“The hands are the instruments of the man’s intelligence.” – Maria Montessori
Montessori is a lifestyle. Dr. Montessori, although she wrote extensively about Montessori as an educational approach, did not intend for this approach to guiding children to be limited to the classroom. Quite the contrary, Montessori, with the focus on the development of the whole child, should embrace the child’s life as a whole, including his time in the classroom and outside the classroom, whether with Mother Nature or at home with family.
Busy Mums and Working Parents
Good news and somewhat good news: working parents can integrate Montessori at Home! Trust me. However, you will need to take the time to educate those individuals closest to your child when you’re at work.
Remember Montessori is a lifestyle. So, there are ways for you and your partner to bring these ideals into your home without giving lessons all day. The best method to learn the Montessori way is to live by the philosophy.
Ways to ‘live by the philosophy’ might include: guiding your three year old to putting on his shoes, creating a “chore” chart to help the child understand what he needs to do to contribute to your home, reading with your children, allowing your child to work with real tools in the yard, practicing meditation, avoiding clutter, removing plastic, simplify your home and lifestyle, being outdoors as often as possible, bringing nature into your home.
Chores and Activities
A walking child needs and loves to be given work for his hands. Properly setting them up with good quality child size tools is crucial to their success. These are just a few ideas…
Other than telling your child to run outside and roll around the grass, there may be no faster way to connect them with nature than though the beautiful and simple everyday chore of a cleaning a household plant. The benefits are many, from the way they respect their immediate surroundings to the greater level of reverence they develop toward the global environment. But in the Montessori method, we also believe you don’t have to plan a big trip out to the woods every time you wish to instill some of this mindset.
By showing your child how to lightly and gently wipe the dust off the leaves of a house plant they can learn how to care for the space around them, too.
A young child will enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the bright green blades reveal themselves once that layer of grey dust is wiped off with a small cloth or sponge.
Through this delicate task, your child will hone their concentration and ability to focus. They will learn how to exercise self-control when they see harsh movements might otherwise damage the plant.
Other activities around the house:
Feeding Animals
Setting and cleaning the table
Washing and drying dishes
Transferring laundry
Folding laundry
Matching socks
Sweeping
Dusting
Watering plants
Making flowers arrangements
Food Preparation:
Washing fruit and vegetables
Slicing a banana
Peeling and slicing eggs
Squeezing citrus
Mashing vegetables and fruits
Self-care – nose blowing, hair brushing and some hair clips to practise with.
