The Heart of Montessori
This illustration is my interpretation of a beautiful artwork by Ziora Nangua. As I drew, I found myself reflecting on how each of us is so wonderfully unique - how, with the right care and encouragement, we can all grow into our own vibrant part of the wider ecosystem.
At the core Montessori is a simple but powerful idea: children are born with everything they need to grow, learn, and thrive. Our role as the adults in their lives is to prepare the conditions that allow this to unfold naturally.
Instead of asking, “What should I teach?”, Montessori invites us to ask, “What does the child need right now?”
It’s honestly so simple, but it’s a concept that I have had to constantly revisit in our homeschooling journey. It’s an outlook grounded in trust - trust that children are capable, curious, and driven by an inner desire to understand their world. When we slow down enough to observe them, to really watch them, we begin to see how much they are already communicating through their choices and their actions. The way they repeat a movement until it feels just right, the way they linger over something that captures their interest, the way their whole body softens when they’re absorbed in meaningful work, and, maybe, the way they start to tear up when something is just too confusing for them.
Montessori follows the child, rather than pulling them along. It’s not about rushing through lessons or keeping up with the curriculum. And honestly that was, and sometimes still is, the hardest part for me.
Having performed “very well” by most standards in my own education, the idea of being in line, or even ahead, of the collective is deeply ingrained in me - and so are the fears of “failure”. But following the Montessori philosophy has been so eye opening. It’s about offering an environment that makes sense for where the child is developmentally right now, and then stepping back so they can explore at their own rhythm.
The method is also hands-on in the truest sense. Children learn with their bodies, not just their minds. They need to touch, carry, pour, sort, scrub, repeat - all those movements that look small but are actually helping them build coordination, confidence, and an understanding of how the world fits together. Materials start in the physical or concrete, and slowly move to abstraction, meaning that a child first physically handles a concept (like the golden beads for addition) and then gradually works through different materials until they can work with a concept all in their head.
Woven through all of this is respect.
Respect for their pace, for their choices, for the effort behind their work. Respect for any push back and the tiny acts of independence that matter so much to them. Respect for the whole child. Not just their intellect, but also their emotions, and their longing to feel capable and seen.
Once you begin from this place, the rest of the Montessori method makes a lot more sense. The materials, the emphasis on the calm environment, the phrases used when speaking to the child - all of it comes from this simple starting point: trust the child, and prepare the world around them with care.
Montessori isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about offering a childhood that feels spacious, steady, and full of gentle invitations to grow.