Welcome to another episode of The Montessori Notebook podcast. Today’s conversation is a little different as we transport ourselves to Nigeria and get to see how Montessori looks there. This conversation is with Ochuko Prudence Daniels, the founder of Momahill Montessori who found Montessori through her children and, as you’ll hear, she didn’t choose to become a Montessori teacher. It just happened. You’ll learn so much from Pru as we talk about how they apply Montessori in their home and in her school. What I love most is how passionate she is about bringing Montessori to her country and to any and every child and when you listen to her talk, you’ll have little doubt that she will make it happen. She even says that she brought in friends to her school, to the training and she’d go up to people on the street to tell them to respect their child because she’s just that passionate and she does it all with a warm heart, a big smile and a lot of grace.Links from the episodeAdvanced Montessori Method Vol 1, Dr MontessoriMomahill Montessori - website / instagramListener question"How can parents work with Montessori schools when kids who are hitting when upset? Do you give feedback on the spot and how to deal with consequences " -  Crystal

Something I get asked a lot about is how to do Montessori with twins. I loved this conversation with Ana-Kay of Pickneys at Play who shared with us everything from eating and toileting with two, when they copy each other doing something that's not safe, some travelling tips and how they incorporated their religion and Jamaican culture into their home.Links from the showPickneys at Play - InstagramFrom Childhood to Adolescence, by Dr Montessoristand up diaper changelanguage matching activitygiving them access in the kitchendressing areatravel tipsDIY oversized object permanence boxDIY chalkboardDIY placematbooks from and about the CaribbeanThis week's listener question"Hi Simone, My daughter (recently turned 2) is really into counting at the moment. She had a beautiful abacus that she uses all the time. She, of course, gets the order wrong most of the time en generally counts one.. two.. eight, nine, ten! I want to help her slowly get the hang of it, but don’t want to say “no, you’re doing it wrong, counting goes like this”. I try to do this by counting out loud when possible (for example the coops of coffee when she helps making coffee or the number of tomatoes for dinner). But I’m an insecure about how I can help her best when she is counting for herself. Should I just leave her to it, correct her and, for example, count together, or what would be the ‘Montessori way’ to help her? Love to have your take on this!" - Eva

I said last week I’d have to do a podcast soon all about babies, and after our book launch Zoom party for The Montessori Baby last week where Junnifa and I were talking all about our love for babies, I decided it could be fun to share the recording from the book launch party for this week’s podcast. We talked about how we show respect for babies in the Montessori approach, we give you a virtual tour of the book, and even some of the people featured in the book were live on the call and able to talk about how it’s been for them to apply Montessori in their lives. And the most fun is Dr Ayize Sabater of the Black Montessori Education Fund. He kindly agreed to host the event and you can just feel his joy and his passion for Montessori. Enjoy...Links from the showDr Ayize Sabater - Instagram, blackmontessorieducationfund.orgSanny van Loon - Instagram (our book illustrator)Montessori Chapters, Maria and CharlieMontessorian by heart, Neus - Spanish/BraziliaThe Kavanaugh Report, Nicole KavanaughMainly Montessori, Pilar BewleyRaising Yannis, AhoefaForest Montessori, JayaMontessori in Real Life, TheresaMontessori like a Mother, AmyKarin SlabaughTo order 10+ books for schools or wholesale, email specialmarkets@workman.comYouTube video of The Montessori Baby book launchTilt ParentingBilingualismEowyn Crisfield - Bilingual Families: A Practical Language Planning Guide bookEowyn Crisfield - Raising Bilingual & Multilingual children workshopColin Baker, A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to BilingualismThis week's listener questionI'd love to hear more about your journey incorporating Montessori and bilingualism, Simone. Where we are moving next (in the US), we'll have to choose between one or the other for schooling (a Montessori school or an immersion school). The second language is not my first language, but we'd still like to introduce a second language. How did you navigate this or do you have any tips or resources you recommend? Thank you! - Sarah

