The Montessori Notebook podcast :: a Montessori parenting podcast with Simone Davies

Today I have an amazing conversation to share with Gabriel Salomão of Lar Montessori in Brazil. His native language is Portuguese and yet speaks so eloquently, gently and respectfully about the Montessori approach. I always learn something from our conversations and am so happy to be able to share this conversation with you on the podcast today.
Lar Montessori: Website / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube
Gabriel works with families and schools in Brazil and abroad, including training Montessori educators. He went to Montessori school himself until he was 14 and came back to Montessori when he was graduating in Literature in search of tools to become a better teacher. "One night, I found a small little book by Maria Montessori online and started to read, without pretensions. When I finished, it was dawn, and my life was transformed."
Quotes
- Gabriel asked a child "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The child responded, "An adult."
- "To obey is hard, it's a skill and you learn that."
- "Step into the wilderness of silence"
- "Love is very much silent"
Links from the episode

• Dignity: a new gift for children
• 8 principles of silent education
• Muriel Dwyers "A Path for the Exploration of Any Language Leading to Writing and Reading"
• Instagram @whatdaddid
• Join our free book launch zoom party for The Montessori Baby on 11 May at 11am ET!

Listener question

Hi, Simone! I want to thank you so much for this podcast & your book. It has helped me immensely in my personal interactions with my 20-month old and I have already seen a change in her demeanour at home.
My question is regarding my spouse. He tells me to ""lead the way"" indicating that he wants me to learn all I can to incorporate Montessori principles at home. He is supportive in my research, but rarely listens to parts of your podcast that I share or reads blog posts that I recommend for him. He often interrupts our daughter's activities that I spend time planning, or constantly ""quizzes"" her to see what she has learned. He is well-intentioned and loves her so much. How do I gently guide him, or really guide all of our family, to let her lead and stop interrupting her or constantly asking her questions?
Thank you so much for helping me in this situation!
Submit your listener question here

In this episode, Barbara and Ferne share so much wisdom from years of Montessori teaching, Montessori parenting and being a Montessori grandparent. By the end of the episode, you'll want to adopt both of them as surrogate grandparents in your home too!
Links from the show

• Barbara Isaacs - Montessori Europe, Montessori Musings, Montessori Granny, My Montessori Life podcast
• Ferne van Zyl - The Independent Child, Instagram
• The book you wish your parents had read, by Philippa Perry
• On Children by Kahlil Gibran from The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran
• What is the research into Montessori?
• A group for Montessori grandparents with Pamela Green

This week's listener question
My son is 7 months old, I have been following all the Montessori principles that i can find and using it with my son. I live in Kathmandu and the concept is there in a very superficial way. Schools are called Montessori but they don't follow the principles. So my question is regarding my son visiting his peers / friends who live in a mountain of electronic toys.
How will my son deal with an environment where no one is vaguely following the method. All his toys are wooden Montessori toys and his friends have just plastic and battery operated toys. What can i expect from his interactions with his peers.
And what will the difference be between him and his friends when they are older?

Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of The Montessori Notebook podcast. Today I'm talking with Hannah Baynham from Collaborative Montessori about some of the big picture principles in Montessori. Hannah is a teacher educator who is passionate about issues of social justice, sustainability and the spiritual preparation of the guide. Having worked in schools around the world, she has a unique view of the importance of Cosmic Education in our early years environments.

Don’t know what cosmic education is? Then you’ve come to the right place as Hannah will guide us through it all and I hope you’ll leave feeling as inspired as I did.
Links from the show

• Collaborative Montessori - website / instagram / facebook group
• Montessori Movement Unites facebook group
• Sustainable development goals nesting boxes - youtube
• “In order to love others, all of us must first love ourselves. This self-love is not to be confused with selfishness which means over-concern with one’s self without regard to others. A healthy self-love tells a child that she is a worthy person, unique in the universe, with special attributes and talents to contribute to the world. It does not say that she is better than anyone else.” Aline D Wolf, Nurturing the Spirit
• Art Engager podcast with Claire Bown - ep 4 about asking great questions; ep 2 about slow looking
• Aubrey Hargis, Child of the Redwoods

