Six Reasons Montessori Will Work for Your Child
March 30, 2021

Perhaps you have a friend with a child in a Montessori program. Maybe you have heard about Montessori at a local playgroup. Or maybe you just stumbled across it online.

It all sounds great in theory, doesn’t it? An environment that fosters a deep love for learning; teachers trained to meet the needs of each individual child; a classroom community that provides an opportunity for all children to develop independence. But, in the back of your head, a nagging question remains: “Will Montessori really work for my child?”

montessori classroom on a field trip

You are not alone. It’s a common question that most parents ask when researching Montessori education. The reality is that most of us never had an opportunity to attend an authentic Montessori program when we were young. Many of the experiences in a Montessori classroom are the complete opposite our own experiences in school. So, it’s completely understandable to question the efficacy of something so new for your own child!

​I have witnessed Montessori education shape the lives of hundreds of children throughout my career. And, there are an infinite number of reasons why Montessori will work for your child. But, let’s talk about 6 significant reasons why your child will thrive in a quality Montessori program. 

Montessori child working with practical life materials

1. Your Child will Learn by Doing


Your child will be exposed to hundreds of specially designed materials that invite hands-on exploration. She will choose what she wants to explore, creating strong neural pathways that contribute to the construction of a strong brain.

Montessori children workin together

2. Your Child will Learn From and Teach Others


Have you ever heard the expression “The best way to learn something is to teach it?” This happens every day in our Montessori classrooms. Children are grouped in three-year age spans, so that children ages 1.5-3 years (Toddler Class), and 3-6 years (Primary Class) are in the same class. Younger children observe older children working with. They look up to and admire these older children who are doing all these incredible things: they want to emulate them and are motivated to learn to be just like them.

Child working with montessori materials

3. The Curriculum Adapts to your Child


Most conventional early childhood programs assume that all children, born within a year of each other, are capable of learning and doing the same thing at the same time. As we all know, that simply isn’t true! Many bright children are bored, and others, who need more time to learn, are left behind when we teach to the whole class. We recognize that your child has his own unique timetable for development and will learn different parts of the curriculum when he is ready. We teach to the individual needs of your child, not to the entire class or to a group of children.

Montessori Classroom

4. Beautiful Classrooms Inspire your Child to Learn


Our Montessori classrooms are beautiful and inviting. Materials are laid out on low, open shelves and call out to your child “Come touch me! Come explore!” From the toilets to the sinks to the tables, to the beginning materials to the advanced materials . . . all are designed to fit perfectly into the hands of your young child. Everything supports your child’s developing independence and helps him gain confidence in himself and his abilities.

Montessori guide and student in the classroom

5. The Teacher Really Knows your Child

“Follow the child” is the mantra uttered by all well-trained Montessori teachers. They are trained to observe and to support each individual child. They take the time to get to know your child’s strengths, challenges and interests. They plan lessons for your child based on their observations of him. Your child will be a member of the same classroom community for up to three years, which affords the teacher the opportunity to know him deeply, intimately and well. He will feel seen, heard, and appreciated for who he is.

Montessori students during lunch time

6. Your Child will be in Good Company 



  • Many successful and creative people in our modern society are former Montessori students.
  • Larry Page and Sergey Brin (cofounders of Google)
  • Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon)
  • Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
  • Sean “P. Diddy” Combs
  • Prince William and Prince Harry, Prince George
  • Berry Brazelton (pediatrician and author)
  • Julia Child
  • William Wright (creator of “The Sims”)
  • Beyoncé Knowles
  • Peter Drucker (business guru and lecturer)
  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Nobel Prize-winning novelist)
Montessori child working in the classroom

How Research Is Proving That Montessori Still Works 


Still need proof? How about some hard data:


Recent research provides irrefutable evidence that the Montessori method of education is powerfully effective in educating young children. Studies conducted at the University of Virginia and Wisconsin demonstrated that Montessori kindergarten students outperform peers attending traditional public schools. These studies show that Montessori children form clear concepts from using the hands-on
manipulative materials they find in their classrooms. When children are developmentally ready and when they get to choose materials that match their individual timetable of development, their learning takes off! They become enthusiastic, confident, joyful learners. 

Child holding a flower and smiling

You Have To See It To Believe It


You child deserves the very best! Enrolling your child in a Montessori preschool gives her the opportunity to be seen as a unique individual; she will be receive a tailor-made education designed especially for her.

What are you waiting for? Contact us today and give your child the gift that will last a lifetime.

Thank you Meg Porter Photography for images used in this post.

