Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- What is the Montessori method?
- A guide to the Montessori classroom
- What will your child learn in a Montessori classroom?
- Montessori learning materials
- Free (printable) Montessori Curriculum
- Why trust My Toddler Life?
What is the Montessori Method: A Brief Overview
The Montessori Method, created by Maria Montessori, MD, in 1897, is a child-centered approach to education and development that emphasizes hands-on, multi-sensory activities that children can do at their own speed. The Montessori method encourages parents, carers and teachers to create a space full with developmentally appropriate toys and games, then let children choose which ones they want to play with (this is based on Montessori’s observations of how both younger and older children naturally learn.)
A Guide To The Montessori Classroom
The great thing about a Montessori classroom is that it gives your child/ren the opportunity to safely explore and learn through discovery in a setting that’s appropriate for very young kids. With plush rugs, a rocking chair, books arranged on low shelves, and toys in baskets, Montessori classrooms are made to feel welcoming, and homely. The mood they (try to inspire) is calm.
Ideally, the room is tidy, ordered, and uncluttered. A minimalist approach is the way the Montessori method works. Easy said than done with a toddler I suppose! Respect for your child’s independence and character is of high importance in the Montessori classroom community.
Teachers are trained to be consistently composed, kind, polite, patient, and trustworthy (so, if you’re a home-school parent – take note!). By making eye contact, lowering themselves to the child’s level, addressing your children by name, and speaking before touching or moving them, they show respect and sympathy to your toddler.
The end effect is a comforting environment where dependable caregivers establish an emotional haven for children under their care. Sounds good to me! Learning resources, games and toys like the ones we discuss below, are readily available. These resources are made to teach your little ones focus, problem-solving, and a sense of accomplishment.
Children choose the material that grabs their attention, use it for as long as they like, clean it up (with help as needed), and then decide on something else. This method of play encourages independence and self-discovery. It is said to create mentally strong, resilient children.
Toddlers in Montessori classrooms have access to equipment that promotes gross and fine motor abilities, such as low ladders with railings for kids who are just learning to walk. Children may perform activities independently with the help of child-sized furniture, utensils, and other items, which helps them develop self-confidence, focus, and critical thinking abilities.
What will your child learn in a Montessori classroom?
Children engage in activities that enhance their language development, fine motor skill development, and gross motor skill development. They engage with music and art. They gain knowledge on how to look after both themselves and the environment. Amongst other things!
Language and Communication Skills
Due to early exposure to language, and language learning activities, we often find that Montessori children have a large vocabulary early on in life. Children are exposed to vocabulary and grammar every day through carefully selected songs, read-aloud books, and stories, which help them develop their active listening and communication abilities.
Through exercises like the following, classroom teachers and home-school parents welcome toddlers into the world of language:
• reading books
• naming and recognising actual objects
• using language flashcards
• describing visuals.
Learning To Be Independent
Respect for your child’s independence and character is of huge importance in the Montessori classroom community. Teachers are trained to be composed, kind, polite, patient, and trustworthy. By making eye contact, getting down to the child’s level, calling the kids by name, and speaking before touching or moving them, they show respect and concern for them.
A Montessori curriculum builds on children’s deeper understanding of emotions as they develop throughout time. Lessons in social skills are encouraged, such as how to respectfully decline an offer and how to greet a new person. This (hopefully) creates a welcoming and peaceful environment in the classroom.
Children have several opportunities to interact with their classmates because they can roam about freely in the classroom setting. If home-schooling, encourage interaction with other children through excursions, or linking up with other home-schooling parents.
Montessori children get the ability to identify various emotions, communicate their goals and requirements, and establish their independence and right to their own space. Montessori teachers encourage students to interact with one another. They aid kids in navigating interactions, coming up with phrases to articulate their emotions, and establishing limits.
Brain Training – Cognitive Development
Children develop their attention span, start to comprehend functional relationships, and learn about the surrounding natural world with our 2-year-old Montessori curriculum. By viewing things and people from multiple points of view and using previously taught abilities in new environments, they develop their cognitive functions.
Early learning maths concepts, such as filling and emptying, putting in and taking out, taking things apart and putting them back together, help lay the groundwork for mathematical comprehension later in life.
Montessori toddlers also learn to recognise familiar items, develop active listening skills, and enhance verbal and gesture communication.
Motor Skills
Building large and fine motor skills, learning body awareness and control, and honing one’s coordination, balance, flexibility, and stamina are all part of a Montessori classroom physical development program.
