The Winter holidays are right around the corner.
Many have been messaging me wondering how to connect the holidays with their Montessori learning.
I can totally understand how it can be hard to know exactly how to do it right.
The key is to not take away from the holidays and to not take away from The Montessori experience.
If you are looking to building a centered, organized Montessori Guide in yourself, nurture happy, normalized children and want to create smooth, successful Montessori days, then you are in the right place!
Let me know in comments what you know about this topic, what you have applied, what you have tried that worked, what you have tried that didn’t work and if you have any questions as we get into this training.
Are you interested in incorporating the holidays into your Montessori environment?
Come find out some great printable and hands-on ideas that you might love!
As you watch or listen to this training, know that you will be able to get more information than what is included in this blog post.
I really want to encourage you to take the time to watch or listen and take notes.
This will be helpful to you now and in the future.
The Montessori Approach to the Holidays
I am not going to touch much on the concept of reality and fantasy in this training.
There is so much on this topic, but I also understand that it is a touchy subject.
At the end of this training, I will be linking to a different training where I talk about Montessori and the philosophy behind fantasy and reality.
Once you watch that training, you will be able to make your own decisions on how you will be applying it to the holidays.
Maybe you will choose to keep pretending that Santa Claus is real.
Or maybe you will take a double look and decide to revamp that part of your holiday traditions.
Whatever you choose be socially aware to not “ruin” it for others as we must be respectful of others’ decisions.
#1 Winter and Christmas Journals
It is understandable that you will want to connect the holiday seasons with Montessori.
I have been there and I have done it successfully, year after year.
Let me share with you my strategies for Montessori holidays when you do Montessori at home or school.
First, I find that the most natural way of doing it is by giving the child a printable journal.
There are two that we have used over the years.
One is a Christmas one and the other is a Winter journal.
Both are beautiful and profound, with structure and order, but with enough flexibility to get creative every year.
They are perfect for fostering a sensitive and intellectual environment.
“The child, making use of all that he finds around him, shapes himself for the future.” Maria Montessori
#2 Winter and Christmas Printable Bundles
Whether you are doing Montessori homeschool or you’re at a school, you can use printable bundles that are Montessori friendly but their focus is a holiday or Winter theme.
You can use these to a certain degree with a Montessori toddler, but these Montessori activities are mainly aimed for ages 3 through 6.
Your home environment can have table and chairs set out especially for these activities or just let them work on them anywhere they want I the environment.
When you use Montessori principles and add in holiday materials or activities in the multi-age classroom, you will want to keep independent learning in mind.
Give children the freedom to interact, but also set out activities for every learning style.
Below are some examples of Montessori Materials that are holiday themed.
“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Maria Montessori
#3 Hands-on Montessori Activities
If you are following a Montessori Curriculum, you can get the ideas for the different lessons to make your own hands-on Montessori holiday-themed activities.
It will be a lot of fun and you will be enjoying a social environment where children can discuss the different holiday traditions from your country or from around the world.
Use Practical Life ideas to learn to wrap a gift, for example.
Or use Sensorial material such as the Geometric shapes or the Language Arts metal insets to make handmade gift tags.
Regardless, it will be fun.
For a list of some hands-on holiday and Winter activities, look at the resources list below.
You will be able to get a great free download.
“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” Maria Montessori
In Conclusion
Now that you have these three ideas in mind, you have everything you need to get started right away!
And the best part is that once you have these ideas and even the PDF files, you will be prepared for this season, year after year!
HERE ARE THE RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Like I said at the beginning of the show, I have a FB group for all things Montessori that you are welcome to join.
It is called The Montessori Way Prep Room.
If you want to join a homeschool Facebook community, then join The Natural Homeschool Community!
List them here:
- LIVE Training – Episode 9: Montessori – Fantasy friend or foe?
- Visit our page with all LIVE trainings HERE.
- If you are interested in getting exactly what you need for your Montessori environment, then you will love this FREE PDF download.It is a list with over 50 Montessori Materials ideas from Montessori Basic Essentials to an entire page dedicated to each Montessori subject.These include: Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language Arts, Science, Culture, Art and Music.It is a holiday gift guide, in case you needed gift ideas, but in reality, you can use this list anytime because the items listed as suggestions are not seasonal or holiday related.The links are clickable to learn more about each Montessori material if you open the PDF file on your computer and click on the images on the pages.Get this Montessori Holiday Gift Guide by clicking the image below or by clicking HERE!
Are you ready to take your Montessori confidence to the next level?
I will be having a LIVE training workshop inside a FB group where you can learn, fill out your workbook each day and ask me questions that you might have.
It is coming soon, so be sure to check HERE and join the waitlist to be informed of when it will happen again.
The FREE 5-Day Montessori Way Foundations Workshop to learn more on these topics:
🔹Day 1: 4 Pillars of The Montessori Method
🔹Day 2: The Montessori Prepared Environment
🔹Day 3: Behaviors of Normalized Children
🔹Day 4: Your Job as the Montessori Guide
🔹Day 5: Your Next Step for Success
You May Also Benefit from these Important Montessori Topics:
Montessori lovers: Are you ready to make yourself a centered, organized Montessori Guide, nurture happy children and create smooth and successful days?
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