We often get asked the question, “How do you handle discipline issues?” We love this question because in Montessori we think about discipline from a different lens. We start by being curious because misbehavior is a form of communication. Children want to do well and do the right thing. So what are they trying to tell us when they misbehave? Unmet Physical Needs Children often misbehave due to unmet needs. At a very basic, physical level, this might be due to being hungry, tired, or overstimulated. So we look at children’s environment and what could change to better support those needs. Perhaps the problem is due to missing their sleep window and being overtired? Or maybe there’s a need for a more protein-packed breakfast so as to not fall apart mid-morning. It might be that a room full of people is causing too much sensory input and a little time in a quieter space or fresh air is just what’s needed. Unmet Emotional Needs Other times children might have unmet emotional needs. Dr. Jane Nelson provides an excellent overview of unmet needs in her Positive Discipline work. Positive Discipline aligns well with Montessori because both are based in teaching children respect, responsibility, and problem-solving skills. In Positive Discipline, Dr. Nelson outlines unmet emotional needs and categorizes these as four mistaken goals. The essence of Positive Discipline is that children develop behaviors in response to feeling disconnected or powerless in certain situations, so they unconsciously use four strategies to try to get their needs met. Unfortunately, these strategies tend to backfire because the behavior isn’t effective! So our goal is to support children in learning new ways to meet their needs. Mistaken Goal #1: Attention The first mistaken goal is attention. We see this when children show behaviors like whining, interrupting, or causing disruptions of some sort. They are seeking attention but can’t yet distinguish between positive attention and negative attention. So when adults respond with annoyance, irritation, or even by giving in, we are inadvertently reinforcing the attention-seeking behavior and children’s underlying belief that they only belong when they have our attention (even if our attention is based on frustration!). A way to help children meet this need is to offer positive attention, encouragement, and connection at times when they aren’t showing misbehavior. Another proactive approach is to find engaging and meaningful tasks for children to do, which helps provide them with a sense of belonging and connection. Mistaken Goal #2: Power When we, as adults, feel angry or challenged in response to children’s behavior, that’s usually a sign that the mistaken goal is one of power-seeking. This kind of behavior can quickly escalate into power struggles, defiance, or even other ways to exert control such as through tantrums or arguing. When children have an unmet goal of power, they have an underlying belief that they can belong only when they are in control or when they can prove that no one can boss them around. We can support children who have this unmet need by practicing collaborative problem-solving during times when things are already going well. In the moment of challenge, we can avoid power struggles by offering limited choices in a firm but kind way. Mistaken Goal #3: Revenge One of the more confusing forms of misbehavior is when children do things that seem intended to hurt others, such as hitting, name-calling, and other destructive actions. When acting this way children are demonstrating that they don’t feel loved so they will hurt others as they feel hurt. What’s tricky is that this behavior often leads to others feeling hurt and wanting to either distance themselves or retaliate. In order to address this mistaken goal, we need to focus on repairing the relationship and over time addressing the underlying hurt. Empathy and restorative practices help in the process of healing emotional wounds. This mistaken goal requires us to get genuinely curious without any form of accusation or disapproval. Mistaken Goal #4: Assumed Inadequacy When children give up easily, withdraw, avoid challenges, or refuse to try, they may be operating under the belief that they belong only by convincing others not to expect anything from them. Our reactions may include feeling helpless, giving up, or even taking over tasks our children were expected to do. An alternative approach is to encourage small steps toward success and to focus on effort over outcomes. Over time, by breaking up tasks into smaller, manageable parts, and providing side-by-side support without taking over and doing the task for them, we can help children develop more confidence and belief in their abilities. Shifting our Thinking So when thinking about misbehavior, we shift our approach to first consider what physical and emotional needs children are trying to communicate. Then we focus on long-term solutions while practicing kindness and firmness. Consistent encouragement, respectful communication, and proactive planning help us address what might typically be seen as “discipline issues” so we can guide children toward healthier behaviors. Part of this includes helping children begin to understand their own needs, learn how to communicate respectfully and establish healthy habits and boundaries. Do you want to learn more about how school can nurture children’s emotional well-being and their sense of belonging? Schedule a tour to see how we create environments of mutual respect and cooperation!
