Doing Montessori Justice, Without all the Stuff

In my last post I talked about feeling the need to have all the materials of Montessori in order to do the method justice in my home.

Today I wanted to go into detail about how saying no to this misconception is reshaping the way I view Montessori in the home.

Maria Montessori developed her materials, and her classrooms, based on extensive scientific observations of many children. There is a lot of weight behind what she decided to include in her didactic materials for her classrooms, and why.

But I have realized this may translate differently into our home.

As attractive as the Montessori materials are, and much as I would love to recreate the Montessori classroom within our home, that is not what is necessary for us at this time. 

I have done a lot of praying for trust, that God would provide us with what we need to be successful with Montessori in our home and to take away the desire for things which are nonessential.

And through this examination of the nonessential, I have come to realize that, even without the particular dressing frames, geometric solids, or insets, my children’s lives will be positively influenced by Montessori in our home.

I will be preparing our environment and equipping my home for my children in the way I feel is most beneficial and necessary for them. Which will include things like making the bathroom more accessible for Jerome, adding a stool in our kitchen, continuing to observe and rotate the materials I have on the shelves for him.

I will be respecting them and parenting according to the beautiful philosophy behind the Montessori method.

I will be involving them in Practical Life, something I realize is a pinnacle to Montessori, and it requires you to have very few extra materials.

Eventually, as needs are made known, and Jerome reaches school age, I will be incorporating Montessori into how we homeschool, and know this mean investing in a few more of the classroom materials. I will need to temper this, I know, and not be tempted to recreate the entire Montessori classroom within our home.

That will likely never be feasible for us.

And if it isn’t feasible for you, either, I’m totally in your corner.

Do what feels right for you in preparing your environment, in making your home as child centred as you can - Montessori inspired.

Thank you so much for reading!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. And if you are interested in following along in our daily adventures, follow us on Instagram where I post daily.

God bless,
Olivia Fischer