Is Montessori a good fit for my child and our family?
We believe a Montessori education can work for every child and family! But it’s good to understand the expectations we have for your child here at Little Sparks. As a Montessori preschool, we emphasize functional independence, child-led opportunities, and freedom within limits.
“Help me to do it myself.”
Dr. Montessori
A big part of your child’s day at Little Sparks is learning to care for themselves, others, and their Children’s House environment. We build time into your child’s day so that they have the time they need to change in and out of outdoor gear, clean up their work spaces, and prepare materials for the next person to use as independently as possible. We understand this process may get messy, time-consuming and frustrating. We are here to support your child through it all! We hope you will support us in providing this valuable learning time for your child.
“Children acquire knowledge through experience in the environment.”
Dr. Montessori
It is not an expectation that all children work on the same thing at the same time. We honor the process over the product. Your child will occasionally bring home work they’ve completed (drawings, cuttings, collage), but there are so many valuable learning moments in their day that can not be quantified by a piece of paper. We celebrate the time it takes to properly put on a shoe, reorganize a shelf of messy materials or comfort a friend who didn’t want to say goodbye to their parents. All these opportunities and more are important work in your child’s day and we hope you’ll join us in honoring them.
“A child’s liberty should have at its limits the interests of the group to which he belongs.”
Dr. Montessori
Children in a Montessori environment have freedom within limits. The unique work of a Montessori guide is allowing children appropriate amounts of agency while also holding a structure that will support all children’s success. For example: a snack is available throughout the morning and children can choose when they’d like to eat a snack. However, there are only two chairs at the snack table so they must take turns with their peers. Children are responsible for leaving a clean table so the next child can enjoy the same freedom. Similarly, children are free to choose what they would like to work on within the Children’s House. However, before using a material they must receive a presentation (or lesson) from the Guide on how to work with that material. They must also learn how to return the material in such a way that it is ready for the next child to use.
“Follow the child.”
Dr. Montessori
Children have the freedom to choose what they work on based on their interests. We support children in following their interests while also helping them learn new skills and arrive at new levels of mastery. A Montessori teacher is called a Guide. Their work is to observe children, notice what kinds of opportunities they choose for themselves and plan what kinds of opportunities to offer that will both meet them where they are and gently guide them to new learning. We often remind ourselves to trust the process when working with young children because their learning arcs are often not linear.
Dr. Montessori also stated: "Follow the child, but follow the child as his leader.” In this regard, we apply our knowledge of child development to support the child in learning opportunities that are in their best interests.
