A Change in Perspective
Something about spring makes me want to clean, clean, clean. The sun shines through my windows at certain angles and seems to highlight dirt and dust. Along with more traditional spring cleaning activities like reorganizing closets and straightening the attic, I also take a look at the materials on my shelves.
Sometimes we look at something for so long that we habituate to it…we start to forget what it is and why it’s there. I think our shelves and materials need updating every so often, but how to start? First, I like to shift my perspective. For instance, I get down on my knees and look at the shelves from a child’s perspective.
I ask myself lots of questions. Is this work appealing? Does it have everything a child would need to do it? Is it in the right place in the classroom? Is the purpose of the work clear, and is there a control of error built into it? I really try to look at things honestly, even if the answers lead me to rearranging the work or taking it off the shelves. 
I like to see the shelves as a blank canvas; everything I add should be absolutely necessary, and nothing should be added that isn’t absolutely necessary. That is the essence of the prepared environment. All the cliches apply: less is more, and quality is better than quantity.
It can really help to get a set of fresh eyes – perhaps another teacher, a friend, a spouse – to look at the materials and give their opinions. Again, even if it’s not always what we want to hear, it’s important to take it into consideration. They may be seeing things that we can’t see anymore because we’re so used to looking at our own stuff.
Last, I like to look to the kids for guidance. Do they avoid doing a certain work? Do they have trouble completing it? Is it too hard? Too easy? Do they need to go to more than one place to get everything they need? Be wary of putting out work that you think is great, but that a child sees as unclear or too complicated.
If you do find materials that you don’t need or want, look into swapping with another teacher or homeschooling mom. Perhaps you (or they) will find a new way of using a certain container, object, or utensil. Use spring as a launching pad to make your classrooms fresher and more usable for kids!
Hi, Lori!
I am enjoying reading your blog and learning a lot from it. I do have a problem since i found out about Montessori. I cannot help but look at everything and think I might use it one day for something. Especially that in our side of the world I cannot go to Target to the dollar section and find what i need, so instead of decluttering my house I feel I am doing the opposite. I have limited storage and it is filling up with things I wonder if I will ever use.
I made and bought some Montessori material for the three to six year age, but am still not able to decide how best to organize myself. It was fine with only one child and we had lovely toddler Montessori time, till the baby arrived, and started moving all over the place, I just lost control, the baby believes he is a twin brother to his sister, nothing on his shelf is interesting if he sees his sister working on something else.
So maybe I did something wrong – instead of training them to work together, I moved everything away, and just used the dining table for big sister work when baby brother is not around. But this way I am realizing not all the material is accessible, we are using it less, big sister is not the one choosing, it is me choosing for her.
I would really like to have a room with shelves assigned for each category but wonder how to keep 18 months old hands off the pink tower, and other Montessori material and misusing them. He is driving me crazy finding it fun to play with everything within his reach: pencil box, toys – it is probably his age but I don’t want him doing this with Montessori material. I hope in another six months he might be ready, but till then his big sister is missing on using those by keeping them away.
Any suggestions please?
Love,
Viv
Hi, Viv! I know where you’re at – the hardest time of my homeschooling so far was when my son was 4-5 and my daughter was a toddler – she could get into everything but, as you said, wasn’t ready to use it correctly.
My solution was to only work with him while she took a nap. That worked for us because she was a good, reliable napper. To make sure my son still had choices, rather than me just giving him work to do, I kept his materials on two sets of shelves that were small enough I could turn them around when she was up. When she napping I turned them to face us and he chose his work, working mostly on a rug but sometimes on a table.
I also had another shelving unit with doors on it, held together by a baby-proof latch. Again, I would take the latch off and open the doors when he and I worked together.
For her, I kept out only age-appropriate materials – puzzles, scooping, spooning, stringing beads, etc. and make sure she used them correctly (as much as possible). That might mean taking it away if she were misusing it, and then re-presenting it at another time. She also loved to color with crayons and markers and do work with clay and play-doh, so those were things we did frequently at that age.
I’ve blogged about working with multiple ages many times, especially with infant/toddler age children and older children, so here are some posts you might find helpful:
Montessori Homeschooling Q & A
Another Homeschooling Update
Balancing Mixed Ages
One more thought – it only gets better as the children get older, so if you can find some coping strategies for this stage in their lives, and get through it, it will get much easier!