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How to set up your house or apartment “à la Montessori”? Nathalie Petit gives her advice for a “prepared environment”. For the kitchen, the bedroom … it gives us some ideas.
Montessori: arranging the entrance to his house. How to do ?
From the entrance, it is possible tomake some simple adjustments which go in the direction of the Montessori method. “You can put a coat hook at the child’s height so that he can hang his coat, explains Nathalie Petit, a small stool or bench to sit on and take off his shoes, as well as a place for him to put them away on his own. “ Little by little, he thus learns to develop his autonomy: for example the gestures to undress and dressing alone : “The key is to verbalize everything we do: ‘There, we’re going to go out so I’m going to put on your coat, warm socks, first your left foot, then your right foot’… Explain everything to bring it to be autonomous. “ The expert specifies that if there are often mirrors at the height of adults in the entrance, it is also quite possible to put one on the ground so that the child can see himself and be beautiful before going out.
Montessori at home: how to set up the living room?
This central room in each apartment concentrates common activities, time for games and sometimes meals. It may therefore be wise to arrange it a bit so that your child can take full part in family life. Nathalie Petit advises to delimit “a space with one or two activity platforms for him. I always recommend a 40 x 40 cm mat that can be rolled up and put away in one place, and get the child to take it out for each activity. This allows him to give him a specific space, which reassures him by avoiding having too many choices. “
For the moment of the meal, it is possible to offer him eat at his height, but the author considers that it must all the same that it “be pleasant for the parents too. On a low table, however, he can start cutting bananas with a round-tipped knife, making transfers, cakes… ”
Alexander’s testimony: “I have banned the systems of rewards and punishments. “
“I started to be interested in Montessori pedagogy when my first daughter was born in 2010. I read Maria Montessori’s books and I was dazzled by her vision of the child. She talks a lot about self-discipline, the development of self-confidence… so I wanted to see if this pedagogy really worked, to show it at work on a daily basis. I did a little tour of France in about twenty Montessori schools and I chose the Jeanne d’Arc school in Roubaix, the oldest in France, where its pedagogy is illustrated in a fairly exemplary way. I started shooting my film in March 2015, and I stayed there for over a year. In “The master is the child”, I wanted to show how the child is guided by an interior master: he has in him a capacity for self-education if he finds a favorable environment for this. In this class, which brings together 28 kindergarten children aged 3 to 6, we can clearly see how important socialization is: the adults help the little ones, the children cooperate … Once they have acquired a fairly significant internal security, children naturally turn to the outside. My daughters, 6 and 7, attend Montessori schools and I trained as a Montessori educator. At home, I also apply some of the principles of this pedagogy: I observe my children to feed their needs, I try to let them do it for themselves as much as possible. I have banned the systems of rewards and punishments: children must understand that it is first and foremost for themselves that they progress, that they make small conquests every day. “
Alexandre Mourot, director of the film “The master is the child”, released in September 2017
QUOTES COLLECTED BY SÉGOLÈNE BARBÉ
How to arrange the baby’s room Montessori style?
“We preferably choose a bed on the floor and not with bars, and this from 2 months, explains Nathalie Petit. This allows him a wider view of his space and he will be able to move more easily. It develops his curiosity. “
Beyond the basic safety rules such as installing socket covers, shelves well fixed to the wall at 20 or 30 cm from the ground so that it does not risk falling on him, the idea is above all that the child can move freely and have access to everything.