We have seen how children feel more grounded and cooperative when they have a role to play. Thus, whenever possible, it’s helpful to find little (and sometimes big!) ways for children to help with holiday preparations. Children’s active participation helps them develop important life skills and also helps them better adapt to changes in holiday rhythms and routines. We wanted to share a few ideas on incorporating Montessori principles into holiday celebrations and time with family this holiday season. Above all, we advocate for keeping the holiday season calm and joyful! So, we offer this sprinkling of options during a time when we have a lot going on in our lives and with our families. If even one can help sweeten your time together, fabulous! Children’s participation can take a variety of forms. Choosing meaningful activities that don’t cause more stress and strain is important. Here are a few of our favorites! Holiday Decorating If your family enjoys decorating, consider creating a child-sized decoration station, perhaps with a small tree or table at your child’s height. They can practice hanging ornaments, placing candles, arranging decorations, and generally having a hand in creating their own festive space. Of course, if it feels right, they can also add to the general household decorations! Gift Wrapping When preparing gifts for family and friends, consider setting up a simple wrapping station with materials appropriate to your child’s age and abilities. They can help tape, cut paper, add ribbon, decorate tags, or even add colorful scribbles to butcher or white paper. Child-decorated wrapping paper tends to be a family favorite! Plus, the skills involved with wrapping encourage fine motor development! Older children might appreciate step-by-step instructions on measuring the wrapping paper, folding it around a gift, and taping it securely. The youngest ones might appreciate a simple process of placing items into fabric gift bags and tightening the drawstrings. Baking and Cooking Allowing children to participate in creating, baking, and decorating holiday treats often provides a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. There are all sorts of simple, manageable steps in this process, from pouring remeasured ingredients into a bowl, to kneading dough, to using cookie cutters, to adding icing or sprinkles. It’s nice to have child-sized tools like small spatulas, whisks, and rolling pins whenever possible. Setting the Holiday Table Children can also help create or select a centerpiece for the table. If possible, they can even use natural or found items. A little collecting walk may uncover natural beauties, like pine branches or pinecones. Table-setting is a big part of the Montessori experience, so placing utensils, napkins, and dishes is a natural way to involve children in getting ready for guests or a meal! Children like learning the correct placement of each item, and table setting is a great opportunity to reinforce counting and one-to-one correspondence. We recommend modeling for younger children how to carry one item at a time, for example, making multiple trips to get one fork and then the next. Once children learn this process, they can be quite independent and thus can stay focused and busy as they go back and forth. If time is of the essence, an adult can bring a tray of forks to the table for children to place at each setting. Older children prefer to find more efficient ways to manage the process! Making Handmade Gifts or Donation Decisions We can help our children learn about the importance of giving and gratitude by involving them in decisions about charitable giving or donations. They can help pick out toys or clothes or assist in preparing gift baskets for families in need. We can also support our children in making handmade gifts, which can foster their creativity and thoughtfulness. Depending upon the intricacy of the process, handmade gifts can range from simple crafts like beaded jewelry or friendship bracelets to hand-drawn cards or framed artwork to homemade ornaments or decorations created from clay or salt dough. Ultimately, the goal is to encourage generosity and thoughtfulness while giving children a sense of accomplishment in gift-giving. Simple, Predictable, and Calm Young children are especially sensitive to routines and changes to routines, so whatever you choose to do, remember to manage holiday overwhelm by keeping activities simple, maintaining predictable routines, and cultivating a calm space. By involving children in holiday preparations, we can create meaningful memories and promote independence, responsibility, and creativity. Plus, children appreciate hands-on experiences and real-world activities. Schedule a tour if you’d like to learn more about how we cultivate these skills at our school!
