Three Happy Birds : How I Use Montessori to Raise a Confident, Focused Child

While I was pregnant I would often peruse the child rearing section at BN to get some ideas on parenting approaches. I happened to stumble upon the book 'Montessori from the Start: The child at home, from Birth to Age Three" by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jesson. To be honest, it was the cover that intrigued me…2 wooden toys, simple.

I opened it and immediately felt connected to the ideas that were printed. Ideas like honoring the infant as a human being in development, creating an environment of simple beauty, protecting the child's concentration, and allowing the child to develop their independence and assist themselves. There are only a few photos inside, but they amazed me. Seeing a 9 month old drinking from a small glass and another playing independently with one toy, made me curious on what I could learn from this book. I am so grateful to have purchased it that night.

The concepts are based on discoveries made by Maria Montessori, a medical doctor in Rome during the early 1900's. She held several observational studies, watching and discovering how a child naturally develops. She then based the development of her educational approach on these findings. Her goal for education was for assisting "the development of a complete human being, oriented to the environment (that is aware of his place in the natural creation of the universe) and adapted to his time, place and culture (prepared to meet the challenges of a specific historical period). " Explained by the authors, "The only reason that each of us is here on earth is our ability as human beings to meet these needs of the human spirit: needs of art, music, religion, and all other areas of self-expression and love for creation and humanity. It is by these means that we contribute to our particular culture and social group, and can change them for the better." Ding! Ding! Ding! (went the imaginary bell I have in my head) sounds like truth to me! So, Nate and I committed to trying on a Montessori approach to parenting Zosia.

It began with the decision to skip the crib and instead use a child-bed (essentially a futon on the floor). Boy, did we get the crazy-eye from people when we mentioned this! But, I tell you, we are soooo happy we made this choice. Now that Zosia is crawling, she is able to get up in the morning independently at 9 months and go to her toy shelf to play and explore. It was such an amazing mama/papa moment to wake up and peek at Z playing alone, confident in her own abilities. (Because of this freedom, the room is designed and organized with safety in mind and we do have a gate at her door).

Another fantastic idea we used was to create sensory exploration with a 'treasure box', which is filled with different objects from around the house. The idea is to choose objects that vary in size, shape, weight, texture, and so on. My little scientist would sit for 30 min – 1 hr investigating her box. It's really fun getting everything together. I love challenging her with new objects. It's awesome to watch her explore. She really is like a little scientist… picking things up, dropping them, comparing two objects in each hand, tasting it, unraveling it, etc. It is a great tool to engage little ones and develop their concentration and focus.

One of the Montessori mantras is 'teach me to do it myself ' . This takes a lot of patience and commitment by the parent. For me, it truly is a spiritual practice... can I be still for my child? can I breathe into this moment? can I honor her as she discovers her sense of self? It is well worth the sacrifice of selfishness. This is how Zosia teaches me. And, I am so grateful for the lessons. :)