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Episode 60: 3 Things you should avoid when starting Montessori
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Jul 24, 2023
Are you ready to start Montessori, but need to know what pitfalls to avoid? In this training, you will learn of 3 pitfalls to keep in mind. When you avoid them, you will be on your way to Montessori success. https://masterthemontessorilife.com/3-things-you-should-avoid-when-starting-montessori #MasterTheMontessoriLifeShow #themontessoriwayfoundationsframework #themontessoriwaypreproom #themontessoriguide #themontessorimethod #themontessoriway #MasterTheMontessoriLife #montessori #montessoriathome #montessoritopics #montessorieducation #themontessorilife #themontessorijourney #themontessoriexperience #montessoripodcast #montessoripodcasts #montessoriprogram #centeredmontessoriguide #normalizedchild #montessoridays #montessorian #montessoriactivity #montessorienvironment #montessoriquestions #montessorihomeschool #montessorikids #montessorimom #montessoriactivities #montessorimaterials Wardrobe from: http://bit.ly/TNHstitchfix
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0:00
Hey there, this is Tanya Wright from MasterTheMontessoriLife.com, the place for Montessori lovers ready to make themselves centered, organized Montessori guides, nurture happy, normalized children, and create smooth, successful Montessori days
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Let's get you closer to your transformation today. Welcome. Good morning, everyone. I am Tanya Wright, and I want to welcome you to Master the Montessori Life
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show. And it's been a little while since I have been doing this show. That's all right
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There has been a lot going on. Everyone has been busy, and I have some really great things going
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So I want to start with the first training that we're doing this year, 2023. It's so
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incredible to think that the year just started. And I am really excited that you're interested
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in Montessori, the Montessori philosophy, everything that it has to stand for, and just
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how amazing it makes children as they learn through that philosophy. It is just absolutely
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amazing. So today we're talking about three things that you should avoid when starting Montessori
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And it's really important that you're careful with that because let me show you this slide real quick
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Three things that you should avoid when starting Montessori. And the reason why I want to start, I don't want it to sound negative and I don't want it to sound bad
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I just want you to keep in mind that you need to really pay attention to those things because they really do sneak up on you
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And it's really crazy because before you know it, you are so far deep into that negativity and that cycle, that downward spiral, that you're going to just feel discouraged and feel like giving up
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So, let me tell you that when starting Montessori, it's important to avoid a few common pitfalls in order to do Montessori better
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I know that it can be overwhelming to do Montessori right. You want to get it right
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You care about these children, and you obviously want to make sure that you are doing your best
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You are not alone. You're not the only one that thinks this way or feels this way
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So I will tell you about a good path to follow on your Montessori learning experience
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As you keep hearing, do this or do that, I really want you to keep it in mind, these three important things
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Keep them in the forefront. Don't forget about them because you will need to remember to avoid them
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Like I said earlier, they sneak up on you. They're not fun
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As we delve into this training, you will understand why I'm telling you. keep these things in mind. Don't forget to avoid that. You are on your beautiful Montessori journey
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You're figuring so many things out. Sometimes you're looking around like, oh my goodness
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this is so amazing. This is so beautiful. I can't believe that I'm getting this. And then other
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times you are just all of a sudden faced with this obstacle and it blocks your way and it stops you
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right on your tracks right there and what we're trying to do is keep you moving forward as you
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are doing your Montessori journey you need to remember there will be times that you will be
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able to speed up there will be times where you will need to slow down but the important thing
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is that you keep moving forward even if they're teeny tiny baby steps or even if you hold the
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ground, but you're not going backwards, right? So number one, let me show you slide number one
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There. Don't allow the overwhelm to take over. I know it's easier said than done, but you can do it
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The Montessori method isn't easy to learn, but in a way, it is actually a blessing in disguise
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The Montessori philosophy is so methodical and repetitive that once you learn it, you will find it easy to remember and to apply
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So it's definitely worth going through it. Don't get overwhelmed. The best way to do this is to take one step at a time
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It's better to master one thing before starting another than starting all things at once and then forgetting the basics
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So when I talk to a lot of people going through the Montessori program that I have which is called Master the Montessori Life on the website the program is called the Montessori Way Foundation Framework They tell me that math and language arts are the most overwhelming to them
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And the reason why they're the most overwhelming is because they have so many works and they
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need to remember exactly how to use them in the basic form and all of the extensions
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how to present those to the child in the same consistent way over and over or to all the
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children in the class and all of the extensions so it can be pretty overwhelming for them and i
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totally get it i have been there i remember feeling like how am i ever going to memorize
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the materials for or the instructions for all of these lessons that are within just this one
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material. For example, this bead cabinet behind me, it has so many lessons that you can teach
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from algebra to multiplication. I mean, it's just incredible. But how do you remember all of them
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Just remember, master one thing at a time. It is better to really, just like with children
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it is better to master the one thing than to go and try and learn everything and then you get it
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all jumbled and confused in your mind. So don't let it do that. Avoid buying too many Montessori
