It’s been more than 100 years since Dr. Maria Montessori began working with children, but her life’s work and legacy has transformed our understanding of children and how they engage with the world around them. Today, accredited Montessori schools around the world, staffed with Montessori-certified educators called 'guides', continue Dr. Montessori’s work. They strive to support the whole child, helping children at all stages of development become capable, independent, collaborative learners. Over a century later, her life’s work and philosophy help us understand how children are the key to a more peaceful world. What makes Montessori education more vital and important than ever?
As a parent, I get excited about that 15-minute slot allotted to have a one-on-one time with my child’s teacher. I look forward to hearing about my child’s progress and struggles and strengths through more than what I see on my child’s homework worksheets. Sometimes a parent-teacher interview goes great, but sometimes I walk away thinking I just heard a script that is being repeated for every student in my child’s class.
Packing lunches, doing nightly homework, studying for spelling tests, and scrambling about during the morning rush; the thrill of a new school year has long worn off and your child is dragging their feet a little more on school mornings during the second semester. How do you keep your kid motivated to finish out the last months of the school year strong?
Whether you love it or hate it, homework is a component of your children’s education. In our busy lives with schedules full of sports, dance, music lessons and the like, families may find it difficult to set their children’s educational responsibilities as a high priority. Although parents everywhere want their children to succeed in school, many parents err more on the side of slighting the importance of nightly homework than in giving too much help. There are those parents who make the mistake of doing the homework themselves for a variety of reasons, but they are in the minority and teachers will always spot such activity.
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