February 6, 2009 12:08 PM
Montessori at home - doing things quietly
This is just a simple thing that - quite honestly - can revolutionize your home and jumpstart your child's future. But that's the truth about anything you do with your children. Small beginnings eventually yield life-changing results.
Try this: "Let's see how quietly we can put down the toilet seat." Then you very, v-e-r-y slowly and dramatically (like it takes every bit of your concentration) put down the toilet seat without making a sound.
"Would you like to try it?"
"Let's see how quietly we can shut the door." Now demonstrate without words how when you pull down the handle or twist the knob, the bolt mechanism thingy goes inside the door. Make a show of concentrating on holding the knob or handle in place so that the thingy stays inside, allowing you to close the door without a sound. Only when the door is shut completely do you slowly release the handle/knob to let the bolt fall in place without a sound. Look like you are really feeling like you accomplished a great thing.
(Are you getting that a lot of teaching kids involves drama - exaggerating the care with which they need to do things to be successful?)
"Would you like to try?" Before turning it over, show once again how the knob/handle relates to the movement of the bolt.
Notice Justin's look of complete concentration.
Once you've begun to draw your child's attention to the auditory impact he/she has on the environment, keep a high expectation. When something bangs, simply say, "Oh . . . let's see how quietly you can close that door."
When I say this will have a major impact, here is what I mean:
As you begin to draw the child's attention to the results of his actions, he will respond to the challenge. These are the very first steps toward self-control - and this is exactly how you begin laying the spiritual groundwork for self-control in the preschool years.
You will see the fruit of this kind of training as your child matures and begins to generalize self-control to even more challenging issues.
Can you see how this early training eventually results in a teen who is self-aware and capable of self-control? The ultimate goal is to raise an individual who is not controlled by outer forces but from within. This starts very, very small - and very, very young.
This is why I keep insisting that the work you moms do is SO important. Who would think that teaching a child to close a door quietly had such great implications for the future? But it does, especially for the child raised by a mom who understands where she and her child are headed and is learning each day how to get there.
~~~~~~~~
For more, check out Mommy, Teach Me!
Posted in Montessori, Preschoolers, Toddlers | Permalink
Comments
Love this post as I am always trying to show my 5 year old things like this...how his actions affect those around him. In this case making lots of unnecessary noise with daily things like toilet seats and doors. Thing is he had ADHD and is loud and hyper and impulsive without his medicine. Do exercises like these in your opinion when started early (like 3) "prevent" self control issues with ADHD? I beat myself up all the time thinking I could have done something "early on a little differently" to prevent this condition in my son. Do you have much experience with true ADHD kids? Teaching mine self-control at 3 and 4 was nearly impossible! That's a story for a different day...:)
Posted by: Susan | February 7, 2009 4:33 PM
Oh, barbara, this is just what I needed today! We are such a crashing, stomping, door-slamming family! I am trying to turn that around with my 9 and 2 year olds. Thank you so much for giving me the gentle teaching words!
Posted by: michelle Dunne | February 9, 2009 11:07 AM
