What's with the title?

"Montessori and My Practical Life"? What's that mean anyway? It's kind of a play on words. You see, the Montessori classroom is divided into several curriculum areas: math, language, science, geography, art, sensorial (more on that later), and practical life. The activities that are available in the practical life area are designed to assist children in honing the skills that they need to gain independence in their daily activities. These skills are practical in nature (using tools like spoons, pitchers, and tongs) and are familiar activities that they see demonstrated by the adults in their day to day life (dish washing, sweeping, and setting a table). Hence the name "practical life." By practicing skills like pouring, scrubbing, and even using buttons and zippers with child-sized items in an environment that is designed with his needs in mind, the child develops confidence in his abilities and is able to translate his learned skill to the real world. In the case of most young children, the "real world" means home. They want to help, they want to "do it myself," and they want to show their mom and dad how big they are by showing how much they can do. Only, here's where we run into some stumbling blocks.

How many people baby proof the house when their little one starts to crawl and then forget to un-proof the house as their child gets older? Cabinets remain locked, breakables remain out of reach, the kitchen is still off-limits, and the easiest way to "keep the kids out of our hair" is to turn on the t.v. or drown them in toys. It's so easy to let time get away from you and to forget that children are constantly changing, growing, and developing in more ways than one. In the blink of an eye, the one year old that you baby proofed the house for will be a three year old who wants to help in the kitchen. It makes perfect sense (at least it does to us Montessorians) that rather than fortify the house against our young children, we will make accommodations that work with them and their growing and changing needs. Making your home accessible to your child at even the youngest age shows respect for your child as a member of your family and as an individual with wants and needs that are just as important as your own. Think low hooks for coats and hats, a low bar in the closet for hanging clothes, a step stool in the bathroom or a mirror hung down at their height and you've got the right idea.

When our son started walking at ten and a half months we were faced with the question of how much we were going to baby proof and how much we could accommodate his changing needs. It's not a question of wanting to make it work. I definitely want this to work, it's a matter of doing what is practical, both for our house (we live in an average-sized townhouse - space is not abundant) and our lives (I work full-time, my husband stays home with our son. So although I have all the bright ideas, he's the one who has to follow through with most of them). So there you have it: Montessori and My Practical Life. It's a constant work in progress.

And a sleep update from last night's post: he's in the pack 'n play again tonight. He was this close to falling asleep on his floor bed when he popped up, climbed off the bed and started playing with the cordless blinds. Sigh... try again tomorrow, right?