Listener question
Ruth asks, "I'm a mother of a 9 month old baby. I knew about Montessori before becoming a mother but dove into learning more once our baby was born. I am passionate about the Montessori approach to development, especially the principles like follow the child, the prepared environment and prepared parent, building peace, and being in nature. Lately I find myself getting too focused on the "stuff", or materials. It feels like consumerism, waste, and endless activities are the visuals of Montessori that I see online all the time. Expensive wooden toys and materials, perfectly clean spaces. I know this isn't what is about, but I still feel some pressure to meet all my baby's developmental needs with the right "thing" at the right time. I'd love to hear a discussion about this and how I can reset my focus on the bigger picture. I love following you and Aubrey from child the redwoods, you always help to keep it real and de-centre the stuff. I guess this isn't really a question, but maybe an idea for discussion. I feel Montessori must be accessible and inclusive and I don't want to lose sight of that. Thanks! "

On today's podcast I had so much fun chatting to Nicole Kavanaugh of The Kavanaugh Report, mother of four children (and a dog), raising four children in a Montessori way. So if you've ever thought it might be easy to raise children in a Montessori way with one child, but struggled once there were some siblings involved, this episode will help you breathe a sigh of relief and give you an insight into how it can be a more relaxing way to parent, even in larger families.

We cover so much in this conversation including:

• dealing with 4 children who may be needing her help and how she gets them to help each other
• what Nicole does when siblings are in disagreement
• the different needs of a second plane child (6-12) and how they view the world
• how Nicole uses her spaces in an intentional way to meet everyone's needs
• how she looks after herself
• some of their favourite practical life activities and the value of including children around the home
• ways to give maximum effort to a toddler/preschooler
• Montessori DIY ideas and her favourite thrift store finds
• what she's learning about with her fourth child
• their experience using a floor bed
• how she gets her husband on board with the Montessori approach
• how they maintain their partnership with 4 young children
• and, something now often talked about, how she dealt with her miscarriages

I also talk about how I use Ayurveda to support being a Montessori teacher and parent and give an introduction to Ayurvedic principles. As well as answer a listener question about when a child throws, hits and laughs.
For full show notes, click here: https://www.themontessorinotebook.com/raising-four-children-in-a-montessori-way/
Want even more Montessori inspiration?

website: themontessorinotebook.com/the-montessori-notebook-podcast
- instagram: instagram.com/themontessorinotebook
- facebook: facebook.com/themontessorinotebook
- my online courses: themontessorinotebook.com/online-courses/

The Montessori Notebook podcast is hosted by Simone Davies. Edited by Luke Davies of Filmprov Media. Podcast art by Hiyoko Imai.

Welcome to the last episode of Season 2. And it’s a good one. Today I get to chat to Montessori educator and a nationally recognised anti-bias educator in the US, Britt Hawthorne. She’s all about creating inclusive and equitable environments for all learners and understandably her work has been recognized by none other than PBS, Drew Barrymore, Google Edu, Association Montessori Internationale, and more.

I have learned so much from Britt over the last year and a half, yes, about being an anti-racist parent and educator but also just how you can raise critically thinking children, children who can advocate for themselves, recognise injustice, call it out and do something about it. We all need people like this that raise their children in a way that shows us what is possible.
Links from the show

• Britt Hawthorne - website / instagram
• Join Britt's Collective Liberation community
• Dr Kira Banks
• More about the fundamental needs in Montessori
• Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards
• Dr Rudine Sims Bishop on mirrors, windows and sliding doors
• Britt's favourite books - bookshop.org/shop/britthawthorne
• look out for Britt's book coming in 2022, "Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide"
• redistributes funds to Keres Children's Learning Center and Sankofa Learning Center
• some of my favourite instagram posts from Britt:
  • pyramid of accountability
  • “If you’re tired, rest don’t quit” by darling and illustrated bby minna_so
  • 8 ABAR goals to set for 2021
• 42 ways in Montessori we allow intrinsic motivation to express itself - insta post / blog post
• more about the spindle box
• tour of Kristina's space
• follow one of Simone's Montessori workshops here (from US$10)
• sign up for Simone's regular e-newsletter filled with Montessori inspiration

Listener question

Maeg asks
“I’m really having a hard time preparing work cycles for two daughters with totally #1 different interests. They are 3 & 1. Also my 3 year old is so focused and loves doing things all by herself (even when she was just a baby) however the 1 year old loves to join her older sister. Another factor is a very small apartment. We only have one low shelf that could fit the room so most of the time for the 1 year old were prepared in the shelf. What should I do. We’ll live in this apartment for the next five years before having our third baby."