Executive functions are the essential self-regulating skills we use every day to plan, organize, make decisions, and learn from past mistakes. Children rely on their executive functions to follow instructions, meet expectations, and manage routines. These skills also help them stay organized and be more efficient in completing daily tasks. Students who lack executive function may exhibit trouble with impulse control, difficulty self-regulating, and issues with organization, time management, and remembering instructions.

Organizational skills are important for students’ academic success. Organizational skills help students follow directions, focus, think critically, and be independent. The early elementary years are an ideal time to begin developing strong organizational habits. Helping children learn how to plan, manage materials, and structure their time sets the foundation for success both in school and later in life. Early elementary is an ideal time for children to build strong organizational habits, as they are beginning to take on more responsibility and independence. This is also when their brains are most prepared for learning new skills. When we teach kids how to organize, they become more successful at home, in school, and in peer relationships.

Strengthening executive function skills, such as planning, working memory, and self-regulation, directly supports students’ organizational skills, and practicing organizational routines in turn reinforces the executive function processes that help them stay focused, prepared, and on track. This means that targeting one of these areas naturally strengthens the other. You can support your child’s growth in executive function through the use of visual aids, by breaking tasks into smaller chunks, practicing positive reinforcement, modeling planning and organization, and using tools to build focus and organizational skills.

You can create “landing zones,” which are designated spots for your child to place their shoes or hang up their backpack. This routine helps reduce forgetfulness and supports planning and working memory. Visual aids are also helpful, such as routine charts, visual timers, calendars, or weekly planners. You can incorporate visual emotion charts as well to support self-regulation and emotional awareness. Checklists are great tools for keeping children on track and helping them take responsibility for completing tasks. Breaking tasks into smaller chunks can also reduce overwhelm and give children a clear starting point, making it easier for them to begin and successfully complete tasks. These simple strategies can make daily routines smoother and help your child grow into a more confident, independent learner.

“The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”

Maria Montessori

Writing allows children to communicate their ideas and express themselves on paper, giving words to their thoughts. Reading and writing are interconnected, where writing instruction improves reading and reading instruction improves writing. Even handwriting in the early grades is connected to basic reading and spelling skills. Because writing touches so many parts of a child’s literacy development, incorporating simple writing opportunities at home can make a big difference.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children says that you can support writing at home by displaying children’s writing in a special place, writing in front of your child and talking about it, creating greeting cards for special occasions, creating an “office” for your child, taking it outside, and encouraging all writing efforts. Displaying your child’s work boosts their self-esteem, builds their self-confidence, and helps them express themselves. It celebrates their effort. Creating an “office” for your child means providing them with writing materials such as different kinds of papers, pencils, pens, crayons, and stickers, and placing them in an area that fosters the creative writing process. You can take it outside by letting your child write or draw with chalk or old paintbrushes and water on sidewalks.

Small moments of writing at home can make a big impact. When children are encouraged to write in ways that feel natural and enjoyable, they build essential skills and develop a stronger sense of themselves as writers. The more they see writing as something they can do, the more they’ll continue to grow.

“Possession of the art of writing is not a mere skill; it represents the possession of a superior form of language added to its natural form. Written language complements spoken language and is integrated with it. Spoken language is developed naturally in every man.”

Maria Montessori

Montessori materials are intentionally designed to be beautiful, hands-on, and purposeful. Each material typically teaches more than one skill and includes a built-in control of error, allowing children to check their own work. This self-correcting aspect helps students develop confidence and independence, because they can see and fix mistakes on their own. The materials are concrete, giving children something real to hold and manipulate as they learn. This hands-on experience helps them internalize abstract concepts, leading to true understanding rather than rote memorization. Research shows that working with physical objects supports memory, problem-solving, and reasoning, skills that form the foundation for later academic success. Montessori materials also nurture social and emotional growth. When children work with materials that require care, order, and respect, they develop patience, cooperation, and responsibility. The thoughtful, structured design of each material supports focus, attention span, and decision-making, creating a learning environment where children grow academically and personally.

One of the most notable concrete materials in Montessori is the golden beads, a foundational material in the Montessori math curriculum and essential for teaching the decimal system to students. The golden beads provide students with a tangible, hands-on experience of the decimal system, place value, and operations. The Golden Beads can be found in the primary classroom, giving lower elementary students a familiar material to build upon as they move into more advanced work. Although math is the subject most commonly associated with Montessori’s concrete materials, the approach incorporates hands-on learning across all areas of the curriculum.

