If I could recommend one educational book to parents of children ages 5 and under, what would it be? After thinking about all the wonderful books I’ve read, one book stands out as the book I would recommend to any parent with a young child.
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How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way
That book is How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Foundation. It is an amazing book!
With a 2006 copyright of the 1st edition, the book wasn’t around when I raised my children. I was lucky to have been trained as a Montessori teacher. With this book, you can easily use Montessori principles with your child without taking any Montessori training. In June 2017, the 2nd edition was published.
How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way is filled with lovely, full-color photos of children, making it enjoyable to look at as well as to read. Seldin describes Montessori, tells about sensitive periods (times when a child is particularly receptive to certain types of experiences), explains how to use Montessori principles at home, and gives guidelines for gently but firmly disciplining children.
I like that infants and toddlers aren’t ignored in the book. There’s a Montessori approach to infancy which allows the baby to safely explore and gain independence. In the book are directions for creating a “treasure basket” for your baby. The book gives ideas for adapting your house to make it child-friendly for your baby and later your preschooler.
Activities are described for daily living skills, sensory awareness, outdoor exploration, playing nature-based games, creating natural and cultural displays, and teaching math, language, and science concepts.
There are instructions for easily and inexpensively making the activities at home. There’s even a section on using Montessori principles to create a meaningful birthday celebration for your child.
How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way
More Books for Parents Who Want to Start Using Montessori at Home
The Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle are available exclusively at Living Montessori Now! You can learn more here.
You can get a free download of 51 sample pages from Montessori at HomeeBook by clicking here! (This includes information on John’s simplified Montessori reading sequence.)
Here’s the direct link to the purchase page for the Montessori at Home! Materials Bundle,which includes the Montessori at Home eBook AND over $60 worth of Montessori Print Shop materials to go with the book (now only $14.95)!
A great place to start if you want to read a book by Maria Montessori is The Absorbent Mind. Another popular book by Maria Montessori is The Secret of Childhood.
Of course, I’d love to have you buy my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to Teach Grace and Courtesy! (It has Montessori ideas for teaching manners to children ages 2-12.)
For more information about Montessori, check out my About Montessori page and links at the bottom of the page. I also have a number of posts about infants and toddlers.
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
The Montessori at Home! eBook and Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle are AMAZING resources! You can learn more about them here. Buy them in the Living Montessori Now shop.
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Nicole (Mama to 3 Blessings) says
June 17, 2010 at 2:44 amHi, my 1st time joining you all at the Homeschool Village! I love this idea and look forward to getting to know other homeschool moms! It’s nice to meet you! Thank you for your book suggestion. I used Montessori with my oldest when he was littler and now I use this method with my 2 year old and 14 month. I am definitely going to look this book. I started homeschooling my son kindergarten awhile back but he will offically me starting in August. Glad I found your blog, don’t want to miss out so I am following you! It’s nice to find Christian homeschool blogging moms! Enoy the rest of your week! 🙂
< Nicole
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 4:03 amGreat to meet you, Nicole! Thanks for following me! I love Homeschool Village, too. I was happy to review this book. Tim Seldin did a fantastic job of writing about what’s important in Montessori education.
Stef says
June 17, 2010 at 4:51 amThanks Deb – I do so love a book that includes little ones before school years! Definitely helps us to decide – so come summer before K we’re not scratching our heads.
thanks so much!
Stef
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 4:09 amThanks for your comment, Stef! This book was unusual in doing such a good job of including children’s needs from birth through age 5.
monica says
June 17, 2010 at 6:05 amHmmm. Interesting. I've heard of Montessori but never read any books about that approach/style. I'll be looking for it in the library, thanks.
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 6:23 amI think you’ll love the book, Monica. So many of the ideas can be applied to any home. How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way should be available through your public library, although it’s a book you'll probably want to add to your home library!
Kelly says
June 17, 2010 at 6:34 amOOO Looks good I wonder if I can find it at the library! 🙂
Thanks!
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 4:12 amThanks, Kelly! If your library has a good Montessori section, the book should be there. This is one of the most popular Montessori books right now – for good reason.
Joy says
June 17, 2010 at 7:37 amI have never heard of this book before. I will definitely have to check it out! Look forward to reading more from your blog!
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 4:13 amThanks so much, Joy! I think you’ll love the book!
SUE says
June 17, 2010 at 11:06 amThat sounds like a GREAT book! I wish that I would have had it when my little guy was under 5.
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 12:37 pmI know what you mean! There are so many things I look at now and think, “Wouldn’t that have been great when my kids were little!”
My new life as... MO says
June 17, 2010 at 7:14 pmThanks for stopping by and linking up with Blog Hop Friday! I'm returning the love and following you back.
Thanks for the review! Sounds like a great book!
Deb Chitwood says
June 17, 2010 at 8:09 pmThanks for following! It definitely is a great book!
Belly Charms - Sonya says
June 17, 2010 at 10:45 pmGlad you liked Thank you very much day. Great blog – I am follwing everywhere – twitter and facebook too. Have a fantastic day.
Deb Chitwood says
June 18, 2010 at 12:18 pmThanks, Sonya! Nice to meet you! I hope you’ve had a fantastic day as well!
Kim says
June 18, 2010 at 5:10 amHey! Thanks so much for linking up with us! I'm following you back! 🙂
Kim
Deb Chitwood says
June 18, 2010 at 12:36 pmThanks for following me, Kim! I’ll look forward to getting to know you better!
Kazeopeia says
February 14, 2018 at 11:04 amHi, is there a big difference between the 1st ed & the 2nd ed? I can only get my hands on the 1st ed.