Step Up Your Montessori Design Skills
How does a Montessori guide create a work for a child? Actually, there's a lot more to it than putting items on a tray and popping it on a shelf!
Here are some tips to help you step up your design skills and entice your children to enjoy their prepared environment.
I'm Aubrey Hargis, Montessorian and mom of two. Children are incredible little beings! They make us laugh. They make us cry. They make us tear our hair out sometimes.
And in the end, we will do anything for them because we love them so much. That love is what gets us through all the frustrations and allows us to develop new strategies to help them...
Because education is a journey we take with our children, and the opportunities for learning start over every day.
Hello sweet friend!
In honor of Mother’s Day, I am sending a lot of good vibes out to all my Mama friends. I want to validate for you: if things went differently than you expected and you found yourself feeling disappointed, you’re not alone, and it’s okay (2:02).
Take time to pick any day and lean into loving and being a mama. Reach out to your Mother friends and let them know that they’re doing a great job--that you love them, and you love their kids. You are a Mother every day--and you can absolutely pick your own day to celebrate yourself and your motherhood, too. (4:07)
We still live in a society where responsibilities are often not divided equally. This means that if you are like most women, you are carrying more than your fair share in weight. This means not just household tasks, but mental tasks and management as well. If you feel like you're doing too much, you probably are. (5:55)
Most of us tend to do what we saw / heard our own mothers do. They did what their mothers did. Children are that impressionable. No one else needs to spell out for you what your role is in your home. Your brain was developing these expectations when you were very little. And putting more realistic expectations in place is not always instant.(7:18)
In this episode, we are going to talk about stepping up your Montessori design skills. My friend Nicole and I teach a whole class on this called Cultivating Spaces for Children that dives DEEP, but I know a lot of you need some extra tips right now, so I'm going to lay a few out for you.
First, I want to do something for you that I often do in my lectures in my courses, read a Montessori passage. (Maria Montessori, from the chapter The New Path of the Absorbent Mind) (9:50)
Send me an email anytime and let me know: do children bring out your best side, as Maria Montessori suggested?
Good Montessori Design
I so commonly see parents doting on their children by buying them things they think will make them happy. And there is nothing wrong with this! But I ALSO see people working hard on organizing and preparing their spaces for their children. So these are some of my Montessori design secrets! (16:50)
Organization (18:05)
Let go of the toy box, and make things accessible.
Find a variety of containers (trays, boxes, baskets) in varying sizes. These can be found anywhere! Save packaging and reuse as containers.
Place items thoughtfully on trays and in containers so child can access them.
Test out different trays & containers (21:36)
See if things move when you lift the tray and try to set it up to be secure so the child can use it.
Which things fit most nicely?
Beauty (24:58)
Coordinate the pieces of the work so that the child can see they go together. Does the wooden utensil go with the tray it is on?
Design the work so that it attracts and calls to your child!
Try contrasting the color of the tray to the materials upon it to see if it makes the work pop!
Left to Right Orientation (28:22)
Set up the materials in sequence of use left to right orientation; it prepares the child for reading. This is something that Maria Montessori spoke about a LOT!
Things may not always fit on the tray this way--when that is the case, adapt, and prioritze aesthetic presentation.
White Space (31:30)
Minimalism and Montessori are a good match. This is true when setting up shelves, as well. Less is more!
Create at least a hand-width space between works.
It’s easier for the eye to see something when there is white space.
Front the Shelves (34:00)
Pull the work to the front edge of the shelf. It makes it more appealing and easily seen.
A Moment for Gratitude
Today I am obviously grateful for Mothers! I am so grateful that I became a Mom. I am so grateful for the Mothers who influenced me and showed me how to love and nurture.