How to prepare a Montessori Environment at Home

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A Montessori Classroom is not just another classroom, it is a Prepared Environment specifically designed to facilitate holistic education.

The Montessori method promotes child-centered education that helps children develop from within as well as at their own pace.

The Montessori Method of teaching fosters a sense of freedom and the desire in young and developing minds to seek knowledge with minimum intervention and disturbance. 
The Montessori Prepared Environment is a salient feature of the Montessori method that takes every aspect of the child’s development into account.

During the first six years, the children are highly adaptable and receptive to the stimuli present in the environment.

Due to the Covid-19 surge, it can become a little difficult for parents to send their children to schools and as most of the schools are conducting classes online. For this specific reason, many parents are resorting to unique methods of education to facilitate proper education at home. 

The Montessori Method of Education is a great tool for parents to provide proper education to their children in the comfort of their own homes.  

The Prepared Environment helps to bring out the true nature of the child. The Montessori Environment is based on three main components of the Montessori method: 

  • The Child
  • The environment itself 
  • The Facilitator and the interactions between these three components. 

It is essential for parents who want to incorporate the Montessori environment at home to consider the Montessori method as more than just an educational tool and think of it as a lifestyle choice. 

The Montessori Prepared environment is based on 6 key principles: 

  1. Freedom
  2. Structure and Order
  3. Beauty
  4. Nature and Reality
  5. Social Environment
  6. Intellectual Environment

 All of which facilitate the overall holistic development of the child. Parents should fully understand the Montessori principles and should be willing to execute the required changes at home.

Creating a Montessori environment at home:

The Montessori method of education is a way of life, and before adopting the Montessori Environment at home parents need to understand the basic Montessori principles. 

In a Montessori school trained teachers are responsible for preparing and appropriate for the overall development of children. The Montessori Environment at home can act as a bridge that helps to reinforce the knowledge the child learns in school. 

Before starting the journey of Montessori parenting it is important for parents to do the required research and reading to fully equip themselves for executing the Prepared Environment at home. 

Refer to: https://mymontessorimoments.com/montessori-books-for-parents/ for in-depth knowledge of the Montessori Method.

The Parents do not have to bring every Montessori material or apparatus of the Montessori Classroom at home. 

The Parents can invest their money in the materials and furniture they deem useful for their children. 

Preparing for the Montessori Environment at home requires more than just materials, the parents have to be devoted, patient, resistant, and reliable for the learning process.

Role of the Parents: 

  1. Understanding the needs of your child
    The Montessori Method of education is a child-centered pedagogical approach.
    It is important to understand the needs and requirements of the child during different periods of development.
    To facilitate proper education during different stages the child requires:
    • different materials
    • levels of attention
    • methods of learning
      The parents should be aware of these changes and requirements of their child.
  2. Parent as a role model
    For the first six years of their life, children are highly receptible to outward stimulation and mostly depend on their surrounding environment to collect information.
    The surrounding environment also includes the actions of the teachers, parents, and other adults.
    Parents should always be positive, engaging, and supportive toward their children. The Montessori Method prohibits the punishment and reward system. Parents should let their children grow at their own pace without using rewards or punishments.
    It is essential as a parent to understand and adopt the role of becoming a teaching figure for the child to facilitate proper education.
    Parents should give their children freedom, independence, and free space to participate in activities at their own pace.
    Parents should act like an observer, a director, and a facilitator.
  3. Removing distractions
    The Montessori Environment provides the child with all the necessary stimuli to facilitate proper education and development. The use of multi-media technology can be disruptive during activity hours.
    It is a Parent’s responsibility to remove obstructive stimuli during the educational process.
    The use of television, laptops, cell phones, and other multimedia technology at home should be minimal.
  4. Chores and household activities
    The Montessori method lays heavy emphasis on teaching children household chores. Doing the daily chores helps in the development of fine motor skills, instills a sense of independence and responsibility in the child, as well as brings order and structure to the child’s daily schedule. 