Life Skills
Life skills activities and exercises are intended to improve a young child’s attentiveness, fine and gross motor abilities, and their ability to take care of themselves and their environment. The kids engage in a range of practical life activities in a Montessori curriculum, such as:
• safe food preparation including chopping, slicing, grating, mashing, stirring, peeling, scooping, and kneading bread
• self-care including washing hands, changing clothes, washing one’s face, brushing one’s teeth, and cleaning one’s shoes;
• care of the classroom environment including washing dishes, washing cloths, wiping and drying a table, scrubbing a table, drying a spill, mopping, sweeping, crumbing a table, cleaning
Potty and Toilet Learning
Use of the toilet on their own is one of the most crucial ways a toddler learns to be independent.
Montessori teachers assist kids in identifying the need-to-go warning signals and encourages their desire to learn. The older kids serve as role models and encourage the younger kids to attempt – another great reason to connect with other home-schooling parents if not in a classroom environment
Montessori learning materials
What follows are some of our favorite montessori materials – however, you will find a treasure trove all over the internet as more and more people begin to appreciate the montessori philosophy. A montessori learning environment is full of materials, toys, games and books that encourage problem solving and involve practical life exercises. There’s also nothing saying you have to go out and purchase new materials when the important thing is for your toddler to learn relevant life skills – I’m sure you can find things around the house that you can use for various learning activities!
Gross Motor-Skills:
Gonge Hilltops
The Gonge Hilltops are an excellent product to improve your children’s ability to jump, walk, run, balance and more. They are a fantastic developmental tool for improving toddler gross motor skills.
Fine Motor-Skills:
PlanToys Wooden Beehives Sorting Game
Toddlers enjoy playing matching games and playing with toys they can manipulate in different ways, and this toy incorporates all of these elements. 2 year olds may practice their pincer grasp by matching the bees to their honeycombs. For added enjoyment, the wooden honeycombs can be lined up or stacked.
Melissa & Doug Take-Along Tool Kit
Toddlers love to help around the house (and classroom!), and this set of child-size tools hits the spot. If you give your toddler tools that are the right size, it makes many tasks that are otherwise too hard to complete possible – and it will give your toddler a real sense of independence and responsibility.
Cognitive Development:
GETIANLAI Wooden Toddler Puzzle
Puzzles can be tricky for toddlers—that is, if you introduce a hard one too soon. This wooden game, however, is sure to set the path for a lifelong love of brain-teasers. It features just five different shapes and colors, and each piece is easy to grasp. Use this to teach motor skills, shape and color identification and early counting.
Language & Communication Skills:
Boley Small Bucket Farm Animal Toys
While these plastic figurines may seem far from ideal Montessori toys, they’re actually in keeping with the Montessori preference for giving younger children lifelike playthings to spark learning opportunities. With a realistic-looking horse, your toddler can name all of the body parts, pointing out little details like their hoofs, eyes and ears.
Practical Life Skills:
MySize Kids Wood Table and Chair Set
When it comes to the Montessori method, a child’s furniture is as important as their toys. An easy-to-access table and chair set—that’s not cluttered with design elements, like the alphabet or chalkboards—will give your toddler space to experiment and boost their sense of independence. Plus, parents will love that this scaled-down table, featuring solid birch wood legs in an appealing navy colour, is anything but an eyesore.
BOBXIN Play Sink with Running Water
When it’s not safe (or practical) to let your toddler play in your kitchen sink, this (and any other similiar models) is a great stand-in. Why? Because the faucet actually works! With the push of the pump, your little one can release a flow of water and practice scrubbing veggies and washing his/her own plate.
Potty & Toilet Learning:
My Carry Potty, Little Trainer Seat
With its adorable character designs, My Little Trainer Seat makes the toilet come to life at home or while travelling, making it easier for young children to move to the toilet.
The Montessori Toddler Classroom Curriculum:
Download our free printable toddler montessori curriculum below. The curriculum includes a daily routine as well as montessori activities to teach language skills and encourage child development. As a home-school parent or classroom teacher, you can utilise our toddler programs for montessori education at your toddler’s own pace.
Why Trust My Toddler Life
My Toddler Life is run by mama’s, for mama’s. All information provided on our site is thoroughly researched and takes in to consideration our lived experiences and the opinions of industry professionals.
How are we different from other sites doing the same thing? We have fun while doing it (often with a glass of wine in hand) and don’t take ourselves too seriously! We may use affiliate links in this post – rest assured, these do not cost you, our dear readers, any additional money to use – phew!
