Montessori schools and toys are EXPENSIVE! Before a child turns 3, you could spend thousands of dollars just buying toys they hope to positively impact their child’s overall development. How do I know? Because I’ve done this! In this blog, I want to help you learn how to bring Montessori in your home without breaking the bank using these 3 tips!

Tip #1: Change the environment:

Whether it be in your kitchen, bedroom, washroom, or living room, you need to alter the way your environment looks so that it is appropriate to your child’s development. This might look like providing them with child size furnitures, or adjusting the height level of appropriate items so they can have access to it. So, for instance, what I’ve done in my home is provide my child with child size furnitures, or furnitures that require minimal assistance to access.

So in the bedroom, something that I’ve loved having is our floor bed. After, 6 months of my child being born, we decided to place a twin bed on the floor in his room. This gives him free reign over when he wants to rest and when he wants to play. It’s been such a stress reliever because we don’t have to struggle when putting him to sleep. We just lay here and let him do his thing until he gets tired. What’s a plus is that this bed will grow up with him and we don’t have to worry about getting him a new bed for another few years.

Another one of my favourites is this IKEA kitchen hack I found on pinterest. I found this on Facebook marketplace and decided to refurbish it. What’s really cool is that it’s functional, so my son can actually use the sink to wash his hands in it, and I even added a mini fridge that I put his milk in. What I love is watching how my son’s learned to get his milk on his own from his fridge, or to get his plates, bowls, or cutlery from this cabinet here.

Tip #2: Manners and etiquette:

Now, this depends completely on your culture and your personal preference. When I say manners and etiquette, what I’m talking about is teaching your child how to communicate to other people in a socially acceptable manner. For instance, teaching them how to greet other people, or introducing themselves to others. I emphasize teaching your child how to do this within your home and not just when you’re with other people. This gives them a chance to practice when not under pressure.

Tip #3: Practical life activities

Practical life activities play such a huge role in your child’s development. These activities are what prepares your child to be independent, many of which are also essential to developing their fine motor skills necessary for writing. A great alternative to buying your child flashy toys is providing them with activities that will teach them life skills. Many of these activities can be created with things you already have in your home. For instance, teaching them to pour water from one jug to another, or scooping rice from one bowl to another.

What I do with my child is I would lay these activities out on a shelf like this and show him to bring these activities to his table or mat so he can work on it in his designated space. If you are interested in sending your kids to a Montessori school, I created a whole video about it here.

I’ll see you in that video! Stay FRESH!