Taking Educational Opportunities

Posted on: 22 November 2017

Whether your toddler is already in a Montessori preschool, or you just want them to be extra prepared when they begin Montessori elementary school, it's a great idea to get them familiar with Montessori concepts now. Luckily, the Montessori principles of creative, hands-on learning are easy to adapt to toddlers in their home environment. Here are a few great ideas to try at home with your own toddler:

Incorporate Child-Sized Furniture and Accessories

Montessori's philosophy is that learning should be child-led, instead of imposed on children by adults. A key to making this concept work at home is to make sure your child's living and learning environment is on their scale instead of forcing them to adapt to adult-sized furnishings.

Your child should have a small desk or table that is the right height for a toddler, as well as a light-weight chair they can move from room to room. They should also have smaller sized eating utensils, toy cooking implements, and other accessories that allow them to learn to use objects without struggling because they are too big.

Focus On Their Eye Level

Another important tenet of Montessori education to incorporate at home is ensuring their room is designed with their height in mind. Instead of placing artwork on the walls at your eye level, where your toddler will rarely be able to see it, hang interesting and engaging prints on the wall at their eye level. This helps stimulate the imagination of your toddler. Smaller scale bookshelves with baskets of toys and books they can easily reach are also important. 

Don't Overlook Courtesy

In a Montessori classroom, there is a lot of emphasis placed on courtesy and teaching children to be good citizens. Toddlers respond well to these concepts, especially if they are presented in a positive light.

Encourage your child to be gentle with their toys, to speak quietly when indoors,  to clean up their toys after they are done playing, and to think about other's feelings. Instead of scolding them if they don't want to share their toys, you can say something like "Doesn't it feel good when your friends let you play with your toys for a little while? Your toys are still yours, but it's so nice to share."

These Montessori-inspired ideas are a fun way to engage your toddler in early childhood learning. By the time they begin elementary school, they will already be comfortable with a Montessori-style learning environment.