How2Montessori

To us adults, Practical life activities are just tasks, but to young children, they are so much more! Not only they give them an immense sense of joy & well being, by enabling them to feel capable, included and trusted; but they also support children developmentally more than you can begin to imagine! They support ALL 7 areas of learning and are the best foundation for school & life!

Did you know that for example when a child is pouring water from one cup to another, in addition to the physical & personal emotional benefits of this simple activity, the child is also indirectly learning to work with sequence, understanding concretely that everything has a beginning, middle and an end, which in itself is the best foundation for future academic work!

The best thing about practical life activities is that they are ALL mainly HOME SOURCED! 🏠🙌 So easy to provide whatever the budget or space!

✨🌈Want to find out more about these activities? Access hundreds of them in detail, understand when and how to introduce each? understand their developmental benefits? Find out about the resources you need and how to adapt each activity to where your little one is at developmentally? Come and join our H2M Membership where they are all covered in full details!

👆Click on the link in bio or go to how2montessori.com for more info

SINK OR FLOAT 💧☀️

A great one for August! Popular with all stages 2-6 years & great for a group of children on holiday!

Works as a pool set up, for bath time but also indoor with a deep tray!

✅SAVE for later
✅JOIN The H2M Platform to access hundreds of detailed play ideas, ready made set ups & lots lots more! Tap on link in below or go to How2Montessori.com for more info

✨You can access hundreds of fully detailed H2M activities, set ups, themes and tips on the H2M platform. Join our members community to access them all! All activities there are grouped in ages & areas of learning, making it quick and easy to access what you need, when you need it and as always, involving objects that are mainly HOME SOURCED or inexpensive to purchase!

🌈Each activity in the H2M membership includes image galleries, a video where I talk you through how to first introduce the activity, the direct objective, the developmental benefits for the child, the list of the resources needed & their their direct link to the H2M Amazon storefront as well as all possible extensions, modifications & useful tips! There is also a short course to help you get started and much more…

✨Click on the link in the bio for more details or go to how2montessori.com
* There is a short video there you can watch taking you through every single section of the platform, so you can find out exactly what’s there!

comment ‘LINK’ and I’ll send the link with the Intro video directly to your DMs ✉️

Some can be introduced as early as 18/ 20months, others may work better from around 2.5 years+ It will depend entirely on children’s individual development and how much they’ve been hands-on with these activities so far. Like everything else in life, it’s all about practice!

✨🌈Want to find out more about these activities? When and how to introduce each? understand their developmental benefits? Where to purchase the resources or how to adapt each activity to where your little one is at developmentally? Come and join our H2M Membership where they are all covered in full details!

👆Click on the link in bio or go to how2montessori.com for more info

Comment ‘INFO’ for more info sent straight to your DMs ✉️

The best thing about practical life activities is that they all involve resources that are mainly HOME SOURCED! 🏠🙌 So easy to provide, all whilst supporting children’s development and well being. They are also the best foundation for school!

Some can be introduced as early as 18/ 20months, others may work better from around 2.5 years+ It will depend entirely on children’s individual development and how much they’ve been hands-on with these activities so far. Like everything else in life, it’s all about practice!

✨🌈Want to find out more about these activities? When and how to introduce each? understand their developmental benefits? Where to purchase the resources or how to adapt each activity to where your little one is at developmentally? Come and join our H2M Membership where they are all covered in full details!

👆Click on the link in bio or go to how2montessori.com for more info

Comment ‘PRACTICAL’ for more info sent straight to your DMs ✉️

If your child is in the midst of a ‘throwing stage’ they are exploring their trajectory schema.

A current fascination they may have for observing how objects MOVE IN SPACE and for MAKING movement happen!

This schema like any others come and go.
It is not the easiest one for grown ups as it often means food flying off the table as well as toys flying in all directions…but like any other schemas of development our role is to think of ways to support this current fascination, being such an important part of children’s cognitive and personal development.

🤷🏻‍♀️So HOW? Obviously you wouldn’t encourage toys & food flying around, but there is one simple tool to help you: remind your child of what they CAN throw and WHERE!

Sometimes it’s just about doing little bits of redirecting without giving the BIG reactions.
Our first reaction is to say things like « we don’t throw the box! Do NOT throw! »
However pointing at what they CAN’T throw and give those big reactions is only reinforcing the ‘negative’ behaviour. Your child is not only getting that lovely reaction they were hoping for (which they then associate to connection) but you are also reminding them of all the wrong things to throw «You DO NOT throw bricks at your sister» your child hears: « throw bricks at your sister! » You are in a sense without meaning to ‘reinforcing’ the behaviour..

🤷🏻‍♀️SO WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD?
Your best call is to REDIRECT and try and think of a way to use POSITIVE LANGUAGE instead.
« I can see you really want to throw… »
« Let’s prepare a bag with balls for when we go to the park.. which balls are you going to pack? Which ball will you throw first? «  (Something like that!)

Remember schemas (repetitive behaviours) are NEEDS children have and so they cannot be controlled. We are just here to remind them of the ‘acceptable’ way to explore those schemas..to remind them of what they CAN do!

Have you had an example of this recently?
Don’t forget to tag a friend who would find this useful 🥰🏷

➡️You can find many more tips on the H2M platform, if you look in the ‘How to’ section (Understanding you