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The concept
Written by the president of The Montessori Foundation, this book is about how to take the principals celebrated in Montessori schools, and apply them to family life.
Montessori schools and nurseries have sprung up as a result of the teaching style of a doctor called Maria Montessori 100 years ago. (A brief history of her work is included, as is an explanation of the foundations of this style of early learning.)
She saw the potential in small children - no matter what their background or behavioural patterns – to truly develop if they were simply treated with more encouragement and respect, and allowed to take responsibility for experiences themselves.
She created a world at a child's level, with smaller tables and chairs, and utensils, so that they could understand the world at their own rate before having to put up with fitting in around an adult world.
As a result of much study, she realised that children had the potential to learn when the relationship between teacher and pupil was clear and mutually respectful, rather than the experience within the fact machines that were the stuff of most schools up until then.
Montessori nurseries now have an excellent reputation around the world, as being great grounding places for young children. As the author here says, 'while not every teacher is a parent, every parent is a teacher' - thus he believes in the importance of parents following these methods and ideas in the home as well as at nursery or school.
Organisation
The book is broken up into various chapters, but no one section is very long or taxing. Sections include an introduction to the ideas rooted in Montessori, 'Discovery through the senses' (from birth up), how to encourage children to do everyday tasks for themselves, how to deal with tantrums and discipline at home, how to use experiences to help your child understand the wider world, and an introduction to the basics of formal learning (maths etc).
Photographs, simple exercises, sidebars and brief sub-chapters offer tips on observing how your child thinks, plays and 'works'. Games are outlined which encourage certain areas of child development.
Most of these are age specific, so you don't feel that you are testing your child with something that might not be suitable.
An accessible read
This book is not at all taxing at any time. You aren't bowled over by textbook language or scientific theory. Instead, Tim Seldin's approach feels more personal and therefore the suggestions for activities you can try at home do not feel daunting at all.
If only I'd had this book when my first kid was born!
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The
ThinkBaby verdict
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A lively, inspiring and useful book on how to make your child's learning experience special, before he or she even starts school.
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Usefulness: | 5/5
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Readability: | 5/5 |
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Value: | 4/5 | 
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