Goede morgen en groetjes van Amsterdam! (“Good morning and greetings from Amsterdam!”) I’m so pleased to be here today and honored to be writing for Confessions of a Montessori Mom blog! Let me introduce myself. I am an Australian AMI 0-3 Montessori teacher living in the Netherlands with my two children aged 13 and 12. I love running a Montessori playgroup here in Amsterdam and also run regular workshops for the parents. I’m passionate about helping parents learn more about Montessori and positive parenting concepts and putting them into practice. There are so many children’s books available these days. It can be difficult to know which ones are the best for your baby, infant, or toddler. So today I’d like to share 5 tips for choosing books for Montessori children.
This is our current
bookshelf in Amsterdam (hence the Dutch and English books!)
1. Keep it real
Young children are interested in the world around them (rather
than fantasy) so choose books with pictures of real objects and stories about
known experiences, such as visiting grandparents, going shopping, or getting
ready in the morning.
One of my favorite books for young children is Sunshine
by Jan Ormerod -- it has no words but the most beautiful illustrations of daily
life.
It is also nice to have books that show children from all
cultures.
And, in keeping with having books based on reality, save books
with animals driving cars, animals talking or animals going to the supermarket
until your child is a little older. The last time I looked, there were no teddy
bears driving down my street.
2. Choose beauty
If you have been learning about Montessori for a while you would
have heard of the term “absorbent mind”. Young children
are like sponges and absorb everything - good and bad (!) - from their
environment.
So when we choose books, we should also make sure that they are
beautiful so that the children can already build an appreciation for beauty.
When we choose beautiful things, how carefully we hold them as if
they were works of art. And it won’t
be lost on the child if the adult is also super excited to explore the book and
admire the beauty.
3. Make them age-appropriate
The age of the child will also impact the choice of book.
Materials
Board books are great for children under 1 who also enjoy
exploring books with their mouths. Lift-the-flap books get interesting from 12
- 18 months and sturdy pages are also a good choice for toddlers. Then as the
child gets older and is able to handle the books more gently, we can choose
paper-back books and, for special editions, hard-back books.
Number of words
A book with one picture on a page is perfect for an infant; then
a picture with a single word; then comes a picture with one sentence; followed
by simple and then increasingly complex stories.
For me, there are no strict rules though. For a very young child,
I might make up my own sentence, to sum up, a page for a wordy book. Or often we
have not even followed the story instead discussing the pictures, for example, “What
do you think they are doing?” or “What can you see?”. And I have read books numerous times in
reverse order as the child turns the pages from back to front, sometimes quite
quickly. Hilarious.
4. Choose books with rich language
Even though the child is young, my favorite books use
descriptive words, and accurate language and avoid baby talk. Children under 3 also
enjoy books with a nice rhythm and rhyme. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy has great realistic pictures
and a beautiful rhyme - one book that the children will ask to read again and
again.
5. Look for books with attractive details
I am sure I do not have to tell you that your child will want to
read the same books over and over again. So it is extra fun when the books have
lots of details in the illustrations and you can find new discoveries to
discuss each time you read them.
A great example is a book by Dutch author/illustrator Charlotte
Dematons called The Yellow Balloon. Again without any words, the pictures are
so full of details that adults and children alike love to pore over this book to
find new things, as well as look for the yellow balloon on each page.
And before I go, here
is a small selection of the books that are being read over and over again in my classes at the moment.
For children under
1 year
For children from 1
to 2 years
For children from 2 to 3 years
So find a nice corner of the house, add a small chair or
cushions, a small selection of books in a basket or front-facing shelf, and you
have a cozy reading corner that I am sure will be well used!
Thanks for having me, Lisa, and Marie. Please come and visit me over at themontessorinotebook.com and if you are ever in Amsterdam, I would love you to pop by and say hello! ~Simone
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~Lisa Nolan