Montessori Philosophy and The Toddler

Maria Montessori’s original publications on the Montessori Philosophy, while enlightening, do not make for light reading. Like many early educational philosophers, Maria identified what she believed to be critical components of the human mind that relate to learning. She called this early learning of infants and children the absorbent mind. Its three components include the unconscious, subconscious and a conscious part. Read a little about it below or skip to the Take Action section to get ideas on activities you can do right now with your toddler.

Understanding the Montessori philosophy will help you understand and relate to your toddler.

The unconscious for the toddler, as it is in all humans, is the underlying drive that keeps them moving forward. There is no doubt you have observed this in your toddler. Is your toddler curious? Then she is being controlled by her unconscious. She knows cause and effect must exist even if she hasn’t yet identified what effect she can cause in any given situation.

The Toddler's Subconscious

You know the strong will of a toddler! It probably shocked you in the beginning and it may continue to amaze you as she ages. What is the will of a toddler at this age? Instant gratification of all needs. Toddlers need stimulation of all the senses in addition to their basic human needs of food, water and rest.  By following his unconscious, the toddler learns subconsciously what tactic did or did not work to get those needs met. Remember this parents! If screaming got him what he wanted, he will do it again. The Montessori philosophy teaches educators to model what you want to see in the child. Important parenting tip right there!

The Absorbent Mind

All of the components of the absorbent mind are developing from the moment the brain is formed. All of these early interactions form the adult the child will become in time. It makes perfect sense that infants are born having a subconscious urge toward behaviors that will promote their survival. Responses like crying, gagging, sneezing, coughing and sucking may be worrisome for the new parent or even a seasoned parent of a newborn but these responses should be looked upon with wonder (even in the wee hours of the morning when you have had few moments of undisturbed rest).

The Montessori philosophy talks specifically about the absorbent mind from birth to age six. Every bit of stimuli is incorporated into the baby’s mind in some manner. She will eventually absorb routines, rhythms, language, moods, and more. Her response to this stimuli is nearly automatic. She will respond to it in a manner that preserves her survival, fulfills her need for pleasure or satisfies her curiosity. From birth until age 3, a conscious will doesn’t truly exist. This may be of some comfort to you when you reflect on your toddler’s behavior. Remember how I said that understanding Maria’s philosophy will help you relate to and appreciate your toddler? Well this is precisely why. Until the period of 3-6 years, your child is merely absorbing information and reacting in mostly reflexive ways. Controlling or forcing a child’s behavior at this age is futile and will only result in a breakdown of her development. What she could become if allowed to absorb the environment will forever be impacted.

What does all this mean in terms of homeschooling and what you can do in your home to create the ideal environment for your toddler?

Take Action: Montessori Activities for the Toddler:

Three Presentation Goals:

• Focus on teaching through modeling and providing lots of hand work.
• Help me do it myself. Almost entirely independent work for the child.
• Show what to do when an error occurs.

Three Environment Goals:

• Every activity is self-contained
• Utilize natural materials before plastic ones
• Less is more

Three Activities My Toddler Loves and What they teach her

1.The Ball: Soft knit balls or a plastic ball that is the size of your toddler’s hand is ideal. Sit across from each other and roll the ball a short (controllable) distance. You can gradually spread further apart with practice. The point is to make it easy to succeed and show what to do when the ball goes astray.

Progression: Toss the ball back and forth from a very short distance.

Advanced Progression: Decrease the size of the ball.

2. The Balance Bumps: Anything your toddler can balance on, she should! Balancing gives great confidence and it encourages physical activity. The traditional tool in Montessori classrooms is a standard board on blocks or a tight rope like these. Bosu balls are expensive and mostly impractical but if you already own one--they make for an awesome uneven surface for the toddler to crawl on, walk over and jump off. You can even use a board on top of it to make a balance beam that tilts as they cross. Another affordable and fun option are these balance pods. We have triangular ones that are a bit more pricey that we picked up once on Zulily but they are just like these. We LOVE them. All the kids enjoy them and we make up crazy games with them. The kids always incorporate them into their imaginary play as well. You can’t beat a toddler tool that has many uses and seems to be ageless!

3. Water! Scooping and pouring is as educational as it is fun! This may not be what you wanted to hear but your toddler will LOVE you for it. In the Montessori progression work, there is a true purpose to pouring and even an order to the tools. Technically the pouring and scooping progression doesn’t start until age 3 but it doesn’t hurt to start collecting tools now.

You’ll want a dedicated tub so you and your toddler always know that the water (and future sensory materials) stays in the tub once it is filled. Inside the tub you can store some or all of these items--you will need all of them by age 3 but they don’t all need to be purchased right away:

• pair of small cups with handles
• pair of small cups without handles
• pitcher with a handle and pouring lip
• measuring spoon set
• small funnel
• large funnel
• teaspoon (like your tableware)
• tablespoon
• various other small dishes and bowls fun to use in the water
• pipettes
• turkey baster

Bonus: Sudsing soap, scrub brush, sponge and a towel for drying.

