Tidy Up! An Activity Your Toddler Will Love

Looking at our Toddler classrooms, even a casual observer will notice that half of the children’s time seems to be spent cleaning. They’re busy sweeping, wiping, mopping, scrubbing and brushing; even almost antiquated activities, such as washing laundry by hand or polishing wood and metal objects, have their place.

Some might suggest that all this cleaning is taking away from their academic activities and developmental materials... but in Montessori, we know it doesn’t get much more academic and developmental for a toddler than exercises like these. The best part? They are also perfectly suited to adapting for your home!

Your toddler is naturally motivated by seeing you attend to activities like these every day. They want to be a part of the daily life of the household, and participate meaningfully in its running. All they need is for us to give them the opportunity. When we do, the benefits include rapid development of motor skills, increased executive functioning, positive development of the ego, confidence and self-image: in other words, your toddler will turn calmer, happier, more capable and independent. And that says nothing of all the domestic chores you will no longer need to do!

To set up your own „practical life“ curriculum in your home, look for items that are well sized for your child’s body and thus easy for them to manipulate (nothing will frustrate and discourage your child more than equipment that is literally giant-sized compared to their size). Household and kitchen stores are full of hidden gems, and often all you need to do is to take scissors to the rags and sponges, or cut the broom and mop handles to half-size. Make the equipment attractive, colorful, well-ordered and easily accessible so that your child can get it whenever they need.

WIPING

An all-purpose rag, sponge or towel will be something your toddler will use ten times a day, guaranteed.

Wiping - Montessori Toddlers

MOPPING

Properly cleaning floors usually needs more water (and harsher chemicals) than you want your toddler to have access to. We offer just a dry mop for cleaning up small spills - an incredibly popular activity.

Mopping with toddlers - Montessori preschool

SWEEPING

Sweeping requires a lot of tricky full-body coordination, and is therefore a fantastic challenge for a two year old and older.

Sweeping with toddlers - Montessori nursery

CARRYING

The easiest activity in the book, and something every child capable of walking should be required to do is tidying up! Whether carrying dirty laundry to the hamper, dishes to the sink or toys to the shelf, let your child move things. Bonus points (in their eyes!) for utilizing a wagon, trolley or basket.

Carrying staff with toddlers - Montessori child care

By Michaela Tučková

Want to learn more? Read our next article:

POSITIVE LANGUAGE: HOW TO TURN A ‘NO’ INTO A ‘YES’

Gallery
Comments

Další články

IMSP Podcast: Meet Alumnus Caleb Miller

Introducing our first guest on the IMSP podcast series: Caleb Miller. After graduating from IMSP, he moved back to the United States, finishing his university degree. Caleb and our host, Mariana, chat about independence in childhood, the benefits of multi-age classrooms, and what advice he has for current IMSP Elementary students. While reflecting on his time at IMSP, Caleb looks towards the future as he pursues a career with a global focus. “That's one thing that Montessori, our school, planted in me,” Caleb tells us, “the desire to engage with the world”.

It's a Long Journey But Worth It

Every morning, with any luck, a very enthusiastic and volume‑charged toddler and I make the 45 min…

IMSP Toddlers: Help Me to Do It Myself

One of the key concepts and skills that Montessori education develops in different ways and from different perspectives through the entire childhood and through the entire educational process is independance.

Cooking With Children can be fun

It is often said that “the family that eats together, stays together”. We would like to suggest taking it a step further – and encourage every family to cook together, too. In Montessori, we know that kitchen work provides a host of benefits to children, all the way from toddlers to adolescents; it is a part of the Practical Life curriculum as soon as children can walk! However, its advantages are in no way tied to the classroom and can be just as easily – if not more so – applied at home.

Planting Toddlers in Mud

April showers bring May flowers... here we are in the blustery, chilly beginnings of Spring. It is a time of much anticipation as the first leaves and flowers appear, but also often much frustration for parents as seemingly endless mud, rain and puddles interfere with outside play.