An opportunity like no other.

Schools are closed…

Like many other parents, you may be worried about your children falling behind, being demotivated, getting bored, not really enjoying spending hours behind a screen to do online schooling.

The challenge may be that nobody really had time to think of other alternatives and now we have to deal with emergencies.

This time may be seen as a challenge or may be seen as an opportunity to reprioritise life in general, to focus on what is essential and important only and to adopt a more child-centred approach.

Children have a lot of potentials to adjust.

If you read my last article “If there was a user manual to homeschooling... How do children learn?”, I hope you got reassured. If you haven’t read it yet, here it is.

“No need to sit still and listen to a teacher for hours for learning.”

In her book, Education for a New World, Maria Montessori wrote:

“Scientific observation then has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.”

Life has a lot more to offer, to bring other alternatives.

School teaches academic knowledge this is important but that’s not all.

It’s not that children have “no opportunities anymore” but they just have a world of new opportunities opening in front of them. Opportunities to learn who is a lot closer to real life, to how they should learn.

They are now exposed to real life and life is an infinite source of learning possibilities.

The current circumstances can be an opportunity for children to learn what they don’t have the opportunity to learn at school and develop new abilities, to discover and rediscover their immediate environment, their family, to be creative, to reinvent their time, to connect and reconnect with themselves, to reinvent school.

Most importantly, this time should be an opportunity to enjoy today, to make every moment special even the simplest one.

Everybody is developing their unique abilities to adjust, there is less competition. Learning to feel good with themselves will greatly benefit to how they feel with others. It will develop their confidence, self-esteem, independence, autonomy… Some of the most important life skills.

The goal here is to encourage them, to keep them on track with their schoolwork if they have the age to go to school by acting indirectly and starting by who they are, what they do like, what they are talented for. If they have to read a book, why not letting them choosing a book that they do like first instead of forcing them to read a book that has been imposed.

• Encourage them to be more independent and to be in charge of their planning.

With a little guidance, they will feel more in control and more aligned. Their planning should include school work if they have some, and alternate free individual time and family time and of course ensure that they still have a healthy routine.

• Express themselves.

Expressing themselves is a priority. There are a lot of way of expressing themselves, it can be drawing, writing, painting, playing roles… discussing with you. Answer their questions.

• Play a daily challenge game.

This experience can be transformed as a giant game and become a detective game where every morning they have to do some researches about a topic, something linked to their daily life, to the people they have around, a nice way to be aware of their immediate environment and to be creative.

It can be about everything, a word, a colour, a flower, an interview to a family member, a fork…

• Exercise a little every day.

• Live day by day, be here and now.

Meditation and relaxation can be a way of dealing with anxiety, stress due to the uncertainty and keep some daily head space by not anticipating too much. Be here and now and stay realistic but positive. Better time will come back! 

I am here for you…

Please be in touch and we can go through these challenges together.

#Montessori #Learning opportunities# Parenting #Homeschool #Education