Homework—Montessori Style
In 1906, Dr. Maria Montessori opened the first “Casa de Bambini,” or “Children’s House,” a special school which cared for the children of low-income families while the parents worked.
At this first Casa, Montessori tested and refined many of her educational theories. What she noticed early on is that small children were particularly drawn to what she termed “practical life” activities—dressing themselves, sweeping, pouring, preparing their own meals. They developed confidence and independence in these activities, and then transferred that independence to teaching themselves math, reading, geography, etc., using specially prepared materials. (These materials might be sandpaper letters, or large wooden map puzzles.)
Montessori even noted that given the opportunity to either work at these specially prepared tasks, or play with toys, the children generally chose to work.
Montessori wrote, “It is certain that the child's attitude towards work represents a vital instinct; for without work his personality cannot organise itself and deviates from the normal lines of its construction. Man builds himself through working.” Work is essential to a child’s development.
The work of children, Montessori believed, was their education—but education toward life, not education in a narrow, academic sense.
And as it turns out, the family is the first place that such work begins. We tend to believe that to educate our children well, we need to have a full grasp of math, or history, or literary analysis, or the various other topics. But the truth is that the first and foremost indicator of student success is how involved the parents are. Education think tank and research group Waterford.org says it best: the primary predictor of student academic success is “not socioeconomic status, nor how prestigious the school is that a child attends. The best predictor of student success is the extent to which families encourage learning at home and involve themselves in their child’s education.”
Studies show that student success is really about good habits and self-discipline—time-management skills, goal-setting, proper sleep and nutrition, an organized work space, even professional dress (in college) and the ability to take studies seriously. These are skills that have to be present in the home to take effect.
It’s as simple as that. Be involved; encourage learning at home.
Your job, as a parent, is to encourage your child in this kind of non-academic “homework.” Help your child develop independence and autonomy early on. Educational theorist Rudolf Dreikurs, who was influential on Montessori’s theories, famously said, “Never do for a child what a child can do for himself.”
Encourage your children to dress themselves, even at very young ages.
Allow them to help out with meal preparation.
Help them learn to keep their room tidy and clean up after themselves.
Prepare their environment by ensuring that their toys all have an assigned place, and help them put toys back in their place when they’re done using them.
Encourage your family as a unit to get chores done together, and let your children help. Young children feel immensely valued when they can contribute to shared family tasks, and they also gain the opportunity to develop the skills that will help them to be truly helpful when older.
Involve your children in the work you do together at home—planning vacations or other outings and events, working together toward shared goals, even volunteering together.
If education is the work of the child, then you, the parent, are best equipped to encourage that education.
It’s difficult, yes—it takes a lot of consistency and creativity. But the good news is that to help your child succeed both academically and in life, you don’t have to completely understand physics. So be encouraged this fall, as your children continue their academic studies. The best thing you can do is to continue to teach the essential life skills, stay involved in their academic learning, and participate in their extracurriculars as much as possible. Remember, your child’s positive relationship with work begins in the home, with you as their teacher.