The Montessori Notebook podcast :: a Montessori parenting podcast with Simone Davies

Hello there! I'm popping into your podcast feed with a catch up on what has been happening the last 2.5 years since the last podcast episode, including the launch of The Montessori Child book. The book picks up where The Montessori Toddler leaves off, covering how to bring Montessori into your home with 3-12 year olds, including a bonus chapter on adolescence. At the end of the epidsode, I also answer a listener question about talking to our children about war.

Links from the episode

• The Montessori Child book - for 3-12 year olds (and into adolescence)
  • Preorder by 4 March and claim your pre-order bonuses here
• Film recommendations:
  • Perfect days
  • Anatomy of a Fall
• Book recommendations:
  • Summer Fishing in Lapland by Juhani Karila
  • Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
• Talking to children about war
  • Erica Moretti's book, The Best Weapon for Peace: Maria Montessori, Education, and Children's Rights
  • Webinar: How to talk to children about what is happening
  • Newsletter: Talking to our children about war
• Until next time:
  • follow one of Simone's Montessori workshops here (from US$10)
  • sign up for Simone's regular e-newsletter filled with Montessori inspiration

Welcome to the last episode of Season 2. And it’s a good one. Today I get to chat to Montessori educator and a nationally recognised anti-bias educator in the US, Britt Hawthorne. She’s all about creating inclusive and equitable environments for all learners and understandably her work has been recognized by none other than PBS, Drew Barrymore, Google Edu, Association Montessori Internationale, and more.

I have learned so much from Britt over the last year and a half, yes, about being an anti-racist parent and educator but also just how you can raise critically thinking children, children who can advocate for themselves, recognise injustice, call it out and do something about it. We all need people like this that raise their children in a way that shows us what is possible.

Links from the show

• Britt Hawthorne - website / instagram
• Join Britt's Collective Liberation community
• Dr Kira Banks
• More about the fundamental needs in Montessori
• Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards
• Dr Rudine Sims Bishop on mirrors, windows and sliding doors
• Britt's favourite books - bookshop.org/shop/britthawthorne
• look out for Britt's book coming in 2022, "Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide"
• redistributes funds to Keres Children's Learning Center and Sankofa Learning Center
• some of my favourite instagram posts from Britt:
  • pyramid of accountability
  • “If you’re tired, rest don’t quit” by darling and illustrated bby minna_so 
  • 8 ABAR goals to set for 2021
• 42 ways in Montessori we allow intrinsic motivation to express itself - insta post / blog post
• more about the spindle box
• tour of Kristina's space
• follow one of Simone's Montessori workshops here (from US$10)
• sign up for Simone's regular e-newsletter filled with Montessori inspiration

Listener question

Maeg asks
“I’m really having a hard time preparing work cycles for two daughters with totally #1 different interests. They are 3 & 1. Also my 3 year old is so focused and loves doing things all by herself (even when she was just a baby) however the 1 year old loves to join her older sister. Another factor is a very small apartment. We only have one low shelf that could fit the room so most of the time for the 1 year old were prepared in the shelf. What should I do. We’ll live in this apartment for the next five years before having our third baby."

I have not just one amazing guest but two for a conversation about Montessori at home. I invited Jeanne-Marie Paynel, Your Parenting Mentor, and Pilar Bewley from Mainly Montessori to look at how we can apply Montessori principles in our homes whether we are homeschooling our child, they go to a Montessori school or not and we want to apply Montessori at home. We cover children from 0 to 12 in this conversation, how Montessori can be done on a budget, Montessori and minimalism, Montessori training and a whole lot more. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Links from the show

• Jeanne-Marie Paynel - website /  instagram / The Art of Parenting podcast
• Pilar Bewley - website / instagram / Second Plane Montessori Facebook group
• Idea of wonder wall from Julie Bogart's book "The Brave Learner"
• “The Quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you ask yourself” ― Bernardo Moya, The Question: Find Your True Purpose
• Simone's Setting up your home Montessori-style 4-week online workshop

Listener question

"How should someone decorate their Montessori classroom? I like minimalist but just wanting to make sure I'm not decorating too much." - anonymous

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of The Montessori Notebook podcast. Today I'm talking with Hannah Baynham  from Collaborative Montessori about some of the big picture principles in Montessori. Hannah is a teacher educator who is passionate about issues of social justice, sustainability and the spiritual preparation of the guide. Having worked in schools around the world, she has a unique view of the importance of Cosmic Education in our early years environments. 

