Montessori - What is it?

Montessori. Is it
A) The French word for love?
B) A country in Africa?
C) Type of educational method?

Just a few months ago I would not have been able to answer this question. I had no idea what Montessori was when I read it on a blog. I quickly learned it was an education method used by families. It is very different from the traditional model of lecture-learning.

"The Montessori Method is a way about thinking about who children are. It is a philosophy that respects the unique individuality of each child. Dr. Montessori believed in the worthiness, value and importance of children. Her method does not compare a child neither to norms nor standards that are measured by traditional educational systems. It is founded on the belief that children should be free to succeed and learn without restriction or criticism."
You can read the rest of the article at Montessori Mom.

Basically, this parents observe their children and foster that child's talent and abilities.

I was fascinated by the way the mom was teaching her son. It was so interactive and intentional. It piqued my interest. However, I was having a hard time figuring out how to make this work with my daughter. She is only 10 months old and her son was 3. Then another Mom started to really talk about Montessori on her blog and she has a daughter who is just a few months older than mine. I began to realize this model may have something to offer my family.

After doing a little research, I began to be slightly skeptical of some of the concepts. The method can be very child-oriented and I felt that the child needed to be reared in a more parent-directed approach. I am firm in my convictions about who God is and how He designed the family to function. I felt that maybe this method disrupted God's design. However, after talking to the Mom's who practiced this method I began to see that you can take the good parts out of this method and leave the rest. We can incorporate the learning style without compromising God's plan for our family.

If you are interested in reading more about this subject, Majorscoop's blog has a great post about infant Montessori. There are a lot of links to other sites for more in depth reading.

In the meantime, you can plan to see more post on this subject in the future!