Get Clear… and Set Your Budget
Today’s the big one.
Today I am challenging you to get clear on why you are interested in the Montessori Method, what you want to accomplish, and how far you want to implement Montessori into your practice or lifestyle.
In this post, I will ask you a series of questions that I’d like for you to honestly reflect on. Grab a pen and notebook (not a sheet of paper you might misplace…) and really give yourself a chance to sit with your thoughts at some point today.
Day 22: Get Clear About Your Priorities & Set Your Budget
Whether you want to use the Montessori Method for your own children, or you are a teacher looking to implement Montessori approaches into your classroom, it helps to ground yourself in intention.
- Why are you interested in Montessori?
- What does Montessori offer you (and your children) that nothing else does?
- Where do you struggle with Montessori? Is this struggle something you want to improve upon, or is it based on something you are not interested in resolving with Montessori? (I.e., will you never “buy into” wooden and glass materials? Do you not like the amount of freedom Montessori offers — or alternatively, do you find it too strict? Are you interested in looking more into the reasons for this in an attempt to align yourself, or is it of no interest?)
- Are you interested in only the practical-life applications of Montessori, such as kitchen skills, or are you interested in the whole approach to Montessori education?
- How do you want to implement Montessori? (For parents, do you want your child to attend a Montessori program, or are you looking at bringing Montessori into your home?)
- If you are implementing Montessori personally into your home or work space, how comfortable are you with giving children access to real materials, setting up invitations, and generally allowing children greater freedoms?
- Where does Montessori fall in your list of priorities?
- How do you personally feel about your capabilities to give your children a Montessori education? How could you work on improving or sustaining that feeling?
- Do your goals with Montessori require a budget?
- What could you give up to afford Montessori? Alternatively, what Montessori ideas or materials could you bend on to better accommodate your budget?
I’ve written on budgeting before, and I’ll share a list of the links below, but this is probably one of the biggest concerns when it comes to providing children with a Montessori education. There is almost always room in the budget, and there are always expenses that you thought essential or nonadjustable that turn out to be quite flexible.
This is part of why it’s so important to get clear on your commitment and interest in Montessori before you start looking at what you might potentially have to “give up” to accomplish your Montessori goals. Some simple things for us are no cable, no house phone, negotiating our internet bill to be lower — even just making our own yogurt saves our two-person family over $500 per year. When I started my Montessori journey, it was as a single mom supporting three people, working part-time, and going to school full-time. Anyone can do this – and it doesn’t have to look the same for everyone.
Personally, I’m not able to stretch enough to pay for a Montessori school experience, but I can work our live so that I am able to work at home and provide that education myself.
Budgeting Ideas:
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I’m curious what some of your answers to the above questions are. How far do you want to take Montessori? What would you compromise or give up to give your children access to a Montessori education?
