Oh. My. Goodness. Those shelves invoke so much peace in my mind. It's like...I just want to sit in a room like that and admire the simple beauty. Clearly, I need to get to work!
I love rewatching some of your older videos! My 20 month old cleans up like a pro! my family and friends don’t believe it until they see it. He’s been starting to do this around 17 months. It’s awesome and helps me out so much and is so rewarding for him to know where to find everything. Someone help me reteach these essential skills to my hubby 🤷♀️
This inspired me to make her toys look nicer and not put lots of toys on one shelf. It’s been great! She happily dove into her toys with fascination and it was so much easier to clean up ❤
thank you so much Ashley. thank you for choosing to make videos to help other parents out. you have changed my life & my parenting 360°. I wouldnt even know what montessori is without you. I believe that I was meant to find your channel. I found you when my baby was around 6 months old, & Ive been studying & implementing montessori ever since. I have a notebook dedicated to montessori & I take notes while watching all of your videos. youre so so helpful. thank you. Maria would have given you an award for all the work, awareness, & knowledge you have put into & shared regarding montessori.
Ashley, thank you so much for commenting on allowing children to play with toys after they have mastered them, and the reason why. I don't have kids but I am planning on having some soon. One of my biggest worry about being a mother is holding my child back from learning because I'm not providing enough new and challenging materials. It's nice to hear from a confident and successful mother say "it's okay to play with toys they've already mastered." I hadn't thought about the emotional side of learning these skills. Now that's definitely on my radar! Thanks again!
I just finished reorganizing my daughter's play room and I cannot believe the instant relief I felt when I saw the finished product! Everything has a home, all heavier things are on the bottom shelf and the lightest things up top. I already have plans to add cleaning up one toy before we take out another one to our routine. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for making this video! I follow these practices in the rest of my house and just never applied them to her toys or playroom. 🤦♀️🤷♀️
Would love to see your take based on your learning of Montessori for attention-deficit or dyslexia etc. A common thing I hear from parents is: "oh! Montessori is supposed to be great for kids with learning needs!" Would love a video with your thoughts as a parent and Montessori learner.
My daughter is 3 and her therapist have been happy with the results of us moving towards Montessori methods. Especially less toys, rotating them and minimalizing things. Her play is so much better and her vocab is finally increasing!
This was very interesting and beneficial for me, I am a mom of a 18 months girl, and almost 6 months pregnant, your videos are so inspiring and educational.a big thank you from Algeria ;)
Great informations! I am a new mom of an almost three months baby boy and I find your videos really well done ,so I decide to follow all of your advices in oder to grow my little one! If you have more wonderful ideas for babies over 3 months please share them ! Your video for babies between 3 und 6 months i already watch it and afterwords i purchesed most of the items you recommended, except the big mirrors, because momentary we don t have a baby room. Greetings from Germany! Stay safe und healty you und your beautiful daughters:)😊👏🤩
Thank you for all your tips on getting started. I’m a first time grandmother retired educator of 30 years and so excited to be adapting the Montessori method at home with her. I have twin girls now grown women and one is a first time mommy. Love your channel and all your tips.
My husband and I are book hoarders so a front facing bookshelf that is big enough to hold all the books was too costly. But, amazon sells a cardboard front facing bookshelf that is perfect for small kiddos and we rotate the books and leave the rest on a normal bookshelf accessible to us.
In a classroom we have about 600 books. We rotate them based on the season, the children’s interest, the current skills they are working on, and the subject we are studying.
I notice all of the toys/furniture are very curated, minimal, and engaging for the child. As you said, a large amount of toys can sometimes be overwhelming for kids especially during clean up time. Have you ever been gifted toys for your babies (birthdays, holidays, etc.) that perhaps you found inappropriate for your child either for their age or whatever. Do you put these toys in storage, donate or? How do you politely explain to your family/friends that the gifts are not only overwhelming for you but also your baby? I want to apply this method but I have a large family and the current babies of the family are just drowning in gizmos and gadgets.
