The Montessori Toddler: A Parent's Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being

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Toddlers are often eager and excited about helping in activities and chores that most adults consider to be mundane.

Teachers then guide the child to these activities to spark the child’s interest and help them through the process.

Because of the way this classroom is structured, there is very little competition between students, and there are no extrinsic rewards such as grades and tests to mark achievement (Cossentino, 2006). For example, a 2005 study done in a Buffalo public Montessori magnet school was not able to support the hypothesis that a Montessori school was associated with higher academic achievement (Lopata et al. It has beautiful illustrations and it’s perfect for teaching counting, the days of the weeks as well as various kinds of fruits and foods – and most importantly – the life cycle of a butterfly. For me personally, it is a question of degree – a caterpillar eating sweets in a book that is otherwise factually correct is something different than a book about unicorns. In 1914, progressive educator William Heard Kirkpatrick and educational reformer John Dewey wrote a book titled The Montessori System Examined that greatly criticized this approach.

It gives detailed advice to parents for babies from 0 to 3 years including setting up thehome environment, breastfeeding and weaning, and the role of the father. Together, these four planes not only illustrate most individuals’ developmental pathways but they largely inspired the Montessori method of education. A 2017 meta-analysis found that the various methods (such as a focus on sensorial development and teaching literacy through phonics) are generally effective (Marshall, 2017).

For those wanting detailed information on all aspects of the Montessori approach for the youngest children, this book is worth a read.

These activities will support your child’s sense of discovery and encourage independent investigation of the learning environment. The benefits of the Montessori method include the emphasis on fostering independence at a young age, more social interaction for the students, and an inclusive environment that incorporates multiple ages and is conducive to various learning styles and developmental pathways (Meinke, 2019).

Which made me have some interesting conversations with some of the adults when I asked, “Which areas are not being fully used in your own homes? Hi Trista, it is a good question 🙂 And you are right, there are some books that are commonly labeled as Montessori-friendly although they contain some elements we might consider “fantasy” or “not accurate”.