THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF MONTESSORI TOY ROTATION

During this session of Montessori Mondays with Holly, we talked about Montessori toy rotation. Watch the show above and click here to join the Facebook group.

Maybe you’ve even started to rotate your child’s materials already. Either way, you are going to want to hear about these do’s and don’ts of rotating to help you get a better idea of how to do a Montessori toy rotation successfully.

This is a BIG element in the Montessori home environment and we cover it in detail during our 4 Days To A Montessori Home Challenge.

Montessori Toy Rotation Tips

So first let me just say that how often you rotate and how many materials you rotate completely depend on your family. This is different for everyone and every child.

I would suggest starting with 6-12 materials out on the shelves. If you don’t know how many to start with I would try 6 and move up from there. Once you notice your child acting overwhelmed or just not using the materials at all then you know you need to go back to the number of materials you had out previously. 

Do’s Of Toy Rotating

Do rotate every 1-3 weeks.  Again this will vary depending on each family but you don’t want to be rotating too much or too little and 1-3 weeks seems to be the average for most families.

Do Rotate Books. Rotate out what isn’t being used and keep the favorites. With books, this often means rarely changing them or only rotating one or two books at a time. Remember to rotate all of your spaces that have books as well. 

Do Rotate big materials. The effects of rotating can be used on all materials. Even materials such as the pikler, or bikes.  If your child isn’t using it, put it away for a week or two and I’m sure it’ll be like Christmas morning the next time it goes out!

Do Remove any toys with missing or broken parts. The material could be missing the control of error or it may disrupt the child’s natural sense of order by not being able to complete the work.

Don’ts Of Toy Rotating 

Don’t rotate everything all at once.  this would be very traumatic to a child. It’s better to rotate one or two items at a time as to not overwhelm your child with change. 

Don’t rotate the most used or favorite material. Don’t think that you HAVE to rotate a material. The idea behind rotating is to keep the interest in the material but if they haven’t lost the interest there is no need to rotate it. This includes materials you may think are too easy for your child. Remember your child may be in the sensitive period for order and enjoy the repetition of the material. 

Don’t change shelf spots. If you aren’t going to be taking material off the shelf try to keep the material in the same spot on the shelf. This is that sensitive period for order again. Your child may be upset if they find their favorite toy has moved spots.

4 Days To A Montessori Home Challenge

Do you think you can handle the toy rotation?

If you are feeling like you need more help setting up your home for Montessori success make sure to get signed up for the next 4 days to a Montessori home challenge by clicking here. 

So what do you think? Will you be able to master the Montessori toy rotation? Let me know in the comments!