If you’ve been learning about Montessori, you’ve probably read about sensitive periods, prepared environments, and observation.  But have you heard about the Human Tendencies?

What are Human Tendencies?

Human tendencies are drives that urge the child to interact with the world around him, thereby allowing him to adapt to (or be successful in) the conditions of his particular place and time (the Montessori term for this is “adaptation”).  The child is born with the potential to express all the human tendencies, but these manifest differently depending on the developmental stage through which he’s passing. 

My kids and I began homeschooling halfway through the school year when I left my Montessori teaching job, and at first I invested all my energy into re-creating a small classroom in my living room.  I had visions of my children happily engaging  in my inspiring lessons. But instead of harmony and joyful learning, there was apathy and avoidance of anything that remotely resembled what they knew as school.

After 10 weeks of lockdown-schooling, when June 1st arrived and parts of our city reopened, I called for a homeschooling break. My kids agreed, and we spent three lazy weeks picnicking in the park, reading, and playing.

My children have always been creative, and they have plenty of LEGOs and art supplies to stay busy and engaged, but by the end of those three weeks I sensed a certain restless energy - a need for a project and a goal much bigger than what their emerging imaginations could envision.

"I'm not telling you it's going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."

- Art Williams

Maybe you're just starting to homeschool...Or perhaps you've been a home educator for years. Either way, the road can be bumpy and the journey can be daunting. I hope these suggestions empower, reassure, and inspire you to keep going. Use them as a jumping-off point or as a way to re-calibrate your compass. And remember that in homeschooling, change is the only constant, because we're working with young humans who grow and evolve daily.

Many of you have asked me to share my favorite books that align with the Great Stories. So, here they are! I have used every single one of these books either in my elementary classrooms or in our homeschool life. Some are child-friendly reference books, but many have activities to inspire follow-up work.

There’s one thing that should be more important to Montessorians than supporting independence.

And that’s supporting attachment.

Attachment extends far beyond the first year of life, with its focus on baby-wearing and co-sleeping. These are both very important practices, don’t get me wrong!

But as our kids grow, we often push them towards independence and by so doing, we inadvertently break the attachment bond precisely when it needs to remain strong to counter the external pressures of society on our still-developing children.

Look up!  What do you notice?  Did you observe that the full moon is larger than usual?  We call it a Supermoon, and your eyes aren’t deceiving you… The moon IS larger than usual because it's closer than usual, and that's because the moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t perfectly circular - it’s elliptical.

I wrote this story a while back for the Upper Elementary group I inherited that hadn't been exposed to chemistry.  I never got around to writing Part II but if you take on that challenge, let me know!

Welcome!  Come on in... I'm Zach and this is my home.  I was born in my parents' bedroom upstairs and have spent my entire life - a whopping 16 months - living here.  I love what my parents have done with the place and I want to share my favorite spots with you.

The Montessori Short Chains and Arrows pack a big learning punch and are often under-utilized.  They're great for a homeschool environment because they don't take up any shelf space.  Their initial purpose is to help the child first count linearly and then skip-count.  But when your child is comfortable with these two concepts, you can use the chains for much more!  Here are four ideas... 

Sometimes learning is what happens while you're busy decluttering the back patio...

My four-year-old found an old bubble wand and asked if we could make bubbles, so I googled this recipe and we set to work.  She had a great time measuring, pouring and stirring, and she got to experience sugar disappearing in water to make a solution (yay, science and vocabulary!).

A few weeks into his first-grade year, my formerly sweet and relatively cooperative son began acting sassy, cocky, and entitled.  Requests for help were met with groans and eye-rolls.  Limits were countered with sighs and "whatever"s. We gave him the benefit of a doubt: Surely he was just imitating his older classmates' rude behaviors.  Or maybe this was a misguided attempt at being more independent.  All my friends' children were acting the same way, so it was probably a developmental phase. 

An American friend and colleague who lives in Asia recently shared with me that her in-laws had moved out of her house.  They had been very involved in raising her children, so I asked if she missed having the help.  She texted back, "No.  I'm forced to be the mom and it's what my kids want and what family is supposed to be."

Over the years of working in Montessori classrooms I've met many children who are eager to attend lessons, engage in follow-up work, and share their new knowledge.  And then there are the occasional "puzzles" (as my son's Primary guide once referred to him).  How do you know if you live or work with a puzzle-child?