Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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156 of 158 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Parents on a Budget, April 7, 1998
By A Customer
Although there are more and more chartered and public schools using Montessori methods of teaching, most Montessori schools are private enterprises and must charge considerable tuition in order to stay open. If you are in favor of Montessori methods but are not able to send your child to a Montessori school, this is the book for you. The author of this book gives a brief history of Maria Montessori and how she discovered how children learn. It then goes on to describe the methods used, and gives detailed instructions for all the exercises and demonstrations which are used with preschool-aged children. The author also gives instructions for making many of the Montessori materials at home, with common household items or easy-to-obtain craft supplies. Throughout the book she offers many alternative suggestions for the materials which are typically used in a Montessori classroom. For instance, she mentions that a muffin tin can be used very effectively to sort buttons, and that a handtowel may be used for the workmat. Although this book was orginally written in the 1960's, most of the information is still useful today. The cover mentions that it has been updated and revised, but it is not clear what information has been changed in this edition. Still, overall this book is a wonderful resource for frugal parents who are able to teach their children at home, and who want to use Montessori methods to do so.
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96 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well written and organized resource guide, February 21, 2003
I became interested in the Montessori method while researching different educational styles in order to prepare for what my family's options would be once our twin toddlers reach preschool age. After doing research on the internet, attending an open house at a Montessori preschool in our area, and reading "The Discovery of the Child" by Dr. Maria Montessori, I felt that I needed to find a book that I could use as a guide and would serve as a frame of reference for beginning to do activities with my children that are based on the Montessori approach. This book not only served as an excellent reference guide to how to use the Montessori method at home with your children, but it is well written, easy to follow, and well organized. I particularly like how each activity includes clear directions on how to carry out the activity, the materials needed for the activity, the purpose of the activity, and the learning objective for the activity. I also like how the author included a section on how to make a "prepared environment" for learning in your home, being that the "prepared environment" is one of the, if not the most, critical aspects of a Montessori education. This book is really helpful for someone like me who wants establish an early educational foundation for my children at home and see what suits their needs and personalities before the time comes for my husband and I to decide what will be the educational setting for our children's preschool and kindergarten years.
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55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical book for teaching the very young., February 26, 2001
My mother was an educator who spent the first nine years of my life staying home with my sisters and me. My parents could not afford to send me to Montessori School. Instead, my mother constructed many of the materials described in the book and used them with me. Because of her efforts, I was reading phonetically at 4 in addition to being well prepared for 1st grade math. I remember fondly the time when we spent together with "school" and do not remember any insecurity or feelings of being pushed. I feel I have benefited from a lifetime a learning and self-confidence that has aided me in many of my endeavors.When I became pregnant with twins, my mother purchased the new addition of this book for me. I work full time, but still have found time to make the materials in the book (they are very easy!). I enjoy spending time on the exercises with my girls, who are now two and a half . They also look forward to when he have "school". As an introduction to the world of Montessori; this book has been an eye-opener to me. This book has shown me the beauty of the Montessori Method itself, so much so that my husband and I are considering placing our girls in a Montessori school when they get a little older. I did find the index of toys and materials outdated, as hinted at by the below critic. Some of these toys are no longer manufactured. I find it sad, however, that the below critic finds teaching manners such as cleaning up after yourself outdated. My girls, at two and a half, enjoy watching me and my husband in the kitchen, helping us clean with their child-size brooms and mops, dusting, etc. I want my children to understand that they are a contributor to their own environment, and not to expect such things to be taken care of by maids or parents. I recommend this book to you as I have to many parents of pre-school children.
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