Practicing Montessori at home with your infant
"The little child is not just a body. He has potentialities. He has no heredity like animals, but potentialities, human potentialities, which must be developed in the environment and be used to construct a man." - Maria Montessori
The Montessori method starts at birth. A misconception about Montessori is that one needs a Montessori trained teacher or school to start the process. In fact, the premise of Montessori is that the child leads and decides the pace. You can start implementing Montessori lessons before your child enters pre-k, as early as a few months old. This blog describes how to create an environment conducive to Montessori-parenting for your infant.
1. Child-sized furniture
Implement child-sized furniture throughout the house. Being around adult-sized furniture emphasizes your child's dependence on you to engage in activities. In your child's bedroom, consider purchasing child-sized seating areas where you can read to your infant. In your kitchen, you can purchase child-sized eating spaces where your infant can be fed.
Floor bed
Add a floor bed to your child's sleeping area. A floor bed promotes self-regulated sleeping, as opposed to the constrictive nature of a traditional crib. If you properly baby-proof your infant's room, consider allowing your infant the freedom to choose when to put themselves down to sleep. The Montessori floor bed promotes a proper Circadian rhythm regulation, movement, exploration, and self-construction.