I can't thank you enough for sharing your information. You deliver Montessori and such an easy way to understand. something I do for my baby is neatly place a couple of books against the wall on the floor instead of placing a book shelf in her bedroom
Another fantastic video! About time we said Thank you for your great effort in helping us all! God Bless you and your family and all families! Thanks to God for our Children. May we move forward and grow together with our Angels with great patience and love! 🙏🏼
First off i absolutely love your channel and have made conscious efforts to incorporate Montessori learning with my baby about 4 months ago. Prior to that I wasn’t aware Montessori could start in infancy! You make it seem so easy to transition to a more Montessori style of play and I have loved learning so much from you! Have convinced myself to overhaul all of my 7 month olds stuff that isn’t currently Montessori and switching over but that is definitely a complicated process. Is there a video for when you started doing this when Kylie was younger? I remember in one of your videos you said you didn’t start doing this until she was closer to 9 months or so I think. Thanks for the great content 💜
Any tips on how to teach your child to put back or “clean up” their activities? My daughter (15 months) removes everything off the shelves to engage with them and then doesn’t put them back. I’m constantly cleaning up after her-if not her room would be in constant disarray
I would love a video on how to classify each toy. I very much appreciate the printable shelf category sheet but sometimes I’m unsure what toy fits in which category. Or maybe a list of several options for each category is what I’m looking for. You’re usually really great at indicating what category the toys in your shelf fit into but I would love a list to help me with my understanding on how to separate my daughters toys and activities. She is 11 months old. I have signed up for your e course also so I apologize if my answer is in there and I’m just not that far along in the material yet.
I absolutely love your video. I live in Italy, in the region where Maria Montessori was born, and I am learning so much more from you than I have ever learned here. 😅
Thank you so much! This video was so helpful, especially about how to incorporate for two children of different ages. That is something that I have been worried about doing in a few months.
I just love and appreciate your channel, your information and your approach. Currently bingeing your old videos to follow Mia’s birth story & learn more about raising your girls with Montessori philosophy. Our little lady is currently 7m and I’m looking for educational play ideas for her. If any of your or your favorite YT’ers videos stick out in your mind, I’m all ears. Thanks!
Hi, Ashley ! I discovered your video just now. It was good. I read the comments as well and offered some ideas. The Montessori system is not just one mind's work. It is ours to share and develop. :)
Glad I found your channel. I just started the Montessori Method at Home and need tips how to get started and a list of educational toys to buy and how to set things up.
I love how you give each cubby as assigned “subject”. That is such a great idea to make it easier on the parent. You don’t have to worry about missing a part of play with a system like that. Thank you for the idea :)
I'm aiming to fully Montessori my house this weekend! Right now it's an EXPLOSION of toys all day every day. Also majority of toys we have are electronic 😬 We have not practiced cleaning up.
a great informative video! thanks Ashley :) ..i had a rough idea about montessori shelves but this was a nice and concise refresher while still mentioning all the important points.. i appreciated the alternatives provided for each topic as well.. hope youre all keeping safe and sane!
Thank you so much for this video, Ashley! I’m almost 28 weeks pregnant and the age gap between my first born and my stepchild will be 6 years so I’m really going to have to get creative!😂
Hey Ashley! Any tips and tricks for getting a toddler to engage more in some of the activities? Mg 2.5 year old gets frustrated or disinterested if he can’t figure it out right away, or just wants to watch a show. Since quarantine and having a new baby, we’ve been using a little more screen time than I’d like to admit. I love all the activities you show in each video, but he is so spastic and energetic that it’s hard to get him to focus. For example, I’m trying to do sandpaper letters with him now but he doesn’t stay for even phase one. He also doesn’t really like arts and crafts 😱 any helpful tips to get an energetic kiddo to concentrate on one activity? (Btw, we live in AZ so it’s getting super hot outside. We used to play outside/ walk/ explore daily but now we can’t 😫)
Great advice. I will make some changes. I have 2 year old twins and was wondering if you would set up 2 toys per category? Do you have any resources for Montessori for twins?
Hi! I am a Montessori Director and we provide only one of each material. In this way, they learn the value of taking turns. Explain it to them and they will just choose something else while waiting. In our case, we provided the words for them. " Can I please have a turn when you're done?" And the other child says, :I'll let you know when it's your turn."And even twins chose different materials in most cases--because they have different interests and personalities.But as adults we want to observe closely their interests. Hope that helps. CEY
My son 3 year old LOVES animals. I just cant get them to stay in one place. They come with him to eat, to bed, to bath ( btw yesterday as he took a bath he became a hippo lol). Anywhere he goes an animal goes with him. I love that he can play independently and i can use animals to teach different concepts but there is absolutely no order to his play! I do try to implement montessori principles in our home, thank you for presenting them in such beautiful and thoughtful way
Thank you for this video! We just moved and the way the rooms are set up my daughter now has a playroom with a cube shelving system. I know we have too many toys out and this video just gave me extra push to put some up. Love your videos and personality! (I also have a Mia)
Hi! I would like to ask you a question to which it is sometimes hard for me to find the answer. How many montessori tools should I buy/prepare for my toddler during let's say a 6 months period? I sometimes get lost in the long lists of recommended tools and I also don't want to ruin our budget. Thanks a lot 😉❤
Again, it’s like you knew actually what I needed. My dad is finally building my daughter a shelf and I was needing shelf setup inspiration. I asked for something simple but knowing my dad it won’t be lol
Ashely! You look really pretty in today’s video ❤️ love your hair and makeup 😉 Thank you so much for another informative video! And thanks for the tip less is more for baby to be organized for future life!
