Montessori-at-Home Shelves

3/6/2021

When we first started researching schools for our kids, we stumbled upon Montessori. I had heard about it in my single days, but didn't really pay much attention because I didn't have any children yet. I wish I had because implementing Montessori philosophy at home from birth would have greatly simplified and helped guide from the very start how to turn every thing into a beautiful learning moment. You know what the good thing is? If you have small children, it's not too late. Also, by reframing how you see your home from your child's eyes, it's actually pretty easy to implement at home.

In this post I'll introduce to you how we do Montessori inspired lessons at home and how they're organized. But to be clear, these are not 100% perfectly Montessori aligned. They're not straight out of a Master Guide Book nor are they all 100% specific to only Montessori.

I have a deep-seeded need to first use what I have on hand. I don't believe that you have to spend so much money to get only the wooden neutral toys that Maria Montessori advocated for. I mean, I love them to be sure! BUT.... neutral wooden toys can be very expensive and no parent should be made to feel like they can't start aligning themselves with the beauty behind these educational philosophies simply because they don't have a specific material.

So you'll see some wooden things but mostly you'll see lots of toys that I have reused and added to by way of matching cards or images in order to present them in the Montessori-inspired style.

I hope these videos give you the inspiration you need to sift through all of the toys and other household items you already have, that they encourage you to simplify and filter out where your child plays and that you feel empowered to start right away!

Here's a deep dive into what was on our 18 month Montessori inspired shelves.

Transitioning from 18-24 Month Shelves to 2T Shelfwork!

In the video below you get to see us in action transitioning from our previous shelfwork to the 2T lessons. You'll get to also see how I present the lessons and how my 2yr old implements that instruction in real life.