By Braden Pemberton
Director of Admissions & Special Projects
The basic tenants of a Montessori classroom posit that a space should be beautiful, accessible, organized, and limited. These framing ideas remove barriers to children while they pursue activities that meet their developmental drives. Why not bring a whiff of that into your home space?
At home, observe where your child naturally likes to hang out when not in front of a screen. Use this as your anchor point. A space that is inviting to your child will encourage them to return to it again and again. Does your child like the view out a window or sitting near a large potted plant? This beauty acts as an invitation to spend time in the space, and to take pride in their own spot.
Make this favorite space accessible for your child. They need a table that is their height, a chair to sit in comfortably while working, and possibly a rug to work on the floor. If they aren’t able to get into their spot comfortably, they won’t spend time there. They need a place to return to easily once they decide what they want to do.
Organization is a tricky topic, which can carry a lot of baggage. In the Montessori classroom, organization simply means that things have a place where they live on a shelf. This doesn’t mean it’s never messy, but that it has the potential to return to order after being used. The set location for items means children always know where something goes when it’s not being used. The empty spot on the shelf calls to them to return the item to its location. Whether or not they return it there is another matter, one best left for another day. More concisely, if your child knows where an item goes, they can put it away on their own rather than leave it on the stairs or under a table.
If your child likes to draw with crayons, can they return all the crayons to the original box on their own? Consider replacing the box with a small cup or dish. Put the crayon cup on a tray with a few sheets of fresh paper on a shelf near your child’s beautiful work spot. Now, your child has a place to draw and the tools they need to do so without your help.
No need to restrict this idea to activities on a shelf. To eat cereal, you need milk, cereal, bowl, and spoon. For children, their hands are small and pouring from a gallon container or a whole cereal box can potentially be catastrophic. Find a small pitcher for milk to live in the fridge and a small plastic tub with a pre-determined amount of cereal. Smaller containers are more accessible to small hands, and constrain the amount that can be spilled across the floor. You’ve now given them the tools to serve themselves breakfast. You can also regulate the amount they consume since they don’t have access to the whole box or gallon at a time. Don’t forget to provide a place where they can put used dishes once they’re done.
While children have access to a lot of activities in the classroom, they don’t have access to every material all the time. It’s easier to bug an adult for entertainment than to weigh the pros and cons of each toy in their room. Consider repackaging activities your child already has, rather than purchasing more stuff. Choose 3 toys your child enjoys, and put them near their work space. Store the rest of their toys in a closet or bin. Once their available toys are no longer fun after a few days or weeks, swap them out for toys you’ve stashed away. It’s like reuniting with an old friend when a familiar toy returns. Rotate through your child’s collection week to week. This keeps things fresh, and lowers the pressure to provide novelty.
Remember, preparing the environment for children is a skill that requires practice. Try something new and wait a week (or month) to see how it goes. That’s what classroom teachers do. Try again, and observe more. Be gentle with yourself. You are learning right along with your child, and what’s better than modeling that at home?