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materials at once if you are the type that is going to be tempted to want to learn about them
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all at once. So it is cheaper if you buy them all at once, but you need to keep in mind that you
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don't have to learn everything about all of the materials all at once. It's easy to get carried
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away with the variety of Montessori materials available in the stores and online. And I know
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you're excited but starting out with too many materials can actually be discouraging and
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overwhelming so start with just a few basic materials and then work your way up from there
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as you become more comfortable with the Montessori way of learning you will build your collection
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gradually okay then let's see slide number two oh sorry there it is slide number two
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another thing to avoid is don't start too fast without a solid plant like I said you might get
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overwhelmed if you get a bunch of Montessori materials or you might get overly excited and
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want to overperform and want to do it all at once. Well, pace yourself. Avoid starting too fast
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Don't start too fast if you don't have a solid plan for sure. Avoid trying to replicate what the
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experts do without the background knowledge that will give you the understanding as to why
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you are teaching the way that the method suggests. And that is a huge pitfall that a lot of people
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fall into, they don't understand that it's not just about presenting a lesson. It's understanding
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why you are presenting the lesson that you are the way that you are and the progression
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the order of things, the aims that you are trying to, your goals, right? That you're targeting. Why
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are those there and how do they change as a child gets older so the Montessori method if you want to
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see it as an art you can because it's a form of teaching that needs practice observation
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and experience to master you're not alone though even though it's exciting to watch videos or read
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stories about experienced and educating Montessorians you should know that it takes time for you to
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understand your own children's specific needs and wants. So you're learning the Montessori philosophy
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you're learning the lessons and how to present the materials, but then you're also paying attention
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obviously to the most important part, which is the child, and how you're going to meet that child's
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needs and wants. Remember, follow the child. So I want to tell you, you're not alone, don't be
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discouraged and I want to invite you to join me in the Montessori Way Foundation's workshop
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It's a free five-day workshop that I will be doing very soon. I want you to pay attention
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and I will give you all of the details at the end. If you are watching this and you are past the date
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then just know that you can sign up for the wait list
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And I will let you know the next time that I open enrollment for the free five-day workshop
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We talk all things Montessori, the foundational things, the pillars that you need to know to
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do well in your Montessori. So here a one minute invite and then I will give you the dates at the end Hello there Tanya Wright here with MasterTheMontessoriLife I am excited to welcome you to the Montessori Way Foundation workshop
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It is coming up soon. Look at the dates in the description, in the comments, so you know exactly when it's taking place
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This year, when you sign up for the Montessori Way Foundation's workshop, it's going to be
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like a course. Go to the link that is in the description
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And then you will get all of the instructions. The workshop is not new
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It is the same super popular requested workshop that I only do two or three times a year
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And I really wanted to do it at the beginning of the year because I want all of you to start the year right and to be successful on your Montessori journey
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So take advantage of it. You will not see it for several months, probably four to six months
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So make sure that you make time for it. Sign up today at the link
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All right. So now that you know about the Montessori Way Foundation's workshop, let me tell you, it is amazing
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It is going to revolutionize the way that you see your Montessori training, your Montessori teaching
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What you need to do is either go to that QR code on the screen that you see right there or go to masterthemontessorilife.com forward slash TMWFF dash workshop
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And TMWFF stands for the Montessori Way Foundations Framework. And this is a workshop version of the Montessori Way Foundations Framework
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So I'm going to put it in comments. So all you have to do is copy and paste
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Mastermontessorilife.com forward slash TMWFF dash workshop. And that's all you have to do
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you just go to that link and sign up it is free it's five days we are starting very soon if you
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are watching this in january of 2023 then you will want to sign up quick and soon and tell all your
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friends about it it will be from monday january 30th 2023 to friday february 3rd 2023 and so we
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meet together online. When you sign up, you get all the information. You get the free workbook
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you download it, you print it out, you're ready to go. You watch the training live with me. You
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get to ask me questions. You get to interact with me. And then we have, it is like a course. So you
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will go in and log in and it is spelled out for you. You get a certificate of completion for five
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hours of Montessori training. If you want to, you have to complete the five hours, obviously
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So anyway, long story short, it is an amazing, amazing workshop. I only do it two, maybe three times a year
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It just depends on how the year is going. So I really want you to take advantage of it
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Sign up today. Sign up now so you don't miss out on it
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Make sure that you know that it only comes two or three times a year
