Bringing some Montessori home

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When I opted to stay home with my daughters instead of returning to the classroom to teach, I didn’t want  my job as a  Montessori teacher  to end there…I started adding some elements of the classroom into our family room (and they are now slowly taking over our kitchen).

Here are a few ideas of how you can bring the Casa  to your casa …okay, corny, I know, I know….

The ‘Casa dei Bambini’ classroom (ages 3-6) is usually divided into five areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math and Culture. In this post I’ll share a couple of simple practical life activities you can do at home with your preschooler.

But first a little info: The practical life area has activities that are just that: practical life activities - activities a child may witness/do in his/her daily life.  They can range from arranging flowers to how to sit and stand from a chair.  The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of his movement (fine motor skills), help the child to gain independence, develop an orderly way of thinking and aid the growth and development of a child’s concentration.  Practical Life exercises instil care for themselves, for others, and for the environment.

 (Note: In the Montessori method, there are very specific ways of presenting the child the activity. For the sake of saving you from having to read a ten page post, I will skip the detailed presentations. Please remember to tell the child the name of each object and what you are going to do.  If you would like to know  how a Montessori presentation would go, check out : http://www.infomontessori.com/ There are many activities on that site and very specific presentations.)

…and finally, the activities:

Spooning                                                                                                                                     (The Montessori Spooning activity is easy to make and my girls love it!)
Materials: a small ladle or a large spoon, two small bowls (preferably same size and colour) a tray to put the bowls and ladle on, and beans (I use large white kidney beans to start).

Tell your child you have something new to show them (you can use this for all the activities and it always gets them interested!) and bring the tray over to the table. Then spoon/ladle  the beans from left to right. Carefully  (take your time!) transfer all the beans into the other bowl. Once all the beans have been transferred, then spoon right to left, until all the beans are back in the first bowl you began with.  Now, ask your child to have a turn. (As simple as this activity sounds, you’d be surprised how often and how much children enjoy this activity.)
As the child masters transferring the beans you can substitute the beans with pasta shells, lentils,  rice, etc., but make sure it is easy (not too hard) for the child to pick up if spilled. Or try out different size spoons/ladles to make the activity more challenging.   

Pouring Solids

Note:the hand placement! (image from:www.infomontessori.com)

In this activity the child is to transfer kernels from one pitcher to the next.  
Materials: 2 small pitchers (I was able to find some at the dollar store), a tray (to put the pitchers on), and kernels.

Hold the pitcher’s handle with your right index finger, middle finger and thumb (those are the utterly important 3 fingers!) Place your left index finger and left middle finger on the same jug under the spout, in the middle of the jug’s height. (I know this sounds a little obcessive but it makes a huge difference in how the children pour – in both the activity and in everyday activities like pouring themselves a cup of milk!)  Then pour the kernels from one pitcher to the other (taking your time again!). Then it’s your child’s turn! Kernels can be varied with rice…and if you’re feeling brave: water!

Bottles and Lids                                                                              

Here is another simple Montessori practical life exercise:  Opening and closing containers of various sizes. (I use empty face cream jars, empty spice bottles, baby bottles, etc.).

Materials: bottles (this can be done with both bottles and boxes) of various sizes, basket (to keep the containers in), and a small mat (I use a square piece of felt).

Pull out and open each container one at a time.  Place each lid and container on the mat as you open it. (the mat is to contain all the bottles and lids so your child doesn’t scatter them around the room has a specific area to put them). Once all the containers have been open, close them back up one by one.  Put them back into the basket for your child to try!

Have these activities in an area where your child can reach  and take them out all by themselves

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These are just three of many, many practical life activities . These specifically, were some of my student’s  favourite activities to do in the classroom (and now, my girls do these activities all the time at home!)  It always amazes me how something so simple can promote such growth and development!