After working with thousands of families over my years as a family psychologist, I’ve found that one of the most common predicaments parents face is how to get kids to do what they’re asked. And one of the most common questions parents ask is about tools they can use to help them achieve this goal. […]
By Parenting Educator and Author Amy McCready Funny how when your kids want to do something – play a game, watch a show, or capture a Pokémon in the latest app craze, there is no limit to the energy or time they can find to make it happen – right? But let there be a […]
My son is currently 4-years-old, and is lucky enough to be attending a Montessori School here in Australia. It is a bit of a drive from our house, and with another baby on the way, it was a drive my husband and I were worried wouldn’t be viable next year. I have been looking at […]
If you are a devotee of the Montessori method, you know from first hand experience that the goal is to raise independent children, who find and follow their own passions in a directed way. Such a philosophy is taking on even more importance in today’s culture. Consider, for example, that an annual survey of over […]
STOP SAYING “HOW WAS YOUR DAY?” AND SAY THESE 10 THINGS INSTEAD This article was first published at www.thepreparedenvironment.com on May 11, 2016 As a Montessori parent, figuring out what your child did all day can be particularly challenging. “How was your day” is a particularly useless question, as it asks for a judgment of […]
Too often when we talk about “innovation” in education, we point to that new set of Chromebooks or those shiny new Smartboards as examples of our efforts to change what we do in the classroom. That is, after all, what “innovation” is all about, to “make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, […]
1. My house is not an obstacle course. My kids put away their work when they’re finished with it. They are not allowed to choose another work until they clean up the first one and put it back on the shelf. This means my floors are clean (of toys, anyway…) and I can walk around my house […]
Their limbs are disproportionate to their bodies making them look and seem somewhat awkward. Their brains are developing rapidly. They are questioning everything you say-why, why, why? They are hungry all the time. They are easily cranky. One moment they want to be held, the next they want total independence. They have little tolerance with […]
I am a highschool teacher, and if there is one thing I know about education it is that modern education is steeped in research and data. Teachers collect and examine data in formative assessments (checking to see if students are learning as we go) and summative assessments (checking to see if student learning is complete). […]
Growing up, there were many lessons in school that filled me with wonder. I was fascinated with the world around me and I had a voracious appetite to learn more. I’d absorb everything like a sponge and then eagerly share it with anyone who would listen. Nothing felt better than knowing the answer. I would […]
