For the past few years, I have felt overwhelmed by all of the posts and discussions about Montessori at home for little ones. I am a trained Montessori Early Childhood (3-6) classroom teacher and I feel that I have a solid foundation in the Philosophy and the scope and sequence of the curriculum areas for three-to-six-year-olds.
However, I have minimal experience with Montessori Infant/Toddler, and before my daughter was born, I was looking around for ideas to make our home more Montessori-friendly for her during her Infant and Toddler years. Furthermore, I have minimal experience with homeschooling. I found great resources in discussion groups, blogs, books, and video channels about homeschooling and Montessori at home for Infant/Toddlers and Preschoolers. I am grateful for all of the amazing resources with helpful information out there!
Trying to pull together a plan with information coming at me from all directions was overwhelming. It was a lot of work and it was confusing. I did the best I could to create my own Montessori homeschooling plan for my daughter. I feel like there were things I forgot about, or things I left out, or things I could have done differently. I still learned valuable lessons from my daughter’s infant and young toddler years.
Now that she is about to turn two-and-a-half, I feel it’s a perfect time to move forward by documenting our homeschool journey together as we approach the preschool years. What I have learned so far is that guiding my child at home is a very different experience from guiding children in a Montessori classroom. As I revisit my Montessori Lesson Plans and notes from my Early Childhood training, I am finding this moment to be a unique opportunity to tweak activities, lessons, and ideas specifically for home use and then to try them!
Concluding Thoughts
I will post a new activity and new ideas each week. I see this blog as a live experiment and I don’t know what exactly will come of it. What I do know is that this is a journey. I am here to help other homeschooling moms with inspiration and guidance on their journeys. Let’s all remember to enjoy the process and to have fun!