Grammar Symbols are another core Montessori material that turn parts of speech into something children can touch, hold, and arrange. Each part of speech has its own shape and color; for example, nouns are large black triangles, verbs are red circles, adjectives are medium-sized dark blue triangles, and so on. Students use them when symbolizing sentences, exploring grammar patterns, and learning new parts of speech.

Puzzle Maps are widely used in Montessori as well and are present in primary and lower elementary. Puzzle maps are a geography material that gives children a hands-on way to understand the world. Each continent or country is represented as a removable puzzle piece, allowing students to learn geography through touch, movement, and repetition. It is a highly engaging material as children remove and replace the pieces, naturally absorbing the shapes, locations, and relationships of different countries and continents. The use of concrete materials helps children build a strong foundation for learning and develop genuine confidence in their abilities.

This Week

This week, lower elementary went to see Narnia: The Musical. We have been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in class, and it was so much fun to see parts of the book come to life on stage.

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.”

Maria Montessori

One of the things I love about the Montessori method is the ability to see opportunities for learning in all things. Learning can be fun, and it doesn’t only happen at a desk or within the confined walls of a school. Some of the best lessons happen at home, while cooking, cleaning, running errands, or playing outside. These everyday tasks give children a natural way to explore math concepts like counting, measuring, sorting, and problem-solving without even realizing they’re learning.

In Montessori, math is explored through beautifully designed materials that transform abstract concepts into concrete, hands-on experiences. While these materials are unique to the classroom and not easily replicated at home, families can still nurture mathematical thinking through everyday, real-world activities. These natural experiences give meaning and purpose to what children are discovering at school.

Math can be easily applied at home alongside the activities you’re already doing. It can be introduced in fun, playful, and practical ways that make it feel more accessible and meaningful for children. For example, you might invite your child to count the steps as you go up and down the stairs, look for patterns on wallpaper or clothing, or weigh and measure ingredients while cooking together. Children can also count portions, compare the sizes of cups or containers in the kitchen, or explore calendar concepts by marking special dates, like their birthday, and counting down the days. You can even reinforce time by pointing out the hours and minutes on a clock during your daily routine.

In the Montessori approach, learning is most powerful when it feels natural, purposeful, and connected to real life. By inviting your child to notice numbers, patterns, and measurements in the world around them, you’re helping them build confidence and curiosity that extend far beyond the classroom. With a little intention, the home can become a rich environment for nurturing this understanding and supporting your child’s developing love of mathematics.

“Children display a universal love of mathematics, which is par excellence the science of precision, order, and intelligence.”

Maria Montessori

One of the simplest and most powerful ways to support your child’s learning is by reading aloud together. Reading aloud to children builds vocabulary, improves comprehension, and promotes literacy. It also helps children develop skills that go beyond literacy, such as strengthening attention, memory, and critical thinking, while encouraging imagination. Even more so, it positively impacts your relationship with your child and helps foster a lifelong love of reading.

Some tips on reading aloud are choosing books that are appropriate for your child’s age and interests, and allowing them to choose ones that appeal to them. Make your read-alouds fun and interactive by talking about the pictures as you read. Build vocabulary by focusing on and discussing new words, and connect the story to your child’s world. Ask questions about the story and encourage your child to ask questions about what they are learning. Most importantly, make reading aloud a regular part of your routine. Even just a few minutes a day can make a big difference in supporting your child’s reading development.

What is also often misunderstood is the idea that you should stop reading to your child once they are able to read for themselves. A child’s reading age doesn’t catch up to their listening age until around age thirteen. While students should absolutely spend time reading independently, there are still many benefits to continuing to read to your child even after they can read on their own. Reading aloud allows children to enjoy books that are above their reading level and lets them hear fluent reading and natural expression modeled for them. It can also be great practice to take turns reading; your child reads some parts, and you read others. Continuing this routine not only supports their growth as readers but also keeps reading a joyful and shared experience.

“The development of language is part of the development of the personality, for words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people.”

Maria Montessori

It’s important to know about growth and fixed mindsets in children because how a child thinks about learning deeply affects how they learn. Children with a growth mindset believe they can get better through effort, practice, and learning from mistakes, which helps them stay motivated, try new things, and keep going even when something feels hard. Children with a fixed mindset may give up more easily, avoid challenges, or feel discouraged when they make mistakes because they believe their abilities can’t change. However, a fixed mindset can change into a growth mindset by using strategies that help children see mistakes as learning opportunities and believe in their ability to improve.