Montessori Home Environment:

  1. Prepared Environment
    Parents don’t need to bring the entire Montessori classroom set up at home.
    Child-sized furniture like:
    • a child-sized floor bed or crib
    • child-sized table
    • a chair,  boxes
    • rugs
    • containers
    • shelves
      along with a few Montessori materials will be more than sufficient to start with.
  2. Free Space
    The Montessori method encourages children to move around the classroom freely in order to participate in activities.
    The Home environment is no different, just like the School Environment the Home Environment should also provide children with free space to move around freely.
    The parents should provide their children with a free and open space where they can move around and interact with their surroundings as well as materials and apparatus. 
  3. The Child’s Bedroom
    The bedroom for the child should be a safe, clean, and clutter-free zone that should be designated to perform tasks like:
    • self-care
    • rest
    • dressing
    • sleeping
      The bedroom should have a child-sized bed along with other child-size bedroom furniture.
      The child-sized furniture is more accessible and functional for children.
      There should be lowered-down clothing racks and designated shelves for shoes and boots.
      The Child should also have a Child-sized desk and bookshelf in the bedroom.
      Parents should promote their children to keep the bedroom clean and maintain tidiness independently.
      The bedroom should be distraction-free as well as organized.
  4. The Bathroom
    Keeping the furniture child-sized is essential for every part of the house for the child.
    A child’s bathroom should be specially designated for self-care and self-hygiene. Parents should promote their children to perform self-hygiene independently. The child’s bathroom must have:
    • a mirror at the child’s eye level
    • a step stool
    • a toothbrush
    • toothpaste
    • comb
    • soap
      All of which should be within the reach of the child. There should be designated shelves and racks within the reach for towels, washcloths, and robes.
  1.  Kitchen
    Parents should provide the child with a designated space to eat, comprising a child-sized table and chair.
    The child should independently and willingly wash their hands after a meal with help of a step stool.
    Parents should promote their children to actively participate in the kitchen and provide the children with easy-to-reach drawers. 
  2. Minimalism
    The Montessori Environment should be simple and minimalistic to eliminate any unnecessary stimuli that will prevent the child from being overwhelmed. The child does not need an overload of sensorial stimulation that can lead to the child becoming overwhelmed.
    Minimal decorations, toys, and furniture will keep the child engaged and attentive. 
  3. Workspace
    Provide the child with a separate workspace. Giving the child a separate workspace to learn and participate in activities will help the child develop a sense of independence, confidence, and pride and keeps them excited to perform their next activity. 

Montessori Materials
The Montessori method of education uses specially developed materials that stimulate the child’s senses and keep the child engaged.
Parents can invest their money in the Montessori teaching materials that they think will suit best their child’s development.

The Montessori Materials are made from natural substances like wood, cotton, jute, metal, glass, and bamboo.
The use of Montessori helps with the stimulation of:

  • visual
  • auditory
  • gustatory
  • olfactory
  • tactile
  • kinaesthetic
  • vestibular
  • proprioception senses

providing the child with sensorial, physical, and cognitive development.

Why is the Montessori Home Environment important for the child’s development process?

The Montessori at home is more than just an educational approach, it is a lifestyle choice. The Montessori home environment often helps bridge the gap between a child’s home and the Montessori school environment.

The Montessori Home Environment helps the child smoothly transition into what is being taught in the Montessori School.

The Montessori Home Environment provides the child with the right balance of freedom, liberty, opportunities, restrictions, and structure to help them become independent individuals.

While providing the child with an information-rich curriculum is necessary, the aspect of instilling values of order, physical development, as well as freedom to explore new horizons independently are overlooked in Traditional Educational Institutions.

The Montessori Home Environment covers every single aspect of the child’s development, from Montessori-inspired floor beds to child-sized furniture in every area of the house.

If you are a parent who wants to provide your child with an environment that promotes holistic development, the Montessori Home Environment is meant for you.

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