I'm a big believer in the idea that Montessori is for everyone. It's a philosophy which is ultimately meant to make the world a better place, originally inspired by Maria Montessori's observations of children who were living in poverty. Unfortunately, Western public education systems are slow to adapt and Montessori has been mostly privately-funded system in North American — meaning that the schools are often only available to those who can afford to pay out of pocket.
One way to access Montessori is to incorporate it in the home. Whether you work from home or away from home, there are ways to incorporate independence, freedom and grace into the family's routine.
Montessori materials don't have to be expensive (public educators, listen up). We've had great success with making our home work for our two year-old son Jasper — in part with accessible and affordable Ikea materials. All this, and meatballs, too!
Here are a few of our favourites:
LATT weaning table and chairs. For under
$25 bucks, we bought a mostly-solid wood table and chairs, and cut about 3
1/2 inches off all of the legs.
Bonus: after making the cuts, David sanded down the leftover pieces to make
some wooden blocks! We use this table to eating, creating art and work of all
kinds. I keep a little adult-sized stool under the table as well to allow
Jasper to welcome adults to his table.
AGAM junior stool. We want Jasper to feel
independent in being able to join us at the dining table, and free to leave. We
also want him to be safe when he's sitting at a height. We started out using a
strap-on booster, and now that he's a confident climber and has the strength
and balance to sit with minimal support, we're moving on to a junior stool that
gets him to the height required.
FORSIKTIG and TROGEN step stools. If you have kids in your
home, you probably have at least one step stool as well. The Montessori
paradigm asks us to think about the world from the child's point of view. If
you can't bring something (a sink, for instance) to the child, you must bring
the child to it. Places to think about using a stool: to climb on to the
toilet, in front of the bathroom sink, beside a bedroom door to reach a light
switch, as a little bench boots & shoes on and off. And of course, with its
handy side-handles, the Trogen makes excellent material for lugging around
during the Period of Maximum Effort (you'll know it when
you see it).
POKAL snaps
weaning glass. These glasses are the perfect shape and size for a weaning
glass, tiny enough for even very young toddlers and babies, durable and they
cost $2.99 for 6. Can't beat 'em.
NACKTEN bath/Montessori work mat. It's cheap,
it's lightweight, and it rolls easily. Over the past few months, Jasper has
really been enjoying getting out his mat to use with some materials.
MULA stacking rings. The Mula series is a
great collection of wooden toys for babies and toddlers, and the MULA stacker
was in heavy rotation at our place for almost a year. It's amazing to watch a
child's development through how they engage with the same material over time.
DUKTIG utensil set. Jasper has a wonderful
child-sized kitchen which my Dad built for him as a Christmas present, and
which he loves to play with, but we use the durable, stainless-steel parts of
this set in the "big kitchen," where Jasper can use the
perfectly-sized whisk to scramble an egg for breakfast.
DUKTIG mini-kitchen. We don't actually have
this kitchen in our home, but I know it's a well-loved part of many folks'
child-space. Our home-built kid's
kitchen includes one of the best features about the Ikea kitchen — the
removable tub that makes the kitchen sink. It can be filled with water for real
work like for hand- or dish-washing.
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Hello! I’m Meghan, mama to an outgoing and active almost-two
year-old. I was recently certified as a Montessori Infant-Toddler Assistant,
but I'm no expert — I'm just an passionate learner. I love to share my
enthusiasm about the things I'm learning on my blog, Milkweed and Montessori, where we spend our
days exploring the natural world and inviting each other to be in the moment.
Are you looking for online Montessori lessons, activities, and PDFs? Check out Lisa Nolan's online Montessori and homeschool here at Montessori for the Earth.