Long after a child has mastered the golden beads, when the sandpaper numbers are far behind her and the Bank Game is old hat, she’ll…
Montessori Monday: The Multiplication Bead Boards
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Second Plane
Concentration in the Second Plane: 6-12
Just as you feel like you’ve mastered the pace of Early Childhood, you find yourself with an active, blooming Elementary student in your…
Empathy in the Second Plane
If you believe what you see in the media, you might expect children in the Second Plane to be just plain awful, disrespectful and…
Persistence in the Second Plane
Children in the First Plane of development are learning how to push through struggles, how to try again and again and again, often…
Montessori Monday: The Grammar Symbols
Do you remember learning grammar in Elementary school? Did you memorize the definition of a noun (” a person, place, thing or idea,”)…
Freedom to Interact (or Not) In the Second Plane
We know that one of the noticeable changes as children move into the Second Plane of development is their new interest in social settings…
Freedom of Choice in the Second Plane
If we understand the Freedom of Choice to expand in 3-6 from a child’s agency over their own basic needs to include authority over their…
Montessori Transitions: Lower to Upper Elementary
Montessori described six year Planes of Development, 0-6, 6-12, and 12-18, each marked by three year delineations that helped to better…
Montessori Transitions: Early Childhood to Elementary
Montessori’s multiage classrooms typically run in three-year cycles, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-15, and 15-18. But what about those ages…
Mealtime in the Second Plane: 6-12
Peaceful family dinners during the Age of Rudeness? Yes, it’s possible. But just as bedtime had to change to accommodate the needs of a…