Montessori activities are specific because they respect the founding principles of Montessori education.
Thus, they are carried out by the child in order to promote autonomy and concentration. In this sense, the child can self-correct. In addition, they are practical (by mobilizing the senses). Finally, they focus on a single concept in order to facilitate learning.
Montessori activities are also characterized by their mode of presentation. In fact, the presentation of activities and materials is an important element in the training of educators. This is part of their evaluation criteria.
When doing an activity at home
It is not always easy to set up the same provisions insofar as the distractions can be numerous. In addition, the child is often less attentive, in particular because he is not in the explicit posture of the learner as at school in front of the educator.
However, you should not worry about it, it is completely normal. As parents, we should not focus on these practical details and force ourselves to reproduce these precepts “perfectly”: home is not school.
In addition, Maria Montessori also wrote that she had tried not to give too many details "on the way of giving lessons" in order to allow the adult to adapt to the personality of the child. She was also afraid that her advice, which was intended to help us, would turn into constraints and obstacles.
A few tips
So, today, we're bringing you some tips that we hope can help you introduce a new Montessori activity to your child:
- Try to practice on your own so that your presentation flows smoothly and there is no superfluous or missing material. You will be better able to capture the child's attention. This step is not always possible as some activities are spontaneous;
For example, you are in the kitchen and your child wants to use the garlic press. It does not matter, it is better to start and thus avoid stifling the child's desire to learn.
- Put all the materials you need on a tray. Generally, the presentation is done from right to left in order to develop the skills necessary for learning to write and read;
- Ask the child to try to name the material. Teach him the words he doesn't know;
- When the child is calm, introduce him to the activity by making slow and precise gestures. Do not hesitate to take short breaks between the different steps so that he can remember the whole sequence.
When the child is in the middle of the language period, avoid talking too much during the presentation. Otherwise, he might focus only on your words and not on the activity;
- Then it's time to let the child practice alone. Many young children like to explore independently. If the child does not reproduce exactly what you have shown him, let him do it. He will learn by doing trial and error. If the child needs help, you can show the gesture again;
- Watch your child do it. It is a valuable source of information;
- When your child is focused and absorbed in the activity, you can step away and let him work independently;
- When he's finished, show him how to put away all the gear by slowly breaking down your movements.
What if the child is not receptive? If your child is not interested, the activity may be too simple or the environment may be too distracting (television, toys in evidence, etc.). Don't take it personally. Put the activity on a shelf so that the child can enter it in the following days if he wishes.
In the second case, try again later in a quieter environment. If you have enough space, it is a good idea to dedicate a specific and suitable space in the house to these educational activities.