The Wooden Hierarchical Material takes up a great deal of space in our primary and elementary classrooms, and for good reason! This key math material helps children understand the hierarchy of numbers and physically represents units through millions. The Concrete Material The Wooden Hierarchical Material comprises cubes, prisms, and squares that vary in size and color according to the different place values they represent. Units are green. Tens are blue. Hundreds are red. This pattern continues throughout the families or categories, so unit thousands are also green, ten thousands are blue, hundred thousands are red, and then unit millions are green. Units are represented as cubes, tens as prisms (or a line of ten units), and hundreds as squares (constructed from ten tens side-by-side). Due to this repeated pattern that is reinforced through shape and color-coding, children can visualize the structure of our decimal system. The Presentation to Children When we present the Wooden Hierarchical Material, we first connect with other math materials children have used, like the golden beads and the stamp game. In this way, children can build upon their prior knowledge of place value and how 10 of one category are exchanged for one of the next category (e.g. ten units become one ten). The material is constructed to reinforce the relationship between base-ten numbers in concrete form. As we place the blue ten bar to the left of the small green unit, we remind children how when ten units get together, they make a ten. We also point to the little green marks on the bar and use the unit to count that ten of the units make up the ten bar. Young children love double-checking this correspondence! We repeat this process to show how ten of the blue ten bars correspond to the ten sections on the red hundred square. Then how when 10 hundreds get together, they make a thousand. When we place the green thousand cube to the left of the red square, we leave some extra space between them because we are starting a new family (or category). This green thousand cube is units of thousands, and we can continue the process with tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands. Children love getting to the green unit of the millions cube and often want to try to imagine or represent ten million, hundred million, and beyond! The Many Benefits Because children can physically explore how ten of the thousand cubes make a line that represents 10,000, just like ten of the unit cubes make a line that represents a 10, they develop a strong understanding of the hierarchical value of numbers and their position in the decimal system. Similarly, they can experience how ten 10,000s make up a 100,000, and ten 100,000s make a million! This physical manipulation helps them better grasp abstract mathematical
As children approach their elementary years, they can truly access the power of their imagination. As a result, they begin to ask big questions and want to explore through space and time. One way to support this big thinking is to provide resources they can explore. We love to find books that children lose themselves in, and that support deep learning. We’ve found the following books particularly engaging, especially as children begin to grasp the vastness of time, the interdependency of all living things, and how human life is a continuation of much that has come before. For those children who have spent time working with the Timeline of Life, these books will reinforce concepts while offering new doors to open! Continental Drift: The Evolution of our World from the Origins of Life to the Far Future By Martin Ubce The dance of the continents throughout the earth’s history provides a structural overview of this incredible resource. The mix of types of illustrations, including images from the Natural History Museum in London, support the engaging text. This is a very large book, and rightly so! While Continental Drift can be a resource for students’ research, it is also just a delight to read due to the author’s ability to make complex topics quite accessible.` Evolution: The Story of Life By Douglas Palmer, Illustrated by Peter Barrett Although the beginning of the book has a great deal of helpful introductory and background information, children will most appreciate the one hundred illustrated site reconstructions based on fossil data. These two-page spreads provide a visual of what life may have looked like from a strelley pool 3460 million years ago in what is now considered Western Australia to a late Carboniferous ice age 299 million years ago in what is now Karoo Basin in South Africa to the big-game hunters of Folsom, New Mexico 10,500 years ago. With a color-coded timeline across the top of each of the 100 illustrations and specifics about each scene detailed below, children pour through this resource, making it well worth its hefty weight! Forgotten Beasts: Amazing Creatures that Once Roamed the Earth By Matt Sewell With 45 lushly illustrated forgotten creatures and accessible paragraphs about each, this is a wonderful resource for children wanting to start prehistoric life research or just peruse particular pages. Each life form listed also has a key for their size, weight, diet, and the period they lived. Sewell’s stated intention is to bring these often lesser-known beasts of our past into more bright and colorful detail as paleontologists theorize they were probably not “muddy brown or boring green” and he does so quite well! In the Past: From Trilobites to Dinosaurs to Mammoths in More Than 500 Million Years By David Elliott, Illustrated by Matthew Trueman A collection of short poems about creatures from the Cambrian Period (544-505 million years ago) to the Quaternary Period (1.8 million years ago to the present), this sweet book can inspire young people to think about prehistoric life from a new perspective. With just the right touch of humor and science, the poems provide illuminating information and fresh perspective, while the illustrations fill the page and expand the reader’s senses. Plus, the notes at the end of the book provide a launching point for children who want to learn more! Life: The First Four Billion Years: The Story of Life from the Big Bang to the Evolution of Humans By Martin Jenkins, Illustrated by Graham Baker-Smith This incredibly large book is full of information and is the perfect resource for young people who have big questions about life on Earth. The illustrations balance a deep sense of mystery with scientific details, and this book embodies the magnitude of the story of our planet. It is a must-have for those interested in exploring everything from the primeval seas to the various giants who rose and fell as the dominant rulers of the land and air. Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution By Steve Jenkins This uncomplicated yet scientific story provides stunning watercolor cut-paper collage illustrations. It can be shared as a picture book with a story-style narrative explaining the evolution of what we know about life on Earth. Those wanting more details can rely upon the smaller caption-style text that follows a more chronological timeline and offers more information and examples that support the overarching narrative. This is an excellent introduction to broad concepts! Prehistoric Actual Size By Steven Jenkins For young people looking for a simpler source of prehistoric information, this picture book relies more on images with just the right amount of accompanying text to capture our imagination. The life-sized illustrations help young readers visualize the Baryonyx claw or the spiny shark's size. Super fun for any age! The Story of Life: Evolution is Amazing! By Anne Rooney, Illustrations by Nat Hughes Chock full of content, this book is one children will want to spend some time exploring. Organized chronologically, the sections focus on scientific concepts and major themes as life evolved. To reinforce critical ideas, circles of text hone in on particular examples, such as “adaptation in action.” The captivating and playful, yet thoroughly scientific, illustrations fill each page and bring rich information to life. This book can serve as a reference for children to return to again and again. We hope these resources serve not only as a subject of study but also a source of wonder and inspiration. As children immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of life's history, they develop a deep sense of connection to the natural world and a profound respect for all living beings. Here is a printable list of the book titles for you. We invite you to schedule a tour to see how children embark on a lifelong journey of learning and discovery!
As children move from early childhood into their elementary years, they become very attuned to heroes. In fact, in Montessori we call this “hero worship,” and we consider it an amazing opportunity! Our elementary-age children are figuring out their moral compass, which partially sparks this strong attraction toward heroes. Often, we see children become focused on sporting personalities, movie and television stars, singers, and sometimes even teachers! Children may even choose to emulate a classmate or slightly older peer. Understanding the Self & the Group As children use their imaginations and look toward heroes, they are really thinking about how to actualize their own potential. Thus, they become very observant of others. They begin to recognize individual strengths and apply them to their own practice society, community, and family. Children invite each other to work based on their strengths and then they feel seen. In this process, children begin to recognize that the strength of the group is their own strength. Hero worship drives all kinds of prosocial development. Thus part of hero worship is stepping into leadership roles in the community and learning how to lead and how to follow. Our children experience the joy of belonging to the group and being part of something together. In this hero worship, we see the cultivation of cooperation and collaboration. All Kinds of Heroes Children of this age are also incredibly open to stories of history's great innovators and heroes. So we introduce a variety of heroes through books, songs, storytelling, and casual observations. Montessori children love to lean into research and want to explore the histories and stories of their heroes. In this process, we emphasize how heroes are all around us! How can we show gratitude for those who deliver our mail or help us when we’ve gotten hurt? As our children explore these heroes and fall in and out of admiration and emulation, it’s important to remember that while we can’t control our children’s choice of friends or heroes, we can offer lots of different options. In this process, we make sure to provide exposure to non-typical heroes, including unknown heroes. In the various stories we tell in our Montessori curriculum, we often emphasize how we will never know who those first humans were who did all sorts of important things like picking up a burning branch after a lightning strike and figuring out how to save and use fire, creating a hole in a small bone and using it as a needle, discovering how to save seeds and plant them, or leaving cave paintings to share a message. As we explore early human history and children discover that there are so many unknown heroes, we always pause to offer some gratitude for those who discovered and created so much. Elementary children look up to power, strength, and beauty, in whatever form that occurs, and this isn’t always in the form of a human hero. There were the first plants that began to cling to the land and adapt to life out of the water, the Carboniferous amphibians whose fins eventually became legs, tiny cells each with its own job so that the body runs smoothly, and leaves that work like food factories for plants. Giving Thanks to All Kinds of Heroes With our children’s tendency toward hero worship and their admiration for heroes of different kinds, we can also help our children understand what they value in a hero. Often our children recognize and respond to stories of people (and non-human entities!) who overcome hardship, endure loss, and sacrifice for others. We also draw their attention to the fact that one does not need to be important or famous to be a hero. In this season of gratitude, let’s remember to celebrate many different kinds of heroes and offer our thanks for how they have contributed (or continue to contribute) in varied ways. We also thank you and hope you’ll schedule a time to observe our gratitude-filled classrooms in action!
