One thing I love about Montessori is that it encourages even very young children to help care for the classroom / home. This is called “Practical Life” in Montessori classrooms, and is considered just as important as academics (check out my friend Natalie’s post about Practical Life here!)
Many people think that children should start helping when they’re five or six, but the thing is, they are not always as willing at that time. Why not catch children when they want so very badly to be doing everything we’re doing?
Most toddlers very much want to help. Is it actually helpful? Well no, not always, but it is so, so worth it. Allowing your toddler to help gives them purposeful work, which builds concentration and self-confidence.
It also shows them that they are valued members of the community. If you help your little one form the habit of helping very early on, he’s much more likely to be willing to help when he’s older.
Every child is different, but here are three things my 16 month old currently loves helping with.
Unloading the Dishwasher
This is probably his favorite household task right now. Before he helps, I make sure the dishes aren’t too hot and I take out all of the knives / anything sharp. He then hands me one thing at a time and I put it away. He unloads pertty much the whole lower level and some of the top level (he’s very tall).
Similarly, he loves helping unload grocery bags and the washing machine.
Wiping spills
Whenever there is a spill, James points to the table or floor enthusiastically. I ask if he knows where a dishtowel is and he runs to get one. He then wipes the spill. He is not very effective at this yet, but he loves doing it and it’s a great habit to form. It helps to keep a sponge or dishtowel where your toddler can reach it.
Putting things away
Children go through what Maria Montessori called a “sensitive period for order“. This is a time when they are fascinated by the organization of things and love everything to have a place. This lasts from birth to five, but generally peaks from 18 months to 2 1/2 years old.
I noticed James reaching the sensitive period for order by how carefully he arranges his food on his plate and by how he began to occasionally put things away. As soon as I saw this interest, I began asking him to put toys and books away regularly and he enjoys returning them to their proper spot. This is much easier for children if everything they use has a precise spot in the house where it belongs.
Other practical life tasks I hope to try with James soon are peeling banana slices, watering plants in the backyard, and sweeping the floor. For Small Hands has a wonderful selection of cooking and cleaning tools for little ones.
10 Comments
I had never heard of sensitive order, but definitely remember my kids getting interested in that and they still like lining up crayons and cars and other toys, interesting. I love how you have him involved in chores.
Thank you! I love watching the sense of order develop, it’s like a window into their little minds as they make sense of the world 🙂
I love how involved you have James in daily chores. Currently, Liam only cleans up his toys but he’s all about lining up his toy cars and putting toys in their place. I missed your blog postings!! Hope you are doing well! ❤️
Thanks Laura! I’m going to *try* to start posting semi-regularly again. I hope you’re doing well!
Very nice 👍
Thanks so much!
I just just love your blog! I’m going to transition my 10month old to a floor bed this week. Like you I have been doing research not since pregnancy but for the past several months and finally I found a fantastic blog(yours) I can completely relate too. I’m not a Montessori teacher but fascinated and learning more about it. I’m a first time mother so as I did some research on the way i’d Like to raise my son as a decent human being with morals and values; it was no doubt Montessori was the right way. If you have any other suggestions on how to inform myself on more Montessori? Or how to transition and proof the room let me know!! Great blog , please keep posting!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad that you found Montessori and are loving it 🙂 Unfortunately, we had to take a break from the floor bed as my son started taking only 30 minute naps in it (he was so driven to get up and move that he woke up to play every time at the end of his first sleep cycle). I wrote more about that here. I’m hoping to try it again soon when he fully transitions to one nap. I still think it’s a wonderful thing and I know it works well for many babies!
The dishwasher is my 14 month olds favorite “chore”. She gets such satisfaction out of handing me the dishes. God forbid I’m not ready for the next one! She has also recently figured out if she squats down she can shut the dishwasher door by herself. She finds this very satisfying and I think it also satisfied her need to put forth maximum effort. Happy dishwashing!
Yes! James love to close the dishwasher too, and say “all done”. The only problem is he sometimes gets pretty upset if the dishes in there are dirty and he can’t unload them lol. Thanks for reading!