Bringing Montessori Education Home

Green Child talks with Montessori educator turned homeschool mom, Jordan Gurganus about her Montessori homeschool methods.

Choosing Montessori Homeschool

Our readers love learning about flexible and creative approaches to education. You’ve found one that works beautifully for your family. Can you share a bit about your background?

Yes, I’m Jordan – mom of two boys, ages nine and almost two. I’m an AMI-trained Montessori teacher turned homeschool mom. I received my AMI Montessori elementary teacher training in Portland, Oregon at Montessori Northwest, and my Masters of Montessori Education from Loyola University Maryland. 

After teaching in the Montessori classroom for six years, I decided to homeschool my oldest son, while my toddler is currently thriving in our local Montessori school.

What factors went into the decision to homeschool your oldest? 

There were so many different factors, and it certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make. 

When my oldest son was about to turn four, I was teaching in a lower elementary classroom at a beautiful Montessori school in the Bay Area, California. Up to that point, he had been in a Montessori program from the time he was two months old. He tagged along with me, and attended the schools where I worked. He had an enriching Montessori experience for which I’m eternally grateful. Meanwhile, I was fortunate enough to work in these lovely schools, teaching remarkable children alongside other passionate Montessori educators.

But one day, I had this realization that I just couldn’t shake. It hit me that, as much as I adored spending my days with an amazing group of creative, fun, and inspiring children – I was dropping my own child off to spend the majority of his waking hours in another classroom with another teacher.

Each morning, we got up while it was still dark outside and rushed to get out the door on time. I had to be at school early to prepare the classroom, so my son was always dropped off in his classroom early. And I often picked him up from the after-school program late in the evening, because I had faculty meetings or parent meetings. Or I would stay late to work on lesson-planning or to respond to parent emails.

Ultimately, I wanted my son and I to be a bigger part of each other’s days. And I knew that I could teach him at home. We already incorporated the Montessori philosophy into our home-life to some extent, and as a family, we decided that we wanted to lean into that lifestyle even more.

In addition to more time together as a family, we also wanted the flexibility of homeschooling. We aren’t beholden to any school calendar. If we are sick, we can take a sick day without guilt. If we want to travel, we don’t need to wait for a specific holiday. And if we want to continue on with our usual studies while the school kids in our area are on holiday, then we do that, too. Time and flexibility are a huge benefit to our family. 

Incorporating the Montessori Method at Home

How do you incorporate Montessori principles into teaching your 9-year-old?

I try to incorporate Montessori principles into our home education in many ways. We follow the Montessori 3-hour work cycle, we continue to use many of the Montessori materials for different subjects, and I give many of the key lessons that I learned in my AMI training. 

But I think the main Montessori principle that I try to incorporate is fostering my child’s independence. 

For toddlers and preschoolers, the goal of the Montessori method is to help them develop “physical independence.” This means offering them opportunities to do things for themselves – getting dressed, cleaning up their messes, peeling a piece of fruit they want to eat, opening doors, closing latches, using the toilet, etc. 

But for a 9-year-old, the goal is “intellectual independence.” At this age, children have already developed much of that physical independence. So now they are able to use their energy to develop their mind! This age-group of children asks lots of questions. They want to know WHY we do things a certain way, WHAT are the alternatives, HOW do things work, and on and on. These questions are truly never ending! They crave a deeper understanding of all aspects of life.

In order to guide them toward that understanding and intellectual independence, they need to engage in exploration and experience. Simply being told an answer to their questions is not going to satisfy their curiosity. They want to discover the answer for themselves. 

As adult educators, parents, and care-takers, we can give them the tools they need to guide them toward those answers. We can provide easy access to a set of encyclopedias and show them how to use it to learn about different topics. We can take them to the library and show them how to find and check-out books that are relevant to their interests. We can introduce them to other adults who have careers or hobbies that they are curious about. 

If they have ideas that are out-of-box, we can try our best to help them bring them to fruition. It’s not always easy, and sometimes it doesn’t go as planned, and some projects just fall flat. These are learning experiences, all the same. We learn from experience and success, mistakes and failures! 

So, these are the sort of Montessori principles I try to incorporate in our home education. 

