When you enroll your child in a Montessori toddler program, you’re giving them an incredible gift. The Montessori method focuses on educating the whole child — mind, body, and soul.
If you’re new to Montessori (and even if you aren’t), you might wonder how to help your child get the most out of a Montessori toddler program. Here are a few ways to do just that.
Continue Education at Home
In a Montessori program, your toddler will engage in plenty of activities that help them learn about the world. Here are a few common classroom activities:
- Sorting items by size
- Sorting by color
- Playing with magnets
- Playing with modeling clay
- Folding fabrics
As you can see, these activities are easy to replicate at home. When you let your child practice these activities outside the classroom, you help ensure they’ll remember these foundational skills.
Consider Being a Parent Volunteer
You may have already noticed that Montessori classrooms are designed to look more like the inside of a home than the inside of your typical school. This design helps give children a seamless learning experience.
You can make that experience even more seamless by volunteering with your child’s class. As a Montessori volunteer, you don’t just hear about the program’s ethos — you live it.
Once you get the hang of helping out your child and other children in the classroom, you’ll be able to confidently continue your child’s Montessori experience after each school day ends.
Know and Practice Montessori Principles
The Montessori program is fundamentally different from “traditional” education. Its differences stem from guiding principles, including:
- Hands-on learning
- Independence
- Individualized learning
- Personal freedom
When a child internalizes these principles, they step a little closer to being confident, compassionate citizens of the world. However, if they’re taught these principles in the classroom and something completely different at home, they’ll be confused.
To make sure your little one gets the most out of their Montessori toddler program, make sure to underscore these principles in daily life.
For example, if you want to foster independence, consider asking your child to select the clothes they want to wear on a given school day. You can then help them learn to dress themselves. When your child has a sense of agency and personal choice, they can begin to develop a real sense of independence.
Make Your Home a Mixed Classroom
One of the main differences between Montessori and standard schooling is the structure of the classroom.
In standard schools, children are grouped into grades by chronological age. However, in Montessori, kids work in mixed-ability and mixed-age classrooms. This kind of structure helps children develop as individuals, and it also mirrors the real world.
Older children develop a sense of responsibility by teaching younger ones. And when they learn from older students, younger kids realize that they can learn from people other than their teachers.
You can continue to reap the benefits of these mixed classrooms by effectively making your home a mixed classroom. If your child has older or younger siblings, ask them to work on an age-appropriate task or activity together. If you have an only child, ask them to show you how to do something they learned at school!
Discover the Montessori Difference
At Montessori West, we’ve proudly offered authentic Montessori education since 1974. We have programs for infants, toddlers, primary school students, and elementary school students. If you want to learn more about us or Montessori in general, reach out to schedule a tour today!
