Follow the Child

After I received my teaching license I returned to school to earn my Montessori certification.  I worked in Montessori schools for several years before we moved to Indiana.  What I loved about the Montessori approach is Dr. Montessori's philosophy "Follow the Child."  It means that we are not teachers as much as we are facilitators.  We provided opportunities for children to learn and discover and as we observe them they will lead us in finding the best way to educated them.

Montessori did not have standardized test scores to worry about, so my teaching cannot always "Follow the Child."  Our home life is different, however.  Doug and I have never consciously talked about making this philosophy our home motto, but over the years it has easily become the mainstay of our parenting.  It is a commitment and  is not always easy to do.  

When Cal really wanted to play soccer his freshmen year and we wanted him to play tennis we listened and discussed it with him and let him lead the way.  He had a great time playing on the soccer team, met a lot of friends, and proved that he is a versatile athlete.  The decision to play tennis the next year was his own as well and a great one for him.

Brett has always marched to the beat of his own drum.  Sometimes I envision him in another family - one that has a set idea of how each child should be or what activities they should be a part of.  Brett would have been miserable and I believe a lot less successful.  It doesn't mean that it was always easy for Brett, but he has been allowed to follow his own interests and even listen to his own music - Civil War ballads and all.

Meg is the one who is involved in the most.  She plays two musical instruments, four sports, and is an all A student.  We do not make her study for the spelling bee, but we do help and encourage her along the way.  She picks what she wants to succeed at and puts her best foot forward to do so. 

Cam changes interests almost monthly.  Currently, he is spending all of his time on Pokemon.  Thus, he has four new decks, has learned all of the rules, has championships amongst his cards and gets advice from his siblings who too once shared his love of Pokemon.  This isn't his first obsession.  I know there will be a new one in a month or two.  One day he will pick his favorite activity, but for now he enjoys taking it all in - chess, golf, basketball, legos - he's loved them all and may find many more in his lifetime to pursue.

Tonight as I was sitting at Mad Anthony's listening to Brett talk about his current book on Nixon, Cal quizzing his Dad on sports trivia, Meg rehashing the events of indoor soccer, and Cam challenging everyone to Tic Tac Toe I thought about Maria Montessori.  She was right.  Follow the child - it makes life so much more fun.