Adding Enrichment and Extracurricular

My son and his upper elementary classmates had the amazing opportunity of handling the school’s breakfast sale. They even got to keep their profits at the end of the year. Can you share how you encourage those opportunities through homeschool?

Yes, my son has recently become interested in entrepreneurship and in earning money for himself. We’ve discussed how people will pay for goods and services that are valuable to them. So, now he is practicing this for himself. He decided to set up a booth at the end of our driveway with a “Geodes for Sale” sign. He displays his collection of rocks and gemstones and sells them to our neighbors passing by. 

Next, he’s planning to make and sell holiday treats and decorations from his booth. He’ll use his earnings from the sale of his geodes, and I’ll take him to a craft store (or grocery if he wants to do baked goods) to purchase the supplies. After he’s sold his holiday wares, I’ll teach him how to calculate his profit.

He’s curious, interested, and industrious. He’s experimenting with new methods to bring in more customers. He’s even engaging his neighborhood friends in his endeavor. Many of them are now also setting up booths of their own. Will he make a profit? Who knows. Either way, he’ll benefit and learn from the hands-on experience.

I think for many homeschooling parents, the idea of having a “Montessori homeschool” is daunting. They think they need to buy expensive Montessori materials or that they have to follow the lessons in the Montessori teacher albums with fidelity. But I’ve found that I can incorporate what I love about the Montessori method into our homeschool, and I can combine that with other ideas, educational philosophies, and resources, as well. Every homeschool is unique and doing what works for your particular family is so important.

Montessori Homeschool Routines

Can you share an example of your homeschool routine or daily rhythm? 

Sure! In a Montessori classroom, teachers always respect the “3-hour work cycle.” This is a solid period of time that we allow children to engage in their work, without interruption. We practice this in our homeschool, as well. We tend to start our morning work cycle at 9am and work consistently until Noon. 

Of course, we may take short breaks, as needed. Because sometimes the need for that “second breakfast” is strong or perhaps we just need to step outside for some fresh air and movement. And part of the beauty of homeschooling is that we can make time for these little moments that keep us happy and healthy! 

That said, during these morning hours, I try to avoid scheduling anything that will take us away from home. Doctors appointments, haircuts, vet visits, even music lessons and sports are all put off until the afternoons. This allows daily, uninterrupted time for my son to become more deeply engaged in his schoolwork. 

Some days our schoolwork may spill over into our afternoons. Other days, we put it away at lunchtime and move on to other things.

Natural Consequences

Having our boys in a Montessori program taught me about discipline. If their sword-slinging broke something in the house, the natural consequence would be to clean it up or help replace it. Before, I might have taken away screen time, which wasn’t actually related to the incident. What are some other examples where we can apply these principles to parenting?

Right. I think the conventional understanding of the word “discipline” in our society tends to be some sort of punishment for bad behavior. From a Montessori perspective, that word is used to mean something more positive. 

When looking deeper into what the word “discipline” actually means, we see that it comes from the Latin word “disciplina” which means “instruction, knowledge, guidance.” So instead of punishment, we can use these instances of unsafe or inappropriate behavior as opportunities to guide children toward an understanding of what they could do differently and teach them why they should change the behavior. To discipline a child is to guide them away from the negative behavior and toward a positive change. 

So, as you mentioned, children understand consequences that are natural or logical to their actions. If my toddler is standing on his chair during snack time, that’s obviously unsafe behavior. As his caretaker, I can’t sit back and let it continue until he hurts himself. What I can do is explain to him that he must sit so that he won’t fall and get hurt. And then, when the behavior continues (because – let’s be real – toddlers love to test their boundaries!), then I can remove the chair. At that point, my toddler will have to stand at the table while he eats his snack. And I can explain, “I can see that you want to stand. The floor is a safe place for standing.”

For an older child, it might not be unsafe behavior that needs correcting, but perhaps it’s not fulfilling his or her responsibilities. It’s important to set expectations. First, our older children should know what we expect of them, as well as what the logical consequence will be if they don’t complete their responsibilities. 

As an example, my older son knows that if he wants screen time, the expectation in our family is that three things have to be taken care of first. His bedroom needs to be tidied, our dog needs to have been fed and given fresh water, and my son needs to have played outside at some point that day. If his responsibilities haven’t been met, then the logical consequence is that there is no time left for screens.

