Montessori in the Home: Teach by Teaching, not by Correcting

Teach by Teaching, not by Correcting

The most powerful tool parents have for sharing their way of life and their values is the example they set.  In every waking moment of the child’s life, especially in the first three years, she is learning and becoming more and more like those people she finds around her.  She will imitate the way of walking, moving, talking, the vocabulary, the handling of objects, the emotions, manners, taste, and the respect and consideration (or lack of) for others, and on and on.  The first important thing we can do is to surround her with the kind of people we want her to emulate.  These are her first teachers.  

The second is to avoid correcting when the lesson can be taught in another way. For example, if a child is continually slamming the door very loudly, the best approach is to: 

1) Note that the child needs to be shown how to close a door carefully and quietly. 

2) Choose a neutral moment (which means not an emotionally charged moment when the adult is upset by the door slamming). 

3) Give an amusing, exaggerated, and interesting lesson, showing the child how to close the door – turning the handle so carefully and slowly that there is no sound whatever.  Try other doors, do it over and over, as long as it is being enjoyed by both. 

  

With these lessons you can teach brushing teeth, putting away toys, pouring milk.  Manners lessons, like saying “Please” and “Thank you”, come from the culture in which the child lives.

When parents and children begin to spend more active time together the need for these lessons comes up often and can be enjoyed by both adult and child.  And life becomes more and more pleasant.  

Extracted from 'Montessori in the Home."