7 key phrases Montessori teachers use and why we should use them, too

To anyone who tells me that they would like an Alex in their life (it does happen, and yes, I know it's a joke!), I'm sorry to disappoint you: Alex isn't perfect.He is a beautiful human being, I agree, he's so empathetic, he can observe and listen, he's wise and kind and understanding, but he's also often impatient (especially with me, which causes lots of arguments), he's not very good at communicating his emotions (another reason for great arguments), at times he lets his ego take control (...

We parents have a super power: with our words we create and model mental mechanisms, positive and negative ones, that our children will carry around forever. We turn self-esteem and self-confidence on or off.There are two words in particular that we say way too often: "good job". These simple words actually weigh a lot: 1. They make kids dependent on our opinion/judgement, they soon start looking for it every time they do something; 2. They prevent kids from experiencing emotions just the way...

I ran into this article by Simone Davies, Montessori guide and one of my Montessori mentors, and it made me think. Parents (including me) constantly test their kids, but is it good or useful?I translated the article for my lovely Italian and Spanish readers, and you can read the original one in English here. Thanks, Simone, for being always a source of inspiration.

I need to get something off my chest.Sometimes I feel like there’s a lot of misunderstanding and confusion around Montessori. Somebody thinks it’s a fashion, and a pretentious one at that. Somebody thinks it’s about putting a mattress on the floor. Somebody thinks it’s about buying only wooden toys and specific materials. Somebody thinks it’s an expensive teaching method: among these, somebody thinks children are too structured and organised, while others think children do what they want.Mont...

In this video, Simone Davies from The Montessori Notebook, explains how to set an activity Montessori-Style, so that it’s more engaging and attractive for the child. She talks about what she does in her Montessori classroom, but we can definitely do this in our homes, too.These are the four tips she gives us (for details and examples, watch the video :-):Make the activity attractive: She puts toys on beautiful trays or baskets to make them pop out.Show what belongs together. She puts together...

Tempo fa incappai in un documentario sulle scuole Montessori che mostrava una tipica giornata di lezione. Oltre al metodo — di cui sono indubbiamente un fan — che gioca sull’indipendenza di scelta, sul lavoro individuale, sull’importanza di iniziare e terminare un lavoro, una delle cose che più mi colpì fu la regolaNon interrompere mai il lavoro di un compagnoSecondo Maria Montessori, quando interrompiamo il lavoro di un bambino, trasmettiamo il messaggio che ciò che sta facendo non sia valid...

When I was pregnant, while waiting for our little Oliver, we read a lot about the Montessori method and philosophy, and how to integrate it at home, in our everyday life. We loved the idea that Oliver would grow independent since his very first months and we decided to follow our instincts and go for it. It wasn’t an easy choice not to have a classic crib—leaving the known for the unknown—and we knew we would have risen some eyebrows. But going against the flow wasn’t anything we hadn’t alrea...