Welcome to Part III of our three-part Montessori Parenting Series, where we highlight ways you can practice Montessori methods of child development and education at home with your preschooler.

Home and school can feel like two entirely separate worlds. Parents don’t always know what’s going on in the classroom and, likewise, teachers are often unsure of what their students do outside of school.

Your child’s first day at a new school or summer camp can be a little stressful for you and your child. It’s a disruption in your routines, you may not know what to expect, and you both may be experiencing a little separation anxiety.

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a child not only needs to be loved, nurtured and cared for, but also respected. Demonstrating respect for your child early on helps them grow to be courteous, kind, thoughtful, and compassionate. That’s why Apple Montessori Schools focuses on building a child’s emotional and social skills from the outset by creating a respectful, loving, and safe environment in which to learn.

The celebrated Montessori philosophy of child development and education can easily be applied to infants at home. Founder Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a child’s mental development begins at birth and grows with the greatest intensity during the first three years of life. While your child is in this “absorbent” state of mind, there’s no better time or place to foster your child’s education than in your home.

I’m sure you’ve heard of helicopter parenting by now. It’s that thing we do (and we all do it, at least a little bit) when we hover over our child’s life, making sure everything’s okay and diving in to intervene whenever they hit a little rough patch.

Today’s blog is brought to you by our guest blogger, KellyAnn Mcnamara, the Assistant Director of Training, Policies & Procedures. One question that all of our teachers hear from our parents is “What can I do at home?” It is natural for families to want to feel connected to their child’s school and our teachers absolutely love when a child can show off their Montessori skills at home. However, deciding how to integrate Montessori into your home may be a daunting task. The Montessori curriculum is made up of so many beautiful areas-sensorial, language, geography, math, etc. but one of the easiest areas to incorporate into your home is Practical Life.

6 Tips for Managing Those Big Emotions The first day of school is a major milestone for your child. It’s a huge one for you, too. A few years ago, I took my son to school for his very first day of kindergarten. When I walked him up the hill to the school grounds, it dawned on me: I had never been without him. From the moment he was born to this very first day of school, he was never far away. When he wasn’t in my arms or just in front of me, I could always look at him on the baby monitor or hear him playing in the next room.

Last week while watching a tennis match between two young girls, I was reminded of the importance of teaching a child to be a good sport. While both girls were skilled and competitive, one of the girls was very loud and aggressive on the court, yelling and throwing her racquet when she missed a ball. The ill-mannered girl won the first set and gloated over her victory. The other girl was obviously distracted by her opponent’s outbursts and rude behavior.

One of the tenets of Apple Montessori Schools’ approach to child development and education is to encourage children to be independent and express themselves, while at the same time be respectful of you and others.