Especially in the toddler and preschooler stages, how do you encourage independence while still meeting your child’s needs?

Simply involving toddlers and preschoolers in our every-day life activities is something that brings them tremendous joy and pride. My toddler loves helping bring in the groceries or playing fetch with our dog. He also enjoys taking an active role in his own self-care – choosing what clothes he wears, having a turn to brush his own teeth, and putting away his toys. On my end, this requires loads of patience, because – as we all know – these things do take longer with the participation of the little ones. But it’s SO worth it when we see that big grin on their face when they proudly announce, “I did it!”

And you know, while I love fostering their independence, I also love being a nurturing mother to both my boys. My toddler, especially, still craves the comfort that comes from Mommy and Daddy being there to help. So while I try to give him plenty of opportunities throughout the day to be independent, sometimes I find that he’s just not feeling up to a task. Maybe he’s upset or tired or frustrated, and in those moments, Mama Bear steps in to help.

And even my oldest needs help when a task feels overwhelming. Maybe his room has become a disaster-zone, and he just doesn’t know where to start when I ask him to clean it. So I make a check-list for him to work through, step by step, to get the job done. Maybe we even work through the check-list together. Divide and conquer! Because sometimes the goal is independence and other times the best lesson is for a child to learn that his parents are always there to help when he really needs it, or that difficult tasks are easier when people work together.

Being Teacher and Parent

A big part of Montessori education is accountability. Are you easily able to take off the “mom hat” and make sure there’s accountability in learning?

In the Montessori philosophy, the balance of freedom and responsibility is the bedrock of educating the elementary-aged child. What this means in our homeschool is that I set the expectations for our school day (lessons, goals, etc.), and then he makes choices about how to use his time in a productive way. 

I may start the morning by giving a lesson or two, and that’s non-negotiable. At the same time, I tend to let him choose which subject we do first. 

In fact, as a “tool of responsibility,” Montessori elementary students typically keep a “Work Journal” where they record their lessons and their work choices each day. They review their Work Journal with their teacher, so that they can be held responsible for being productive, using their time wisely, working through all the different subjects, etc. 

In my homeschool, I find that the classic check-list works brilliantly as a “tool of responsibility” for my child.  Every morning, I write a list of lessons and work that needs to be accomplished that day on the blackboard. From that list, he chooses what to work on and when. 

So he is free within the limits that I have set. He has the freedom to make choices about his work and how to use his time, as long as he is being responsible. If he is using his time wisely, being productive, and generally, making good choices, then there is no need for me to interfere. If those things are not happening, then I may need to step in to redirect him, keep him on track, or to make a game-plan for getting things done. 

Montessori to Everyday Life

Many of our readers who have kids in traditional school are interested in incorporating Montessori’s approach to practical life skills at home. Do you have advice on putting this into practice?

I love to think of the Montessori philosophy as a lifestyle that everyone can benefit from, and that it’s not exclusive to those who attend a Montessori program. It really is much more about guiding the child toward independence than about any particular Montessori materials. If we can help our children “do it themselves,” then we should. 

One idea for incorporating the Montessori approach at home, is to put things within a child’s reach. If children have easy access to plates, cups, utensils, and snacks, you may be surprised to see how quickly they start making a snack for themselves. If you put out clothing options, shoes, and socks in a familiar spot where they can reach these items, you may soon discover them wanting to dress themselves.

For older children, show them how to load and unload the dishwasher; teach them to make a meal for the family; let it be their responsibility to take out the trash and recycling. 

In a Montessori classroom, all of the children contribute to the care of the classroom environment. The classroom serves a practice community. When everyone helps and contributes to making any community a better place, we all benefit. Family life in the home is your own little community! Give your children opportunities to participate in making it a healthy and happy place for your family!

You can find more from Jordan at her blog, A Montessori Story.

More Ways to Bring Montessori Home

Learn all about the independence and benefits of a Montessori floor bed and get plenty of ideas on buying or DIY’ing one for your child.

Young children love to cook – for real and pretend. Here’s how to set up a Montessori kitchen for kids.

Grace and Courtesy are integral to a Montessori classroom, but you can also implement them at home.

And if you decide to send your child to school, here’s how to find an authentic Montessori school.