What do you know about what it mean to be a Montessori Guide?
How does it differ from a traditional school teacher?
Come find out some of the main and unique pillars of this wonderful job.
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.
Today, we’re going to be talking about you being The Montessori Guide, what that means and what you can expect to take on as your responsibilities.
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.
#1 What is the Montessori Guide?
Let me highlight a few of the important traits that a Montessori Guide ought to have.
Why do we call ourselves “guides,” as opposed to teachers, for instance?
In The Montessori Method, we are not teachers, at least not in a conventional sense.
Instead, we are the people who put the children in touch with the world around them, their Montessori environment, as we follow their interests, based on their precious Sensitive Periods.
So, we prepare the environment and let the children be their own teachers and, in some cases, let the older ones be the teachers of the younger ones.
Maria Montessori, creator of The Montessori philosophy, famously said that when she was looking for a guide, ideally, she’d like to find someone that wasn’t a teacher.
To be more precise, Maria Montessori was looking for someone with no preconceived notions of what it means to “teach.”
This is because traditional teaching looks very different from Montessori learning.
The Montessori Guide does two things first: Observe and Follow.
What does this mean, especially in homeschooling days?
Have you wondered what it means to spend a day in the life of a Montessori Guide?
The Guide will sit back and observe children as they do a Montessori work in the environment with their Sensitive Periods chart and notes in hand.
She will determine where each child is, even if she’s doing Montessori in the home.
Then, she will take all of that information that she gathered and will follow the child.
This means that she will set up the Montessori environment to target those open Sensitive Periods.
She will also let the child unleash all of the learning through curiosity, self-motivation and flowing their interests.
Your takeaway today is to always remember to Observe and Follow.
#2 You are the mastermind behind it all
There are many misconceptions about Montessori education that I hear about every day and I wish that I could dispel with the snap of a finger.
The truth is that it isn’t as easy to do, so I will start with the basics.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that children are on their own in the Montessori environment to teach themselves.
Part of it is true, but not the whole truth as this tends to give people the wrong idea.
The big truth in this is that The Montessori Method wants to instill an awe for learning in young children.
And that awe grows and grows as older children develop a strong enough passion for learning to have them mentor their younger counterparts.
But the bigger truth in all of this is that, even though the focus is on the child, the Montessori Guide is the mastermind behind the scenes.
She is the one that oils the wheels, that sets up the activities following Montessori principles, that observes and follows the child and is the spark for that love of learning.
You, the Montessori Guide, are instrumental, essential and elemental in the Montessori environment.
You are more important than you know, especially in the Montessori classroom.
It’s more than just the Montessori Curriculum 3-6 and Montessori materials.
You will be part of children’s lives in many ways, not just the academic subjects.
You will be teaching life skills and character traits as well.
Your goal today is to give yourself the value that you deserve and know that you are important brains in your lovely Montessori adventure.
#3 You give guidance
“But when…work is the result of an inner, instinctive impulse…it assumes a wholly different character. Such work is fascinating, irresistible, and it raises man above deviations and inner conflicts.
Such is the work of the inventor or discoverer, the heroic efforts of the explorer, or the compositions of the artist, that is to say, the work of men gifted with such an extraordinary power as to enable them to rediscover the instinct of their species in the patterns of their own individuality.”
~Dr. Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood
It is, in no way, suggesting that the Guide in the Montessori environment does not take an active part in the education of the child.
Quite the opposite, actually, especially if you are looking at creating a Montessori homeschool daily schedule that runs smoothly.
Her role in the environment is essential because so much of the success in it hinges on her centering herself before serving the children.
Not because she works in the background instead of the foreground that her work is not important or life-changing.
Instead of providing answers to children or doing things for them, the Montessori Guide will patiently ask children to device ideas on how they would solve the problem, actively involving children in the thinking and learning process to enhance critical thinking skills.
This one small thing, while it requires a lot of time and patience, will do so much for them, not only in the immediate future, but for the rest of their lives.
And you know what?
As you practice this more and more in your Montessori environment, you will notice that in most cases, the children you work with will actually learn directly from the environment and from other children, rather than you.
Is your mind blow yet?
What a concept, right?!
In Conclusion
Strong inspirational sentence or two to motivated reader to move forward with resources provided below, especially the call to action (CTA)
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!
Books for Montessori teachers:
These Montessori books are from the author of The Montessori Philosophy.
But some are also Montessori inspired by great authors, such as Paula Polk Lillard.
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Montessori at Home SUPER MEGA Printable Starter Bundle
$121.99$39.99 Add to cart -
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Work with Me! Personalized Coaching Sessions (Montessori & Homeschool)
$75.00$50.00 Add to cartQuick Buy- Sale!
Montessori at Home Comprehensive Planners Bundle ~ 70 Pages
$45.00$24.99 Add to cartIf you are interested in helping children move from dependence to independence by becoming well-rounded individuals, then you will be interested in this free printable.
It is a list of 100 Montessori Practical Life works that you can easily set up to do at home or at your Montessori environment.
Get this Montessori Practical Life checklist by clicking the image below!
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 SuccessYou 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?
-
Sale!
Montessori at Home SUPER MEGA Printable Starter Bundle
$121.99$39.99 Add to cart -
Sale!
Work with Me! Personalized Coaching Sessions (Montessori & Homeschool)
$75.00$50.00 Add to cartQuick Buy- Sale!
Montessori at Home Comprehensive Planners Bundle ~ 70 Pages
$45.00$24.99 Add to cart____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Sale!Work with Me! Personalized Coaching Sessions (Montessori & Homeschool)
$75.00$50.00Do you need homeschool or Montessori at home coaching?
We customize a package that will help YOU the most, but this is our most popular package:
Take advantage of my 15 years of experience in the Montessori philosophy and 10 years of homeschooling.
1 A 30-minute video (or phone) call via Zoom for a 100% personalized “in-person” coaching
It will be recorded and the link will be sent via email within 24 hours for further review.
Once you purchase the coaching session HERE, I will contact you to set up a time that works for both of us.
2 An email prior to coaching call detailing what questions, concerns, issues need to be addressed.
This helps with maximizing face-to-face time for actual practical implementation tips.
3 Any prior recommendations from my online shop (ebooks, etc,) are included
4 A follow-up email within 24 hours of the video call, detailing what was discussed, steps to take, any additional recommendations from my online shop (again, also included in the package).
5 A second follow-up email/contact 1-2 weeks after the video coaching call to see how client is progressing and to see if another video call needs to be scheduled
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