All families treasure books but sometimes it is difficult to decide which books to buy and which to borrow. In our Primary classrooms, we carefully select books for our library corner. You may be asking yourself, “what’s the Montessori criteria when choosing books for the young child?”

Here are a few characteristics that we look for before making each and every book available to our preschoolers:

• Reality: we provide books based on reality. Dr. Montessori wasn’t against fiction or fairy-tales but she believed that these books are best suited to the older children with a more mature mind and ability to abstract. The young child is trying to adapt and orientate to his/her environment and to make sense of the world he/she lives in. Therefore, these children crave and are more interested in books that deal with the world around then, animals, the environment and everyday activities.
• Diversity: we offer books that demonstrate diversity, show different cultures and different lands so as to expose the children to the vastness and beauty of our planet.
• Quality: we take quality over quantity anytime. We look for books that have large, clear, beautiful, high quality images that balances just right with the amount of text. Images must be captivating and inspiring. Also, we always make sure that the books are intelligent and don’t speak down to children. 

Furthermore, when introducing the library and books to the children we follow the same procedure as with all the other materials in the classroom. We demonstrate proper handling and technique of use. We guide them towards the appropriate space to perform that activity and, finally, we allow them to work independently.

To be more specific, we also:

• Demonstrate how to turn a book’s pages carefully from the top right corner as well as how to carry a book properly by holding it with both hands.
• Ensure the child knows and understands where books are kept and is able to put them back after use.
• Provide a comfortable reading space (at home, you may think about having a corner with a few cushions in the living area as well as the bedroom or outdoor environment). We store books at the child’s height in a front-facing bookshelf (you may use other types of displays or even baskets). The young child is not able to associate a book by it’s spine so it’s best to store them where the child can easily see the cover.
• Do not interrupt a child reading (unless they are mistreating the book or are in danger). Children develop and exercise their ability to concentrate just by reading/looking at books. In addition to this, we accept the children’s choice by allowing them to choose a book to read without enforcing our preferences.

Please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher for specific suggestions of books and authors.

Happy reading everyone!

© Lions Gate Montessori

“The connection to academic success may not come directly from income, rather from something that is absolutely free. Words.”

The Montessori approach to language takes the importance of words into consideration from the very first day a three year old child steps into the classroom. Language is essential in the process of thinking and the child needs to be spoken to and listened to often. In our classrooms, the teachers facilitate the acquisition of verbal language by preparing the environment and focusing on presenting rich, real and purposeful oral language experiences. Our environments provide endless opportunities for the children to speak using their recently acquired language skills. The children have meaningful conversations, enriching their vocabulary and hearing English in all of its different forms, through stories, poems, songs, oral games, and finger plays. Teachers consistently name things by their specific names, repeat new words when they are introduced, enunciate carefully, and speak slowly. An important aspect of our spoken language lessons in the Montessori classroom are the 3 Period Lessons. These lessons teach particular terms, such as the names of the countries in North America and the characteristics of the Sensorial material (i.e. large, larger, the largest) by using real objects, classroom materials, photos/illustrations, and miniatures. This ensures that the children are not only acquiring new words, but also solidifying concepts based on previous concrete experiences. Our environments are prepared to offer a broad exposure to the spoken word. We understand that it is only through practice that the children work to perfect their speech, articulation, vocabulary, grammar, phrasing, and sentence structure, ultimately becoming masters of their own language.

Years ago, researchers Betty Hart, PhD and Todd Risley, PhD of the University of Kansas, uncovered some amazing results from a very in-depth study of young children (0-3), their caregivers, and their conversations.  After three years of observing 42 families from across a varied socio-economic pool, and examining the more than 1,300 hours of interactions they had recorded, they discovered a great deal about language, but also made some surprising connections along the way. Click here to continue reading… 

We’ve been told it’s “old fashion” for our children to use cursive writing. In fact, most schools no longer teach it. So why do Montessori schools like ours still insist on using cursive? In most cases, it’s the most natural form of writing, but it’s also good for your brain! Find out how in this article from Psychology Today.

It may seem like a laughable “only in New York” story that Manhattan mother, Nicole Imprescia, is suing her 4-year-old daughter’s untraditional private preschool for failing to prepare her for a private school admissions exam.

But her daughter’s future and ours might be much brighter with a little less conditioning to perform well on tests and more encouragement to discover as they teach in Montessori schools. Ironically, the Montessori educational approach might be the surest route to joining the creative elite, which are so overrepresented by the school’s alumni that one might suspect a Montessori Mafia: Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, not to mention Julia Child and rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs. To read more…