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General Overview of the Montessori Way with Videos from American Montessori Society
Montessori Organizations North American Montessori Teacher's Association (NAMTA)American Montessori Society Montessori International CouncilAssociation Montessori Internationale Montessori SchoolsMontessori AcademyThe Montessori School of Pensacola*

Welcome to Montessori Academy's Training Website
traditional one.
Click on Dr. Maria Montessori's picture below to read about her fascinating life and a brief history of the Montessori movement. After you are finished, you are ready to begin your Montessori training adventure. This part of the training you will receive at our school is entitled Montessori Manners: Communicating with the Young Child. Click on The Social Graces of a Montessori Directress on the menu bar to your left to get started. You may review any part of this training at any time. Be sure to take each quiz that is available at the end of each page.
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{http://en.thinkexist.com/images/author/3593_1.jpg} "The greatest sign of success for a teacher....is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I do not exist."" -- Dr. Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori “The
“The only language Montessori
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Be Proactive
Encourage cooperation not competition......
Students normally love to be together. (Students also learn from each other and can tend to copy each other, good or bad). What do you do when there is a conflict? A normal reaction would be to step in right away and intervene, but that is not always the best solution. Maria Montessori tells us, “When dealing with children there is greater need for observing than of probing." Students need to learn to solve their own conflicts. It is our jobs as their teachers to provide them with the means.
beyond preschool.
Some
Some general don'ts: of water?"
This is from the North American Montessori Association's training manual:
"Setting an example as Dr. Montessori observed, and as many researchers of child growth and development have shown, children learn much about behavior by observing the adults around them. In all levels of Montessori programs, teachers need to model the behavior they want the children to imitate. Here are some ways every teacher or other adults working with the children can set an example:
• asking for and receiving a student’s permission before assisting in any work the student is doing
• saying “please” when asking a student for something
Guide, 2007)
The Rug/Mat
One
The Rug/MatOne rule to
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Directed Choice
First it is important to wait...unless the child is endangering himself or others, you must wait and see if the child can solve his own problem especially in a social situation. We are to build independence in the children not dependence on you to solve all their problems. Remember the goal is to become less and less needed, to be a guide, a facilitator, maintaining an appropriate environment so that the children can freely move and learn with out hindrance from you.
So, what is directed choice? It is providing two positive choices as an alternative to a child's current behavior. If a child is exhibiting behavior that is not conducive to a peaceful classroom such as interrupting working children, being destructive with a lesson, or running in the classroom, it is necessary to stop him or her. Speaking firmly not harshly (It is our role to guide children, not force them), give them some alternatives to their current behavior. (Sometimes with the very young (infant/toddler) you can just distract them from their current behavior by placing yourself in between them or providing an interesting object to capture their attention). Another alternative is the redirecting, providing a choice between two alternative appropriate activities. Read the story below to get a clear picture of this alternative:
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Tammy is a three year old who is new to the Montessori environment and has had trouble settling in. She has trouble connecting with the other children in the classroom and does not understand the rule of "not interrupting while others are working." To her, she just wants to play, when the other children are not responding to her, she begins to grab parts of their lessons. You go to her and put her arm around her and state, "I see that you want to work with Melody today, but she is not ready to play with you. You can play with her later today. Would you like to do the pink tower like you did yesterday or would you like me to show you a new lesson, the cylinder blocks?" Providing Tammy a chance to work with you might just be what the doctor ordered, she is in need of some social contact but she also still needs to guidance in making appropriate choices. There also may be a classmate who is available to do work with you and Tammy, so that she begins to connect with a friend. Take time to recognize what may be causing the behavior, will help you come up with some appropriate choices.
What if.... If
If the child
Sometimes providing some redirection does not work, especially if they are very restless and are not calming down. You may try "gluing." Gluing is having the child sit or stay by your side for a little while. This tends to work better with toddlers and twos but it can work in a preschool/kindergarten class as well. It is important to remember you eventually have to take yourself out of the picture, teaching them how to self calm and self discipline is your ultimate goal. Being proactive by providing opportunities and training such as the silence game* and using peaceful objects at the peace table or in the peace area will help.
*The silence game was developed by Maria Montessori to help with motor skills (controlling the body) but it has evolved into much more than the original intent. It has become an exercise in developing inner peace. Click on the link below for an explanation and more on the silence game.
Silence Game
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Dr.
Dr. Maria Montessori on Discipline
Something to think about....
Jason and Jeremiah are fighting over a ball. They no longer want to share it with each other. They had been playing catch with each other for about ten minutes. They both went for a missed ball at the same time and picked it up simultaneously. Neither wanted to let go and let the other have it.
Look at the photos below. How do you think the students were able to get from stage one and stage two.
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worth it!

Reasonable Requests
We not do expect the children to do anything we, ourselves, would not do. If children are only allowed to eat in one area, then we also follow that rule. At Montgomery Montessori, children are not allowed to carry drinks around, or eat on the rugs in the classroom. You must also not eat on the rug or carry a drink around but drink and eat at a table as the children are required to do. When you are in view of the children, it is important to model all of the behavior we expect of them, no loud talking, carrying more than one item at a time, or rushing. We carry items with two hands just as we have taught the children. In every classroom there are ground rules that everyone must follow. See the link below for a list of ground rules beautifully written, these are the rules that must be present in a Montessori classroom for it to work effectively. These are the established rights of the classroom for everyone, it is your job to gently, but firmly and consistently make sure no one (including yourself) is infringing those rights.
Ground Rules from Oakhaven Montessori (Ground RulesMontessori Ground RulesAs the term implies there are established limits of behavior which enable a number of children moving and working in mostclose proximity to do so in harmony. In the Montessori schoolsClassroom a child may move about freely but not run or push. He or she may talk softly and respectfully but never shout. When the child is finished with his or her work it must be returned to the shelf in its proper place. The following shows how the child’s rights and responsibilities are pretty similarnurtured, developed and supported in a Montessori Environment:
Right:The child is free to this list).work with any material displayed in the environment that he/she has had a presentation.
Responsibility: He or she must use the material respectfully. He/She must not harm the material, themselves, or others. The material may not be used in a way that disturbs the activities of others in the environment.
Right: The child may work on a table or rug, whichever is suitable to the work chosen.
Responsibility: The child should keep materials on his/her rug.
Right: The child has the freedom to use the room as his/her needs dictate within the constraints of the rules.
Responsibility: The child will restore the environment during and after an exercise. The child is responsible for rolling up used rugs, placing the chair under the table and returning his or her work to the shelf.
Right:The child has the right to work undistracted by others. He/She may initiate, complete or repeat an exercise along and without a break in concentration.
Responsibility: No child should touch the work of another without an invitation to do so. No child is allowed to interfere with another’s learning cycle. If the child must leave the work temporarily he/she may continue at a later time with confidence that it will be as it was left.
Right: The child has the right not to join a group activity. The child may continue working with individual exercises during group activities or may stand apart as an observer of group activities.
Responsibility: The child is not allowed to interfere or disrupt and activity he/she has chosen not to join. This teaches responsibility to the group.
Right: The child has the right to work alone.
Responsibility: The child is not forced or encouraged to share his or her work. With appropriate materials and reasonable respectful ground rules sharing comes as part ofthe natural process. Generosity of spirit develops from within as the child matures with a sense of self, grounded in confidence and security.
Right:The child has the right to do nothing. Invariably in “doing nothing” the child is learning through observation, thinking and resting.
Responsibility: The child’s idleness is not allowed to disturb or distract others in the classroom.
Something to think about......
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