The bedroom must be divided into spaces: “A sleeping area, an activity area with an awakening mat and mobiles attached to the wall, a place dedicated to changing and a space with a bench or an ottoman and books to be quiet. . Around 2-3 years old, we add a space with a coffee table so that he can draw. The error is overload the room with a lot of toys too sophisticated: “Too many objects or images tire the child. Better to keep five or six toys in a basket, which you change every day. Until 5 years old, a child does not know how to choose, so if he has everything at his disposal, he will not be able to fix his attention. We can do a toy rotation : I take out the farm animals, a puzzle, the fire truck and that’s it. We can use everyday objects that children love: a brush, a pen… It can remain in sensory contemplation for long minutes. »Finally, Nathalie Petit recommends place a mirror on the wall so that the baby can observe himself: “It’s like a friend accompanying him, he will lick it, make faces, laugh. You can also attach a curtain rod 45 cm from the floor above the mirror so that it can pull itself up and learn to stand up. “
Montessori: we fit out our bathroom
It is often more complicated to arrange the bathroom, which contains many toxic products which we do not want the child to access. However, Nathalie Petit explains that it is possible, with a little creativity, to bring some Montessori touches in this room: “For example, we can take a wooden chair, from a secondhand market, in which we dig a hole to place a basin and a mirror on the backrest. Thus, the child can style his hair and brush his teeth on his own. “More simply, if you have a bathtub, it is possible to wedge a bowl so that he washes his hands and teeth himself. A system more suitable than the step, according to the specialist.
Design your kitchen in the Montessori spirit
If the kitchen is large, “you can hang a space on the wall next to a small coffee table with utensils, even breakable ones. We must free ourselves from our fear of parents. The more we trust him, the more he will be proud of himself. If our face shows an emotion of fear, the child will be in fear, whereas if he reads confidence, it gives him confidence. “
To participate in the cooking, Nathalie Petit also recommends adopting the Montessori Observation Tower: “You build it yourself with a step and a few tools. It doesn’t take up much space and at 18 months he can already participate in some activities in the kitchen. »Also in the fridge, a lower floor can be devoted to him with fruit juices, snacks, compotes… Things that he can catch without danger.
The kitchen is the ideal place to practice activities in the Montessori spirit, because the child can easily handle, knead, pour …
Claire’s testimony: “My daughters can handle the preparation of a cake. “
“I became interested in Montessori pedagogy because it complements my work as a specialist teacher. I read books, followed a training course, I watch Céline Alvarez videos… I apply this pedagogy at home, in particular for the practical and sensory life part. It immediately met the needs of my two daughters, especially Eden who is very active. She loves to manipulate and experiment. I introduce him to each workshop very slowly. I show him that it is important to take his time and to observe well. My daughters are more concerned, learn to reason, to apply themselves. Even if they do not succeed the first time, they have the means to “fix” or evolve, that is part of the experience. At home, it was difficult to tidy up for Eden. We put pictures by type of clothing on drawers, the same for toys. We then saw a real improvement. Eden tidies up more readily. I respect the rhythm of my daughters, their emotions. I don’t force them to tidy up, but everything is done to make them want to do it! In the kitchen, the utensils are suitable. As Yaëlle can read the numbers, she places the elastic band on the measuring cup so that Eden pours the right amounts. They can manage the preparation of a cake until baking. I am blown away by what they manage to do. Thanks to Montessori, I allow them to learn useful things that they are asking for. It’s a superb mix of autonomy and self-esteem. “
CLAIRE, mother of Yaëlle, 7 years old, and Eden, 4 years old
Interview by Dorothée Blancheton
Elsa’s testimony: “In Montessori pedagogy, some things are to be taken, others not. “
“Pregnant, I looked into this pedagogy. I was won over by letting the child develop at their own pace, with as much freedom as possible. I was inspired by certain things: our children sleep on a mattress on the floor, we prefer wooden games, we have fixed a hook at their height in the entrance so that they put their coats … But some aspects are too strict to my liking and a bit overwhelmed. With us, the toys are collected in a large chest and not on small shelves. We did not identify four spaces (sleep, change, meals and activities) in their room. We did not opt for a small table and chairs for meals. We prefer that they eat on high chairs rather than having to crouch down to help them. It’s more comfortable and convivial to eat together! As for the respect of the rhythm, it is not easy. We have time constraints and we have to take things in hand. And Montessori material is quite expensive. Otherwise, you have to make it, but it takes time, to be a handyman and to have space to install a small sink at their height, for example. We’ve saved what works best for everyone! ”
Elsa, mother of Manon and Marcel, 18 months old.
Interview by Dorothée Blancheton