Montessori is much more than the materials in the classroom, it is a method, a pedagogy, an approach to interacting with children and supporting their growth. While we believe strongly that the classroom environment is an invaluable teacher, there are also many ways that Montessori can be supported at home.
A defining principle of Montessori is the importance of fostering independence in children. In a Montessori classroom we have the space and time to cultivate independence in their self care, in their interactions with peers, and in their work. We recognize that it is sometimes easier to cultivate independence in the structure of a school setting than it is at home, but there are ways that parents can bring these same principles into the home.
Here are some ways to bring independence into your home environment:
Independence in self care: a Montessori child is capable of amazing self care when given the space and opportunity to practice and execute their skills. Allow them to choose their clothes, dress themselves, and clean themselves.
Independence in their work: An important part of the Montessori method is emphasizing organization and order. Students choose one work at a time, keep their material contained on a mat in an organized way, and return it to the shelf before choosing another work. We know this can seem like a challenge at home, where often play rooms are chaotic and parents are roped into cleaning at the end of the day. However, we can assure you that your child is used to this routine at school and you can absolutely incorporate it into your home routine!
Independence in play: Sometimes at home children capitalize on their parents attention with demands of time and energy. When you’re home with your child for extended periods of time and breaks from school, this can be draining! In a Montessori environment children receive lessons from teachers but the majority of their work is done independently. They are capable of happily entertaining themselves, even if that isn’t their preference when you are present!
Studies have shown that the single biggest indicator of long term success is whether a child was read to or with daily above their comprehension level. Incorporate reading into your daily family routine! For the young child, this looks like a parent choosing a few books each night to read together. As your child gains phonemic awareness this will begin to include pointing out letters and words they recognize in books you read together, and eventually your child reading leveled readers to you. As your child begins to read we encourage families to both have the child read to the parent and for the parent to read to the child above the comprehension level of what they could read independently. Reading “above the comprehension level” is an important way to increase vocabulary and strengthen their comprehension and listening skills. After you read together have a conversation about the book and what they gleaned from the story!
In a Montessori classroom we begin our language curriculum with phonics. This means that instead of teaching the name of a letter we teach the sound that the letter makes. When you are reading with your child make sure you are encouraging them to think about the letter sounds and helping them to practice saying them properly (here is a guide).
There are many ways you can incorporate math, language, science, and geography into your daily home life that aren’t worksheets or flash cards. Cooking with your child is a beautiful way to support math lessons at home, having children measure and combine ingredients can easily become a lesson in fractions and addition!
Emphasize life skills! An important tenet of Montessori is “Practical Life”, works whose direct aim is to develop skills that will be useful to a child’s everyday life such as utensil use, sewing, strengthening pencil grip, chopping, sorting, washing, etc. All of these can easily be supported at home by having child help in the kitchen, make art, and help around the house.
Chores! In a Montessori classroom students have responsibilities and tasks to help keep our classroom beautiful and functional. Each one of the students is capable of age appropriate chores. Offer your child chores that they can do “as a member of the family”, not in exchange for a reward. (Here is a guide for age appropriate chores)
A beloved Montessori math activity is called “fetching” where the teacher asks the child to retrieve a specific number from the Golden Bead Materials. The concept of fetching easily translates to the home, and challenges the student as they work to retain your prompt while they walk across a space and retrieve what you asked. For instance, stand in your kitchen and ask your child to walk to the play room (or area of your house where their toys are) and retrieve 6 dinosaurs, three lizards, and a gorilla (obviously substitute these for toys you know you have and your child can find). Start with a simple combination (two dinosaurs and a shark) and then make your requests more complicated. This tests their working memory, whether they can hold a thought in their mind while they walk through distractions.
There are so many ways that you can bring the philosophy of Montessori into your homes, and we encourage parents to use this resource guide as a way to Montessori your child!