1. Include your child in daily activities
This is something you can do right from the beginning. Including children in the real work of daily life gives them a sense of purpose, teaches valuable life skills, and discipline. No matter what the task, there is usually a way a child will happily help.
2. Avoid Time Outs
Bad behavior with children is often a cry for our attention. Rather than placing them in “Time Out”, see what they truly need which is likely some one-on-one time with you.
3. Encourage freedom of movement
Montessori children are free to walk about the classroom, choose where they wish to sit, use the restroom without asking for permission and do things like yoga or “walking the line” when they need to move their bodies.
4. Tell them what’s going to happen
At a Montessori school like Triangle Montessori Academy, one thing you will notice is how the teachers speak to the infants and toddler students. They often tell them what they’re going to do before they do it. It takes practice but it becomes intuitive and is then easy to use at home with your own children.
5. Encourage Independence
Montessori is all about independence and this is something you can practice with your own children. Doing things with and not for your child may take more time, but it will encourage your child to be more responsible and independent.
6. Model grace and courtesy
Montessori teachers instill grace and courtesy, or manners, both in the classroom and at home. Take time to show your child how to be courteous and tell them what manners are important.
Triangle Montessori Academy is a Cary preschool emphasizing art, mathematics, practical life, Spanish, yoga, meditation, and music. The private, year-round school was founded in 2008 and accepts children from 18 months old up to six years old. The school is a member of the American Montessori Society and all teachers are AMS-certified. Students at the school are exposed to Montessori-style teaching approaches, including individual learning according to each child’s style and pace, multi-age classrooms that allow children to advance when they are ready, and a nurturing of students’ natural curiosity.
For more information, call 919.463.7770, or visit our Website at www.trianglemontessori.org.
