Connecting Home and School: Preparation of the Home Environment

By Rhonda Lucas-Sabater

Happy Spring!  It is always very refreshing to the spirit to see the buds on the trees, the new flowers showing off their vibrant colors and hear the birds chirping overhead.  With this sense of renewal that comes each spring, it is always a good time to pause and reflect on our goals and plans.  It is also a wonderful time to do some spring cleaning—de-cluttering, re-arranging and taking stock of what we have, and what we can let go of, so that we can make room for what is to come.

Washing Leaves

In this blog, we will take a look at connecting the home environment with the prepared environment in the classroom by offering you some suggestions on how you can prepare your home environment to encourage your child’s participation in taking care of it.  These activities fall under the umbrella of the Practical Life area in the Primary classroom and they reflect the most basic and simple things that we do to exist and to maintain our environment—preparing food and eating it, washing the dishes, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, our social interactions, to name a few.  While many of these activities are somewhat mundane and utilitarian to us as adults, and we perform them because we want to attain the end product—a clean kitchen, for example, it is important to remember that for the young child, the fascination lies in the process of the activity, not the outcome.

Sponging

So while the adult is focused on vacuuming and dusting because the house needs to be cleaned, the child wants to vacuum and dust because she is interested in learning how to do it and wants to understand how the process works.  Young children want to help; they want to do things alongside the adult and it is natural for a child to imitate those that he loves.  So while they are still in this stage of development, we want to do everything that we can to encourage their help.

An important point to keep in mind, however, is that how we approach these activities in the classroom will be different than how you would do them with your child at home.  Our goal at school is to encourage repetition and practice, so we have the materials arranged on the shelf and always available for the child to practice whenever he feels the urge.  We are teaching the child the mechanics of the process, breaking the activity down step by step so that she can see all the movements that are necessary in order for her to wash a plate or fold a napkin or even polish a shoe.  Whereas at home, she is working alongside you, still focusing on more on the how of the activity, and using the skills she has learned in a real and meaningful way.  Her activity is contributing towards the care of the home environment, and should be accepted as such.  Eventually, as he gets more practice and his skills improve, so too will the independence that comes along with it.  Pretty soon, you’ll find that you can actually ask your five year old to pour you a glass of water or juice, or to prepare a snack for the whole family.

As you continue to think about the various ways you can begin to include your child, even the three year old, in the daily household activities, please keep the following in mind:

• When your child performs an activity to help care for himself or the home environment, ENCOURAGE  him regardless of the result.  Do not re-do any part of his project in front of him, and if possible do not correct any part of it at all.   You will find that as your child gets more practice and becomes able to perform the physical parts of the activity with ease, he will begin long cycles of repetition.  Sometimes these cycles of repetition can be annoying to the adults.  However, you need to bear them patiently and remember that they enable him to work with interest, and eventually, concentration.

• There are stages to the work of the child as she performs these activities, and we need to be mindful of where she is at each stage.  Any activity that she performs at first, will be mainly for herself and her inner needs.  Later, she will be able to perform the task occasionally when asked.  At this stage, she begins to control her will, around the age of 3 ½.   Finally, (about 1 to 1 ½ years later), she will perform that task anytime she is asked or whenever she sees a need.

• In the beginning (closer to age 3), it will be difficult for your child to perform water activities without making a big mess.  It’s a good idea to have several beach towels on hand to help clean up the water.  As time goes on, and he continues to practice and repeat, there will be very little spilling, and when it does happen, he will be able to do most of the cleanup himself.  Here is where your self-control comes into play because DURING THIS TIME, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO MAINTAIN A RELAXED ATTITUDE AND A SENSE OF HUMOR!  Just be matter fact when accidents occur and be there to help clean up if needed.  Remember, rather than berate him for his mistakes, it is much better to praise him for what he tries to do.

PREPARING THE HOME ENVIRONMENT

The following suggestions are things that you can keep in mind as you think about how you can prepare the home environment to support your child’s developing self-control, concentration and independence:

BATHROOM:
 Put a mirror at the child’s eye level
 Place the toothbrush and comb within reach
 Bath towel, wash cloth on a towel rack that is within reach
 Step stool at the sink so child can turn on tap and wash hands
 Soap dispenser the child can operate independently

BEDROOM:
 Install a low clothes rack in the closet and hooks that are at the child’s level
 Have a designated place for the child to store raincoat, boots, snowsuits, shoes, etc.
 A bed the child can enter and exit by himself
 Toy shelves—low and in a neutral color.  Toy shelves are preferred over a toy box because they attractively display the toys.  Keep the majority of toys stored somewhere else and rotate the ones on the shelf as the child loses interest in them.

 A small table and chairs
 A shelf for books

LIVING ROOM
 A small comfortable chair near a good light
 The possibility to see outside through the window
 Beautiful, interesting objects in the environment that the child can safely handle

KITCHEN/DINING AREA
 Child’s own chair at the table
 A small table and chairs for snacks if space is available
 Possibility of getting own water when she wants it
 Sponges and small towels at the child’s level so she can wipe up spills—show where to put the towels when they are soiled or wet

 A low drawer in a cabinet that contains any materials he needs for participating actively in the care of the home environment (dusting cloths, brushes, apron, polishing cloths, etc.)

