How to raise an amazing child - Montessori way

Last week, while I was looking for some ideas of activities where I can spend time productively with Zo Ee, I stumbled upon this book in the library; It’s about the Montessori way to bring up caring, confident children. I like it very much, as some of the practice is pretty similar to my own approach at home with Zo Ee, which solely based on my observation and consciousness. And I am very glad that I’m doing a good job with Zo Ee by encouraging her doing most of her activities independently. I always show her the correct way to do things and will encourage her to do them herself, eg. she will put away her toys into the container(as early as 8 months old) or put coloured pencils back into their holder. But all these need a lot of patience and extra work (extra cleaning and supervision) as these little tasks may be easily done by any adults but it may take a baby/toddler a lot of effort, much longer time to do them, and a lot of practise to master them. Nevertheless, once a new skill is learnt, it is something the child can carry with him/her in life.

Excerpt from the book “How to raise an amazing child.”
“While not every teacher is a parent, every parent is a teacher.”

“Children pass through “sensitive periods” in which they are primed to learn, and some of these opportunities don’t come twice.”

“Give the right stimulation at the right time, children are able to learn almost unconsciously.”

Ideas that I like from this book:

• Neat and tidy – creates a sense of order that encourages children to become self-disciplined and independent – keep toys on shelves she can easily reach rather than putting them away in a toy box. An orderly environment – when everything has its set place your child can easily maintain order in her room. (young children have a tremendous need and love for an orderly environment.)
• Independence is the greatest drive of a young child. While working to achieve it, children have fun practicing and mastering many skills. (care of himself; buttoning up, shoe polishing, learning to pour, bow-tying, preparing a snack, everyday tasks around the house; sweeping up, dries the dishes, washing dishes, dustbuster) Children want to be part of your world. For them, work is every bit as much fun as play if they are given the chance to do it. Children need to be shown new skills in simple ways they can understand-Setting the table, ride a bike, washing hands, brushing teeth, bath time, brushing hair, introducing toileting, getting dressed.
• Free to roam – babies need to move about and explore in order to learn.
• Art appreciation – encourage your child to display his finished work.
• Keeping a journal of your child’s activities and achievements.
• Encourage young children to focus their attention more carefully on the physical world.
• Exercises that develop children’s sensory awareness help them to appreciate their world much more fully for the rest of their lives. (sensory activities: sorting objects, stacking cubes, simple puzzles, matching colour charts, concentration game-matching pairs, sound, the silence game, listening to music, texture matching, the mystery bag, smell, taste)
• We can help our children to learn good behaviour - courtesy and compassion by demonstration, reassurance and unconditional love.
• It’s better to teach your child the right way to act than to wait for him to misbehave, then scold, threaten or punish him.
• Our goal should be to help our children to become mature, independent and responsible. Unfortunately, as parents, we sometimes overprotect our children, not realizing that they can only learn about life through experience, just as we did.
• We work to create a home in which they can learn to function as independent, thinking people. To succeed, we need to treat them with respect as full and complete human beings, who happen to be in our care. Our children need to feel that it is fine to be themselves. If they believe that they are not living up to our expectations or that we are disappointed in the people that they are becoming, then there is a good chance that their lives will be emotionally scared.
• Children are little scientists – children have an inbuilt drive for discovery. Encourage you child to observe the world and to feel a sense of wonder for everything in it.
• Positive approach to discipline – don’t punish, teach. Cut down on “NO”.