One of the gifts of Montessori education is that we can truly focus on the whole child —cognitive, social, emotional, and physical. Our approach is not just about academics but also about nurturing life skills, emotional intelligence, and social relationships. The Montessori approach to child development revolves around the understanding that children are naturally curious, care deeply about others, and can be intrinsically motivated. When provided with the right environment, children can deepen both their love for learning and their appreciation of and care for the community. Prioritizing the Prepared Environment One of the keys to balancing social-emotional learning with cognitive and physical development is prioritizing the impact of a prepared environment. In Montessori, a prepared environment is a place specially designed to appeal to children’s sensitive periods for learning, as well as their core human needs and tendencies. When designing these prepared spaces for children, we work to ensure children feel safe and supported so they can reach their potential. The Montessori-prepared environment is a place where children can feel at home as they develop their inner selves and outer skills. Our carefully prepared Montessori classrooms are calm and orderly, foster independence and decision-making, and provide varied opportunities for peer interactions in mixed-age classrooms. The result is that children can develop their emotional regulation skills in child-centered spaces. Opportunities for Conflict Resolution In addition, we weave in opportunities for conflict resolution. This means we actively model and support children as they learn to communicate their feelings through words. In addition to promoting self-awareness through identifying and naming emotions, we also teach active listening, problem-solving, and techniques for self-regulation (from deep breathing to using calm-down spaces). Adults serve as mediators and guides rather than arbitrators and judges. Through guided discussions, we help children think reflectively about social interactions, practice respectful communication, facilitate peaceful solutions, and model how to handle conflict. Ultimately, we want to empower children with tools they can use even if an adult isn’t present! Respect for Others One key to this is cultivating respect for others’ perspectives and patience for alternative approaches. Because children work together in a variety of ways through their care of the classroom environment and small group projects or lessons, they develop a deep sense of compassion and empathy. Our mixed-age groupings and peer-to-peer learning activities promote collaboration and mentorship. So, in addition to the adults, older children also serve as models of emotional regulation and conflict resolution for younger peers. The result is that Montessori children develop a deep tolerance for and appreciation of difference. Deep Appreciation for Community Children thrive when they have a sense of community and belonging. So, we promote inclusivity and respect for diversity within the classroom. The Montessori curriculum includes a range of activities that encourage group cohesion and empathy-building, which leads to trust and respect among our students. The long-term benefits of Montessori’s focus on social-emotional learning and conflict resolution are that children develop lifelong social skills such as a deep sense of empathy, effective communication with various people, and the ability to cooperate with grace and goodwill. The Montessori method nurtures social-emotional learning and equips children with essential conflict-resolution skills they can use in their classroom communities and social interactions outside of school. Do you want to learn more and perhaps even support these practices at home? Schedule a visit today!
Children adore animals! Our elementary students (and even some older primary students) often love to start researching animals. To capitalize upon this interest and use it to build the base for more in-depth research skills, we have a set of materials called the Animal Story Cards. These picture and story cards introduce animals that live in the region. They are comprised of a few folders with pictures and text that get rotated throughout the year. The collection of cards includes a large picture of the animal in its natural environment, a large text card with general information about the animal, and then a series of smaller images and matching text cards that show and detail information about the animal’s habitat, how it protects itself, its natural diet, how it reproduces, and how it cares for its young. This material helps children begin to classify and organize their zoological awareness of native animals. We also try to gear the stories to the needs of the animals with which the children may have had first-hand experience so that the activity reinforces their prior knowledge. Information in the folders draws children’s attention to certain aspects of animals’ lives and the interconnections of animals through various food chains or predator/prey relationships. Each folder focuses on one animal and contains picture cards and text material relevant to that animal’s basic needs. As we rotate the cards throughout the year to provide exposure to various animals, we also ensure the selected animals have contrasting qualities (e.g., a mammal, a bird, an amphibian, etc.). In addition to providing a base for future research skills, this material also increases children's awareness and knowledge of animals that live in the surrounding environment, highlights differences among animals, cultivates an appreciation for animals, and provides an interesting reading activity. When we present this material, we gather a small group of children and place the large picture card in the center of the rug or table. Often, we start with a little story about the animal, and as we tell the story, we introduce the related smaller picture cards as they become relevant. We only have three or four of these animal stories in the classroom so that the children can use this material as a model for their own research and work. Ultimately, we want children to turn to books in the classroom or the library for further information. Those in the early stages of reading and research often enjoy drawing the animal and a picture of what it eats, how it cares for its young, etc. So the youngest children can access the text and practice their reading, we sometimes have one-word labels that can work in place of the text cards. Early readers can access the easier text and place the one-word labels underneath the matching pictures. We encourage children to share the story of the animal we introduced to others in the class, explore the other folders, and try to match the pictures and the different text cards. Sometimes, children get excited about making an animal story set of their own. This activity can result in a great deal of concentrated work! As children use the Animal Story Cards, they begin to also realize that animals have fundamental needs just like humans do! We’d love for you to visit the school to see this and the many other ways we cultivate an appreciation for the natural world. Schedule a tour today!
