Boardgames to Play at Home that Help Ingrain Montessori Principles

Some parents who have children in Montessori education programs wonder if there are any board games available that they can buy for their children to play at home to help them develop their Montessori mental skills and values in a fun way, especially for children who are in the 4- to 12-year-old age bracket.

Montessori educational development stresses cooperation and not competition. Thus, these board games are designed like the adult-oriented "Ungame", where there is a spirit of play and adventure and a kind of dilemma to solve, but there are no "winners" and "losers". The Montessori philosophy is that while healthy competition has its place in the world, that place is not in the education of children.

Montessori parents as well as some Montessori educators who are "in the know" on this matter have often recommended board games distributed by Family Pastimes, which is a Canadian company. These games include titles such as Roundup, Secret Door, Max, and Princess.

Blueberry Forest Toys also distributes many of these games as well as some of their own. The intent of all these games as well as those distributed by Family Pastimes is to stimulate and cultivate such things as logic, consulting skills, decision making skills, and imagination (which, in Montessori, is not to be mistaken for "fantasy"). Some of their game titles include The Adventures of Harley, Snowstorm, Ogres and Elves, Harvest Time, A Walk in the Woods, and Sleeping Grump.

It should be stressed that the Montessori education philosophy places a great emphasis on developing self esteem in children from the earliest age. Starting from the age of six, Montessori guidelines are for parents to begin engaging their children much more in social interactions, intellectual discussions and explorations, and increasing separation and differentiation.

The cooperative board games are a magnificent way to facilitate the stimulation and cultivation all of these Montessori education qualities, and some of them are intended to include participation by children under the age of six.

In addition to using the board games, there are other ways that parents can playfully and cooperatively get their children to be more in touch with the real world in which they will one day have to live fully as adults.

These "real world" games starting from the age of six can include involving one's children in: planning meals (including helping do the shopping); organizing bookshelves, closet space, and such throughout the entire home; making a work to-do list for the day for the whole family; helping plan the family budget; making important household telephone calls; and helping design a family garden, among other such "playful but serious" real-world decision making tasks.