Russian and Montessori

I am fascinated by the Montessori method. Although there are many opponents of Montessori here, who say that the Montessori method does not provide enough structure and lets students fall behind, I see how this method can boost creativity and adventure spirit in small kids. And those qualities are very important for learning.

But here is what I am struggling with. On one hand, I would like to use some of Montessori techniques with Sasha. On the other hand, I feel that my narration during his play helps him to acquire Russian language faster. And narration leads to direction: I often find myself leading him towards certain toys and objects, when I try to talk to him during play.

And that's a dilemma: How to find the balance and give him an opportunity to play by himself and have his own moments of discovery, while at the same time providing him with enough exposure to the minority language (Russian) and creating an atmosphere that fosters interaction?

Recently, I found a new book at the Denver Public Library - YOU: Raising your child by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen. Needless to say, having previously read their YOU: The smart patient, I love their style. With humor and simple, direct language, they talk about creating an environment that boosts child's development. The way they see it, you don't want to be the "perfect" parent who occupies their child 24/7 with flash cards, alphabet drills and shape matching. There should be also some unstructured play. That usually happens when the child is just happily playing by himself. As a parent, I should recognize those moments and step back letting him enjoy his independence. But when he seems to be interested in my attention, that when it would be great to do some structured learning.

Either way, Montessori does not encourage correcting kids and showing them how to do things, like in this video from Ukraine:


That's another issue with language acquisition. Should errors be corrected? Correcting seems to have its benefits: you interact when you correct and you expose the child to the proper language use(or the proper way to do a puzzle). But there is also a downside to it: correcting sends a negative message and can make the child think that his input (or his way to chew on the puzzle) is not welcome. And this by no means helps creating an atmosphere that fosters interaction. My favorite, Barbara Zurer Pearson, writes in her book Raising A Bilingual Child that the best way to correct is to repeat what your child said  in a positive, engaging way, while using the correct forms of speech: "Molly hungry! Juice!" - "Do you mean you want some juice? Are you thirsty? Is Molly thirsty? Let me give you some juice and you won't be thirsty anymore."

I also love Stephen Fry's view on language. We should have fun with it. And if something is not grammatically correct, does it still convey the message? The way I see it, if a child can communicate what he wants, it does not matter if there is a mistake or two. Language is like puzzle: first, you want to chew on pieces and bang them together, then you start noticing how pieces assemble into a perfect picture.