MONTESSORI AT HOME: What Is Montessori? (& Why Do It?)

hi my name is Ashley and I'm a mom of two little girls I have a two and a half year old toddler named Kylie and I also have an eleven month old baby named Mia you may have recently discovered the idea of using Montessori practices at home and now you're interested in learning a little bit more about it on this YouTube channel I have an entire playlist of videos that will teach you step-by-step how to effectively incorporate Montessori ideas into your everyday life at home with children and I will be sure to link that playlist down below for you guys to prove at your own convenience but before you dive in it is essential to understand the basics of Montessori this way you can clearly see the bigger picture and gain an understanding of the long-term benefits of raising a child with the Montessori approach so from one busy parent to another today I'm going to share with you exactly what Montessori is and why you should be incorporating Montessori practices at home with your children so what is Montessori first off it isn't new the Montessori approach has been around for over a hundred years and it began as a revolutionary child focused shift in education while it is still very much alive in schools it has also been widely embraced as a parenting philosophy at home in the late 1800s dr. Maria Montessori was the first Italian woman to become a doctor she worked with poor children as well as children with emotional and mental disabilities she spent a lot of time using her medical training to closely observe these children to see exactly what it was that engage them and help them to learn most effectively and then she used these observations to actually create tests out and then refine her own educational materials for them dr. Montessori noted time and again several different things about the children first the children were much less frustrated with their work when they had tools and furniture that were child sized and down at their level she also noted that the children responded very positively to an environment that was calm and orderly where everything had a place and finally she noticed that the children had higher levels of self esteem and confidence when they were taught to do things for themselves something very interesting happened to these children who were immersed in her methodologies every single day when given state exams these children passed the exams with much higher scores than any of the children without the emotional disabilities needless to say people began to take notice dr. Montessori ended up opening her first children's house also called the Casa de bambini in 1907 in the slums of Rome and it was here that she set out to kind of prove her methods after seeing how successful her first children's house was many more of them began opening and since its inception in the early 1900s over 20,000 Montessori schools have opened worldwide dr. Montessori believed that education begins at birth and those first few years of life are absolutely crucial to the eventual development of the child as an adult she believed that the goal of early childhood education should not be to fill a child with facts but to actually cultivate their natural desire to learn and so if education really does begin at birth then this premise should hold true and be modeled in the home as well traditionally in a classroom it is a very top-down teacher let approach where the teacher is standing at the front of the class they are teaching everyone the same subject or topic on the exact same day and everyone is learning at the same pace and in a traditional home setup this would look like the parents calling all the shots making all the decisions doing a lot of the things for the children that perhaps they could be doing for themselves directing a lot of their play and learning and really not giving much thought to it beyond perhaps what their own past childhood experiences an interest might be or whatever the latest toy craze might be out on the market things in a Montessori environment are a lot different instead of it being adult led it is child led there's an interaction between the child the adult and the environment at all times and the child is in charge of their own learning supported by the environment and the adult and a Montessori environment at home looks very similar to what you would see in a classroom instead of the parent being the child's boss where they are making all of the decisions and doing everything for the child or on the flip side of things allowing a child to call far too many of the shots and catering to their every whim which unfortunately we are seeing more and more often these days in a Montessori environment instead the parent takes on the role of an encouraging guide as they give their children time and space to make discoveries to learn through their play to gain independence and to learn how to participate in your daily life activities which in a Montessori environment are referred to as practical life activities so how is Montessori practice in the home let's talk about that one of the first things you'll notice is that there is a prepared environment now this is much more than just beautiful and engaging activities and spaces that are set up for the child the toys and activities are actually thoughtfully and carefully prepared ahead of time and this requires observation of the child on the part of the adults the adult must observe in order to know how to set up the environment properly and inform their decisions the home is also set up to allow for the child's independence in every room where possible so there would be child sized furniture low hooks mirrors and step stools you will also see plants and artwork hung at the child's level to encourage an appreciation of beauty and you will find that Montessori homes are off not very cluttered there is a place for everything and everything in its place which appeals to a child's natural sense of order Montessori toys and activities are hands on to promote greater learning and engagement they are also made of higher quality materials and thus they are longer-lasting typically these things are also beautiful because they're made of natural materials like wood and glass which are much nicer and aesthetically pleasing even for young children to handle Montessori specific activities help the child to develop a single skill at a time in a certain area such as hand-eye coordination arts and crafts language music and movement practical life and just simply getting outdoors to explore nature