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 mon...

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 af...