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Helpful Hints

Toilet Learning: The Montessori Way

By Helpful Hints, Montessori Basics, Montessori in Action No Comments
The toilet learning process for young children takes time but doesn’t have to feel daunting. Here are some key aspects of toileting the Montessori way.  As parents we quickly learn that children have control over three things: eating, sleeping, and toileting. Rather than engage in power struggles, however, we can help children develop the skills they need to manage and gain mastery over these essential aspects of life.   In Montessori...
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Montessori Education: the future is now!

By FMS Values, Helpful Hints, Montessori in Action No Comments
Montessori education has been successfully serving children and families around the world for over a century, yet the fundamentals remain – and for good reason! Our methods are consistently backed by current research in education and human development, like this recent article published by The Conversation. While such research is a boon to the reputation of Montessori schools, we are further encouraged by a clear congruence of current Montessori methodologies...
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Strengthening the Family-School Connection

By FMS Values, Helpful Hints, Montessori in Action No Comments
The school and family connection is important for both parties involved. How do we strengthen it? What does it mean to have a connection between these two? This week’s blog is absolutely full of ideas, and we would love to hear yours too! Our children thrive when home and school environments work cooperatively, communicate well, and share similar educational values and expectations. At FMS, we have been active in sharing...
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Helping children “find their flow” in the school day

By FMS Values, Helpful Hints, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
You may have heard the quote” “How you start your day is the way you live your day, how you live your day is how you live your life.’ (Louise Hay).  At the start of the school year, this quote is a great reminder to help our children get the best start to their day so they the best outcomes from their day.  One of the simplest ways to structure...
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How We Montessori: A Montessori View on Chores

By Helpful Hints, Montessori Basics, Parenting No Comments
Chores: the word has such a negative connotation.  But does it need to be that way?  Following on from our post last week about chores being beneficial for all ages, we wanted to share a post from 'How We Montessori' about the benefits of chores for children at three years of age. It’s not about making children do chores.  Instead, it’s about encouraging and supporting your children to recognise and...
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Chores: They’re Good for Your Kids!

By Helpful Hints, Montessori Basics, Parenting No Comments
Chores: the word has such a negative connotation.  But does it need to be that way?  Do you remember doing chores when you were growing up?  For some of us, we remember them as a negative consequence.  For others, we never had them and it took us a while to learn how to do them as adults.  Still others remember helping around the house but not thinking it was a...
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Mutual Respect & Making Deposits

By Helpful Hints No Comments
Montessori classrooms depend upon a web of mutual respect. This culture of respect is established from the very beginning: from how the classroom is arranged and sized for the children, to how we greet each other at the start of the day, to how the adults refrain from interrupting children’s concentration. Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized that, as adults, we must have the utmost respect for children, because they are in...
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The Power and Potential of Sleep

By Helpful Hints No Comments
We work so hard to provide the best for our children. When they are young, we may try to find innovative toys, sign up for parent-infant programs, or research brain-boosting foods. As they get older, we might enroll them in enrichment programs, pursue assessments, or invest in tutors. But what if the best thing we could do was completely free, within our own household, and could provide a lifetime of...
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How to Encourage Joyful Readers

By Helpful Hints, Parenting No Comments
Proficient reading skills set our children up for success in so many ways. Cultivating a love of joyful reading provides them with a lifetime of inspiration, entertainment, and knowledge.  Do teachers teach kids to read? Of course. What parents do at home also plays an enormous role in a child’s perspective and success. Here are our tips to support learning and make reading a positive experience that your child will...
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5 Ways to Take Learning Outside

By Helpful Hints, Montessori Learning No Comments
It’s that time of year again. The clocks have changed.  The mornings and evenings are cooler. The daylight is gracing us with its shorter presence and the Sydney sunsets are awe inspiring!  While we believe in the importance of finding fun ways to be outside all year round, prolonging the hold on summer seems to pull us there without the need for any convincing.   Parents often ask us how they...
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