January 16, 2009 11:35 AM
Even the littlest can help! Montessori at home
MommyLife is always welcoming new readers - mostly mommies - so occasionally I rerun something essential from the Goldie Oldies.
I took my Montessori training in 1972-73 and taught in classrooms in Washington,. DC, San Francisco and Marin County - never dreaming I'd someday be applying the wonderful things I learned in my own home with 12 children, nor that I'd someday have the opportunity to share all I'd learned in school and at home with moms all over the world.
If you are new here, be sure to check out my categories for Montessori, toddlers, preschoolers and homeschooling for thousands of posts which will help you help your child realize their God-given potential as you create a more gracious and joyful home.
Today's blast from the past:
I've written before of the tendency to run out of steam with the later kids.With your first children, there is such a thrill in learning how to parent and teach. You have youth and vitality and energy and stamina all going for you. Hooray! I look back and think those were my best mothering years.
With six grown and gone - with the exception of the two college guys who come home for summer - I have six at home: 2 girls 13 and 16 and 4 boys with Down syndrome 14, 11, 10 and 6. At 58, I'm old enough to be their grandmother.
Add to that the fact that it does take a lot more effort to teach kids with Down syndrome - although the rewards are so great no one should ever let that scare them away from welcoming one into your family - and you can see that Tripp and I are at a point where we have to be extra conscientious to do everything we can to give these kids the same advantages the older ones had.
When I talk about advantages, I don't just mean making good dinners and being good listeners and carting them to all their activities. I mean working to help them to realize their learning potentials - all the Montessori-inspired stuff I've written about here and in my books (If you're new here and have preschoolers, be sure to read under the categories Montessori, toddlers, and preschoolers to see what I mean). Jonny at 14, was raised in the midst of a bunch of kids who'd been raised to be independent and happy to serve. But Jesse, Daniel and Justin are developmentally much younger than their years and are at that point where they need that one-on-one attention to help them acquire everyday skills like buttoning their shirts and tying their shoes.
My recent surgery has given me so much more strength to be able to take care of this responsibility. Now it's a matter of making a priority each day. Using the Montessori approach to teaching life skills can really work well with them - but whereas it might take two or three lessons in sweeping, for example, to get a four-year-old started, with them it may take seven or eight.
I can see God's wisdom in having me in this unusual position, though, as it keeps me really in touch with what young mothers are going through each day. It's not as though I'm writing about things I once did with my kids. I'm writing about things I'm still doing each day.
Last weekend, Tripp had the boys stack the cord of wood that had been dropped off by the garage (Jonny was at his Boy Scout sleepover). The boys have been doing this for several winters, so they know the drill:
No matter your child's ability level, the earlier you give him truly useful work to do, the more you will see him shine. The best years for teaching household chores are the preschool years. Get them working early and you won't have balkers later on.
Even when it takes more time, it's worth it!
Add two years and to all the ages - including mine - and another one off to college. And an unexpectedly prolonged recuperation from a husband's knee replacement surgery gone awry. With our fireplaces going full blast to keep down our heating bill, you can bet I'm very grateful that we taught those boys to carry wood!
Posted in Homeschooling, Montessori, Preschoolers, Toddlers | Permalink
Comments
This post reminds me of something I have been meaning to tell you since the Washington Post ran the article on your family last fall. In the print version of the article, there was a picture of you in the bathroom helping one of your sons wash his hands. I am always amazed at all of the amazing things you do and have done, and how well you handle all that goes on in your large family. But to see that picture of you doing something so simple with your son really touched me. It showed me that you are really a mom in the trenches like the rest of us, doing the daily, mundane things with your children with great love. God bless.
Posted by: Elissa | January 16, 2009 1:31 PM
Thanks for the remilnder, Barbara. I sometimes get lazy and do everything myself because my 6 year old can be SO stubborn. I forget the feeling of pride which comes from being an essential part of the family.
So what if when she sets the table we all have 3 spoons when she sets the table!
Posted by: Leticia Velasquez | January 16, 2009 6:34 PM