 Store cleaning supplies in upper cupboards and dishes and other materials for the child to use in the lower cupboards

*All children should know the names of all objects in the home environment

ACTIVITIES FOR THE YOUNG CHILD

Washing Cloths

The following are suggested activities that your child can engage in to help take care of the home environment.  Really, the sky is the limit in terms of what activities your child can do, it all depends on the needs of your family and home environment.  The important thing to keep in mind is that if it is something your child has never done before, you want to teach it in a way that breaks it down step by step for him.  You also want to make sure that he has access to all the materials and tools he will need in order to do the task successfully and be sure to show how to clean up and put away the things he uses once he’s done with the activity.

TURNING A WATER TAP ON AND OFF

SCRUBBING SINKS
Materials:  small sponge (2”x3”), small container of cleansing agent (can use white vinegar diluted with water in a spray bottle, or any non-toxic cleansing agent that you use).  CAUTION: The cleanser should be stored out of the child’s reach until ready to use.)
Procedure:  In the first stage (3 year old), the adult applies the cleanser, the child turns on the tap and scrubs the sink with a sponge.
Later (4 ½ +), the child applies the cleanser under adult supervision and then carries out the activity as above

HELPING UNLOAD GROCERIES
Put bags on floor.  Let child hand you things and put away things at his own level.  (CAUTION: be mindful that some items might be too heavy to be lifted safely by a child.)

DUSTING

Polishing Wood

Materials: pretty flannel cloths or microfiber cloths, cut 6” x 6” (can be handmade or purchased from Montessori Services/Small Hands online); a small brush with a handle, a place to put the dirty cloths.
Procedure: Call the child’s attention to the dust.  Ask her if she would like to be a helper.  Show her how to wrap the cloth around her fingers and wipe away the dust in slow, careful strokes, changing position of the dust cloth on her fingers as she notices dust collect.  The brush is used for carved furniture, nooks and crannies.
*Child can dust furniture tops, legs, baseboards, corners, ornaments, etc.

VACUUMING
Material: a standard vacuum cleaner (older child), or a manual vacuum cleaner, with the handle shortened to make it child-sized (can be purchased from Montessori Services/Small Hands online)
Procedure: Most children love to run the vacuum.  Show child how to connect the parts of the vacuum.  For the manual vacuum, demonstrate how to rub the vacuum back and forth over the carpet until the dust is picked up.  Show child how to empty the debris from the bottom.  (CAUTION: If using and electrical vacuum, make it very clear that an adult is to plug it in.  Show him how to turn it off and how to clean different parts of the carpet.)

SWEEPING
Materials:  child-sized upright broom; small hand broom and dustpan and somewhere to store them that is accessible
Procedure: Show child how to sweep dirt into a pile with the upright broom.  Hold dustpan and sweep dirt into it with the small hand broom.  Carefully carry the dustpan to the trash can and empty it.  Wash off the dustpan.  Put the items away.

POURING
Materials: small attractive pitchers (available from Montessori Services/Small Hands online)
Procedure: Child can pour milk, juice and water for herself and others.
At first the pitcher should contain only enough to fill the glass or cup the child will be using 2/3 full.  Later, the pitcher can contain more liquid than one glass will hold.

SETTING THE TABLE
Procedure: 
Stage 1 (age 2 -3) The child helps to put out the dishes and cutlery and carries them to the table one thing at a time.
Stage 2 (age 4-5) The adult sets one place as an example and the child sets a place for each family member.
Stage 3 (5+) The child sets the table by himself, counting out each item that he needs. Items should be placed within the child’s reach.  Can also show how to fold napkins at this stage.

Wiping a Table

WIPING DOWN COUNTER TOPS AND TABLETOPS
Materials: small sponge cut 2” x 3”; small drying cloth/wash cloth; small tray to keep them on; place to put soiled cloths;
Procedure: Show child how to wet sponge at the tap and wring it out in the sink.  The child carefully sponges off counters and tables, putting crumbs in a pile or sweeping them into her hand.  The child dries the surface with the drying cloth and puts it in the container for soiled cloths is needed.

PUTTING AWAY TOYS
This is just a habit the child should have.  Encourage your child to replace each toy on the shelf after she has used it.  Sometimes children take out so many toys so fact, they get frantic and impossibly frustrated when it’s time to clean up.  If this happens, the adult should put the toys away in a friendly manner and say nothing, just model how it should be done.

Washing Dishes

OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE DEVELOPED BY THE ADULT:

• Rolling socks

• Folding cloths and linens

• Storing cloths and linens

• Weeding

• Raking leaves

• Watering plants indoors and outdoors

• Helping wash a car

• Helping wrap packages

• Helping decorate the home for holidays

• Washing and drying dishes

• Sorting clothes for a wash

• Etc.

Rhonda Lucas-Sabater is an AMI Auxiliary Trainer at the Primary (3-6) level.  She is the mother of five Montessori children and the co-founder of a public charter Montessori school in Washington, DC.  She is also AMI trained at the Assistants to Infancy (O-3), Primary  (3-6), and Elementary (6-12) levels and is an AMI certified Adolescent guide.