Red Maple Montessori

Red Maple Montessori Planting seeds for the roots of learning.

⸻“They know better.”They might.But knowing an expectation and being able to access the skills needed to meet it are not ...
09/28/2026

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“They know better.”

They might.

But knowing an expectation and being able to access the skills needed to meet it are not the same thing.

A child may be able to tell you exactly what they are supposed to do — and still struggle to remember it in the moment, inhibit an impulse, shift gears, manage frustration or get started.

That distinction matters.

Because if we assume the problem is knowledge, we repeat the instruction.

If we assume it is motivation, we may increase the consequence.

But if the barrier is skill, regulation, task demand or something in the environment, neither response necessarily addresses what is getting in the way.

So when “They know better” comes to mind, let it be the beginning of the observation rather than the end of it.

What is getting in the way of this child doing what they already know?

Different barriers require different responses.

🍁 Red Maple Montessori
The educator is the intervention.

Some families naturally develop a strong connection with their child’s educator.Their schedules overlap. They see each o...
09/24/2026

Some families naturally develop a strong connection with their child’s educator.

Their schedules overlap. They see each other at the door. Their educator sends the occasional check-in, shares the small successes and notices when it has been a while since they connected.

Other families may rarely have those opportunities.

They use before or after care. Someone else handles drop-off. Their child seems to be doing well. They’re a returning family everyone already knows.

And slowly, without anyone intending it, access to relationship can become uneven.

That’s where leadership matters.

Meaningful family communication can’t depend entirely on chance encounters or on individual educators remembering to make it happen.

Leadership can create structures that help a school notice:

Who are we hearing from?
Who are we reaching out to?
Who might we be missing?
And are some families mostly hearing from us when there’s a reminder, concern or problem?

This isn’t about requiring educators to communicate constantly or adding another unsustainable expectation to already-full workloads.

It’s about building thoughtful, realistic systems so that connection is part of how the school operates—not something families have to get lucky enough to receive.

Good educators matter enormously.
Good systems help their good work become consistent practice.

🍁 Leadership is an intervention.

A parent who leaves their child crying at drop-off carries that moment with them.They don’t see what happens five minute...
09/21/2026

A parent who leaves their child crying at drop-off carries that moment with them.

They don’t see what happens five minutes later.

They don’t see their child take a breath, choose some work, join a friend, eat snack, or begin to settle into the day.

But you do.

Sometimes one brief message can close that gap.

And when a child isn’t settling, connection matters just as much. Not reassurance that everything is fine when it isn’t — but honest observation, curiosity and partnership.

What are we noticing?
What is the family noticing?
What seems to help?
What might we try together?

Then we keep observing.

Because a drop-off plan isn’t successful simply because we got everyone through the door.

We’re trying to build a transition that feels increasingly safe, predictable and sustainable for the child, the family and the classroom.

Family partnership isn’t separate from preparing the environment.

Families are part of the environment we prepare for, too. 🍁

There will always be days when an educator stays late.A meeting runs over. Something unexpected happens. Tomorrow needs ...
09/17/2026

There will always be days when an educator stays late.

A meeting runs over. Something unexpected happens. Tomorrow needs a little more preparation.

That’s not the pattern I’m interested in.

I’m interested in the educator who is routinely the first one in or the last one out.

It’s easy to interpret those extra hours as dedication.

And they may be.

But recurring patterns deserve curiosity.

Is there enough preparation time built into the day?

Is the workload realistic?

Are responsibilities clear?

Is something taking significantly more time than leadership realizes?

Does this educator need support deciding what can wait until tomorrow?

Because sometimes what looks like an individual work habit is giving us information about the system surrounding that individual.

The goal isn’t to get everyone out the door at exactly the same time.

It’s to notice when a school routinely depends on people working beyond the time they’re given to do the work.

So instead of only thinking:

They’re so dedicated.

Ask:

What would need to change for this educator to leave on time?

🍁 Leadership is an intervention.

What if the question isn’t:“How do we get this child to fit the classroom?”But instead:“What is getting in the way of th...
09/16/2026

What if the question isn’t:

“How do we get this child to fit the classroom?”

But instead:

“What is getting in the way of this child accessing it?”

Every Mind Belongs is about learning to look differently.

To look beneath behaviour.
To recognize barriers and lagging skills.
To observe more intentionally.
To understand what a child’s behaviour may be communicating.
And to prepare environments and supports that increase access, independence, competence and belonging.

Throughout the course, participants will apply this learning to a real child through an ongoing case study — observing, identifying barriers, trying interventions, documenting what changes, and adjusting their response based on what they learn.

Because understanding a child should change what we do.

Every Mind Belongs: Understanding & Supporting Neurodiverse Learners in Montessori Classrooms

📅 October 5 – November 16
💻 Online
🗓 Monday & Wednesday evenings, 6:30–9:00 PM ET
🎓 Montessori training is not required.

For classroom educators, assistants, support professionals and school leaders who want to strengthen their capacity to support the learners already in their communities.

Registration is now open through the Foundation for Montessori Education. Link in bio. 🍁

September is busy.There are lessons to give. Routines to establish. Grace and Courtesy to revisit. New children to orien...
09/14/2026

September is busy.