A more expensive investment, but one we have never regretted, was a water table. It had lasted us 5 years until it finally cracked and it was actually one of the cheapest ones we could find (and plastic). We used it indoors and outdoors. Today it is still played with outside despite the crack--it holds leaves, rocks, shells, pinecones and some water for a bit.

The first time you present this activity, start with 2-3 tools, the bucket with an inch or two of water and a towel. At this age, you are simply modeling play--so pouring from cup to cup, from cup to bucket and what happens when you splash water outside of the bucket. Do not say “oops” or anything. When presenting, just play. Smile. Maybe engage a little if your toddler chatters often. The point is to focus on the hands. Purposely spill a bit without looking obvious about it and grab the towel to dry it. Resume playing. Ask the toddler if he would like a turn.

Keeping the water level very low the first time reduces the splashes. Your toddler might decide splashing on the table and drying it up is more fun that keeping it in the bucket. You can decide if this is the type of play you are comfortable with. Generally speaking, I’m OK with that in my house. I don’t love it with rice or lentils so I try to watch for signs that it is about to get messier than normal and end the activity.

How to end the activity: Toddlers need to learn, through modeling, how to end the activity. This new toy will be hard to put away the first time. I can’t say that this is Montessori style- but when I present a new activity, I usually prepare an “old” activity in a new way to use for transition. This isn’t as important with non messy activities. I don’t want my toddler to end up throwing the bucket all over the house and disrespecting the space or the activity. Thus, I want to end it on a “good note”. Offering to help put the water activity away and grab a new basket of old books would be a way to transition her from the activity.

You might have other creative ways to end the activity depending on your parenting style. We want to avoid using “no” or “Don’t” and the like. Remember: we model what we want to see. The more we instill the need to respect our tools, the more gentle our children will be with them.

Sensory Activities:

For toddlers aged 18 months and above start with sensorial activities like:

The Pink Tower

The Pink Tower is an iconic Montessori tool. It consists of 10 wooden cubes that increase in size starting with the largest one at the base.

To present the Pink Tower:

The Pink Tower should be assembled on a 3 sided stand (speficially made for the pink tower). Retrieve a mat. Lie the mat flat where you will work. Retrieve the first cube of the Pink Tower from the top. You should be modeling how to pick it up by using your first finger and thumb and placing the opposite hand under the cube at the waist level. Place the cube on the right side of your work mat. Continue this process until all 10 cubes are on the mat. You will change your hand formation as the cube gets larger. Your dominant hand will drape over the top and your opposite hand will be underneath. To visualize- you are basically forming a square over the cube with your hands.

Once at the work mat, observe the cubes and tell your toddler you are looking for a special cube. Find the largest one and place it on the left side of the mat. Search the cubes again, taking more time than you need with the intention of modeling, and retrieve the next largest cube. You should be standing to carry out this task. When you place the cubes on top of each other, observe from all angles to make sure it is centered. Allow your toddler to join in and help whenever he or she feels ready.
Traditional Montessori presents this activity at age 3. My children have always enjoyed it and by age 3, they are rather bored of it. There are progressions you can work towards. The image of my youngest child shows her working with the knobless cylinders. She observed her older sibling carrying out an advanced progression of pattern building. The toddler then applied her knowledge of the Pink Tower and starting “Grading” the knobless cylinders all on her own. A sign that she is enjoying the work and it is developmentally appropriate.

Practical Life Activities:

Don’t be afraid to model these skills with a toddler! You would be surprised what they pick up and are willing to repeat if you just take the time to show them how and to allow them the chance to try. Remember, when they make a “mistake” show them how to correct it. Don’t say “oops” or even label it as an accident. Simply show them how to self-correct.
Examples of practical life activities for teh 18-24 month-old:

Washing hands, wiping hands and face before and after meals, putting shoes away, toileting skills, brushing own teeth, combing own hair, tidying up small messes, putting laundry away, folding square laundry (napkins, rags etc), sweeping, using the crumb sweeper for her eating space, setting the table and unloading the dishwasher.

Parenting Tactics:

Something to work on for your own development is patience stretching and calmness. Remembering that your child is repetitive at this age for a purpose. Try to see their difficult moments through their eyes. What are they really communicating to you? Are they over-tired? Do they need an extra snack? Are the activities too stimulating? Not stimulating enough? As a young infant, your child may have fallen asleep when things were too much for her to handle. Toddlers are not typically inclined to nap willingly--so instead of napping when over stimulated, their locus of control goes crazy. Expect them to be unpredictable and even act out of character when they are overloaded.

For our recommendations on Montessori Activities, you can find our Kit here.

Read more Montessori Toddler posts here.