Follow The Child- Montessori Community

🌟 Today is the Big Day! 🌟

We’re so excited to welcome our learners back for the first day of school and officially begin our partnership with Big Sky Montessori Elementary!

Together, we’re able to serve children and families from birth through age 12 — creating a seamless Montessori journey from the very beginning of life through the elementary years.

What makes our community special:
✨ A fully Montessori approach at every stage
✨ Certified Guides in every classroom
✨ A focus on nurturing each child’s unique gifts and pace of learning
✨ A partnership with families as the heart of the child’s education

💡 Please note: For infants and toddlers, Follow the Child offers parent–child Montessori classes and support a few times each week. These are rich learning experiences with families — not drop-off childcare.

💌 Want to learn more?

For Birth–6 years, email Lisa at [email protected]
, visit followthechildomaha.com
, or connect on Facebook

For Elementary (ages 6–12), email us at [email protected]

We can’t wait to see the bright faces and curious hearts that will walk through our doors tomorrow. Here’s to a year full of growth, discovery, and joy! 🌱💛

After the correcting, explaining, or setting limits…
Do you reconnect?
Do your words land with warmth—or just rules?

Children remember how we make them feel far more than what we say. Ending with love doesn’t mean letting go of the boundary—it means holding it with compassion.

At Follow the Child Omaha, we believe discipline and love can coexist. A child who feels safe and seen is a child who learns, grows, and trusts.

✨ Our website is currently down—DM us to learn more about our Montessori-based approach to parenting and early education.

Thank you for sharing your transformation! 🌿 It's amazing to see how awareness, intention, and the right tools can shift parenting from frustration to connection. Letting go of rewards and punishment isn't easy—but focusing on solutions creates lasting growth for both parent and child. 💛

✨ If you’re on the fence… GO FOR IT! You won’t regret joining this class.

📩 Our website is currently down — send us a DM to learn more or sign up!

In the Montessori approach, especially during the First Plane of Development (0–6 years), observation is powerful. Children communicate their needs through behavior, play, and exploration.

Here’s what to watch for and how to support it:

✨ Independence – Choosing tasks = building autonomy. Let them help with real work.
✨ Focus – Repeating or concentrating = deep learning. Avoid interrupting.
✨ Sensory play – Fascination with textures or smells = sensory development. Offer real materials.
✨ Language – New words, stories = language explosion. Read, sing, talk often.
✨ Social play – Empathy or peer interest = emotional growth. Model kindness.
✨ Love of order – Routines soothe. Create predictability.
✨ Movement – Pouring, jumping, climbing = motor development. Give freedom to move.

🔁 Observe more. Guide gently. Trust the child’s natural path.

💬 Curious how to apply this at home? DM me anytime—I’d love to help!

We’re so excited to share our unique approach to Montessori education—where children grow through authentic learning and parents receive ongoing support. 🌱💛

Here’s what makes our Montessori Preschool Community so special:

🧸 Weekly Class Options
Our program for children ages 3–6 runs 2–4x per week, guided by certified Montessori educators in a warm, hands-on environment where children thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.

🍎 Daily Activities
✨ Practical Life: Food prep, cooking, caring for the environment
✨ Montessori Materials: Hands-on, child-led learning
✨ Circle Time & Recess: Connection & movement
✨ Family-Style Lunch: Builds independence & community
✨ Full Day Extras: Art, outdoor play & classroom care

We believe education is not just for the child—it’s for the whole family. 🌿

Want to learn more or reserve a spot?
📩 Send us a DM and we’ll be happy to connect with you directly while our website is under maintenance!

🧠 Guiding the Mind, Not Filling It 🧠

"Do not offer the child the content of the mind, but the order for that content." — Maria Montessori

In Montessori education, we don’t simply fill children with facts—we help them build the mental structure to organize, understand, and apply knowledge. It’s not about what they memorize, but how they think, explore, and connect ideas.

At Follow the Child Omaha, we provide thoughtfully prepared environments that support logical thinking, independence, and a love of learning. Children aren’t passive recipients of knowledge—they’re active constructors of understanding.

Let’s raise thinkers, not just learners. 🔍✨

Every zipper they pull, every dish they carry, every problem they solve—those are the building blocks of confidence, competence, and character. 💛

In the Montessori world, we call it “helping them help themselves.”
It’s not about stepping back—it’s about stepping with them as they grow into who they’re meant to be.

Lisa Gammel is a certified Montessori Infant and Toddler guide with more than 10y experience. She has guided hundreds of families through the potty training process and now has focused her experience and expertise into this book.

In this book she shows you how to start potty training from day 1 – and what to do if you didn't. She’ll show you how to lay the foundations for language, recognize the signs of readiness, and exactly what to do when you see those signs. She also walks you through how to have successful outings with a new toileter and gives you professional advice about night time training. All of this with helpful hints and Pro Tips along the way.
Lisa writes from the heart with humor and honesty. This book takes you step by step through the Montessori approach to potty training. You will learn to scaffold the skills that are necessary for independent toileting to make potty training a journey that will strengthen the bond between parent and child.

Buy Your copy here >>> https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Independent-Toileters-Montessori-Approach/dp/B09X2B7G3Q/ref=sr_1_1

⁣⁣

🌱 How to Be a Montessori Parent at the Dinner Table

A mom recently came to me frustrated: “My kids just won’t stay at the table during meals!” Sound familiar?

She’s a great parent—gentle, respectful, well-read on Montessori—but something wasn’t clicking.

So I asked her one powerful question:

👉 “How have you set your children up for success in meeting your expectations?”

That stopped her in her tracks.

In Montessori, behavior (even misbehavior) is a clue—often, an unmet need or a skill that hasn’t been taught yet. Before blaming the child, we look at:

✔ Ourselves
✔ The environment
✔ Then the child.

In this case, the real needs were:
✨ Connection (new baby just arrived!)
✨ Skill-building (they didn’t know how to stay at the table yet)

So if you’re struggling at mealtimes—or anywhere—ask yourself:
✔ What am I expecting?
✔ Is it developmentally appropriate?
✔ Have I taught the needed skills?
✔ Am I being clear and consistent?

When we shift from control to connection, everything changes. ❤️

Thank you for sharing your experience! 💛 We're so glad the Potty Training class offered fresh insight and a deeper understanding of children during this important stage. 🌱

✨ Want to feel more confident and informed during your child’s potty training journey?
📩 Our website is currently down — send us a DM to learn more or join our next class!