Be the Parent you really want to be
I have worked with toddlers and preschoolers for 27 years as a Montessori teacher in an environment I created for parents and their children. The spontaneous feedback given to me by parents, grandparents and teachers was that the ‘Montessori’ children were well ahead of expectation in their Social Skills and Early Literacy and Numeracy Skills. In after school sessions I also worked with individual older children (up to year 9) who had Learning Difficulties. By applying the same principles and strategies I obtained quite surprising results, making school life for these students less or no longer traumatic. Rather than making a bon fire of all my extensive notes and observations, I wish to share them with you in this book in the hope that it may help, one parent and one child at a time …
Make Parenting More Enjoyable
Having worked with the very young in a Montessori Early Childhood set up for thirty years has given me a fair amount of experience. This experience includes working abroad with different cultures and nationalities where the same approach yielded the same or similar results.
I am now in a position to put the stories, anecdotes and lessons learned together in a comprehensive form in the hope and with the desire to help new parents make their role as a parent not necessarily easier but definitely more interesting and enjoyable.
Parenting is Self-Development Course; It involves Physical Exercise (you will be on up-and-down and on your feet the best part of the day), Mindfulness (you have to be alert to the needs of another being), while simultaneously Planning and Organizing on an adult level. You are to be congratulated!
Parenting and assisting a very young child starts with this...
Once a baby becomes a toddler a very physical active time for the parents begins as well as learning to have eyes and ears everywhere; a crawling baby and toddler can be surprisingly fast AND curious!
Start to connect with a very young child through Practical Life Skills when they have obtained a reasonable sense of balance.
As soon as very young children become mobile they will begin to explore their environment. All information is absorbed through the senses, hence they put everything in their mouth (the tongue has the most neural connections) and they want to touch everything (same with the hands, especially the tips of fingers).
They also watch what they see others do and they will attempt to do the same. Therefore, an orderly environment, clear movements and correct use of tools – and where they are housed – becomes important. It requires alert mindfulness from the adult but is well worth the effort.
