NO MONTESSORI SCHOOL? NO PROBLEM!

Today we are going to be talking about whether or not you need to have your child in a Montessori school program to see the benefits of Montessori.

During this session of Montessori Mondays with Holly, we talked about practicing Montessori at home when your child isn’t in a Montessori School. Watch the show above and click here to join the Facebook group.

 

 

Montessori At Home If You Can’t Go To School 

With everything going on in the world today there may be several reasons why you can’t send your child to a Montessori program.

• Maybe you can’t afford it?
• You’re worried about the pandemic?
• Maybe you just don’t have a Montessori program in your town? Which is the case for my family. We live regionally in Western Australia right now so the closest Montessori school or daycare is 5 hours from us.

Whatever the reason I want you to know something, practicing Montessori isn’t just for classrooms! One of the most common questions I get asked is what’s the point of doing Montessori at home if they won’t be able to go to Montessori school later down the line?

So let’s talk about why it absolutely 100% will be beneficial for your child to experience Montessori at home during these younger years even if they won’t be attending a Montessori school!

 

Montessori At Home Is Beneficial Because…

The first reason is that your child is in their absorbent mind between the years of 0-6. 

Your child from the age of 0-6 spends the majority of their time with their parents. And because they are in their absorbent mind during this stage they are downloading everything around them.

They will be using these downloads to refer back on for their entire life. Meaning that we parents will have a HUGE impact on our children during these younger years.

What we model and how we treat our children now will have a lifelong impression on our children. 

Can you think of any memories that come up for you around this age? One memory that I think has always had a hand in shaping me is spending so much time with my grandparents as a young child. They helped raise me as my mom was a single mother and the extra love and attention they were able to provide for me really helped shaped the confident adult that I am today.

 

Respect For The Child

Another reason Montessori at home is just as important if not more important than Montessori school is the Montessori principle, respect for the child.

You may have heard of some of the Montessori principles by now. I find that when you look at them as mindsets that you can adapt to your parenting style it’s much easier to start doing. 

When you practice respect for the child at home you are not only showing them how to treat others but how others should treat them. Remember they are in that absorbent mind period. So they are going to be copying everything you do and storing it to look back and reference for the rest of their lives. 

There are several ways you can start to respect your child. One of the easiest ways to start is to cut the baby talk. Your child in that absorbent mind needs clear spoken language. From birth, you can start this. 

You can also start framing the way you speak to them differently. Instead of speaking to your child as a child or baby, speak to them as if they were another adult. Would you tell your adult friend to “hurry up and get their shoes on and get in the car!”?

Probably not but you might say “We are leaving now would you mind getting your shoes on and joining us in the car?” Or if your child is in the “no” phase you could say “We are leaving now, please get your shoes on and join us in the car.” so you aren’t asking them a question with a way out of the request.

 

Ask Your Child For Collaboration

Another way to show your child respect is by asking your child for collaboration is another easy way to respect them. At the next diaper change ask for their help lifting their legs instead of just doing it for them with no communication.

This was a huge game-changer for us! I always tell this story in the 4 days to a Montessori home challenge if you’ve joined me before. Speaking of it starts on March 8th! I’ll be going over all the details on how to sign up at the end of this post.

 

Montessori Growth Mindset

The last reason that you don’t have to send your child to a Montessori school to see the benefits is something called the Montessori growth mindset.

The idea behind the Montessori growth mindset is to teach your child how to do things for their own gratification. Not anyone else’s, including yours.

This can be a hard one to start with but changing just a few small things in your vocabulary used with your child can go a long way. For instance, instead of saying I’m so proud of you, try saying You must be so proud of yourself!

See how the tone is different? Now we are teaching our children not to do it for the reward, the praise, or for us but to do it for themselves and their own satisfaction of completing the task.

I could go on and on about the Montessori growth mindset. Because I think it is absolutely amazing but we only have so much time today! 

Instead what I have done is added a Montessori Growth Mindset Bonus Training to the 4 Days to a Montessori home challenge that starts on March 8th!

 

4 Days To A Montessori Home Challenge 

So if you are ready to learn more about a Montessori growth mindset and provide your child with a Montessori-prepared environment at home to raise your child with Montessori I would love to invite you to join us for our 4 Days To A Montessori Home Challenge.

About this Challenge:

• This Challenge is specifically designed to transform your main living space into a beautifully prepared Montessori environment.
• This challenge is NOT meant to be complicated or make your life difficult.
• You do NOT need all the expensive materials to make this happen!
• Our [free] pop-up Facebook group is all about supporting one another, no mom shaming here!

What you need to know:

• The Challenge starts on March 8th and finishes on March 11th
• It’s ABSOLUTELY FREE to join!
• One lucky winner will win a scholarship to the Montessori Learning Center!

What do you think? Want to join in on the fun? 

Click here to join us! 

Just remember Whether you’re not sending your child back to school or daycare because of the pandemic or because you don’t have one available it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is what you are doing in your home right now!

 

 

Will you be joining us for the Montessori Home Challenge? Let us know in the comments!