Now you can offer our new Montessori Parenting Course at your school!


Do parents at your school look weary as they drop their children off at the beginning of the day, complain to teachers that they can’t get their children to do anything at home, or say that they wish they knew how to do at home what the teachers do at school with regard to behavior?

From infancy to adolescence, children can be a challenge and parenting is a puzzle.

The Parenting Puzzle is our new five-week Montessori parenting education course, taught by Lorna McGrath, Coordinator of the Montessori Family Alliance and Senior Montessori Consultant. 

Lorna teaches parents the essential Montessori strategies to meet their children’s emotional needs, minimize misbehavior, stop disruptive behavior as it begins, strengthen parenting partnerships, learn alternatives to punishment and reward, and much more.

It's not easy to get parents to come out at night, especially for parenting classes. We hear this all the time, so we decided to create an online course option for those parents who can't find a sitter or just prefer online learning.

Great parenting courses inspired by Montessori have been available for years. This course is based on the work of Montessori in combination with strategies from Rudolph Dreikurs and Kathryn Kvols.


TheParenting Puzzle Series is different!


It can be taken by families online or in person, and

it is specifically designed for families in Montessori schools

There is no better way to win your parents' loyalty than by helping them to solve their practical everyday parenting challenges.




Members of the Montessori Family Alliance (whether they joined through a school or individually) can take the course online in their own homes for $225. The non-member price is $250. 

The only additional cost to parents is for the required resource books: How to Raise an Amazing Child The Montessori Way by Tim Seldin and Redirecting Children's Behavior and the accompanying workbook by Kathryn Kvols.

If your school is part of the Montessori Family Alliance network, you can remind your parents by encouraging them to look up the Parenting Puzzle members' discount link in the members' library. (They do need to log in with their username and password to access the information.)





Do you wish that you could have a strong Montessori parenting education program at your school? Now you can.

Now you can also offer The Parenting Puzzle parent education course at your school, helping your families to create more cooperative and peaceful homes while helping them to appreciate and better understand the key aspects that make Montessori and your school so special.

Some parents love to come out at night for a class like this, especially if you can offer childcare.

There is no question that parents will get more from a Parenting Course if they take it as a parenting couple in person with other families and with an experienced Montessori educator to lead the discussion. The course is designed to make it easy for you or your teachers to show the pre-recorded videos, after which you just lead parents through a well-planned series of group discussions, sharing strategies, experiential activities, and asking lots of questions.

Whether your school families have toddlers, teenagers, or anywhere in between, The Parenting Puzzle will give you and your key staff members the tools to facilitate a predesigned five-week Montessori family life class.

Course curriculum

  • 01

    The Faciltator's Guide for The Parenting Puzzle: The Basics - 2nd edition

    Show Content
    • 2017 Facilitator's Guide video
    • 2021 Faciltator's Guide
  • 02

    Participant's Guide

    Show Content
    • 2021 Study Guide for Participants
  • 03

    Session I - "Seeing the World from Three-Feet Tall" Videos

    Show Content
    • The real preparation for parenting...
    • Habits of Thought : How We Think About Children
    • The Child's Relationship to the Environment
    • Setting Up the Physical Space at Home
    • Safety, Respect, and Clear Expectations
    • Disarming the Squabbles - Rules of Engagement
    • More on Disarming Squabbles
    • Detaching with Love
    • Observation Guidelines and Notes
  • 04

    Session II - "Why Do They Do What They Do?" Videos

    Show Content
    • Encourage More Than Praise
    • Meeting Our Basic Human Needs
    • Relationship Accounts
    • Relationship Accounts Worksheet
    • Respond Instead of React
    • Genuine Encounter Moments
    • "Good Job" Junkies
    • Balancing the Scales
  • 05

    Session III - "What to Do When You Want to Trade Them In" Videos

    Show Content
    • Meeting Our Basic Needs
    • One Size Fits All - Wrong!
    • Goals Chart - What Is the Unmet Need?
    • Attention Seeking Child - Love
    • Power Child - Control
    • More Strategies for the Power Child
    • Take the Power Out of the Issue
    • The Vengeful Child - Belong
    • The Disheartened Child - Capable
  • 06

    Session IV - "If We Can't Punish or Reward, Then What?" Videos

    Show Content
    • Copy of "We must call upon..."
    • Detaching: An Important Parenting Tool
    • Copy of Detaching with Love
    • Family Meetings - How to Get Started
    • Family Meetings - Some Stories
    • Family Meetings - Four Components
    • Family Meetings - Helpful Hints
    • A Quiet Place
    • Guidelines for Creating Quiet Places
    • Conflict Resolution
    • Choices and Agreements
    • Natural Consequences - The Best Teachers
  • 07

    Session V - "Parenting on the Same Page" Videos

    Show Content
    • He must grow...
    • Finding Common Ground
    • Working Together to Make It Work
    • Brainstorming with Your Partner
    • Other Topics For Parents
    • Vibrant Relationships

Here's what your school will get

Engagement - Understanding - Greater Support - Calmer Students

  • The Complete Course

    A carefully structured course: Recorded Talks \Video Examples Role-Playing Exercises Handouts Discussion Leaders Guides

  • Promote Your School

    This course will allow you and your teachers to promote your school's reputation and philosophy in the best way possible.

  • Additional Income

    Most parenting classes of this depth and breadth sell for $250 to $350 a couple. Your cost is just $950 a year. You can give the course away or charge at least $150 a couple for the fiive week program. We recommend that you offer it year round and can expect to bring in $5,000, $10,000 or more annually.

School License for the Parenting Puzzle