Don’t know what cosmic education is? Then you’ve come to the right place as Hannah will guide us through it all and I hope you’ll leave feeling as inspired as I did.

Links from the show

• Collaborative Montessori - website / instagram / facebook group
• Montessori Movement Unites facebook group
• Sustainable development goals nesting boxes - youtube
• “In order to love others, all of us must first love ourselves. This self-love is not to be confused with selfishness which means over-concern with one’s self without regard to others. A healthy self-love tells a child that she is a worthy person, unique in the universe, with special attributes and talents to contribute to the world. It does not say that she is better than anyone else.” Aline D Wolf, Nurturing the Spirit
• Art Engager podcast with Claire Bown - ep 4 about asking great questions; ep 2 about slow looking
• Aubrey Hargis, Child of the Redwoods

Listener question
Ruth asks, "I'm a mother of a 9 month old baby. I knew about Montessori before becoming a mother but dove into learning more once our baby was born. I am passionate about the Montessori approach to development, especially the principles like follow the child, the prepared environment and prepared parent, building peace, and being in nature. Lately I find myself getting too focused on the "stuff", or materials. It feels like consumerism, waste, and endless activities are the visuals of Montessori that I see online all the time. Expensive wooden toys and materials, perfectly clean spaces.  I know this isn't what is about, but I still feel some pressure to meet all my baby's developmental needs with the right "thing" at the right time. I'd love to hear a discussion about this and how I can reset my focus on the bigger picture. I love following you and Aubrey from child the redwoods, you always help to keep it real and de-centre the stuff. I guess this isn't really a question, but maybe an idea for discussion. I feel Montessori must be accessible and inclusive and I don't want to lose sight of that. Thanks! "

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 episode

• Advanced Montessori Method Vol 1, Dr Montessori
• Momahill Montessori - website / instagram

Listener 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

So lovely to learn more about Theresa from Montessori In Real Life who we all love following on Instagram. She shares so much in this episode from how she gets her children to pack away, to what they are loving outdoors, organising spaces with siblings, their favourite practical life, her own anti-bias journey and so much more.

Links from the show

• Theresa from Montessori in Real Life - Website / Instagram
• Quote from Aubrey Hargis here
• Britt & Tiffany's course - their 4 week course is currently unavailable / 2 hour workshop with The Montessori Notebook
• Theresa featured on The Montessori notebook blog here and here
• Their Ikea play kitchen turned Montessori kitchen here
• How Montessori brings more joy - blog post
• Toddlers need for movement - insta reel
• Tips for practical life in the kitchen - insta reel
• Getting kids to put things away - insta post
• Praise vs acknowledgement - blog post
• Encouraging independent play - blog post
• freedom within limits - insta post
• Tips for caregivers and grandparents - blog post
• Theresa's Montessori guides
• Whole Brain Child, Dan Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson

Listener question

Hi! I am just discovering Montessori and I have a 3…almost 4 year old. She has developed a fear of bugs so much that she cries when it’s time to go outside. I’m a working mom so I try to get her outside as much as I can. I do let her hold my hand and I let her know that she is safe. We talk about bugs that are okay to observe close up vs bugs that we want to observe at a distance. Basically, how do I navigate through this time? We are in Michigan so it’s quite buggy right now and the summer months are upon us. My husband and I loooove being outside (camping, gardening, etc) but now she’s so afraid that we are finding ourselves inside a lot to respect her emotions. - Scarlett