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And you don't want to miss out on the learning experience. Okay
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Now, let's go back to our training and do point number three of the pitfalls that we want to avoid
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Okay, avoid using Montessori materials without knowing how to use them. So remember that we're setting up our environment with the shelves and the Montessori works for the children to explore
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They follow their passions and then they start to learn. Well, you are not supposed to let them just go and try out the different works and play with them
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They're not for play. They are for learning. Yes, there is a time and a place for exploring, but they always need to be given the lesson presentation
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When they first go to a shelf and they find that they're interested in one material and they want to get it off the shelf
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if it's the right age for them, you do the lesson presentation
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and they need to know the basics of that, you can expand on the different ways to use the material
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at a different time, but they need to at least know the basics. If you don't know the basics
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then they won't know the basics. So take your time to understand the materials, how they're used
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and only then start implementing it into your Montessori journey. So don't put a ton of
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materials out on your shelves for children to start using if you don know what the lesson presentation is for that work If the child wants to use it you can say no you can use it But at the same time you sending them mixed signals because you
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putting it out there for them to use. So let's avoid that, right? Well, starting with a few
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foundational pieces can be beneficial. Starting with a bunch of things will only make your job
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harder. Like I said, avoid the overwhelm and avoid starting too fast without a solid plan. And now
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avoid using Montessori materials without knowing how to use them right. You have to remember that
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Montessori is about mastering the basics first before moving on to more advanced stages. Start
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with what you think is important and then work your way up from there. If you know that you have
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a child that is learning how to count are you going to be learning about how to use a multiplication
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material well no you will learn how to use the numbers and counters for example or the spindle
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box um and then you will teach the child why because you are paying attention to the actual
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children that you're working with what their stages are what they're ready for and we call
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those sensitive periods which is a whole other story if you want to go and learn more about
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the sensitive periods, you can go to masterthemontessorilife.com and in the search
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window, put sensitive periods and you will see what I write about those. If you're interested
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in resources, you can go to the shop. I have some great digital books and some great charts
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and things that you can use that will benefit you. But start with what you think is important
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okay avoid starting off with too many Montessori materials as it can lead to confusion and overwhelm
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not only in you but in the children also think about the activities that are most important to
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you and your child's development and focus on those initially you don't have to invest in a
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whole set of Montessori materials right away you can always add more later finally remember
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starting Montessori is with too much structure is not recommended either. It is a very structured
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philosophy, but you don't want to make it so structured that there is no flexibility for
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giving yourself some grace. You need to give yourself some grace. You need to be patient
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with yourself, okay? It's important to give your child the opportunity to explore and discover new
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things without feeling like they have to do something specific. This allows them to be
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creative and take ownership of their learning journey. Starting your Montessori journey is an
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incredible experience, but it's important to take the time necessary to learn and understand the
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method before starting. That's why I'm inviting you to the Montessori Way Foundations Workshop
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It is free. It is five days. And you will learn so much about the foundations that it's going to really, really give you what you need to feel more confident, to get started and to keep those pitfalls in mind and avoid those pitfalls
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OK, by avoiding overwhelm, buying too much Montessori equipment and starting too fast, you can make sure that starting Montessori is not just a fun adventure, but a fruitful one as well
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Remember, it's not just about doing Montessori. It's about being successful in Montessori
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OK, so I wish you the best of luck and please sign up for the free five day workshop
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Like I said, if you are watching this and it's past the dates that I gave from January 30th, 2023 to February 3rd, 2023, it's all right
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You can still go to the very same link and sign up to join the wait list
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And as soon as I open enrollment for the workshop again, I will notify you via email
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So don't forget to do that. You have a win-win either way
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Okay, well, thank you so much for watching today. It was so nice to see you or to go live again
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It's been a long time and I plan on being here more often again now that our circumstances
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have changed and I have a better setup here. So I will talk to you soon and sign up for the workshop
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See you next week. Bye. I appreciate you sharing time with me today
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You have tons of choices about what you're listening to and I love that you chose Master
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the Montessori Life Show. Thank you. Well, that's it for today. Until next time, this is Tanya Wright with MasterTheMontessoriLife.com
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I hope that you will take the time to digest the training to create solutions that will bring about smooth, successful Montessori days for you
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Let's get you closer to that transformation today
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