Are you at the beginning of your Montessori journey? Did you read a blog/book that sparked your interest? Did you visit a school to discover more? A family member in another country attends Montessori? You heard Prince George did and googled it? Oh, wait, it was the headline about how all the wealthy & successful tech geniuses were Montessori kids, right? Montessori education is a hot topic and one that is not going to go away.
Prepare yourself for one of the greatest journeys you will go on as a parent or educator, because once you ‘know’ Montessori, it’s hard to imagine life any other way.
You’ll start with looking at your child’s toys and screaming ‘I need more wood’… You’ll freak out that your child is in a cot when the book talks about a floor bed. Wooden toys and child sized furniture make up only a portion of the approach. Montessori is a philosophy for life.
What is So Special about Montessori Education?
The beauty is in the simplicity, in the faces of happy, liberated children. The environment is important, including the adult within the environment. Neat and orderly shelves is as important as a calm, controlled parent. Get it? There is a bridge. Montessori does not begin and end at the classroom doors.
Montessori is a lifestyle.
Most parents have an ah-ha moment when discovering ‘montessori’. Finally, there is a ‘name’ to how they naturally wanted to parent, how they naturally wanted their child to be educated. I too was one of them.
Montessori speaks to my heart and my head, as it is such a logical way to approach a child. An approach that is scientifically backed and had over a century of success behind it. I dove straight in, and three years later, I found my feet as a parent, I have a happy four year old, and I am continually learning every day.
Interest in Montessori has increased 65% since Prince George attended his first day at a Montessori Children’s House, and it continues to increase globally.
Why Montessori?
There is a reason parents are driving this movement – we want education to change, to prepare our children for tomorrow’s world. For a world where the jobs don’t exist yet, where they have the ability to create and innovate instead of being forced into a box. We want them to be happy, to follow their interests and their strengths, to do the things they are really good at, and to have the resilience to pick themselves up when things don’t work. We want them to be intrinsically motivated to do great work. To look at a world they can contribute to, to help and assist others around them.
That’s why Montessori speaks to your heart – because it does all of the above, and has been for over 100 years. You will ask yourself on many occasions ‘Why is this not everywhere? Why is this not ‘mainstream?’
This journey you have just begun will last a lifetime. It will be with you long after your children have moved out of home, and it is completely worth it!
Thanks for reading.
This post was written by Australian based contributing writer Rebecca Grugan of I Am Montessori.