Montessori for infants

[Anonymous]

My daughter is 9months old and will not be able to enroll in her montessori preschool until age 3. Anyone have experience with teaching Montessori from home ? Any core materials i should get ? Anywhere in Bethesda that sells Montessori material ?

[Anonymous]

Our Montessori school gave us this catalog www.forsmallhands.com

Also, I heard of a Montessori class in Bethesda for babies and parents, but I can't find the paperwork right now. If I find it, I'll post the info.

[Anonymous]

Montessori requires that children actively seek out learning activities that interest them. So 2.5 or 3 is really the age at which they can start.

At what age did you plan to start the montessori method with your child?

Google montessori materials.

[Anonymous]

I'm no expert but I think Montessori was developed for age 3 and up so I doubt you'll find true Montessori materials for a 9 month old. You could buy some books about the approach and integrate it into what you do with your child. For example, watching your child for clues to what they are interested in and then following on from there with all senses. You could put some different things in a bad (soft, hard, smooth, bumpy etc) and have her pull them out and use descriptive language for the feel. Tactical touch and feel books or shape sorting is another option. Music is a big part of Montessori so having some bells or even just pots and pans to bang on and just use rich language to describe loud and soft. I like that Montessori uses more natural toys not lots of beeping electronics with princesses or Elmo though we certainly have our share of these things.

[Anonymous]

there actually is alot of literature and montessori training for 0-3. montessori has alot of ideas about raising infants like having them sleep on a mattress on the floor so they learn to move and explore. you can google it.

i think there is a playgroup in glover park for 1-2 year olds that focuses on montessori concepts. ms. kirby's kids.

[Anonymous]

Letting babies sleep on a mattress on the floor? My little 1 year old would be wandering around the house during the night...that sounds incredibly unsafe.

[Anonymous]

montessori was developed for 3 and up, 2.5 maybe but the rest of it is bs

[Anonymous]

I think there is a "mommy and me" type program at Broad Branch Montessori. It combines Montessori and RYE philosophies.

[Anonymous]

I send my kids to Montessori school and wish I had known earlier their ways of doing things. I would have done things differently in my home, especially they way I set up the playspace and the things my kids can do in the kitchen. I bet you can get all of this info from books.

[Anonymous]

Apparently if you're willing to drive to Bowie your child can start Montessori school at 18 months.

http://patuxent-montessori.org/school/

[Anonymous]

Or at 3 months in Kensington.

http://www.crossway-community.org/ccmontessorischool.html

[Anonymous]

I thought Aidan started at 18 Months

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:montessori was developed for 3 and up, 2.5 maybe but the rest of it is bs

Yes, it was developed for 3 and up but there is a whole literature on raising Montessori kids from infancy. And the Montessori accreditation groups offer official Montessori training for 0-3.

[Anonymous]

no offense but it is a load of crap. I have two kids in Montessori-one is in elementary school so I fully support it but I am not doing anything special for my 14 month old other than what I did for his siblings. As for setting up etc, yes our house is set up in what I guess is Montessori style-meaning easy access to items etc but would have done things the same regardless which is why Montessori is a good fit for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no offense but it is a load of crap. I have two kids in Montessori-one is in elementary school so I fully support it but I am not doing anything special for my 14 month old other than what I did for his siblings. As for setting up etc, yes our house is set up in what I guess is Montessori style-meaning easy access to items etc but would have done things the same regardless which is why Montessori is a good fit for us.

i didn't mean i thought it was the right thing to do with your kids. just that it existed. most of it seems a bit extreme to me. my son is also in montessori. i also think easy access to toys/other items, setting things up so that they can do alot of things on their own is a great approach for kids.