activities are beautifully arranged and organized usually with all of the pieces in one tray or basket laid out on an open shelf that makes it very easy for the child to independently access this as opposed to a giant toy box filled with all of their things that the child must constantly dig through and pull things out of just to find one item any non Montessori toys in the home are typically open-ended things like blocks and animal figurines play soaps vehicles train sets there is always an emphasis on active learning and play not passive entertainment we really strive to help a child develop their ability to focus and concentrate as well as to use their creativity and sustain their engagement for long periods of time versus relying on lots and lots of screen time or fleeting flashy toys that do all of the entertaining for the child and as we all know these types of toys are the ones that are often tossed aside by the child after a few minutes and then they tell you I'm bored finally when it comes to the activities and toys in a Montessori home less is more having less toys out allows your child to build their concentration and their mastery of any particular skill at a time it's a lot less overwhelming for the child in general and as for all the other things they are stored somewhere else and rotated out periodically in a Montessori home there is always an emphasis on mutual respect showing respect for the child's individual timeline of development and their unique learning modalities first while interactions with the child in general including how we speak to them which is how we would speak to another adult however the dull always sets clear expectations and they set kind but firm and loving limits whenever necessary this is often referred to as positive discipline or positive parenting and I have some more videos about that in case you're interested in learning more this also extends to respect for the child's play it's important to remember that play is a child's work so just as an adult if we were working and we were in a moment of deep flow and we would not wish to be interrupted during that time so it is for a child when they are playing they are working and in a Montessori environment we strive not to really interrupt the child with criticisms or Corrections or unnecessary praise whenever a child is in one of those moments of deep flow over time this provides the child with lots of opportunities to practice building up their focus and concentration for longer and longer periods of time which will serve them well as they enter school and also in their lives as adults and finally in a Montessori environment there is a major emphasis on freedom and independence for the child now these freedoms are given to the child as they seek them there's a very famous quote in Montessori that says help me to help myself and this describes that as adults we are helping the child to learn how to help themselves children in a Montessori environment are not allowed to do as they please that would be permissive parenting which Montessori is not but even the very youngest of children can be given small freedoms at home within reason for example they can choose what to wear so long as the items that they are choosing are seasonally appropriate or they can make their own snack as long as they are choosing from healthy options that you have provided and they sit down to eat it when they're done being trusted with these freedoms allows children to learn responsibility about caring for themselves caring for others and also caring for their environment so knowing all of this you still might ask yourself well why why do I want to use Montessori practices at home why is this important and I can tell you from firsthand experience that a Montessori home has this atmosphere of love warmth kindness and risk for everyone including its littlest members it also makes daily life for everyone involved a lot more smooth and enjoyable children who are raised with Montessori principals typically display a few qualities they display calm responsibility as well as respect not just for themselves but also for their surroundings they tend to have a greater sense of curiosity a love for learning and they deeply engage with their work they are independent self-sufficient confident enthusiastic and they feel secure in their role at home and in the family unit as they mature into adult citizens they will much more easily be able to identify their place in society as well as decide how they can and want to contribute to their community it's this self-assuredness that will allow your child to much more easily navigate all of the challenges that they're going to encounter throughout life so I ask you what better outcome than this could you want for your child if any of this sounds overwhelming to you I want to assure you that raising children in a Montessori home really isn't all that different from raising children in a home that doesn't incorporate these ideas there's just a greater emphasis on following the child's lead as they grow and setting them up for independence and success along the way if you'd like to see for yourself what a typical day in a Montessori home with two children looks like then I will link my video Montessori at home a day in the life down below in the description box for you to check out if you liked today's video and then please be sure to give it a big thumbs up and just in case you are new to my channel I did want to remind you that this video is part of a much larger series called Montessori at home which is aimed at providing practical tips and advice for busy parents like you and I for implementing Montessori philosophies at home with your children so if that sounds like something that you're interested in learning more about then you might consider subscribing to my channel this way you don't miss a new video because I do upload a new one just like this one every single week thank you so much for watching today and I'll see you next time bye

Channel: Hapa Family

Views: 351,986

Keywords: montessori at home, what is montessori education, what is montessori method, what is montessori parenting, what is montessori at home, what is montessori school, what is montessori preschool, montessori teaching methods, montessori parenting method, montessori parenting baby, montessori parenting discipline, montessori 101 the basics, the basics montessori, montessori basics, montessori, basic montessori principles

Id: KZEdP_RZhhI

Length: 11min 33sec (693 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 27 2020