There are lessons to give. Routines to establish. Grace and Courtesy to revisit. New children to orient. Families to connect with. A community beginning to take shape.

So it can be tempting to think:

Once things settle down, I’ll have more time to observe properly.

But this is the observation.

Right now, before routines become automatic, we have an opportunity to notice things we won’t be able to recreate later.

Where do children go when they don’t know what to do?

What do they choose before they’ve received many presentations?

What do they avoid?

Who seeks whom?

When do they need an adult nearby?

Where does independence emerge?

What happens during transitions?

And what changes from one day to the next?

We are all noticing these things.

But noticing isn’t the same as documenting.

Memory smooths things out. Patterns become harder to see. What feels obvious today may be much less clear six weeks from now.

Write it down.

Not everything needs to become a lengthy narrative observation.

A few objective notes collected consistently can give us something incredibly valuable later:

a record of how this particular child, in this particular environment, began.

Observation isn’t something we begin once the classroom settles.

It’s how we understand what helped it settle. 🍁

When something isn’t working, it gets our attention.We observe. We wonder. We adjust.But when the struggle disappears?It...
09/10/2026

When something isn’t working, it gets our attention.

We observe. We wonder. We adjust.

But when the struggle disappears?

It’s easy to feel relieved and move on.

Stay curious.

What changed?

Was it the task?
The timing?
The environment?
The adult?
The group?
The amount of support?

Because the moment something works may tell us something important about what made access possible.

The child who suddenly joins in.
The transition that goes smoothly.
The work that holds attention.
The moment independence appears where support was needed before.

Those moments deserve our curiosity too.

Study success as carefully as you study struggle.

Success leaves clues. 🍁

Today, carefully prepared classrooms meet the children they were prepared for.And then the real preparation begins.We no...
09/08/2026

Today, carefully prepared classrooms meet the children they were prepared for.

And then the real preparation begins.

We notice who enters confidently and who hangs back. Who finds work. Who wanders. Who seeks an adult. Who joins other children. Who seems to know exactly what to do — and who doesn’t.

Of course, we are learning about the children.

But they are also teaching us about the environment we’ve prepared.

If several children don’t know what to do next, that’s worth noticing.

If a transition repeatedly becomes difficult, that’s worth noticing.

If an expectation requires constant reminders, that’s worth noticing.

If a child who was struggling suddenly succeeds when something about the context changes, that’s especially worth noticing.

Because the question isn’t only:

What is this child showing me?

It’s also:

What is this child’s experience showing me about what we’ve prepared?

Today doesn’t need to prove that our preparation worked.

It gives us our first opportunity to discover what needs adjusting.

Observe the child. Then turn the lens around. 🍁

We prepare Montessori environments filled with beautiful, purposeful work.But there is a peculiar reality during the fir...
09/04/2026

We prepare Montessori environments filled with beautiful, purposeful work.

But there is a peculiar reality during the first weeks of school:

The children who most need something accessible to do may be the children who have received the fewest presentations.

A first-year child cannot independently choose work they haven’t yet been shown.

They may not know where to find what they can use.

They may not yet understand what to do when they’re waiting for an adult.

And they may be surrounded by returning children who seem to know exactly how everything works.

So what have we prepared for them?

What familiar, accessible activities are available from the beginning?

Are there opportunities for movement?

Practical work?

Books?

Art?

Simple activities they can repeat successfully?

Can they observe?

Can they participate alongside someone else?

Do they know what they can choose—or only what they cannot touch yet?

And when we see a child wandering, watching, touching materials they haven’t been shown or repeatedly seeking an adult, can we resist immediately interpreting that behaviour as a problem?

They may simply not have an entry point yet.

Independence doesn’t begin when we step away.

It begins when children have enough knowledge, experience and access to begin taking over.

So as you prepare for those first days, look at the environment through the eyes of the child who knows the least about it.

What have you prepared that allows them to experience themselves as capable on Day One?

🍁

We cannot anticipate everything that will happen during the first weeks of school.But we can anticipate quite a lot.A ch...
09/03/2026

We cannot anticipate everything that will happen during the first weeks of school.

But we can anticipate quite a lot.

A child may have difficulty separating from their parent.

Someone will have a toileting accident.

A child may become overwhelmed by the noise, activity or unfamiliarity of the environment.

Someone won’t know what to do next.

A transition will be harder than expected.

A child may need far more adult support than we anticipated.

These aren’t failures of preparation.

But how we respond to them can be prepared.

Before the children arrive, ask:

Who will support a child having difficulty separating?

What happens if that support is needed for twenty minutes rather than two?

Who remains available to the rest of the group?

Where can a child go when the environment becomes too much?

What is our response to a toileting accident that protects dignity?

How will we communicate with families?

And do all of the adults who may be involved know the plan?

Because the middle of a child’s distress is not the ideal moment for adults to begin negotiating who is going to do what.

A prepared environment includes a prepared response.

We won’t anticipate every need.

But when a challenge is predictable, we can prepare for it.

🍁

Address

00 Runnymede Road
Toronto, ON
M6A2A1

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 3:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 3:30pm
Thursday 8am - 3:30pm
Friday 8am - 3:30pm

Telephone

+14168293141

Website

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