By Elizabeth Horgan, PhD May 20, 2025
The Power of Routine for Young Children–Order, Predictability, and Independence
By Elizabeth Horgan, PhD May 8, 2025
It’s no secret that little ones often have intensely big feelings. We’ve all witnessed an emotional outburst common during the “terrible twos” and “threenager” years. Watching your toddler melt into a puddle of sobs can be incredibly frustrating if you don’t understand the root cause. Luckily, there are some clear explanations for what is happening in your child’s brain and concrete strategies you can use to help children learn to regulate their emotions. While they may seem dramatic, young children’s emotional storms are not a sign of bad behavior. These outbursts express an overwhelmed nervous system and a plea for connection. They are not giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time. Children are not born with the ability to recognize, express, manage, and respond to their emotions. It is entirely learned. As toddlers begin to experience and express bigger feelings, they still lack the impulse control to manage these emotions. Through a strategy called co-regulation , you can help your child both find their calm in the moment and develop their emotional regulation skills for future success. Co-regulation is when a calm and responsive adult provides the necessary emotional support to help a dysregulated child work through their big feelings. While children are in the first plane of development (ages 0-6), they are constructing their emotional world but can’t yet handle big feelings on their own. Through co-regulation, adults can offer a compassionate presence to help children understand their emotions and feel safe when overwhelming feelings threaten to take over. Co-regulation teaches children the skills for emotional regulation through presence and modeling by using a soothing voice, gentle touch, and eye contact to show a child that they are not alone. The way we respond to children’s emotional needs creates a framework for learning to regulate their feelings. Your calm and regulated emotions are the determining factor for your child’s healthy emotional development . Children borrow their sense of calm and safety from the adults around them. Keeping your cool can feel much easier said than done during a wild toddler tantrum. But to teach children to regulate their emotions, we must first be able to regulate our own . Children are not responsible for the emotions of adults. While children’s behavior may feel triggering, it is the adult's responsibility to regulate their feelings about and reactions to the situation . Children need reliably calm caregivers who can help guide them through their feelings. The goal here is to reinforce your boundaries while supporting your child through the big emotions. Being emotionally supportive differs from “giving in” to a child’s tantrum. You set the rules, which do not change based on the child’s emotional reactions. In fact, changing the boundary or rule in response to your child’s big feelings may serve to increase their tantrums while decreasing their ability to regulate emotions. Tantrums are a chance to help your child regulate and connect with them. When a child is in a large emotional outburst, they are not cognitively capable of understanding reason and logic. Instead, they need a reassuring adult presence to teach them how to work through their big emotions and get to the root of the problem. Only after the emotions pass can a child start to understand explanations and corrections. This does not mean you need to permit your child to behave in unacceptable ways. It does mean that you need to help them calm their big emotions BEFORE you can move to correction and redirection based on your boundaries. The reason co-regulation is successful is largely due to mirror neurons , which are special brain cells that activate not only when we do something, but also when we see someone else do it. Think about the way a baby smiles back when you smile at them. This is an example of mirror neurons at work. Similarly, if an upset child sees an adult remaining calm in the face of a challenging situation, it activates their sense of calm. Thanks to mirror neurons, children can literally borrow their calm, both physically and emotionally, from adults. Through co-regulation, a calm adult can offer emotional support through kind words, a gentle tone of voice, and peaceful touch. Once the child begins to settle down, an adult can help the child name and explain their feelings and model healthy ways to manage the big emotions. Through many small, supportive moments of a calm adult in the face of big feelings, your child’s brain begins to self-regulate to manage their own emotions. When you meet a child’s emotional outbursts with calm, steady compassion, you provide the training necessary to rewire their brain to regulate the flood of emotions and find balance. Practical Tips for Practicing Co-Regulation: Find and Share Your Calm– Effective co-regulation is only possible if you regulate your emotions first. Your calm is the determining factor for success. But keep in mind that you aren’t failing if you regularly feel frustrated by your child’s outbursts! Take a second to settle your own nervous system before trying to help your child regulate. Try strategies like box breathing (inhale 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, exhale 4 seconds), loosening your muscles, or repeating a calming phrase to yourself can help you center yourself. Get on Their Level- Physically lower yourself to your child’s eye level. By meeting them where they are, both physically and emotionally, you can help calm their nervous system. You can even give a simple verbal reassurance such as “I’m here with you”. Name the Feeling —Teach your children about the different emotions and how they feel by identifying what you think they are going through. For example, you could say “You’re feeling sad right now about leaving the park”, “You’re really frustrated that you can’t get that tool to work”, or “It’s okay to feel mad”. It’s important to name the feeling without judging it, using simple language that helps them understand how they feel. Connecting BEFORE Correcting– Meet the child at their emotional place, and empathetically acknowledge their feelings before offering any necessary correction for their behavior. They need to be out of the emotional storm before they can truly understand the correction. Try lovingly reinforcing your boundary while still offering connection, by saying something like “I can see that you’re really upset, but I won’t let you throw toys at me. I’ll sit here with you until you feel better”. Focus on Nonverbal Soothing– Offer open body language, soft tone of voice, eye contact, and gentle touch to help settle the child’s nervous system. Model Calming Strategies– When you’re feeling upset, use it as an opportunity to model your own process of calming yourself down when you feel big emotions or triggers. For example, “I’m feeling so frustrated right now, but I’m going to take some deep breaths to help calm my body down before deciding what to do.”