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 show

• Pickneys at Play - Instagram
• From Childhood to Adolescence, by Dr Montessori
• stand up diaper change
• language matching activity
• giving them access in the kitchen
• dressing area
• travel tips
• DIY oversized object permanence box
• DIY chalkboard
• DIY placemat
• books from and about the Caribbean

This 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 show

• Dr Ayize Sabater - Instagram, blackmontessorieducationfund.org
• Sanny van Loon - Instagram (our book illustrator)
• Montessori Chapters, Maria and Charlie
• Montessorian by heart, Neus - Spanish/Brazilia
• The Kavanaugh Report, Nicole Kavanaugh
• Mainly Montessori, Pilar Bewley
• Raising Yannis, Ahoefa
• Forest Montessori, Jaya
• Montessori in Real Life, Theresa
• Montessori like a Mother, Amy
• Karin Slabaugh
• To order 10+ books for schools or wholesale, email [email protected]
• YouTube video of The Montessori Baby book launch
• Tilt Parenting
• Bilingualism
  • Eowyn Crisfield - Bilingual Families: A Practical Language Planning Guide book
  • Eowyn Crisfield - Raising Bilingual & Multilingual children workshop
  • Colin Baker, A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism

This week's listener question

I'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 show

• Barbara Isaacs - Montessori Europe, Montessori Musings, Montessori Granny, My Montessori Life podcast
• Ferne van Zyl - The Independent Child, Instagram
• The book you wish your parents had read, by Philippa Perry
• On Children by Kahlil Gibran from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
• What is the research into Montessori?
• A group for Montessori grandparents with Pamela Green

This week's listener question

My 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?

This episode about Marvin Reyes and sustainability

Such a fun conversation today with Marvin of Vincerola nurseries & preschools in Cologne, Germany. We were planning to interview some of the children but with 4 and 5 year olds whose native language isn't English, well, you'll have to listen to hear how that went. Keeping it real.

Then I got to ask Marvin all about their sustainability projects in their Montessori school. We talked about building bee hotels, nature visits and how they are making children conscious of how much trash they make in a week. Listen to the episode for more!

Links from the show

• The Montessori Baby - register to join our free virtual book tour events
• The Montessori Baby - the book including preorder details for those ordering by 10 May
• 10 ways we can show respect to our child
• Alfie Kohn, Unconditional Parenting
• Alfie Kohn, 5 reasons to stop saying good job
• Vincerola - website / YouTube
• The Earth Project with Montessori Everywhere

Listener question

Today's listener question is from Eve-Marie:

"Hi Simone, thank you so much for all the resources you have put into the world. I listen to the podcast regularly and read the Montessori Toddler while on maternity leave. My 2.5 year old son attends a lovely AMI Montessori School full time here in Canada, and my husband and I try our best to follow the Montessori method at home, although we were both raised in a very different way. His teachers report that our little guy is easy and affable at school, but at home he has lately started to push up on limits very strongly. Although I understand this is exactly what he should be doing, I often don't know what to do after I feel like I appropriately responded to his behavior and he persists in it.

For an example: the first nice warm day of Spring on our commute home from school (I was walking and pulling him in his wagon as usual) we saw another family eating ice cream cones. He started asking for ice cream, repeating the request more and more urgently. I pulled the wagon off the side walk, crouched down to his level to look him in the eye. I calmly explained that I understood that he wanted ice cream, ice cream was delicious and I wished we could have some too. But today we were not going to have ice cream. I couldn't buy him ice cream today (this was true, I hadn't brought my wallet), which was hard, because I understood the he wanted some very much. Today was not the day to have ice cream. Today was that family's turn to eat ice cream and it would be our tun to have ice cream on a different day. Today we were going to the park!. I felt like we had connected and he understood, but as soon as we started walking again he resumed yelling and repeating his demand for ice cream. What to do in this instance? Ignoring him didn't feel very respectful, but I was at a loss how else to move on and ended up diverting him with the slide when we arrived at the playground.

This is an example of something that is happening a lot. I feel like I am communicating that I understand his wishes, explain the limit, and validate his feelings towards the limit. But then when he continues to test that limit (which I understand) what is the best way to respond?"