Montessori Flowers

Should children be required to do housework?  At what age should a child be required to do "chores"?  Trick question!  If a young child (toddler or even younger) is given the opportunity to participate in housework, he will most likely be happy to help! Children want to do what we do.  This is why instead of toys, Montessori classrooms are filled with real-life items.  The practical life area is made up of three main components--care of self, care of environment, and grace and courtesy.  Today I will focus on care of environment!  Dr. Maria Montessori observed that children don't just want to play.  They want purposeful work. When I created Calvin's weaning area, I included a stack of cleaning towels on a low shelf.  A six-month-old is a very messy eater, so in the beginning, I used them constantly to wipe up Calvin's table, chair, and sometimes even the floor and walls around his weaning area. One day when Calvin was around 11 months old, he spontaneou

First of all, when I say weaning I am referring to introducing solid food, not to weaning off of breast milk.  Calvin still nurses at least twice daily at 17 months, and I don't see that stopping any time soon! The weaning process, like all aspects of Montessori, should promote independence.  This is why instead of a high chair, Montessori parents use a baby-sized weaning table and chair.  Once the baby is mobile, he is able to get in and out of the chair by himself.  A stool is placed beside the table for an adult to offer assistance as needed.  We rarely need to sit by Calvin to help anymore. The weaning table: Calvin's table and chair are the TAG Child's First Table and Toddler Chair .  He began using them at 6 months, as soon as we began introducing him to solid food.  Next to the table is a small shelf with bibs and cleaning cloths.  At six months old, Calvin was not yet crawling, so we put him in his chair.  It was not long after he began crawling that he be

Calvin has officially moved from his nursery to his "big boy room"!  My dad made the room for him in May.  It was a completely unfinished space before (didn't even have insulation or drywall), and it was a lot of fun creating the space with Calvin in mind.  After the construction was done, I had the fun of completely furnishing and decorating the room.  I have tried to set up the room to promote independence. Within the past few months, Calvin has been spending an increasing amount of time in the room playing and reading.  Last weekend he slept in the room for the first time! Here's a little tour of his new toddler room! Calvin's toddler wardrobe: This is an Ikea Kallax unit that I modified using a hack I saw on Of The Moon and several other Montessori blogs. Four drawers on the left and I left the shelf off the right side and instead installed a tension rod for a toddler-height closet rod!  To start, I am just putting out two shirts for Calvin to c

I am a Montessori teacher for ages 3 to 6. Enter my (or any Montessori) classroom, and you might be surprised to hear all the vocabulary that the children use. A 5-year-old has mastered the map of Europe and can tell you the name of any country--Norway, Ukraine, Italy. A 3-year-old is beginning work with the geometric solids--sphere, cube, cylinder. A 4-year-old has learned all the parts of an insect--thorax, abdomen, forewings.  Why all the fancy language when so many sources of entertainment, and even education, for young children use simplified language? Dr. Maria Montessori observed the “absorbent mind” of the child ages 6 and under, meaning that they effortlessly absorb all the language around them like a sponge--so why not expose them to as much real language as possible? From before birth, a child benefits from all the language she is exposed to. When I was pregnant I purchased CDs with songs in 9 different languages (from Michael Olaf) to expose Calvin not only to

The very first materials Calvin used were mobiles. While I was setting up Calvin’s nursery, I made the decision to forego a cute mobile that would match the nursery (even though I found this super cute Winnie the Pooh one that would have been perfect!) and instead use purposeful Montessori mobiles to aid in his development. I am so glad we used these mobiles because he was mesmerized by them. Montessori mobiles are, like all Montessori materials, simple in style. They don’t light up or make music or any noise. The simplicity helps develop a baby’s concentration. A flashy mobile (or toy) may seem to hold the baby’s attention, but in reality the child can be overstimulated and overwhelmed by this kind of mobile or toy. Montessorians developed a series of mobiles designed to help develop the newborn’s concentration, eyesight, and other important skills. The Munari Mobile The first mobile in the Montessori visual mobile series is the Munari mobile. The black and white shapes are high