This lesson is designed for parents to guide them on how to declutter and furnish the spaces for children in their homes. It provides the parents with ideas and suggestions on setting up and organizing a special workspace for their child.
The video lesson discusses how to declutter and set up play areas around the house to become independent and play around. It talks about a few elements like baskets, cabinets, tables, carpets, etc., which can be included in the child’s workspace to improve their engagement.
How to Declutter Your Room?
To declutter the space, you first need to remove the objects which are not in use or you can say almost everything. Start with organizing the room.
Once you have removed everything. Now is the time to add the elements and make the room Montessori-inspired. The must-haves of Montessori-inspired room:
- Cabinet shelf– Depending on the number of children and age, per child, an open cabinet with 1-5 shelves is good enough to put the activities on because less is better.
- Paint area – You can also add paint or a wet area, where children can play activities such as washing, painting, transferring water, etc. You can waterproof it with tiles or if there is a space crunch, try doing it in the kitchen or dining area.
- Child-sized table and chair – Try adding a table and a set of chairs depending on the number of children. It gives them the freedom to sit and explore various toys or activities.
- Trays or baskets – Per child, it is recommended to have 5-6 trays or baskets to put the toys or activities on. The child will take hold of these trays and take them to the working area.
- Working mats – It is also one key element in the Montessori way of education. Woking mats help to define a child’s workspace and teach them a sense of order. When not in use, you can keep them in a rug holder or a basket.
8 Benefits of Decluttering the Room Space
Here are some ways children benefit from decluttering the room space:
- More space and fewer distractions: Distraction is very common in children and having too many toys to play with can derail their focus. Decluttering the space aids in the ability to focus on the environment they are in, and the activities present on the cabinet shelves. Children will also have more physical space in which to play around.
- Enhances Organizational skills – A clean work environment promotes the importance of order and boosts productivity, which in turn helps a child to acquire new skills. It also helps a child to instill the importance of cleanliness and ensures smoother transitions to new activities.
- Reinforces routines and expectations – Decluttering the space and making it a Montessori-inspired room helps in promoting the child’s independence. Children can see and choose what they want to learn without their parent’s help and are more likely to learn skills and complete routine tasks independently.
- Promotes creativity: Decluttering the space leads to the lesser choice for children to play with but, on the contrary, encourages them in creative, new ways.
- Avoids overstimulation: Children get overstimulated when they have too many choices to choose from. They do not finish what they have started and jump to the next one that catches their attention. Decluttering helps the children to be calmer and more focused.
- Develops resourcefulness and inventiveness: Montessori toys and activities are multifunctional and can be used in a variety of settings. For example, knobless cylinders help them learn to order and pattern, color tablets help them learn about primary & secondary colors as well as grading, and so on. It boosts a child’s creativity and problem-solving.
- Enhances social skills and interaction with others: Having lesser toys gives a child time to interact with others and develops their social skills and awareness. It encourages them to develop relationships with people, rather than on materialistic things.
- Boost outdoor activity: Decluttering the space also forces children to go out and explore, and play with other children. It helps them learn so much about nature.
Watch the video and learn how decluttering and organizing the space helps boost creativity and productivity in the child and helps teach them learn the importance of organization.
Related video resources
- How to engage children in meaningful activities
- Peaceful household environment with children
- Positive parenting strategies
- How to create space for children in your home
For more Montessori tips for parents and parenting guides, click here.
Video Created by: James Bauckman
Tags
- montessori
- Montessori at home
- parent education
- parents guide
