My biggest Montessori learning curve
Jul 1, 2021 - Montessori , Parenting - By Carine Robin
What is your biggest Montessori learning curve?
Why do we start Montessori and what do we learn along the way...
I don't think there are any wrong reasons to start applying Montessori at home. We might be misguided, thinking that it's just a method to learn academics, or thinking that it's just about pretty wooden toys.
But Montessori is a learning curve for sure!
This blog post is part of a collaboration with other Montessori accounts on Instagram. Check their posts under the hashtag #montessorifamiliesuk
Patience
While asking you what has been the most difficult part of applying the method, and what you have discovered along the way, your main answer was "patience".
Waiting for our child to do it himself, waiting for the tantrum to wane off, waiting to see some results after presenting, guiding, role-modeling. Montessori and parenting, in general, is a game of patience.
Knowing that it's not a quick fix. That it takes time and dedication. That a child is only little and he will take time to learn. And we have to develop patience with our children and with the process.
Then you had a few other answers...
It's not about my child, it's about me!
We start with the idea to help our child with Montessori. And many discover, along the way, that it's about us, how we parent, how we role-model, how we fulfill our own potential, how we prepare the environment, how we react to our child....
Learning not to interrupt
Observing and sitting on our hands is such a hard thing to do! As parents, we want to help! And most of us have been corrected all our life so it's hard to do differently. But not interrupting is key to concentration + children learn by discovering and correcting their own mistakes.
More info about how to observe your child here!
Montessori is not "just" activities on a tray. A child who moves is also a Montessori child
Thanks to Social Media, Montessori has become so visible but we cannot show a child in action and all that is happening behind the shelves and trays in real life! But a child who moves, a child who talks, a child who explores nature, a child who plays with others is a Montessori child too!
More ideas for the child who likes to climb or to throw!
Following my child
It's tempting to compare our children to others. It's tempting to check what a child at such age should know. But the beauty of Montessori is that it's about your UNIQUE child!
Starting by giving more freedom and then understanding that I had to set up limits!
Guilty as charged! I find it easy to allow freedom and harder to set up limits. Focusing on safety (for my child, others and the environment) helps a lot!
More info about freedom within limits.
My biggest learning curve: Applying Montessori to my adult life!
For me, my biggest learning curve was to be more Montessori in my own life in order to be able to guide my children. I am chaotic and disorderly. But Montessori helps me to be, well, more Montessori!
I started to really get it when I realize that I was lacking the Montessori elements in my own life: order, simplicity, organization, focus... When I started to declutter my life and focus on order, everything became easier and I was a better guide for my own children.
More blog posts about KonMari and decluttering.
Fullfil your own potential!
And embracing Montessori helped me to recognise that I was not living up to my standards. I was not fulfilling my own potential. It was a painful discovery but it helped me to reach for my dreams and here I am.
I am convinced that by offering freedom and following my children's interests, while respecting their natural development, they will fulfill their own potential. Time will tell as they are still children.
By following Montessori for my family, I realised that I hadn't fulfilled my potential. I remembered painfully all the dreams I had as a child, dreams that had been crushed by my parent's fears, the social expectations, the school's requirements...
I cried on my lost dreams and despaired about all that time wasted fulfilling someone's else expectations. And I pull myself together and started to focus on my own potential, showing, I hope, a great example to my children.
Drop a comment if you agree with those learning curves and tell what is your biggest Montessori learning curve?
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About the Author: Carine Robin is a qualified and experienced Montessori teacher and founder of The Montessori Family. With over 15 years of experience, Carine offers a blend of professional insight and personal understanding as a mother of two and qualified child psychologist. Inspired by the success of her Montessori subscription box, she created The Montessori Family to provide a comprehensive resource for parents and teachers globally. This platform aims to support child growth and well-being through curated educational activities. Additionally, Carine maintains the UK's most popular Montessori blog and administers the largest Montessori UK Facebook group, making her a central figure in the Montessori community.
