Are Themes Montessori?

I mean yeah, sure, why not.

This question is both completely devoid of context and also belies a fundamental misunderstanding of what “Montessori” is. Let’s spend a moment going into each of these individually, then we’ll circle back.

Also, please note that this is written specifically with regards to educational themes that connect the child to the world around them. A theme on dragons, Harry Potter, or Disney princesses would absolutely not be Montessori at the 0-3 stage. A Nightmare Before Christmas theme might be loads of fun, but I think even the most relaxed Montessori-inspired observer would question whether that qualifies.

Context

Are we talking about a Montessori preschool or a Montessori homeschooling environment?

Montessori Preschool

It would be a little odd to see explicitly themed shelves in a Montessori preschool. For the 0-3 age group, the Montessori curriculum is much more focused on providing opportunities for shema and skill development in the style of Maria Montessori as opposed to developing schema in the style of Bartlett and Andersen.

To illustrate this difference, you may see a variety of baskets available in order to support toddlers as they develop the transporting schema, but you may not see several farm animal figurines along with books about farms and several activities that use farm imagery. That said, it would not be odd to see a few materials related to the lifecycle of a bee placed together, nor would it be odd to see material related to sea creatures placed in a deliberate manner.

One of these options is not better than the other. They’re just different and provide the child with different opportunities.

Montessori Inspired Home Environment

The Montessori Inspired Home Environment can range from a home that just tries to be accessible and inclusive of its youngest members to a full blown Montessori homeschool setup. The key difference here is that there are fewer children to attend to, and thus it is easier to cater to individual interests. Rarely is everything in a Montessori inspired home perfectly aligned with Maria Montessori’s philosophy, but the core principle still reigns supreme: Follow The Child.

In my own home, it’s easy enough to observe that, given a wide selection of books, my son repeatedly picks out books related to farm life. and then from there decide to present a carefully curated selection of books, figurines, and activities that cater to his interest. This is not to say that all available activities will be strictly on theme. This is neither practical nor desirable. There are inevitably also skills that he’s focused on honing, and those are presented side by side with his farm themed materials. However, in a home environment there may be more of an effort to find activities that are simultaneously on theme and target skill. For example, perhaps in an insect unit you’ll see a posting activity involving ladybugs as opposed to a more generic posting activity.

Core Principles of the Montessori Method

There are six core principles of the Montessori Method:

1. Independence

2. Observation

3. Follow the Child

4. Correcting the Child

5. Prepared Environment

6. Absorbent Mind

Ultimately, it is the child who should direct their education. Of what relevance is it, exactly, that Maria Montessori herself never devised a themed unit around honey bees? If your child is fascinated by them, then in order to align with principles 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (though notably not 4), you should by all means feed that curiosity with as much information about honey bees as your toddler cares to consume.

Final Thoughts

I’ve devised a brief questionnaire to determine whether something aligns with the core principles of the Montessori Method, even if it is not strictly Montessori. Please feel free to apply this to your adventures in homeschooling.

1. Is your child interested in it?

2. Is the aesthetic realistic OR does it allow your child to practice a specific skill?

3. Is this something that your child can do independently?

   • Is it self correcting?

   • Is it accessible?

4. Does this connect your child to the world around them?

If you answered yes to all of those questions and you’re not trying to run an AMS accredited preschool, then you can feel confident that you’re not misaligned with the core tenets of the philosophy.

Now, is there a more traditionally Montessori way that you could fill a shelf? Sure. However, the most Montessori thing to do is to follow the child in front of you, not try to satisfy everyone else’s ideas of what a home based Montessori experience should look like.