At home with M.

     M. is the first son of one of our teachers.  Under the supervision of his mother, he is taking the seeds out of a squash.  He is also working on his pincer grip, getting a botany lesson and helping prepare the dinner.

     A low shelf has been provided for his activities in the family livingroom.  This give him the independence to choose what he'd like to work with and the ability to put it back.  At this age, however, a child may have a different sense of order than his parents. 

When putting his activities away, M. prefers to put them behind the shelf and couch.

With his mother's guidance, everything is (eventually) returned to the shelves.

     Some of M.'s activities have been purchased from a Montessori outlet while others have been chosen by his parents after carefully observing what skills he is trying to perfect or master.  Observing our children will give us the best insight as to what activites will aid them at every stage of their development.

In another part of the house, the parents have made use of what already exists.  In this case, they have used the top of a wooden chest as a shelf for more of M.'s activities. 

     In the kitchen, this small shelf has been used to hold more of M.'s things.  The cans are used for stacking, the pots and pans for practising taking off and on a lid (and to discover the lovely sounds it makes), there are matching cards in a small holder, cups and bowls to explore with, and a child-sized pushbroom and a small dustpan.

     A child sized chair sits beside his books.  Again, his parents have made use of what they had instead of going out and buying something new.  Montessori at home does not need to be expensive.  It just takes some thought and creativity.

Some of the activities that M. uses every day.  Notice how the animal figures are as accurate as possible - there are no blue horses here.  I wonder what music they are listening to?