The holiday season is here, bringing with it the opportunity for preschoolers to learn practical life lessons through the traditions of the season. Practicing academic skills like math, and practical experiences like sharing and learning to feel good about themselves helps children develop habits and skills that will guide them through life.
Counting Down
One of the easiest ways to incorporate the holidays and support the Montessori philosophy is to take a hands-on approach and have your child count down the days to the next holiday. This teaches children to count forward and backward and instills the progression of special days in their minds. Instilling a sense of the passage of time in children will make it easier for them to learn to use a calendar, tell time, and even learn the months and days of the week.The Power of Giving
Grace and Courtesy are a hallmark of the Montessori Method. During the holidays, children have plenty of opportunities to be both giving and grateful. They can display a giving attitude by doing nice things to help others, for example. Since the act of helping others make us feel good, the more children have the opportunity to do nice things, the more they will want to do. Remember, receiving gifts is awesome, but giving gifts makes us feel good as well.Decorating for Self Esteem
It is important that children feel good about themselves and their abilities. Helping decorate for the holidays helps instill a sense of self-esteem in kids, with the added bonus of making them feel more included in the holidays as they unfold. Research has shown that decorating your room or home is good therapy for people of all ages, but it is especially useful for children who are searching for a way to be a part of the family they belong to.The holidays are magical, but so are the minds of preschool children. Giving children the encouragement to become immersed in the holidays helps them learn, develops important physical and social skills, and gives them a sense of being a part of something larger than themselves. With a little thought, you can easily incorporate all sorts of practical experience into the excitement of the holidays.
