Montessori at Home - Practical life Activities - Spreading Butter

Montessori practical life activities are simple things to do at home. Just let your child do things for themselves that you would usually do for them. Things that help their concentration, let them practice fine motor control and give them a sensory experience. So for all you lovely Patchwork readers who requested more Montessori, I am going to start sharing more snapshots of our home life. Here is how we do breakfast (before hairbrushing-which she also does herself) 

I have some little pâté  knives that are easy for Scout to handle and she spreads her own butter and peanut butter on her bread. I don't give her the jar or anything, just the loaded knife and she goes at it. It hardly spreads and she ends up playing with it and eating it off her fingers, but it usually takes up to ten minutes where I get some blissful cup-of-tea-time. 

Remember, you don't need time to do Montessori at home, you don't have to be really organised or motivated. You just need to stop and ask yourself - can she do this herself? 

A few tips. 

• Toddlers are creatures of habbit. If you let them spread their toast at the kitchen bench they will want to do it up there all the time and then need to be supervised closely. Just set them up where they can be completely in control of their own meal and leave them be, in their high chair or at a little table is perfect. 
  
  
• Do not feel the need to 'fix' their terrible spreading. This is their breakfast and they can do it how they like. Just look the other way as they eat a straight blob of butter. 
  
  
• Yes there is mess but if you get ten minutes peace and it takes you three minutes to clean it up (which they can also be part of) then you are still winning. 

If you want to check out more Montessori stuff we get up to then check out this Toddler Craft Tutorial, This Toddler Sensory Activity, this Rainy Day Activity and Some tips for teaching sounds.

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Comments

[Emma]

love it!

[Em]

Great idea!!! xx

[Karen]

I often catch myself doing things for Ezra just out of expediency, then think, wait, he can do this! I also don't mind a bit of mess, I think mess and using all their senses is important. Look forward to reading more of your Montessori at home tips! X Karen

[Annaleis from Teapots and Tractors]

Independance is something they really need to work towards isn't it. Great prompt to remind parents :)

[carmen]

I totally loved Montessori for my eldest two... the youngest two were treated the same by default! :D xxx

[Twitchy]

Simple and effective lessons right there. I must admit I did have a flash image in my mind of what might happen if the peanut buttered knife and hairbrush somehow got switched around.. brushed bread and peanut butter hair! :O :) #teamIBOT

[EssentiallyJess]

Oh that is a cool idea!
I avoid that sort of stuff because of the mess, but maybe I should be braver

[Patchwork Cactus]

Thanks for all the comments. Jess just do it! The more they do this stuff the cleaner it gets. And honestly, it's not any messier than giving her pre-spreaded toast.