Montessori Practical Life at Home: Nail Care

Care of the Self:  Trimming Fingernails

Easy Does It!

Model Patience and Care

Instead of trimming your child's fingernails for him, why not teach him how to do it himself?  This simple setup is just a tray with child-sized fingernail clippers and a tiny broom (see video below for how to use that).  Show him how the trimmers work and where the sharp parts are.  Model patience and great care, so that you don't nick yourself.  Also demonstrate how to tidy up afterwards.

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Montessori Practical Life at Home: Peeling a Potato

Food Prep:  How to Peel a Potato

Montessori Hack--Remember a Non-Slip Mat

A Grapefruit Knife Wouldn't Hurt, Either

We're having Cream of Potato Soup tonight and it calls for four peeled, diced potatoes.  Dinners that require a lot of steps are great for involving children and teaching or practicing discrete skills like peeling.  Just remember:  when you introduce the peeler for the first time, point out the sharp parts! 

It's always good to model a seated position, using a quality peeler with slow, deliberate movements, and taking the time to do the work almost meditatively.  There are smells and sounds associated with this work, as well as graceful movements.  When done, demonstrate how you discard the peelings into the compost or trash.  Important hack:  use a damp towel, a non-skip mat, or a silicone baking mat under the tray to keep things from jiggling around.

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Montessori Practical Life at Home: Food Prep--Peeling an Egg

Food Prep:  Peeling a Hard-Boiled Egg

Easy, Healthy Snack

Egg Slicer Makes it Fun and Pretty

It's easy to cook several eggs in advance and keep them on hand for snacks, salads, or deviled eggs.  In this Practical Life Food Prep work, a child has what he needs to prepare his own simple, healthy snack.  If you compost or use eggshells for an Eggshell Crushing work (to amend soil), show the child where you want the eggshells to go after his snack, as he cleans up.

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Use This, Not That

Misconceptions About How to Get Started

Montessori Mindset Trumps "The Stuff"

Resist the Urge to Put It All in Your Cart

You don't need all of the expensive, specialized Montessori equipment that takes up SO much real estate when you are FIRST starting out with Montessori.

I get it.  You've got your mind set on teaching your toddlers and young children at home (at least for now) using the Montessori method.  You freak out about clearing out the dining room or guest room or a bedroom, just to make space for all of The Stuff.  You research Billy and Kallax, you scour the online marketplaces, you stalk thrift stores, you bookmark DIY plans and free printables.  Been there, done that!

But if you are just getting started, you should truly take the time to understand the lifestyle and philosophy of the method, and you'll realize that--especially for toddlers and young children--you can spend just a little bit of money and sacrifice a little bit of space to begin.  A house that's full of Montessori materials but whose parents still do everything for the child--brush the hair, pour the milk, wipe the spill, sweep the floor, clip the fingernails, fold the laundry, mash the potatoes, tie the shoes, zip the pants, button the coat, set the table, feed the dog, water the plants, wipe the nose, peel the carrots--is not following one of the basic tenets:  Promote independence when you can; otherwise, your "help" is an obstacle to the child's growth, confidence, and learning.

Find some child-sized kitchen tools instead.

TJMaxx has an amazing selection.

That long sentence packs a HUGE punch, mostly because actually following that advice is a ginormous shift for most of us.  How in the world do we get out the door when we have to patiently wait for our child to tie his own shoes, put on his jacket by himself, or clear and wash his breakfast dishes?  (Not to mention dealing with a child who won't cooperate!).  But THIS is where the learning and development is so important, not in the rushing around.  

Allowing space in your life and schedule can also be transformative for a family.  If you are not a patient person (Ahem--me!), then re-fashioning your life around your child's independence is a big deal.  It will be almost painful to watch your child take FOREVER to serve herself Goldfish crackers, carry the plate to her table, stop to sweep up the ones she spilled, and have a snack.  The same is true if you've ever been to a rehab facility for adults working to regain lost skills.  It requires us to stop and marvel at the amazing progress and growth of which humans are capable, if given the time, encouragement, and support.

Re-think your beginning steps.  Instead of buying the Pink Tower, you may need to replace your daughter's hand-me-down coat with the broken zipper so that she can learn to zip it up herself.  Or you may need to spend a little to buy child-size kitchen tools so that your son can peel the carrots and potatoes for borscht.  Why not?  You're making dinner anyway.  Let him work alongside you.

Here's a list of ideas of Montessori Practical Life activities you can teach your child at home:

• Pouring (first dry, then wet)
• Washing hands
• Washing the tabletop
• Washing dishes
• Cleaning windows
• Watering plants
• Carrying things without bonking into the wall or other people
• Setting and clearing the table
• Polishing stuff--shoes, wood, metal
• Opening and shutting doors, drawers, cupboards, boxes, all sorts of bottles, etc.
• Folding napkins, towels, clothes
• Peeling fruits and vegetables
• Spreading something on bread or toast

The list goes on and on.  You should also include lessons in Grace and Courtesy, such as:

• How to greet someone
• How to offer something (like a snack) to someone
• Inviting a person in
• Saying "Excuse me."
• How to interrupt
• How to chat or carry on a conversation

We want our children to develop self-control and an inner discipline.  In order to do that we need to give them freedom within boundaries, which requires our planning, our patience, and our own self-control.

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Montessori Practical Life at Home--Independence at Breakfast

Self-Serve Cold Breakfast Sequence

Practical Life at Home

Food Prep:  Dry Cereal with Milk, Orange Juice

Our tiny workstation has a cereal dispenser and this nifty cereal bowl, complete with built-in straw for drinking the leftover milk.  The tray, which was on sale at Michael's, is smaller than a typical fast food restaurant tray, so it's ideal for young children to use when carrying heavy objects.  You can buy small glasses, similar to this one, at TJMaxx or Marshall's.  They're actually shot glasses, but they are the perfect size for petite hands.

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Montessori Practical Life at Home--Independence at Breakfast

 Self-Serve Hot Breakfast Sequence

Practical Life at Home

Food Prep:  Oatmeal with Milk, Fruit and Honey Sequence

If you have a tiny workstation set up in your kitchen/classroom, it's easy to teach children to be more independent at breakfast.  Here, I've already cooked and spooned the oatmeal into a bowl.  As your child grows, he or she can learn to cook it, but this is a good starting point for beginners.

Start with the bowl of cooked oatmeal, a spoon, a pitcher of milk, some fruit  (already washed and cut in small container at left), and honey.

Another reason for lots of previous practice in pouring!

Opening this container, which has a screw-top, requires previous practice and some dexterity.  The Montessori Open-Close Basket helps children practice.  See previous post.

The honey container has another kind of lid.

I hope by now you can see how a child's mastery of simple Montessori works (like pouring, opening and closing various containers, etc.) add up to independence at home and in the classroom.  

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Yogurt with Fruit and Honey Snack Sequence

 Montessori Practical Life at Home

Food Prep:  Yogurt with Fruit and Honey

In order to help children become independent in the kitchen, photos of each step in preparing a snack can be helpful.  Here's a sequence showing a simple food prep work.

Start with fruit, a serving spoon, and an empty bowl.

Add fruit to the bowl and set out a teaspoon, yogurt, and honey.

Next, scoop yogurt onto the fruit.

Finally, drizzle honey on top and enjoy!

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