HOW TO EASILY PRACTICE MONTESSORI WHILE STUCK AT HOME

Have you been thinking about starting Montessori while stuck at home?

There are 3 main ways you can easily and naturally bring Montessori into your home. 

During this session of Montessori Mondays with Holly, we talked about how to easily practice Montessori when you are stuck at home. Watch the show above and click here to join the Facebook group. 

The First Way Is To Prepare The Environment

Today I want to focus not only on our main living space but our entire home. This can definitely sound intimidating but once you get going you will start to see things with Montessori eyes.

There are some simple changes you can make in your home to create an environment where your child will be able to develop his independence and confidence easily.

Looking at things from your child’s perspective is the first step to preparing any environment.

But let’s focus on the bathroom. If you have a child who is ready to start to stand up diapering or use the toilet they will be ready for some bathroom independence.

IF you go in the bathroom and crouch down to their level it will be easier for you to see what they see. Is there something that is hard to reach like the faucet? Would a one-step stool be efficient for your child to independently wash their hands or would a 2 step stool be better?

Going through each environment you would like to prepare and making these observations and then adding the aids for independence will greatly help your child develop their independence. 

Now, this is just a quick tip to get you moving in the right direction once you add these aids for independence you will be able to easily observe your child and then follow their lead. 

Second Is To Follow The Montessori Principals

There are many principles but if you can bring these few to the front of your mind I think you will start to see a dramatic change in your child and family as a whole:

• Follow the child’s lead
• Respect for the child
• Freedom within limits

So Following your child’s lead doesn’t mean that he is always right and he gets to do whatever he wants. Instead, it means you are observing your child and using freedom within limits to give him new materials or activities in his life that are sure to keep him engaged.

In fact, you can follow your child’s lead into toilet learning for example. There are a number of signs you can watch for to find out if your child would be ready for toilet independence. And when you see these signs and start to introduce him to the toilet you are following your child’s lead. 

Third Is About Practical Life

I’m sure you have heard this term before if you have been practicing Montessori for any period of time. But practical life skills are often called life skills or even chores.

As parents of young children, it is very easy for us to consider these tasks not acceptable.

When you think about it you don’t really see a 2-year-old mopping floor outside of Montessori! And the idea isn’t to have a child who knows how to perfectly mop a floor it’s to have a child who is satisfying their inner need to be a part of the family. It’s their way of contributing!

You absolutely have to favor the process over the product here because no you won’t have perfectly washed dishes after allowing your 1-year-old to help but that is not the point. 

These types of practical life activities are another foundational Montessori experience for a child between the ages of 1-3 and who are we to deny them of these experiences! 

What areas of your home have you already prepared with Montessori in mind? What will you do to prepare to practice Montessori while stuck at home? Let us know in the comments!