4 Tips to Help You Get Started with Montessori Practical Life
In my previous posts, I talked about the benefits of practical life activities. I also provided you with the list of these activities for toddlers. Today, we're going to focus on the hows. How to get started with practical life activities?
4 Tips to Get Started:
1. Include your child in everyday tasks you're already doing
This is the easiest step that won't break the bank. Let your toddler stir the pancake batter you're making. Let him have the sponge and help you wipe the table. You don't need to come up with anything new here. All you need is to observe your child. Even very young toddlers can communicate their desire to help out. If you pause and try to understand, you'll see what they're interested in, and you most likely won't respond: "Please, go play. Mommy has to unpack the groceries."
Unpacking a box with fresh produce used to be Emma's favorite activity when she was a young toddler. She used to hand me a piece of fruit or vegetable and waited for me to name it. Not only did she feel included, but she was also learning new vocabulary.
2. Make things accessible to them
Next, look around your house. Does your child have access to things that will help her engage in practical life activities?
Are the hooks low enough so she can hang her jacket when coming from outside? Can she reach the sink to wash her hands? Can she access her clothes so she can choose what she wants to wear and get dressed?
The point here isn't to turn your house into Hobbiton. It's about offering your child opportunities to do things for herself that she is capable of doing. Focus on making one change at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed.
3. Provide child-sized tools
Small hands need small tools. For most practical life activities, child-sized tools are a must. Spreading hummus on bread is challenging for toddlers. Spreading with an adult-sized spreader is almost impossible. When providing child-sized tools, make sure they are functional and work well. Montessori Services carry a great collection of different tools for children.
If you want to start including your child in cooking, check the following post for the best first kitchen tools:
4. Set up a practical life activity based on your child's interest
Some activities will be set up on trays/or in baskets, and some won't. For instance, all you need for sweeping is a child-sized dustpan, a broom, and a hook to hang these items on. In other cases, you'll need a tray or a basket to contain the items. For instance, opening and closing (pictured below). The basket for this work stores all the containers together which helps with the child’s sense of order.
Other reasons for using trays and baskets:
Your child has everything he needs at hand (he doesn't need to leave to get something and forget what he was doing)
Baskets and trays help your child figure out when he is done (he needs to put everything back on the tray and put it away)
Trays are used to set up the work from left to right which is indirect preparation for reading.
4 a) Present the activity
After setting up a new activity for your child:
Try it out first.
Break it into small steps.
Analyze the movements, and then show it to your child.
Show him using slow hands and avoid unnecessary talking.
Related reading: 4 Steps to Remember When Showing Your Child a New Activity
Opening and closing activity
4 b) Observe and adjust the Activity or your expectations
Observe your child using the activity. Remember, children do things for the sake of the process, not the final results. Your child doesn't wipe the table to make it clean, so she can move on to something else. She wipes the table for the wiping itself.
Adjust the activity based on what you see. Did you set up flower arranging, and the water ended up all over the table? Fill the pitcher with less water next time. Or switch the pitcher for a smaller one.
If needed, adjust your expectations. Don't expect your child to do something perfectly the first time. If he does, it means he already mastered this skill. Is your child not interested in the activity you set up? Don't take it personally. Observe and try something else.