Children with a fixed mindset tend to avoid new experiences and shy away from challenges, which can negatively impact their self-image and confidence. In order for their mindset to change, they need to believe that putting in effort can lead to improvement. A child with a fixed mindset views failure as a discouraging setback rather than an opportunity to learn from mistakes and improve. Parents can help their child develop a growth mindset by praising the process, leading by example, encouraging them to try new things, and normalizing mistakes and struggles. Praising the process versus the result helps children value effort, perseverance, and learning over perfection or instant success. It’s important to lead by example and show children that even when we try something and mess up, it’s okay. What matters most is keeping a positive attitude and trying again. Trying new things helps in building resilience and expanding their comfort zone. Normalizing mistakes is important because it helps children see errors as a natural and valuable part of the learning process rather than something to fear or avoid. When children understand that everyone makes mistakes, even adults, they’re more likely to take risks, try new strategies, and persist through challenges.

“Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment.”

Maria Montessori

This week, we celebrated Halloween with our parade and class party! It was a fun-filled day, and the students enjoyed a variety of festive activities, including a mummy wrap, cookie decorating, a pumpkin bean bag toss, a Halloween craft, and Halloween bingo.

Focus is the act of directing one’s attention to a task, while concentration is the ability to sustain that focus over time. The development of concentration is a foundational principle in Montessori education and is intentionally supported through thoughtful design and guidance. Montessori observed that concentration is the foundation for all later development, including intellectual, emotional, and social aspects. When a child learns to concentrate, they begin to build inner discipline, self-control, and purpose. It is our role as guides to prepare an environment that promotes each child’s success and supports their ability to focus deeply. We prepare the environment so that it is calm, orderly, and free of unnecessary distractions. In our classroom, everything is designed to nurture that skill. The shelves are purposefully arranged to create a sense of order and calm. The materials are displayed with beauty and intention, inviting even the wandering child to pause, explore, and engage. Protecting concentration means honoring the child’s natural rhythm of learning. As guides, we observe without interrupting, allowing the child to remain immersed in meaningful work. We respect the long, uninterrupted work cycle, giving children time to explore, repeat, and master tasks at their own pace. Most importantly, we model a sense of peace and patience ourselves, knowing that children feed off our energy. When we move with intention and calm, they too find the stillness needed to focus deeply and joyfully.

Parents can support concentration at home in many ways. First and foremost, concentration can be developed through routine. Routine supports concentration because it provides the stability and predictability a child’s mind needs to settle and engage deeply. When a child knows what to expect, their energy isn’t spent anticipating what’s next or reacting to constant changes; it’s directed toward the task before them. Limited screen time is another huge way to help children develop concentration. Screens capture attention but do not build true concentration. The constant stimulation and instant rewards of digital media train the brain to expect quick gratification, making it harder for children to focus on real-world tasks that require patience and sustained effort. Other ways parents can help in protecting focus and concentration at home are by allowing uninterrupted play time, modeling presence and patience, and encouraging real, hands-on work, like helping with household tasks to develop independence. Modeling presence and patience shows children that we have time, that slowing down and being intentional matter. It teaches them that taking their time often leads to greater success and fewer mistakes than rushing through their work. We can also help our children develop focus and concentration, along with their independence, is not being so quick to save the day. We need to resist the urge to step in too quickly when a child struggles. Allowing time and space for problem-solving helps build perseverance and confidence, both essential to concentration.

“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. It lays the whole basis for his character and social behavior.”

Maria Montessori

One of our greatest mistakes as a society is living hurried and rushed lives. We move from task to task, often forgetting to appreciate the journey and the process of learning along the way. Whether it is in our independence, our parenting, or our teaching, it is crucial to slow down. As adults, we have learned to be quick and efficient, but children have not yet mastered these skills. They are still learning, observing, and building the foundations for independence. It is important that we give children the time and space to do for themselves what they are capable of, and that we teach them practical skills to help them care for themselves. When we rush to do things for them in order to match the pace of the world, we take away valuable opportunities for growth, confidence, and joy in learning. In our classroom, we meet each child where they are, allowing learning to move at their own pace

If we move through the day hurried and tense, children often mirror that state. They may become restless, distracted, or anxious without fully understanding why. But when we model patience and calm, we give them the gift of security. They learn that there is time, time to try again, time to explore, and time to make mistakes. Slowing down doesn’t mean doing less; it means doing things with intention. It’s pausing before reacting, breathing before answering, and giving space for a child to tie their own shoe or pour their own water. It’s choosing presence over pace. Both at home and in the classroom, when we slow our rhythm, we create room for connection. We begin to see the child more clearly, and they, in turn, begin to trust themselves more deeply.