Many of us didn’t grow up with Montessori. As a result, we often find ourselves drawing upon a great deal of trust. We may intellectually understand how this unique method supports our children and their development. Still, we don’t always have the experiential knowledge to explain how and why it works! We recognize that life is pretty scheduled, and we also want to provide you with information that can help you navigate others’ questions and queries (as well as your own!). Plus, we know that the more involved you are and the more opportunities you have to be connected to what we do, the more your child will benefit from Montessori’s child-centered approach! Goals for Family Education Events We have some goals in mind as we design parent and family education events. We want to deepen your understanding of Montessori philosophy and practice. We want to work together in partnership, and we often hear that families want to better understand how Montessori can be implemented at home. We are excited to help with this, especially knowing that when we are all aligned, we can work together to foster independence, responsibility, and self-discipline in our children. Supporting Your Child’s Development Our hope is that as you learn more about what we do and as we learn more about what you do, we can use a shared understanding of Montessori principles to support your child’s development both in and outside of school. Understanding developmental stages through a Montessori lens often leads to children feeling a stronger sense of belonging and connection because they feel understood and supported. This can translate into easier day-to-day interactions, better collaborative problem-solving, a long-term love for learning, and an increase in confidence and independence. Partnership in the Parenting Journey We want to help build a strong home-school partnership. Through consistent and varied communication and learning opportunities, we hope to create a collaborative environment and opportunities for meaningful dialogue. Parenting is a tough job, and we want to ensure you know you aren’t alone on this journey! Through different platforms, we aim to address common misconceptions and help you feel good about answering questions that come up at family gatherings and neighborhood events! We value an engaged community, and we want to support your connections with other Montessori families. Sharing experiences and challenges with like-minded parents helps us all stay afloat during the ebbs and flows of raising children. We want our Montessori community to provide both emotional support and practical advice. Ultimately, we want you to better understand Montessori so you can be an effective advocate for your child’s education and so you can feel prepared for the transitions your child will experience throughout the different stages of their life. Upcoming Events We hope you can join us for the following upcoming events! We value your participation and your partnership! 11/8 8:30am Coffee With Emily 11/13 4:30-6pm Parent Education: Spotlight on Montessori Math
Music is a form of language. Because our young children effortlessly absorb language, we, of course, provide them with opportunities to express themselves musically! One key material we use for this is the Montessori Bells. The bells are perfectly tuned, each designed to deliver a distinct, pure tone when gently played with a mallet. Also aesthetically pleasing, the bells invite children into the world of music. This helps children develop a keen ear for pitch and tone, while encouraging an appreciation of musical instruments and expression. The Montessori Bells In our primary classrooms, the Montessori Bells are easily accessible on a specially designed wooden stand or table, each bell arranged in order according to its pitch. There are two sets of 13 bells. One set has black and white stands and is set up in the back to serve as a control and is arranged like a piano keyboard (the white bells represent whole notes, while the black bells serve as the sharps and flats). The other set of bells has stands of natural, varnished wood, so we call them the brown bells. Each brown bell is paired with a white or black bell, and these 13 pairs of bells comprise the chromatic scale beginning at middle C. The bells sit on boards that also serve as guides. The brown bells rest on a pattern of black and white rectangles corresponding to the keys of a piano. Playing One or Two Bells After our youngest children have learned how to care for materials and have had plenty of experience discriminating sounds with our sound