Social play can help your child learn to get along with others and make friends. But how does it help him develop the valuable social skills he’ll need for later life? Did you know they’ll go through six stages of social play? How does their play change as they get older? And, how can you […]
Your Ultimate Guide to Pretend Play + the BEST Pretend Play Toys
This post is a 101 on pretend play and includes ideas for pretend play toys for the upcoming holiday season! Your Ultimate Pretend Play 101 Guide Definition of Pretend Play Pretend play within the concept of child development is not black and white and evolves as a child develops. Pretend play is a form of symbolic play […]
What Parents Should Know About W Sitting & What One Expert is Saying
The w-sitting position is a term that describes a floor sitting posture in which the knees are bent and the feet are resting outside of the hips. The person’s bottom and pelvis rest on the floor between the feet. What Parents Should Know About W-Sitting I actually wish it was called “M-sitting” because when you […]
What are Montessori Sensitive Periods of Child Development?
Within that concept of the Absorbent Mind, she defined Sensitive Periods of Development. The Montessori framework recognizes several important stages in a child’s learning. Sensitive periods are critical milestones where children are particularly open to acquiring certain skills. These distinctions help adults structure their kids’ learning activities. Furthermore, knowledge of this concept allows adults to understand a […]
What is Pretend Play?
Authentic, real experiences are critical for children. One of my Montessori instructors at MEIPN opened a session with an exercise she coined “Abstract Orange” to emphasize the importance of authentic, concrete experiences for children and their developing brains. She said: “We are adults with the ability to think abstractly so imagine you are holding a […]
A few thoughts on language development
The Montessori language philosophy had me at “hello.” “The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.” ~ Dr. Montessori Dr. Maria Montessori viewed child development as a holistic process. There should not be memorization of skills and knowledge thereby “transferring” skills and knowledge to […]