There are a growing number of families who are deciding to homeschool their children using Montessori methods. When I first learned about Montessori a year or so ago I was very excited to begin learning how to incorporate these methods at home. So today I am sharing our Montessori homeschool journey and also some ways you can begin your own journey at home.
I have a background in Occupational Therapy (OT). OT is a very holistic approach to rehab and therapy. We work with all ages from birth to geriatrics improving quality of life through activities of daily living and personal interests. I always knew I would encourage independence with my daughter. when I heard of Montessori methods through reading the Montessori at Home ebook, I knew that Montessori would fit into my parenting style perfectly.
But not only will we be using Montessori methods at home, I also plan on homeschooling my daughter when she is school age. I know many people think that Montessori can only be done in a school or preschool environment. But I feel that Montessori is definitely doable in a homeschool environment.
So what does Montessori look like in a homeschool environment?
Since I only found out about Montessori a year or so ago, we never did any of the Montessori infant room ideas that you often see on Pinterest or online. We will be gradually moving her bedroom over to a more Montessori style room once we switch her room to another bedroom in the house.
One of my goals is to move around all her clothing to be more accessible (I will be doing this when I switch out summer for winter clothing soon). Also when we move away from a crib, I would like to incorporate a lower bed, perhaps the mattress on the floor as well. As you can see, we are still at the beginning stages in our Montessori journey, so we do what we can with what we have.
If you are not familiar with Montessori methods at all, I would definitely recommend reading some of Dr. Maria Montessori’s books. We will be having a book club here on the blog and in our Facebook group starting the end of this month and we will be reading The Absorbent Mind. Be sure to come back for that.
Montessori Infant Ideas
If you are looking to set up Montessori rooms in your house, here are some great resources to get you started:
- The Kavanaugh Report – I love following Nicole’s blog and she recently had her second daughter. She has been sharing her Montessori room ideas and other infant ideas as she goes.
- 6 Easy Steps for Setting Up an Infant Montessori Home – Marie shared a great post here on CMN about how she set up her home for her infants.
- Mama’s Happy Hive – Our very own CMN team member Vanessa has been following Montessori at home with her 15 month old. She has some great ideas for an infant Montessori home and activities.
Montessori Homeschool Toddler Ideas
My daughter just turned two and so we are doing a lot of Practical Life and Sensorial activities in our home. I also set up a very loose “tot school” schedule for us to follow each day. Here are some other resources to get you started.
- How to Include Practical Life Skills With Toddlers & Preschoolers – This is a post I shared on my own blog with how we have set up our home.
- Living Montessori Now: Homeschooling – LMN has an entire section on her site dedicated to homeschooling the Montessori way. A wealth of information just scrolling through the pages here.
- Montessori Mischief: Montessori 101 – This is an excellent resource for getting started.
- Montessori Toddler Ideas for Home – This is a page on my own blog, GRB where I link to all the activities and ideas we do as I post about them.
Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, I feel like I could literally type on and on and not end it anytime soon. So for now, this is a great beginning. In my next post we will look at Preschool and Elementary ideas for homeschooling.
For more ideas to be sure to check out our CMN Pinterest boards:
Visit Heather G. | Golden Reflections Blog ‘s profile on Pinterest.
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