cylinders, we show them how to play a single bell. This is a multi-part process: how to carry the bell, use a mallet to gently strike the bell to make a tone, appreciate the sound the bell makes, use a damper to stop the tone, and return the bell to its proper place in the set. Returning the bell to its proper place prepares children for future work of pairing and grading the bells. So, we take time to model how to check that the tone of the brown bell matches the corresponding white (or black) bell behind it. Once children learn these steps, they can select any of the brown bells to play. Eventually, we also show children how to choose and play two different brown bells. This experience helps children focus on the fact that the two bells look the same but sound different. Then, upon returning the bells to the set, children also get to work on finding where each brown bells goes (because there are two empty spaces) by matching the tone of the brown bells to the white or black bells in the back. This may seem like quite an elaborate process for just “playing a bell or two.” However, we carefully break down each step so that even our youngest children can learn how to use this delicate instrument with precision while also beginning to hone in on the slight variations in each bell’s pitch. Pairing When we observe children’s success with this initial process, we introduce the challenge of pairing. This experience begins with the adult letting the child know in the lesson that the bells are on their boards in a particular order. We play up the brown bells and down the white bells so the child can hear the gradation and experience the impression of the C scale. Next we model how to remove four brown bells from their boards, mix them, and place them in an open space off to the side. While showing this process, we reflect aloud how we could match the brown bells to their pairs when we had just two bells. We point out that we can use the same technique to find the matching pairs of the bells we just mixed up and moved to the side. We start by moving one of the brown bells to a space in front of the first empty white space (always working from left to right). We play the white (control) bell and then the brown bell. If they sound the same, we move the bell up onto the white space on the board. If they sound different, we slide the bell to the right to be in front of the next empty white space and we repeat the process until finding the brown bell’s match and location. When all the brown bells are paired, we again play up the brown bells and down the white bells to check they are in the correct order. Once we finish modeling, we select the same four bells, mix them to the side of the workspace, and invite the child to pair the bells. We stay long enough to see successful matching of the first bell, then we fade into the background and observe. If the child is successful, we remove the same four and invite the child to do it again. If the first round was successful, we invite the child to remove all the brown bells and pair them! Grading the Diatonic and Chromatic Scale After children can pair all eight bells successfully, we introduce grading. This time, children learn how to put all the brown bells in order by paying attention to the degree of difference between each tone. This time, rather than using the white control bells to determine the order of the scale, children mix up and play the brown bells, using their awareness of the change in pitch to compare and reorder the bells. This requires children to have an acute awareness of each tone and how they differ. We start with just the white bells which represent the whole notes, and later introduce mixing in the black bells to make the chromatic scale (with sharps and flats). Language Material After children have successfully paired and graded the diatonic scale, we also introduce the “writing and reading” component of the bells. Children learn the symbols and names for the pitches and match the pitches with their notes. When writing in language, we have thoughts we want to express and we can write them down. Composers have melodies in their heads and they write those melodies by using the notes of the staff. We use beautiful staff boards with small wooden circles so that children can learn how to place the notes on the staff and eventually even write their own music, similarly to how they write with the moveable alphabet. Like with spoken language, children first explore through writing and then reading melodies. Musical expression is woven into our primary classrooms. Schedule a tour to hear for yourself!
