Everytime I put together an activity or plan a lesson I feel a little guilty that I can't provide traditional materials, trays, shelves and set up for my girls. One of Maria Montessori's points to her method of teaching is that the prepared environment is very important to give the child confidence and gain his (her) sense of independence. Also, using natural, mostly plain, materials gives the child a better sense of natural materials in the world around him and isolates the idea you are trying to teach.
I do believe these ideas are important and when I started this journey I wanted to do things by the book. Use everything montessori schools used. Be plastic free. Have all handmade natural materials. Then reality hit. Not only did I not have the money to buy expensive handmade natural products, but I also didn't have the time to wait on the shipments and I had no space to put them.
So what did I do? I picked one wall in our dining room and put up a shelf at Delores' arm level. I used Rubbermaid long containers for trays and bought a set of 4 baskets from Lowes. Then I bought my first glue gun and got crafty.
My first materials were a mess to put it mildly but over the past year I've also purchased a circular saw and a staple gun. Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Lowes and thrift stores became my material supply stores and now I can make something that almost resembles the materials you can buy off the Internet from specialty Montessori supply stores.
As the materials grew I had to figure out more storage systems and when Lydia turned 2 I had to figure out how to give her a shelf of her own for easier activities. This is how I've dealt with that issue:
Josh got a hold of 7 milk crates for free. I took 5 of those milk crates and zip tied them together and added a board of flooring we saved after our flood (hence the cement floor in the pictures) on top. This created another shelf for Lydia and five cubbies which I use for favorites that the girls aren't ready to have rotated out yet.
For our art supplies and pre-writing materials I used this:
An armoire given to me by my mom one Christmas.
I used a wire shelf for the top shelf and i used the remaining two milk crates with another piece of flooring on top for a second shelf and two cubbies.
For our practical life supplies
A cabinet in the kitchen complete with basin, pitcher, wash brush, soap, soap dish, nail brush, towels, washcloths, a bucket for putting dirty or wet rags in, cloth napkins and tool boxes.
And for my storage
A toy storage unit the girls outgrew.
A box with Delores' materials and a storage container with Lydia's materials.
For right now this works, but I'm always thinking of ways to make things more efficient.
As you can see my method of delivering Montessori methods are untraditional. But despite all of that and my guilt for not being able to give my girls the beauty of a Montessori school, I still implement the same principles in my home and give the same lessons and the opportunity to reach their potential and independence.
So is it really the materials and set up that makes Montessori what it is? Maybe for some people, but when I see my two year old clean up her own spill all by her self and then put the supplies away without any help, or even when I see my three year old button her own sweater, I have to say, not for me and my family.
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