Montessori parenting

The term normalization may appear to be almost scary to parents and the new teacher…what does that mean? That my child was not “normal” in the first place and it takes a Montessori classroom / teacher to make my child normal?

Taking a step back, let’s look at what Maria Montessori meant by the term “normalized”. Montessori’s observations and recordings showed her that discipline is achieved when a child is intellectually nourished.  Montessori believed that children whose needs are met and are able to develop freely, will not exhibit typical patterns of childhood behavior including tantrums, crying, or possessiveness.  Rather, the child who is in the “normal state of childhood” will show a love of work and order, a love of silence and working alone.  They will also exhibit tendencies to work well in a group with a sense of community and be able to show profound concentration, independence, and obedience….and are rooted with an attachment to reality.  Therefore if a “child’s true personality is allowed to construct itself normally,” we will observe that the child is filled with a sense of joy, and that is when we behold the child for who they truly are.

“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration" 

“To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.” - Maria Montessori

Many people have the misconception that the Montessori philosophy implies that children are free to do whatever they like whenever they like with no rules or boundaries in place. Freedom within limits is one of the core concepts of Montessori education. This concept allows children to explore their environment and do their own learning independently with some guidance from their teachers. Because of the way a Montessori environment is prepared (low shelving, organized work spaces, and logically ordered activities) it encourages the child to move freely around the classroom and independently choose their own work within limits of appropriate behavior. The limits are ground rules that are established at the beginning of the school year: respect for oneself, respect for others, and respect for the environment.

Respect for oneself teaches children how to properly use the materials in the classroom to avoid self-harm. It also helps children learn how to independently take care of their bodies and how to be responsible for their own belongings. Respect for others involves both social skills and good behavior. Children are allowed to choose work independently or they can work in small groups. In order for children to work in small groups, they must be invited to join and understand that they must not interfere or disrupt another child working. In our classroom community, all children must show respect for one another. Respect for the environment relates to taking good care of all things inside the Montessori environment. Children are expected to properly handle the materials, putting work away correctly, and taking care of plants, classroom pets, and all living/nonliving things in our environment.

There are various types of freedom within a Montessori Environment. As we have discussed before, movement is a major part of the Montessori philosophy. Freedom to move allows the child to move around the classroom and continuously find purposeful work independently. By allowing children to move freely in their environment we are encouraging them to learn more about their environment and their interests. Freedom to make mistakes is a type of freedom that really promotes critical thinking and problem-solving. The Montessori materials were designed to have a visual control of error, which guides children to correctly finish the activity through hands-on experience. Freedom of time gives children the opportunity to work on activities for as long as they like. This in return, allows children to develop at their own pace and learn great concentration/focusing skills. This also helps to build their patience, as there is only one of each activity out in the classroom. Since children have freedom of time to work on materials as long as they like, they also have the freedom to repeat. The work cycle gives children time to practice and repeat activities until they’ve been able to master them.

In a Montessori classroom we specifically put out only one of each work. We also teach children to say “Please don’t touch my work.” It teaches the other child patience and is a great way to teach grace and courtesy.