Montessori - Introducing Activities

Hello again! This is the third post on Montessori that I have done and I feel like I have just skimmed the surface! I wanted to lay a basic framework for mothers wanting to introduce Montessori to their toddler and I think these 3 posts will do pretty much that.

So now that you have a basic gist of the philosophy of Montessori and what type of environment suits it best, the next step is how to introduce the activities to your child.

When demonstrating activities to a child use a minimum of words and movements. The child should be allowed to work with the materials only after they have been presented to him. Introduce new materials gradually and be patient, remember that your role should be an observer. It is hard for mothers to restrain themselves and not show the child how to do it. Let them work it out on their own and eventually they will.

All Montessori activities have a "control of error", which allow the child to see his mistakes when doing the activity in the wrong way. Even so, children must be guided in their proper use.

An atmosphere of quiet should be kept during school time. Absolute silence isn't completely necessary but an atmosphere conducive to concentration is key.

The child should be allowed to choose what they want to work with, even if it is the same thing for three days in a row. As the child masters and progresses beyond certain materials they should be removed. Children are always looking to be challenged.

Once the activity is chosen it can be worked with as long as the child pleases but the task must be completed before the material is returned to its place. Perseverance is a good lesson in self-discipline.

The time spent with school should be no more than one and a half to two hours at most. In the first few weeks, especially if you are working with a very young child, forty-five minutes should be sufficient.

But now what activities do you do??? There are a TON of books that would be great resources for you, the local library should carry all you need to know.

Here are some links as well that I have found very useful for activities:

http://www.montessorimom.com/toddler-scope-and-sequence-lesson-ideas-practical-/

http://www.montessori.org/story.php?id=271

http://www.dailymontessori.com/montessori-age-12-24-months/

http://estore.websitepros.com/1910659/Categories.bok?category=Teaching+toddlers

I was a little concerned at the beginning of my Montessori craze that I would have to spend SO much money on new activities for my daughter, but in reality I didn't. Many activities use items found in your home, just try and be creative. Also, most craft stores have a plethora of ideas/items to make your own activities for relatively cheap. Although I did invest in stacking blocks, puzzles and a few other standard items that any growing brain needs :)

Of course I would love to transform my home, put in new shelving, ya know just totally make it a Montessori home....but that will have to wait.

I will be posting activities that my own daughter has done so I hope that gives you ideas too! And if you have any activities to share, please do!!

Montessori Materials & Environment

Hello everyone!

Last time I gave a little bit of an overview on the basic principles of the Montessori method. This post I would like to talk about the materials that should be used for Montessori activities and the ideal environment these activities should be done in.

Materials

One of the goals of the Montessori method is to bring children back to a more natural environment. This means using wood, glass, ceramic as opposed to plastic. Part of the learning process involves using care when handling breakables. A natural consequence of inappropriate handling is they break. Plastic doesn’t necessarily teach the children to be careful. When it drops, it bounces. Everything is okay. Using all plastic gives children the false sense that they can be rough with things and they in turn do not quite learn how to respect the item.

Does is make me nervous though to watch my daughter carry glass containers across our kitchen floor? Yes, but I also love to see how CAREFUL she is with it. She really concentrates on carrying it perfectly to her destination. We also have carpet in our living room where most activities take place so I don't fear her dropping and breaking things while she is working with them. Wood, glass, etc. are also heavier than plastic so it gives children a feel for differences in weight and how to be careful in putting those items down on the table carefully.

Of course budget does come into play, so just do what you can with what you have. Second-hand stores, garage sales, and dollar stores are great places to find inexpensive glass jars, ceramic items, etc. So be creative!

Environment

It is suggested to have a specific place to keep your school equipment and a specific room in which to conduct "school". The reason for this is to let your child depend on the permanence of this arrangement and know where each piece of equipment may be found. "A place for everything and everything in its place."

The items should be nicely arranged and laid out on open shelves for the child to easily take an activity off the shelf to use. Once an activity is done, the child should always put it back where it belongs. In this way he is taught order and respect for things. My daughter got the hang of this very easily. Rather than leaving all her toys out on the floor, she really has taken to putting them away where they go when she is done. She doesn't do this all the time by herself but she will if I ask her.

If you don't have a specific room that can be used for school you can also used a roll away shelf that can be rolled into a closet when not in use.

I personally live in an apartment at the time and don't even have the luxury of doing that. At the time I have some Montessori activities tucked away in a back hallway on a shelf, it is not ideal but it allows my daughter to be able to work with what she wants and put it back when she is done.

Next week I will touch on how to introduce activities to your child and give you a few activities I have used with my daughter.

If there are any questions about the posts thus far, please don't hesitate to ask, I love comments!

Montessori for Toddlers

Let's just say I am hooked on Montessori.

I actually went to a montessori school for two years when I was younger, but don't really remember much about it.

The next time Montessori was brought to my attention was for potty training. I started to put the methods for potting training in practice a couple months ago. My daughter is now 19 months and she has already gone on the potty numerous times, yay! I really want to go full out with the training but I have to find a week where I don't have to go anywhere (which is going to be practically impossible).


I recently starting researching Montessori for toddlers and am loving what I am learning!

I plan on doing a series of posts on it in the next few weeks so stay tuned! I know you will just LOVE these practices.

I will also be having giveaways geared toward the montessori philosophy as well, so get excited!!!

Montessori Potty Training

I personally can't wait to have a break from changing diapers for a while. Let's be honest, diaper changes are probably one of my least favorite things to do. My daughter squirms and twists so much that every change is a battle between us. The ONLY way through it is to sing really obnoxious songs or make really goofy faces to grab her attention for just the few seconds it takes to put that last side of the diaper on. Needless to say I do admit to letting the diaper reach full capacity (aka drooping down to her knees, haha!) before I give in to changing it. ;)

With all that said, I am very much looking forward to potty training my not-so -little-anymore daughter. The Montessori method of potty training was brought to my attention a few months ago and I loved it immediately and plan on trying it with my daughter.

To many in the American culture it would be considered "early" potty training. While in other countries in may in fact be "late" potty training. All I know is that it makes sense.

The Montessori method explains that there are sensitive periods for learning different tasks and that the period of 18-24 months is the sensitive period for learning to control their bladder and bowels. Once this period is missed the supposed next period may be 3 years old. Now some may still be able to potty train their child during the terrible twos but it suggested that it's MUCH easier to potty train within these sensitive periods.

In contrast to the Montessori method in my husband's nursing book it states that most children are able to control their bladder and bowels around the age of 3-5, yikes! In the words of a good friend, "that's a really big butt to wipe!" haha :)

Want more details? This is a great article outlining the basics of the Montessori method: http://www.littleredrobin.com/pages/toileting_the_montesorri_way.asp

I personally have a couple friends who have potty trained their children "early" with much success. I have only a couple more months before I can start the process with my daughter, so I'm sure you will hear back on the progress in the future!