A first-year guide must spend a great deal of time in preparing the environment and become adept at being somewhat flexible in how to present materials to a child. We fit the materials to a child, not a child to the materials. After spending considerable time in preparing the environment, we must then “give it to the children” for their use in their own self-construction. This can be challenging but, once done, reveals perhaps new insights and information for us. We must remember to focus only on the things we learned in our Montessori teacher-training for at least three years before considering any changes. Every new endeavour needs a certain amount of time to become refined and all first-year teachers need to give themselves three years to feel like they are deepening their understanding of Maria Montessori’s approach.
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