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

Top 3 Winter Activities for Toddlers

We know that when schools are closed and children are at home for the holidays, it can sometimes be a challenge to come up with new, interesting ideas of things to do with your toddler. Here we have compiled a list of our three favorite winter-themed activities that consist of simple steps and only require materials that you probably already have around the house.

Staff Interview: Greg McCracken

What is a motto that you live by? When I was young, my dad often reminded me: “Always do your best.” In the same way, what I often try to keep in mind is "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have."

Montessori Sensorial Materials Lead to Sensory Awareness

The materials in the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom are quite unique – they speak to the tactile observer in all of us. When you consider the way humans take in information, you realize how often we use more than one sense to explore. Maria Montessori’s work in the Sensorial environment was designed to take advantage of this tendency. Today, I will discuss the materials featured in the Children’s House classroom (ages 3-6).

Freedom and the Montessori Classroom

“To give a child liberty is not to abandon him to himself."

Reading from a Young Age Matters

A picture is the first content of a book that a child can „read“. Thanks to pictures, a child can understand a story without knowing how to read, interpreting the main figures/animals, the environment, and the situations from the visuals. From illustrated facial expressions and body language the child can also tell emotions. Enjoying a good book raises a love and passion that is necessary for prereading skills.