In this episode, Barbara and Ferne share so much wisdom from years of Montessori teaching, Montessori parenting and being a Montessori grandparent. By the end of the episode, you'll want to adopt both of them as surrogate grandparents in your home too!Links from the showBarbara Isaacs - Montessori Europe, Montessori Musings, Montessori Granny, My Montessori Life podcastFerne van Zyl - The Independent Child, InstagramThe book you wish your parents had read, by Philippa PerryOn Children by Kahlil Gibran from The Prophet, by Kahlil GibranWhat is the research into Montessori?A group for Montessori grandparents with Pamela GreenThis week's listener questionMy son is 7 months old, I have been following all the Montessori principles that i can find and using it with my son. I live in Kathmandu and the concept is there in a very superficial way. Schools are called Montessori but they don't follow the principles. So my question is regarding my son visiting his peers / friends who live in a mountain of electronic toys. How will my son deal with an environment where no one is vaguely following the method. All his toys are wooden Montessori toys and his friends have just plastic and battery operated toys. What can i expect from his interactions with his peers. And what will the difference be between him and his friends when they are older?

Today I have an amazing conversation to share with Gabriel Salomão of Lar Montessori in Brazil. His native language is Portuguese and yet speaks so eloquently, gently and respectfully about the Montessori approach. I always learn something from our conversations and am so happy to be able to share this conversation with you on the podcast today. Lar Montessori: Website / Instagram / Facebook / YouTubeGabriel works with families and schools in Brazil and abroad, including training Montessori educators. He went to Montessori school himself until he was 14 and came back to Montessori when he was graduating in Literature in search of tools to become a better teacher. "One night, I found a small little book by Maria Montessori online and started to read, without pretensions. When I finished, it was dawn, and my life was transformed."Quotes- Gabriel asked a child "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The child responded, "An adult."- "To obey is hard, it's a skill and you learn that."- "Step into the wilderness of silence"- "Love is very much silent"Links from the episodeDignity: a new gift for children8 principles of silent educationMuriel Dwyers "A Path for the Exploration of Any Language Leading to Writing and Reading"Instagram @whatdaddidJoin our free book launch zoom party for The Montessori Baby on 11 May at 11am ET!Listener questionHi, Simone! I want to thank you so much for this podcast & your book. It has helped me immensely in my personal interactions with my 20-month old and I have already seen a change in her demeanour at home.My question is regarding my spouse. He tells me to ""lead the way"" indicating that he wants me to learn all I can to incorporate Montessori principles at home. He is supportive in my research, but rarely listens to parts of your podcast that I share or reads blog posts that I recommend for him. He often interrupts our daughter's activities that I spend time planning, or constantly ""quizzes"" her to see what she has learned. He is well-intentioned and loves her so much. How do I gently guide him, or really guide all of our family, to let her lead and stop interrupting her or constantly asking her questions?Thank you so much for helping me in this situation!Submit your listener question here

I had so much fun in this episode catching up with Heleen who used to come to my Montessori playgroup here in Amsterdam with her daughter Josie. We hear all about the Montessori principles they still use in their home now that Josie is 6 and even though Josie doesn't go to a Montessori school. We have a beautiful conversation covering:Montessori at hometheir Montessori spacesconflict resolution between childrenthe grey cloud of early motherhood for Heleen and how she got through itinvolving Josie in daily life - her favourite, folding laundry!heading outdoors in the cityhow they used a Montessori floor bedkeeping our own sense of self during parenthoodhow Josie finds having two mamascouch time - something we all need to do to stay connected if we have a partnerand more I also loved talking about how I'm not a perfect Montessori teacher or parent. I'm making mistakes still, reflecting on them, seeing if I can do better, and just keep doing my best. And I answer another listener question.For full show notes, click here: https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/montessori-at-home/Want even more Montessori inspiration?- website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebook- my online courses: themontessorinotebook.com/online-courses/The Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.

I loved putting together this episode of the podcast. So many great questions have been submitted about the Montessori approach and today I spend the whole episode answering lots of them. Hope it will be super useful to all of you no matter where you are on your Montessori journey.Topics we cover in today’s episode include:A Montessori approach to night sleepIncorporating Montessori as working parentsDiscipline advice for aggressive behaviour (pulling hair, pinching, etc.) without spanking and convincing family membersMontessori with multiple childrenHaving to justify ourselves to others as a teacher/parentA question about nerf gunsDaily routines and getting anything doneMontessori ideas for storing LegoWhat about duplicate materials with their Montessori classroom?Showing a 1-year-old an activity or taskTearing lift-the-flap booksParenting in a different way to your partnerTantrums in a public placeGetting your child in a car seat when in a hurryWhen a younger sibling upsets the older one’s playSee? So many interesting topics. Let me know what you think and if you enjoy these Q&A episodes.For full show notes, click here: https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/your-montessori-questions-answered/Want even more Montessori inspiration?- website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebook- my online courses: themontessorinotebook.com/online-courses/The Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.Episode is LivePublished: Feb. 28, 2020 @ 7AM EditUnpublishAmplify this EpisodeAdd Chapter MarkersTranscribe this EpisodePromote this EpisodeCreate a Video SoundbiteShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInEmail Link to EpisodeDirect Link to MP3