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

Maria Montessori

In Montessori, you often hear the phrase “follow the child.” But what does this actually mean? Following the child does not mean allowing them to do whatever they please; rather, it means observing their interests, needs, and developmental stage, and guiding them as they explore the world around them. In the Montessori environment, teachers are often referred to as guides because their role is to facilitate learning rather than direct it. They offer lessons, materials, and opportunities that inspire curiosity and independence, helping children discover knowledge for themselves and develop a deep, personal love of learning.

With the freedom to follow their interests, students develop intrinsic motivation and are naturally driven to pursue knowledge and deepen their understanding. In the Lower Elementary classroom, following the child often takes the form of independent exploration and research. At this age, children are naturally curious about the world and eager to understand the “why” and “how” behind everything they encounter. They might decide to research how volcanoes form, how ancient civilizations lived, or how different animals adapt to their environments. Independent research is one way in which Montessori supports the concept of following the child. It allows each student to take ownership of their learning and develop the confidence and motivation to pursue their interests and seek answers to their questions. The Montessori classroom supports this curiosity by providing students with a carefully prepared environment full of resources to aid them in their quest for knowledge, such as beautiful materials, books, and opportunities for hands-on discovery that capture their attention and spark their interest.

You can support your child’s interests and explorations at home by encouraging curiosity and wonder, supporting their research and quest for knowledge, spending time outdoors, and integrating learning into everyday life. When your child comes to you with a question, you might say, “That is a wonderful question. I wonder where we can find the answer?” or “I’m sure there’s a book or resource we can use to help us find out.” Together, you can organize the information they discover into a visual representation of what they’ve learned. I always encourage students to share any research or information they explore at home. When they share their discoveries with the class, we all have the opportunity to learn together.

“The child who has never learned to work by himself, to set goals for his own acts, or to be the master of his own force of will is recognizable in the adult who lets others guide him and feels a constant need for the approval of others.”

Maria Montessori

Cosmic education is a cornerstone of the Montessori philosophy. It is introduced through the five Great Lessons, which are imaginative stories that spark curiosity and flow into every area of learning. These lessons invite children to explore the creation of the universe and the interconnectedness of all life, weaving together astronomy, chemistry, biology, geography, and history. Through this “big picture” approach, children are encouraged to see their place in the world and to understand their roles and responsibilities as humans and members of society. The Great Lessons provide impressionistic, wonder-filled stories that captivate the imagination and ignite a lifelong love of learning.

The Five Great Lessons, presented in order, are: The Story of the Coming of the Universe, The Coming of Life, The Coming of Humans, The Story of Writing, and The Story of Numbers. All areas of the elementary curriculum are rooted in these lessons. They create an integrative framework where big ideas and small details are woven together, allowing children to discover connections for themselves. Another important aspect of Montessori education is the spiral curriculum. In this model, the Great Lessons are revisited at the beginning of each school year, providing children with new layers of meaning as their understanding and curiosity deepen.

As mentioned earlier, children who are in the second plane of development begin to wonder about their place in the world and explore their cosmic task. In Montessori, the cosmic task refers to the idea that every being, whether plant, animal, or human, has a purpose and contribution to the greater whole. Through cosmic education, children are invited to see not only the interdependence of all life but also their own potential to contribute meaningfully to the world around them. In the Lower Elementary classroom, this takes shape in many ways. When children hear the Great Lessons, they begin to see how the smallest creatures and natural forces play vital roles in the story of the universe, and they start to reflect on what role they themselves might play. As they work on research projects, care for classroom plants and animals, or contribute to keeping the environment orderly, they are practicing the skills of responsibility, stewardship, and collaboration, which are all steps toward discovering their cosmic task. Cosmic education provides the framework, while the child’s daily experiences help them lean into and live out this sense of purpose.

“If the idea of the universe be presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than just arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.”

Maria Montessori