents through effective ways to raise emotionally intelligent, responsible and wholesome kids.
Follow her on IG @_themontessoriplace for contents on Montessori education, Montessori materials, Intentional parent coaching and Early years sex education.
She can be reached on f.c.madueke@gmail.com
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