In Montessori education, we look at milestones for babies and toddlers through three key lenses: movement, language, and social/emotional development. Each child progresses at their own pace, so while the sequence of milestones is common, the timing varies. Here’s a brief guide to supporting your child’s unique journey as they grow into remarkable young people. Movement Milestones Physically, our infants and toddlers are experiencing rapid and intense changes. They are interacting with the world through movement and their senses. In Montessori we call this the time of the “unconscious absorbent mind” because children are absorbing everything around them with no filter. Through movement, they begin to make sense of their environment, family, and culture. When it comes to movement, we focus on three primary areas: myelination, equilibrium, and hand development. Myelination Newborns' movements are initially reflexive, like sucking and grasping, but they become more controlled as the process of myelination takes place, which allows electrical signals to pass more quickly from the brain to the muscles. To support this development, give your child plenty of freedom to move. Keep them out of restrictive devices like car seats and carriers as much as possible and let them reach, grasp, and struggle a bit on their own. These natural movements are essential for building strong neural connections. Equilibrium Gross motor skills help children develop equilibrium or balance. Babies start by lifting their heads, rolling, and eventually sitting upright. Tummy time plays a crucial role in helping them develop strong neck and torso muscles, which are the foundation of movement. By 12 to 18 months, most children begin walking and carrying objects. Over the next couple of years, they refine their balance and coordination, running, climbing, and jumping with more confidence. Encouraging these movements is key to their physical development. Hand Development Fine motor skills also emerge in the first few years. What starts as reflexive hand movements soon evolves into deliberate control. Babies initially use a raking grasp, which eventually becomes a precise pincer grasp around nine months. From 10 to 18 months, children gain more control over their hands and fingers, learning to point, stack blocks, and scribble. By age three, they can easily use utensils for feeding and can pick up small objects between their thumb and forefinger. Offering your child opportunities to practice these fine motor skills—like playing with blocks or drawing—boosts this essential area of development. Language Milestones Just like movement progresses from slithering to creeping to walking, language skills progress from babbling to talking. Movement and language development move in parallel until about six to eight months of age, at which point one may dominate while the other often plateaus for a bit and then takes off a little later. Language development follows two threads: expressive and receptive language. Receptive Language Receptive language is how our children understand the language around them. Our babies love hearing the voices of caregivers and they pay attention to faces. Eventually, around four to six months, they begin to understand specific words, like no, and the meaning behind tones of voice. This is also when they begin to play social games, such as “peak a boo.” Over the next few months our little ones start to understand simple commands and gestures, which evolves by about 12 months to understanding instructions and going or pointing to familiar objects when named. From 24 to 36 months, toddlers are typically able to follow two- to three-step instructions and understand spatial concepts like “in,” “on,” and “under.” Expressive Language Expressive language involves how children communicate with the world. Early expressions come through body language and crying, which later evolve into cooing and babbling. Between four and six months, our babies vocalize pleasure and displeasure, babble with consonant sounds, put vowels together, and even try to repeats sounds they hear. In the six to eight month range, our little ones continue babbling and start to drop unused language sounds for the native language(s) they hear. From eight to ten months, their babbling incorporates consonant-vowel combinations (e.g. “ba, da, ma”) and differentiated babbling may start to resemble real words. They will also begin to use more gestures such as pointing, waving, and reaching to show their interests, needs, and even things they do not want. From 10 to 12 months, this kind of babbling continues and they may even combine gestures with words. After 12 months, we begin to see an explosion of expressive language with vocabulary expanding at an impressive rate. They start by using single words, usually nouns, and this may include using one word for several objects. Then between 18 and 24 months, our children are acquiring eight to twelve new words a month, and after about 50 words this increases exponentially. This is also when we hear children use two-word phrases with nouns and verbs. By the time they’re three, our little ones can use pronouns, ask questions, and string together sentences to communicate their needs and experiences. Emotional Milestones Emotional development, the ability to understand and express emotions, is largely shaped by a child’s social relationships. During their first year, babies begin to notice emotions in others and respond to social cues. They may express their own needs and show interest in caregivers. By two or three, children can regulate their emotions better and express a broader range of feelings. To support emotional growth, it’s important to maintain a calm, consistent environment. Show warmth and affection, encourage the expression of emotions, and teach strategies for managing big feelings like frustration or sadness. Social Milestones Social development enables children to form positive, rewarding relationships with others. In their first year, babies are focused on bonding with caregivers. They’re learning how to engage, gain attention, and participate in simple social interactions. By 12 to 24 months, children start engaging in back-and-forth interactions and begin developing empathy. Parallel play—where they play alongside others but not directly with them—often evolves into cooperative play by age two or three. At this stage, children start sharing, taking turns, and communicating more effectively with peers. You can nurture social growth by modeling healthy relationships, reading your child’s social cues, and facilitating interactions with other children. Healthy Development Our infants and toddlers are going through a dramatic change in terms of a sense of self and their attachments. It’s important to remember that children follow a common sequence in their development, but not always a common timing. We offer these milestones as a reminder for how to remove obstacles to children’s development, while also supporting their own unique path as they grow into amazing young people. You are also welcome to schedule a visit to our school to see how we support our youngest students as they develop in amazing ways!