I've talked about this a bit before, but it's been awhile so I thought I would talk about this again. There seems to be all sorts of pressure in today's world to teach our children ALL THE THINGS. Everything needs to be done sooner, faster, and perfectly. The world is ever changing, yet child development stays the same. Each child is on his/her individual path, whether we want to believe it or not. Some people turn to Montessori feeling like it is a way to get their child on the fast track. And, I hate to break it to you. But, Montessori is not a race.
Montessori is not a race to:
- help your child learn to crawl faster
- teach your child how to walk faster
- get your child to talk earlier
- use the toilet independently at a younger age
- help your child memorize colors sooner
- teach your child letters/numbers/learn to read/learn to write/academics in general
- help your child learn to cook/clean/do chores/have a job/be useful at a younger age
- memorize random facts
- get smarter
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Montessori is not a race. We could go on and on. If your motivation for using Montessori at home is to help your child do something, you may need to evaluate your own expectations. Instead every individual is on his/her own path. As Maria Montessori said, "a man, on the other hand, is like an object turned out by hand. Each one is different from the other. Every man has his own creative spirit that makes him a work of art." {Secret of Childhood}
She goes on to say, "one of the great problems facing men is their failure to realize the fact that a child possesses an active psychic life even when he cannot manifest it, and that the child must secretly perfect this inner life over a long period of time. The child is like a soul in a dark dungeon striving to come out into the light, to be born, to grow, an which slowly but surely animates the sluggish flesh, calling to it with the voice of its will." {Secret of Childhood}
So, remember, it's not a race. But a long slow journey that your child's inner soul leads. Follow it. Leave your own expectations. Leave society's pressure. Ignore the comparisons with other children. And wander with your child.
Have you felt this pressure?
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