We have updated an older post originally geared at helping parents ‘maintain a Montessori mindset in the summer’. Many of the same ideas hold true during this very strange and unsettling pandemic where families must adapt to home learning while schools are closed. It is our hope that your family may find some helpful hints and techniques to try at home as you work to find the best balance for family home life while integrating school activities. Fortunately, we have always maintained that Montessori is more than ‘school’ and is really more a way of life! We continue to wish everyone well and will remain a support in the best way that we can.

To help maintain a ‘Montessori mindset” throughout this ‘new normal’, there are a few things that parents can do.  A good place to start is by following the example of Montessori teachers who take great care in preparing their classroom environments, upholding expectations for everyone in the classroom community, and following the children’s lead as their interests and needs come into focus. With a little planning, you can create a bridge between what your child has been doing in his or her Montessori school environment and your own home during these days of home learning.

First: Prepare your environment.

Keep an assortment of activities available for your child to use during the ‘down times’ of the day when chores are finished and activities are not planned.  Items should be placed where the children can reach them, and a child-sized work area should be established.  This allows your child to make decisions about what to do with his or her free time and to be able to do things independently, without mom, dad, or a caregiver having to participate at all times.  To help you begin, think about the places where you and your child spend the most time.

In the Kitchen

You might consider designating a shelf in your kitchen to hold activities such as:

• An art box with child-safe scissors, scrap paper, colored pencils, leaves, ribbons, buttons, glue sticks, and a tablemat encourages children to create imaginative collages. 
• Small pitchers and a collection of cups provide opportunities for practice with pouring dry ingredients (like beans and rice) or liquids.  
• A large, deep tray or dish filled with sand or salt along with seashells, a small rake, and pretty stones invites your child to design ever-changing paths in his or her own miniature Zen garden.

In the Family Room

• A basket of books in a cozy corner with pillows and good lighting invites children to spend some time each day in the company of good books. 
• Recycled items in a basket become building materials where children construct rockets, sculptures, or skyscrapers.  Save tissue boxes, oatmeal containers, paper towel tubes, empty water bottles, and other ‘trash’ items for inventive uses
• A collection of objects (marbles, coins, cotton balls) and number cards offer practice in matching quantities to the numbers.

Also, rotating puzzles, matching cards, counting activities, and favorite toys every few weeks keeps things interesting and fresh, as children choose which activities they would like to do. 

In the Backyard

Don’t forget to prepare things in a space outside, too! 

• On warmer days, a bucket with fresh water alongside sponges and paintbrushes might inspire your child to wash the deck or outdoor furniture. 
• A tray with bubble-making supplies and unusual bubble blowers such as funnels, rope tied into a circle, and a slotted spoon put a new twist on an old favorite activity.
• A container garden with a watering can and weeding gloves helps your child take responsibility for the care of plants.  Consider herbs that smell good and that may be used in cooking!
• A butterfly net and bug viewer might be kept together for children to investigate how animals behave in your backyard.

It may take a little time and creativity to collect household items to use for the activities, but this preparation of your home environment is worth the effort.  And it needn’t be expensive.  You can easily use items you already have available around the house.  After you have your prepared environment, show your children what activities are available, where they may do their work, and what to do when they are finished using the materials, just like their teachers do at school.  Then, let them enjoy the freedom to choose their work and play!

Second: Uphold your expectations that your children are contributing members of daily family life.

In a Montessori classroom, children learn to respect themselves, others, and the environment.  They know that everyone has responsibilities and that the classroom community relies on everyone contributing and doing his or her job.  Parents are fully aware that just because everyone is now together at home all day every day doesn’t mean that families are on a ‘vacation’ from the usual day-to-day responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.  So, while your children are at home, be sure to include them in these necessary daily chores.  They will be happy to show off the Practical Life skills that they have been developing thus far this school year!  Have your children help with age-appropriate tasks such as:

• Setting the table
• Sorting laundry
• Sweeping the front walkway
• Assisting with mealtime food preparation
• Scrubbing the back deck with sponges and soapy water

Not only does upholding your expectations allow them to practice their skills, but it also confirms that your children (and the work that they do) are important.  That is a very motivating feeling!  Patience on the part of the parent is essential for helping your child to grow in his or her mastery of these skills, so give your children time to complete their work to the best of their ability, which will result in a great sense of accomplishment (and in all likelihood, a much more willing little household helper!).

Finally: Challenge yourself to “follow the child”.

In Montessori classrooms, teachers learn to ‘follow the child’, and now is an opportune time for parents to try to do the same. 

But first, what does it mean to “follow the child”?  At its essence, it means to observe your child and to open the doors that your child is knocking on with his or her questions, interests, and behaviors.  As your child chooses activities around the house, you might pay attention to which ones he or she chooses over and over again and which ones are left to collect dust.  The toys and games being used most often are certainly drawing your child’s attention, and you can try to uncover just what it is about these things that intrigue your child.  Maybe he or she is drawn to everything decorated with bugs and dinosaurs.  Well, there’s the door waiting to be opened—take some virtual field trips online and look at museums specializing in your child’s interests or search online for YouTube videos of experiments, book read-alouds, or other resources where together you can discover more of what your child is keen on learning about.  Or maybe you observe that the most repeated activities are those where your child feels most challenged or most relaxed, and that is what keeps him or her coming back again and again.  Stand back as your child works and plays.  What do you notice?

Equally important are those children’s items around the house that are collecting dust.  Is your child-size easel always clean and bare?  Maybe your child doesn’t know what to do with it.  Perhaps a fresh supply of watercolors or different sizes of paper or brushes might inspire a new or renewed interest in art.  Again, an online tour of a gallery or online art activities might open a new door to artistic expression for your child.  By quietly observing your child, you can get some great insights into his or her interests, as well as his or her needs.

Following the child doesn’t mean that you can’t also offer suggestions for activities you might like to do together during this time.  And if you have a special interest, share it with your children.  Astronomy?  Gaze at the nighttime sky and try to identify different constellations.  Read the myths behind their names and visit an online planetarium to learn even more.  These experiences nurture your children’s natural curiosity and provide them with ways to extend their learning beyond books and into the ‘real world’.  

Other ideas for following your child’s interests and expanding your child’s home learning experiences include:

• Exploring the outdoors–look for animal tracks, build fairy houses, and learn what types of trees and plants are growing in your backyard.
• Going on virtual trips.  There are many famous historical sites and museums rich in culture, art, and nature that are offering online tours for free!
• Looking at maps and planning routes for any travel adventures you might like to go on the future.
• Inviting your children to brainstorm what charitable acts they could do to help others.  Even though we are to practice ‘social distancing’, this could be a great time to plan for things to do in the future or creatively brainstorm what can be done while being physically distant from others. What about videotaping your child reading stories and emailing those video links to family, friends, or neighbors to stay in touch? 

Together you can choose do-able options from this list.  Then let your child outline a plan and put it into action.  But remember to stand back and observe your children’s efforts—you will be amazed by what they think and at what they can do when you trust yourself to follow their lead!

With a little preparation, patience, and a “Montessori mindset”, you can provide your child with fulfilling activities that reinforce the skills he or she has gained in the actual classroom.  Hopefully, this and the guidance of our teachers and staff can assist you in navigating through the home learning experience until everyone can return to school. At that time, we’ll look forward to hearing about everyone’s home adventures!