Simple Ways to Use the Montessori Method at Home

While homeschoolingOur home looks a bit different today, but the Montessori approach still has an influence. Maybe you’re looking into a Montessori school or you just want to include some Montessori principles in your day. It doesn’t matter how you teach, it is possible to create a warm and welcoming home environment.

After my blog post on how we set it up, I got so many requests to write more articles about learning/homeschooling. our homeschool classroom. You can incorporate Montessori in any room at home.

Montessori Learning for Everyone

Even if you don’t homeschool, these ideas are wonderful for early childhood or for a more engaging play area for older children too. Like us, you can mix the Montessori philosophy and other parenting ideas to create a fun environment for your children. Some parents choose to adopt a strict Montessori approach.

Homeschooling is a great way to educate your child. is that you can tweak your child’s education to do what works best for them. It could be that you need to find a Montessori class with teachers who are also equipped with the necessary learning materials. You could also turn your living room and playroom into a learning environment by preparing it.

Many homeschooling parents and parents of young children are embracing the Montessori method. You don’t have to spend a lot of money either for your young child to benefit from a Montessori-inspired education. Most people think of Montessori when they hear the word. However, it can be done with children of all ages.

What is Montessori education?

The Montessori Method was created by Dr. Maria Montessori, one of Italy’s first female physicians. Her background in science and medicine gave Dr. Maria Montessori a unique perspective about child development.

In the early 1900s she improved the use of experiment materials by directing, observing, and working with children living in low-income apartments. Montessori created a revolutionary way to teach children that’s still used worldwide.

The Montessori environment provides a variety of opportunities for learning.Children learnBy using their senses, children can learn about the world. The goal isn’t to stuff them with facts but to cultivate a life-long love of learning. It helps them to develop their own motivation, even from a young age.

Montessori materials tend to focus on one function. The individual concepts are built upon quite easily. Concrete objects can help children understand abstract concepts. Children focus on a single task and work independently.

The freedom of the child to choose their own environment fosters creativity and a love for learning. They develop pride in their work instead of flashy charts and gold stars. You can tell how eager they are to learn more about a subject that interests them.

What can you mix and match?

I can certainly admire and respect the Montessori “purist” view of having everything exactly as Maria Montessori described. Anyone can benefit by using her ideas in their home.

Adapt Your Family

Montessori classrooms bring together children of the same age. For homeschooling moms with a wide age range that’s not really practical to do.

When my youngest daughter was very young, I set up a large section of the classroom for her. She could then play at her pace and not get into any dangerous things. Open shelves can make messes with a 12 month old!

It allowed my older children to use small objects, such as ceramic bowls and glass cups, without having to worry about choking the baby. As she grew older, I rearranged the area to create a Montessori toddler zone. The kids can freely move about and help or observe each other.

Now that my kids are older we still use some of Montessori’s principles, like self-motivation and using practical life activities to teach. You won’t find as much child-sized furniture in our home anymore though.

Homeschooling is constantly evolving with the changing needs of our children. While I don’t claim to be an expert, here are some Montessori fundamentals you can try.

The Child Size Furniture and Material

Montessori is child led learning. Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of freedom and independence. Maria Montessori said that children’s minds are very absorbent and they take in everything around them. Parents can prepare their homes so that children can learn through spontaneous discovery and natural learning.

It is important to create spaces and use objects that your child can easily access. You should consider acquiring:

• Low shelves – Openly displaying the work materials, instead of in big bins or out of reach. Show your child how special these materials are and teach them to take care of them. The shelves you put up will depend on your child’s developmental stage and the amount of space available.
• Small tables, chairs and other furniture – Chairs and tables shouldn’t hinder learning. The chairs and tables should be lightweight so that your child can move them freely into different rooms, promoting independence. It’s neat to see this in action. They can be used to serve, prepare and eat snacks. Kids can help with dishes, folding laundry, getting art supplies to create artwork in the morning and playing pretend. Don’t have the budget? Repurposed old anOld coffee tableThe thrift store is a great place to find bargains.
• Trays and baskets in various sizes – One work or activity goes on its own individual tray. The child can take the tray and work at their table once the parent has introduced the work. The child can continue to work on an activity as long as they like. Once finished they return the items to it’s designated spot. It is important that they can easily carry the tray around. You can also find affordable options in thrift shops.
• Small measuring spoons (small), small pitchers or bowls as well as small tongs. – These tools are all used on a daily basis in the practical life skills area of Montessori as well as the pre-writing area. Transferring dried lentils from one bowl to another with a small measuring teaspoon helps develop fine motor skill. Try them out before you put them on the shelf. You want them to help your child, not frustrate him.

Save money by making many of your own materials. You can make them even more durable if you laminate them. You can find many Montessori printables for free or at a very low cost online. Montessori Print Shop).

Inspire a love of nature

Maria Montessori was a strong advocate of the connection children have with nature. Many years ago, we had a plant in our homeschool room. Montessori teaches kids to care for plants and animals, and places value on creating aesthetically-pleasing surroundings.

We spend most of our time in our homeschool classroom, even though I love it. Learning time outdoors

Create a Nature Table

Fill different-sized bins and baskets with a wide variety of natural materials, which your child can arrange and touch. You can switch it up monthly or by season. You can use a majority of organic material, but you can also add some miniature items or artificial plants.

