At FMS, our teachers facilitate your children’s growing independence, confidence, capability and real-world application of everything they learn at school. But there’s just so much to learn, and children never stop learning, even at home.
This is why we love sharing ‘Montessori at Home’ with families in our community, so you can engage with and extend your child’s education, develop strong relationships with your children, and establish your unique community within your family unit.
Here are some ways you can create a Montessori environment in your home…
“A prepared home environment is not just the physical space but also the psychological space.”
The goal of the prepared environment is to make it easy for your child to navigate independently. If we add ‘safely’ and ‘successfully’ to this statement, we incorporate the psychological aspects of the prepared environment too.
When your child can attempt tasks independently, feel safe doing so, and be successful at a task multiple times, they will develop the growth mindset essential for future learning and exploration.
Here are some ways you can prepare your home environment to support your child’s growth mindset and capacity to learn:
Physical Environment – Outdoors:
- promote learning through movement
- promote freedom of movement
- provide space for exploration
- encourage safe challenges
Remember, you want your child to experience success and independence so they build their skills and the confidence to move toward the next challenge.
Be mindful to create or visit spaces that are age and ability appropriate. Let your child show you when they are ready for more!
You may need to step back – as hard as that may be – while they explore what they are capable of.
Physical environment – Indoors:
Again, by providing access, independence and safety, you will set your child up for successful learning and further development.
In the kitchen:
- Have a small shelf or drawer filled with items your child can use at will; their own spoon, plate or plastic cup.
- Have an accessible shelf in the pantry (or fridge, if your child can open it), where your child may access their own foods and drinks.
- Use lightweight and size appropriate containers that children can easily and safely lift, use and put away
In the bathroom
- Provide a stool so children can wash their hands or brush their teeth independently. You will need to assist and teach these tasks at first, and children will these gain skills in time. The access and opportunity to start is most important.
In the bedroom
Create order – a space and place for everything. External order helps children feel and develop an internal sense of order.
In the dining room
Your child may have their own small utensils or their own chair/high chair. Allow them to share the table with the rest of the family, so they feel included.
Easy clean up
For young children, big tubs or baskets are the best way to encourage easy clean up. The child can put items into the tubs and contribute to tidying up. It’s the helpful and contributory behaviour that sticks. As children get older, the methods of tidying will change but the behaviour will last.
Create an environment that encourages psychological development through freedom of choice, consistency of limits and logical consequences of choice.
- Establish routine and order. This helps children feel secure because they know what to expect. As often as you can, stick with a clear routine. If it changes, give your child notice and explanation in advance so they feel prepared.
- Offer limited choices. This empowers children to make decisions without overwhelming them. We used ‘red shirt/blue shirt’ choice as an example during our session. More options can be introduced as children get older and become more capable of making more complex choices.
- Support empowered decision-making. Help your children make decisions by providing information and reasoning that assists their choices. Eg: We should wear a jacket because it’s cold outside.
- Be consistent with limits. Limits create boundaries that are safe places for trial and error. They reduce overwhelm and encourage focus. Consistency provides clear expectations, which is reassuring.
- Apply logical consequences to help children be responsible for the results of their choices. For example, if a child spills their drink, they can help clean it up. Offer consequences that are logical, in the moment and are realistic to action.
Continue to teach independence at home
- Provide your child with opportunities for self-reliance. Offer tasks that children can complete on their own, such as dressing themselves or setting the table.
- Assign tasks that match the child’s developmental stage. For example, a toddler can help with simple chores like putting toys away, while an older child can assist with meal preparation. See our handout for age-appropriate tasks here.
- Involve children in household chores to teach contribution, responsibility and teamwork. For instance, they can help with laundry or watering plants.
- Food: Packing lunch, packing snack, being able to get their own snack at home, preparation of the pantry with good food choices: Encourage children to participate in meal preparation. They can pack their lunch or choose healthy snacks from a designated shelf in the pantry.
Maintain clear and respectful dialogue, encourage communication and connection:
- Expand vocabulary: Engage in conversations that introduce new words and concepts. For example, while reading a book, explain the meaning of unfamiliar words.
- Engage in regular conversations: Make time for daily discussions with your child. Ask about their day, listen actively, and respond thoughtfully.
- Share your interests and hobbies with your child. For instance, if you enjoy gardening, involve them in planting and caring for plants.
- Listen to your children. What are they expressing interest in? What are they curious about? Follow your child’s curiosity with them and learn together!
Teach not by correcting, but by modelling
- Model correct behavior: Demonstrate the behavior you want to see in your child. For example, show kindness and respect in your interactions with others.
- Subtle awareness of mistakes: Gently guide children to recognise and correct their mistakes. For instance, if they spill something, calmly show them how to clean it up. Be friendly with error.
- Don’t fix after them/Don’t fix for them: Allow children to learn from their mistakes by not immediately stepping in to correct them. This helps build problem-solving skills, self reliance and responsibility.
- Step back: Give children space to try things on their own Allow children to take the lead in activities, even if it means they might struggle initially. Give them space to grow their independence and self-reliance.
- Assign tasks that are challenging, but achievable.
Ultimately, our goal is to instil a growth mindset that embraces being friendly with error, leading to intrinsic motivation.
A simple way to begin is to insert the word YET into any sentence your child might use that limits their growth eg.
“I can’t do that.’
You can’t do that yet.”
Be mindful that you may not be able to do all these things all at once. Start small. Make it achievable for your family. Then build on it!
Use these ideas in your home, refer back to them often, and remember, your FMS teachers are always available to help!
