By Barbara Isaacs, September 2021 If you are connected with the wider early years community you would have heard about loose parts play; you may have come across articles, or bought one of the books by Miriam Beloglovsky and Lisa Daly.  You may also ask yourself:  “What is new here, we have always had collections … Continue reading Loose Parts Play

Montessori-Pierson Publishing, 2013 By Barbara Isaacs, September 2021 This year’s book club readings take us back to the first international training delivered by Montessori in Rome in 1913.  She was 43, and already celebrated around the world for her revolutionary approach to education.  Today we would say that these lectures made a significant contribution to … Continue reading The 1913 Rome lectures

Barbara Isaacs, 12 September 2021 Love features regularly in Montessori’s own writing. I have often wondered what she herself meant by this. Did she mean the unconditional love of a parent (prime carer), which all children need to thrive, and which she, herself, was not able to share with her own son when he was … Continue reading A Pedagogy of Love

By Barbara Isaacs, June 2021 In our last Montessori Musings webinar of this academic year, focusing on the leading and managing our Montessori settings in England, we will be exploring the challenges facing us with the introduction of the revised EYFS in September 2021. You can register for this webinar here. One significant change which … Continue reading What Next? The Revised EYFS

A Reflection on Section 3, 'Feelings', from The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read By Philippa Perry Barbara Isaacs, June 2021 Perry sees this section in her book, which addresses feelings, as one of the most important; it is also the section which offers some very useful advice on what to do and not … Continue reading Feelings

By Lynnette Brock & John Siraj-Blatchford, SchemaPlay This photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CCBY-NC “One of the greatest mistakes of our day is to think of movement by itself as something apart from the higher functions… Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it.  It is vital that educational … Continue reading How do we learn things?

Barbara Isaacs, May 2021 Many of you already know that I am a huge fan of Philippa Perry’s writing. I turn to The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will be Glad That You Did) for its generous spirit, and recognition that being a parent is a life’s undertaking.  It can … Continue reading Conditions for Good Mental Health: Reflections and Inspirations from Philippa Perry’s Book

It has taken us all a while to engage with the Characteristics of Effective Learning; they were included in the original version of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework in 2008 and developed further in the 2012 version of Development Matters, but it was not until recent years, when Ofsted turned their attention to … Continue reading The Characteristics of Effective Learning

At a time when the national statutory framework for the Early Years in England is being revised, Barbara Isaacs reflects on if, and how, this might impact the Montessori Early Years Community. The recent publication of the final version of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the standards that school and childcare providers must meet … Continue reading The Revised Early Years Foundation Stage, September 2021