Skip to main content
Category

Montessori Learning

Reflection on Early Childhood Best Practice Conference

By FMS Values, Montessori Educators, Montessori Learning No Comments
Last weekend, 4 educators from our birth to 6 community headed off to Brisbane for the 2024 Early Childhood Best Practice Conference.  This was a wonderful opportunity for our staff to connect with Montessori colleagues, sharing their experience and expertise while learning best practice in early childhood from leading Montessori educators.  Our team was delighted to reconnect with past FMS staff members, Linda Strom and Natasha Williams, currently a Montessori...
Read More

Let’s Go Outside: Benefits for Our Children (and Ourselves!)

By Montessori Basics, Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
Montessori advocates reconnecting with nature for emotional resilience, social skills, and environmental stewardship in children. Our world–and as a result our children’s world–is increasingly dominated by screens and schedules. As such, the importance of reconnecting with nature has become more important than ever. Dr. Maria Montessori believed in providing children with an environment that encourages exploration, independence, and self-discovery. Central to the  Montessori philosophy is the concept of the prepared...
Read More

The Absorbent Mind: The start to building intelligence

By Montessori Basics, Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
Well before brain scans, Dr. Montessori discovered so much about how children’s brains function and she termed this special mental functioning, the Absorbent Mind. Her book, The Absorbent Mind, was one of the last books she compiled. The words Dr. Montessori used to describe the child’s Absorbent Mind were chosen deliberately. The word absorbent implies “taking in” and integrating into the whole. What is absorbed becomes a part of what...
Read More

Social Benefits of Montessori: The Primary Years

By Montessori Basics, Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
With NAPLAN receiving so much attention this week, we want to highlight the importance of skills learned during primary school, other than academics. Social and emotional learning are hot topics in today's education world and Montessori primary schools have this built into their curriculum.  Before moving on to social and emotional learning, let’s recollect the academic benefits of Montessori education. An August 2023 meta-analysis of 32 studies highlights how students...
Read More

Shifting from “Stuff” to the Spirit of the Season

By Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning, Montessori Philosophy No Comments
All too often the holiday season becomes about “stuff”–presents, decorations, more presents. How do we wean our children away from their focus on getting gifts and instead shift attention to the spirit of togetherness, generosity, peace, and goodwill?  It can be helpful to hold a family meeting and talk about everyone’s feelings about the holidays. We can ask our children about what, besides the gifts, they really like about the...
Read More

Art for Self-Expression

By Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
Numerous theories and lots of research expound upon the importance of artistic expression. For young children and adolescents, art is an especially crucial form of personal expression. As such, children need to experience their own process rather than to produce a piece that someone else wants.  In Montessori, we also have sensitivity to different expressive needs throughout different stages of development.   Process vs. Product For young children, the process of...
Read More

A Supportive Summer

By Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
The summer months can sometimes feel like a long stretch, especially when we are trying to figure out how to keep our children engaged, or at least entertained. However, if we think about the big picture of what children really need, it can be easier to think about activities that will satisfy those needs and support natural development.  What do our children really need? When Dr. Maria Montessori first began...
Read More

Memory, Learning, and Montessori

By Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
Memory is such a critical component of learning. We perhaps take this for granted without fully understanding how memory works and how to support our children in the process of creating and retrieving memories.   What is memory?  Memory is essential to being human. Our brains have evolved to remember what is most meaningful. That being said, we also tend to forget things! Interestingly enough, not remembering is often just a...
Read More

Materials Spotlight: The Bead Chain Cabinet

By Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning, The Prepared Environment No Comments
Visit any Montessori environments and you’ll immediately notice a stunning display of colorful glass beads hanging in an open cabinet. Children (and adults!) are drawn to the order and elegance of the bead chains. Beyond their initial aesthetic appeal, the bead chain material offers an amazing array of intellectual opportunities for young children to those in their primary years. Colour-coding   One of the brilliant aspects of the Montessori mathematics materials...
Read More

Family-School Partnership

By FMS Values, Montessori in Action, Montessori Learning No Comments
Our children really thrive when home and school environments work cooperatively, communicate well, and share similar educational values and expectations. When families devote sincere effort to learning about Montessori principles and how to reinforce these at home, there are positive effects. We want to partner with you in support of your child!  What does a home-school partnership look like in action?   In order to reinforce and extend your child’s experience...
Read More