Today's episode is a positive and heartwarming conversation with Andy Lulka, a Montessori teacher, parent and child. As someone who has spent their whole life around Montessori, you'll hear about:growing up in a Montessori schoolwhat a middle school Montessori program looks likehow Judaism is brought into the Jewish Day School programhow we can do better with anti-bias education touching on equity, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality (and where Simone puts up her hand to say, "I'm losing you" and asks for more explanation, learning right alongside you)the four planes of development including the Montessori elementary child and teenagersAndy's wonderful phrase "convince me" instead of closing a dialogue with her sonsingle parenting and ideas for creating a villageMontessori observation and self-observationwhat is dialoguing"Who we are as human beings - how we show up in the world - is what will make the biggest impact on our children's lives" - Andy Lulka"Montessori is a way to make the world a better place" - Andy Lulka"People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does.”― Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of ReasonSimone also answers a listener question:I am a working mother of 14 month old twin girls. I have started following Montessori principles recently. It is extremely hard for either of the babies to focus on their own activities without getting distracted by the other. It is challenging for me to engage both the girls in the same activity without them fighting over the toy or anything else. I try to explain them to wait for their turn but I guess they do not understand that yet and cannot wait for anything. Any suggestions on how to implement Montessori at home with twins?For full show notes, click here:  https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/montessori-and-anti-bias-education/Want even more Montessori inspiration?- website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebookThe Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.

Today we get into the woman behind the Montessori approach - yes, Dr Montessori herself in a lovely conversation with her great granddaughter, Carolina Montessori. Listen to this conversation and learn about:Dr Montessori's years working in psychiatric hospitals and anthropology before working in educationHer work as a feministHow she became so well-known in an era before the internet and instagramAn insight into her relationship with her own son, Mario, who was born out of wedlockCarolina's work in the AMI archives including books of letters from her great-grandmother to her familyWhat it is like to grow up in the Montessori family and how Carolina raised her own children in a Montessori wayCarolina's own beautiful story being married to the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and Minister of Financea visit to a school in Kurdistan, Iraqand problems getting Montessori into the public systemSimone also talks about a Montessori approach to food and answers another listener question:How is a day in your room with the parents? Do they just observe or are they with you or with the kids all the time?... Gracias!! For full show notes, click here: https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/dr-montessori-and-her-life-family-and-work/Want even more Montessori inspiration?- website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebookThe Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.

A deep conversation with Eloise from @mightymother_ in the UK all about creating a beautiful childhood and how they incorporate Montessori into their eclectic homeschooling days. And even if you aren't homeschooling, you'll learn:* alternatives to praise* building a family rhythm rather than a schedule* creating cosy spaces at different ages* what morning time looks like in their home - from tea to poetry to Latin and French - you are going to want to hear why a 4.5 year old is into these!* the joy in the bad days* getting out into nature in the city* giving ourselves permission to rest and look after ourselves* a realistic perspective on anxiety* and how there is no such thing as a perfect parentAnd don't forget to listen right to the end when Simone answer's this week's listener question from India:My first born child is now turning 2 years old and I have only recently discovered the montessori method which I feel is so perfect for our family. I am in the process of purging a lot of “stuff” in our home that does not have a purpose, and make our home more “montessori friendly”. In many ways though, I feel like we are starting too late and I have failed my son as a parent. But at the same time I feel inspired to make some positive changes. Any suggestions for parents who are just starting to learn about montessori and transitioning from a more “conventional?” ... almost consumerish approach to parenting (always looking for the latest toy or gadget or stimulation).For full show notes, click here: https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/a-beautiful-childhood/Want even more Montessori inspiration?- website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebookThe Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.