Montessori: more than snoody private schools

So the vast majority of people I know only know about Montessori as a type of school, usually private and very expensive. A more broad way to define Montessori, and probably more accurate, is to explain it as trying to emulate the philosophy of Maria Montessori, the turn of the century education reformer. Which is a very broad definition, which means different things to different people.

But to me, when I say I want to be a parent based off of Montessori principles I mean that to the greatest of my ability I will try to observe and follow the child. Leopleuradon will follow the same general milestones as every other child--the same "ages and stages" (which is how they refer to it in child development)--but he is also unlike every other child on the planet. He has a unique combination of interests and abilities, and I will try to meet the individual set of desires that accompany those. 

Which in action most people sum up as "teach me to do it myself."  For instance, Leopleuradon has a fascination with cups. He loves them and will give it his best, herculean efforts to get the rim in his mouth. While most kids wean from bottles to sippy cups, I'm giving Leo a glass. Because he wants it. It's what he knows and is interested in. He wants what Mom's got--not really the juice inside of it. 

look at that satisfied face

But obviously, a 7 month old can't handle a cup. By only paying attention to his interests, I set him up for failure. So I also have to acknowledge his abilities. Leo has a little votive holder. Which he can bring to his mouth, but he can't drink from it yet independently. At first I just tipped it into his mouth and the juice went straight down his chin. Then he drank half, spilled half. Now, he still can't drink independently but I tip the glass and he usually steadies it with one hand, and most of the juice is swallowed--although he still spills quite a bit down his front. After I have a turn, I give him a turn to try to do it by himself. And slowly, he's getting the hang of it. (My apologies for the misleading pictures in this post)

Almost there

it's hard to get it right

Montessori also means respecting the child, according them the human dignity they deserve. So,  I try (but often forget)  to tell Leo what I'm doing to him, rather than treating him like doll. "We're changing your clothes-- First we pull it over your head. Can you push your right arm through the hole? Now your left arm-- push, push, push." 

Obviously, dinobaby doesn't actually conscientiously push his arm through the sleeve yet. But, babies understand language far sooner than they can reproduce it themselves, and he's gaining the muscle coordination to straighten his arm on command. If I never give him the opportunity to help take care of himself, I'll never know when he's capable of doing so. And I want to give him that opportunity to help him and me discover the amazing, talented, important person that he is. 

Now Montessori also stressed the importance of child-size furniture that they could climb in and out of by themselves, preferably made with natural materials. In a perfect world, I'd have a beautiful low table and tiny chair made from solid wood, but we really can't afford that. So these are pictures of dinobaby in our free, hand-me-down high chair. Just because you can't do everything perfectly, doesn't mean you should give up on the attempt. :P

Here's an example of someone that can do it perfectly (or seems to): A video of a 6 month old drinking independently.