Some of the most interesting group discussions in our home took place around the Nature table.

You can use the following seasonal items:

• FallCards on the lifecycle of a pumpkin; dried corn and lentils; books about fall, leaf rubbings.
• Winter: Evergreen, images of winter landscapes and hibernating animals, bare branches, white table cloth to look like snow, snow globes, plastic icicles, paper snowflakes, wool snowmen, animal figurines who don’t hibernate, pieces or pictures of winter fur on animals.
• SpringSeeds, small plants for indoors, small water pitchers, assorted flowers, (real or artificial), nests and eggs, twigs (fake), spring landscape cards, frogs (the life cycle of the frogs card, or butterfly cards), bugs, magnifying glasses, spring books, rocks, petal, moss (green leaves), leaf rubbings (green), miniature dinosaurs (miniature), etc.
• SummerShells, starfish and ocean animals figurines; small figurines such as boats or lighthouses; cards about whale species. Plants. Images of summer scenes, flowers. Fruit bowls. Herb garden. Painted wooden fish.

If you don’t have space for a nature table, try a nature tray. And if you’re pressed for space, use the nature tray as your dining room table centerpiece. You can put Small plants You can place small pitchers around your classroom for your students to use.

Let the Child Correct Themselves

So your child didn’t grasp the concept right after you gave a lesson? It’s possible they aren’t ready. Relax and forget about it for the day. I’ve introduced lessons 3-4 times before my child positively responded.

Most Montessori materials have either a built-in self-correction system or an error control. When the child does the activity, he can always check to make sure he did it correctly. It is then an internal motivation to learn that drives the child to do things correctly. In lieu of external consequences such as getting a prize if you solve the problem correctly, or being punished if you make a mistake. We often learn much more from failures than successes!

The child may not even be aware of their mistake. Montessori teachers are more like unnoticed observers. They can write down the child’s progress for records. Encouragement and a natural progression of progress are key.

Keep a daily record of the activities your children do, and their progress in mastering a particular skill. You can write (i) to introduce a new skill, (p), when the child actively practices a new skill, and then (m) once the skill is mastered. So you will know exactly when to move on to another skill.

Stress Courtesy

You now at least have a vague understanding of what you need to do in order to create a unique environment for learning. Beautiful shelves filled with inspiring material aren’t any good if our children don’t first know how to respect the space. We can teach our children to respect the work of others and their own, to use materials in a respectful way and to be aware of other people’s feelings. Courtesy to others

Create a unique culture in your classroom by modeling respect and politeness. Remember the old saying, “More is taught than caught”? Although I am happy that my children can work independently, this comes with some responsibilities.

Use simple concentration exercises and role-playing (such as pushing a chair quietly). The child will learn how to behave politely and respond appropriately in various situations.

Here are a few classroom guidelines to help you enjoy a more peaceful time in the classroom.

1. “One work at a time” – You can choose from the variety of materials, but you can only choose ONE at a time. You can take the tray of materials to any room in your house or office to do the work. (Except on the shelves, where other children would have easy access to them). The child should carefully place the tray back in its original position once he/she is done.
2. “Go slowly” – while walking into the room, taking a tray to your spot, and doing the work without rushing. This helps us maintain focus and purpose.
3. “Keep the room tidy” – Each child cleans up their own messes and helps keep the space tidy. The children can clean up their own mess and keep the space tidy at the beginning and the end of the school day.
4. “Quiet Voices”– This can be a constant struggle in some homes. Create new games and activities that will help your children become more sensitive to volume. And if you’re outside as much as possible they can often be as loud as they want!
5. “Be Gentle” – with how they handle the materials, with how they speak to their siblings, and with how they care for the plants and animals they interact with.
6. “Use your words” – We still deal with issues with personal space in our house, but growing in grace and courtesy has really helped. Hello teenage stage. Children can express their emotions in a calm and clear manner by using their words. Role-playing can be a great tool.

Example Scenarios for Your Kids

• What is the first thing you say to someone when you meet them?
• What should you do if a guest leaves?
• What should you say or act when you need an apology?
• How can you ask a person to play a song?
• How to say “no” to someone.

I want them to know the environment is an honor. Grace and courtesy are a big reason why Montessori classrooms have that “magical air” about them. If you go to a Montessori open house you’ll see what I mean!

Whether you’re a hard-core Montessori purist, or if you just want some fresh ideas for a creative learning atmosphere, I hope these simple ideas will inspire you.

Resources that gave me the confidence to move forward

Here are some of my favorite resources that will help you dig into the details of what you should teach, how you can present a lesson, or what materials to use on the trays.

Websites and blogs that are helpful for Montessori

• Livingmontessorinow.com – the writer is a Montessori educator who homeschooled her children through high school. This is the perfect place to find printables, or to visit when you need some ideas for a unit.
• Montessoriprintshop.com – a go-to in my classroom for making materials at little to no cost, as well as a deeper look at Montessori theory.
• Justmontessori.com – offers a no-cost Montessori curriculum with links to downloads and pictures.

Do you use Montessori with your kids? Will you try these ideas?