Raising a Montessori Kid: 75 Easy Ways to Montessori Parenting

My 2..5-year-old hopped off his chair and walked over to a cabinet. He pulled out dishes and glasses, then ran over to the kitchen table and began setting places for himself and his brothers. This scenario is an example of Montessori parenting within the context of Maria Montessori's Theory.

Montessori embodies this act. Respecting the child. Giving him space and time gives him the opportunity to grow and to develop in a healthy and productive way. 

Related Post: How to Discipline Effectively in a Montessori Environment

Montessori is a lifestyle. Dr. Montessori, although she wrote extensively about Montessori as an educational approach, did not intend for this approach to guiding children to be limited to the classroom. Quite the contrary, Montessori, with the focus on the development of the whole child, should embrace the child’s life as a whole, including his time in the classroom and outside the classroom, whether with Mother Nature or at home with family. 

What is Montessori Parenting?

Montessori parenting? Ahh. Yes, it is a thing. Sitting at my laptop one early morning as my oldest son (then a toddler) and my husband slept, I breathed in the silence and began to read an article introducing Montessori. I stopped and laughed out loud. You see, my family embraced Montessori, only we never knew “it” – my mom's parenting style – had a name.  I was drawn to Montessori immediately and deeply.

The moment I read the quote “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed,” I felt an immediate kindred spirit with Dr. Montessori. Everything I continued to read about the Montessori philosophy resonated with me as an individual, a teacher, and as a parent.

For more detail on Why I Chose Montessori for my family, check out my blog. By the way, here are some of my favorite Montessori books for parents.

 

How to Define Montessori at Home and Montessori Parenting

Montessori parenting is a big part of the Montessori philosophy. Bridging the gap between home and school is critical to raising a Montessori child. Work with your child's teachers to make that happen.

Related Post: 12 Ways to Integrate Montessori at Home

Life offers moments to guide children. Let them put on their own shoes. Offer them support without doing it for them. Don’t assume you have the answer or can solve their problem. Children are capable of doing and being so much. Respecting the potential of our kids to grow and develop based on their own instincts and tendencies is just as much a part of the Montessori classroom as it is a part of the Montessori home environment. 

Related Post: Your Child is a Killer Communicator

Opening up our eyes to that possibility is key with integrating Montessori at home. At the risk of sounding cliche, the world is our classroom. What Dr. Montessori emphasized included an approach to communicating with children, disciplining children, guiding children, and preparing the environment to ensure success in a child’s development. 

75 Ways to Montessori Parenting

1. Read Montessori: a Modern approach
2. Embrace the idea that Montessori is a lifestyle and not simply an approach that begins and ends at classroom doors
3. Invest in stools so the child can reach the sink, cabinets, and shelves
4. Use real dishware; Avoid plastic toys, cups, dishes
5. Embrace the Montessori Coat Flip
6. Practice simplicity
7. Be a model of behavior no matter what you're doing in life
8. Help a child with scientific thinking
9. Think about history not in dates to remember but instead as a sense of duration and passage of time (which typically isn't cognitively possibly to comprehend until 7 or 8 years old). Teaching kids about time can be fun!
10. Use REAL images (aka AVOID cartoons)
11. Hang a coat rack at your child's level
12. Allow kids to be creative
13. Consider a faucet extender
14. Create a culture basket
15. Wait for your child to put his coat on
16. Give your child space and time to put on his shoes
17. Practice Letter Writing
18. Explore the outdoors with these books about rocks, ants, bears, and seeds.
19. Teach kids to code (Maria Montessori would approve of moving along with the times)
20. Focus on sounds, not memorization, of letters
21. Use concrete objects that kids can get their hands on while learning
22. Teach children about what it means to be courageous
23. Read up on positive discipline and respectful parenting
24. Learn about ways to encourages children with writing
25. Create the environment for discovery of reading and writing
26. Practice observing your child for at least five minutes a day
27. Don't intervene in conflict or struggle
28. Remember practical life activities are about focus, completion of a work cycle, preparation for writing, and independence.
29. Cook with your kids
30. Put together an easy Letter Sound Work for your kids
31. Always move left to right
32. Allow your child to zip up on his own
33. Make smelling bottles
34. Don't talk down to your child.
35. Speak in a kind, firm tone.
36. Have a Family Reading Time
37. Travel with your Kids
38. Learn photography with your kids
39. Subscribe to one of these amazing monthly kits
40. Read (a lot) with your child
41. Establish a routine with kids
42. Commit to these 5 Rock Star Responses to Kids during Challenging Moments
43. Create a music basket
44. Learn about Electricity with Kids
45. Learn the 3 Period Lesson
46. Create object boxes
47. Expect a lot from your child because she is capable
48. Take Sensorial Activities outside
49. Leave her room to develop at her pace
50. Allow him to make his discoveries because then he will be a lover of learning for life
51. Go and be outside
52. Practice Mindfulness
53. Implement yoga into your daily routine with your kids
54. Listen to your kids
55. Kneel down at the child's eye level when speaking with him
56. Use phrases other than “What's Wrong?”
57. Learn math outside
58. Better communicate with your child with these rock star tips
59. Don't be afraid of insects
60. Take Language activities outside
61. Help create a sense of awe and wonder in a child by using questions to lead learning
62. Garden with Kids
63. Make time for dinner & family time
64. Practice grace & courtesy
65. Create a peace table in your home
66. Accept that all children exist on the education spectrum.
67. No two children are alike
68. Children crave a gentle, calm leader
69. Focus on developing a child's emotional intelligence
70. Be a role model in your relationship with your partner
71. Do listening activities with kids
72. Take Practical Life Outside
73. Purchase garden tools for kids
74. Practice inquiry-based learning
75. Read Madeline Levine's book “Teach Children Well” about redefining success

What are your biggest struggles with being (or wanting to be) a Montessori parent? If you didn't already get enough, check out 15 of the Best Montessori Quotes for Parents.

Marnie