Thankyou for this awesome video Ashley! I would really appreciate if you would make a video where you show different activities one can do in various subjects. For example math activities, language activities etc. ❤
What's the age range for a set up like this? Is this kind of a set up important for Montessori at home with older kids? 5, 7, and up? Would you keep this kind of set up once your kids get older or is there another type of set up for bigger kids?
Thanks so much for your informative and helpful videos! You have inspired me so much! Do you have them take out one activity at a time? Have them clean up before getting another? I have a 10 month old. She pulls lots off the shelf and I am not sure if I should build in a routine of cleaning up after each activity. Thanks!!
Yes! Modeling is very important at this early age. And for my toddler, cleaning up is not always consistent (much as I wish it were), but the reminders and modeling are always there.
Same question. How is it working for you? My 17 month old thinks it's fun to throw everything. Even with the front facing bookshelf he takes the books and puts them behind the shelf (almost like piggy bank). I ask him to help me put the (shoes, books, toys) away and he will, but only literally one or two. If I put more away he then tries to throw them again. Any tips, anyone?
It is important to set the standards before every use lie reminding them that they need to take care of the materials so it will look as new and that if it gets broken it has to be taken out of the room because it might not be safe to play with it anymore. I usually start by telling them that it is important that they are safe and others are safe--parents are safe.For those who are having a challenge cleaning up, I convert the moment into a little game, "I see with my little eye red pieces, and they usually pick it up with me. Or if they have learned how to count, " how many green pieces are there, can you help me count?" I hope that helps.
For offering a variety, is there anywhere I can find a comprehensive list of activity types and examples? I am starting this system for my 8 month old and feel like I want to offer a good range of activities but don’t know exactly what can/should be worked on at her age. We just received some stacking toys for Christmas, but I am now starting to think that we might be lacking in other areas but I just don’t know enough about the types or categories of activities to know what would be best to have out at one time.
When would you usually start the "clean-up". Like does it make sense to show them to clean-up each activity/toy when they are finished? For example, my 11-month-old loves to crawl around her room and take out every activity from every shelf and throw it on the floor rather than doing the activity. If I leave her alone for 5 minutes her room looks like a tornado hit it haha.
In the Montessori system, the idea of "completing the cycle of work" is greatly emphasized. Just explain that cleaning up is part of the cycle. So that if they need to use it again, they have all the pieces and be successful or else they will be wasting their time looking for it. It is also a good time to let them know that we have to respectful of other users. They found the material where it is because someone took care of it and cleaned it up and place it in its spot.Let the cleaning up process be calm and a nice experience by turning it into a game. Example: " I spy with my little eye a barn house, did you find it? Go ahead and put it in the basket."Or you can do counting or guessing game as well: " How many little blue trucks do you think we have all in all? Can we count together?" For some children, the way cleaning up is worded makes a difference.And for some, making them feel that cleaning up on their own is a big boy/big girl's task. Eventually, they will say I am a big boy/girl, I can clean up on my own." I hope that works.
Do you have any resources you can recommend to find activities for the shelf categories? I love that idea, but I struggle with what activities are handeye vs math, etc. maybe there is more overlap than I think?
With reference to the traditional Montessori materials, Dr. Montessori actually specified a primary and secondary objective for each one. So, yes, you are right in the sense that some activities may have more than one learning goal. For any activity, though, I find that it helps to think of which area is very obviously the most primary goal, and which ones may just be coincidental. So for example, with the knobbed cylinders, while accurate hand-eye coordination is an important goal as they learn how to place the cylinders into the holes, the child learning how to discriminate by size is much more clearly the primary goal. Or with the magnetic tiles, yes, they need to have good hand-eye coordination to assemble structures… but the hope is that they are gaining spatial reasoning skills by assembling structures, and learning the names of the different shapes (geometry) they are creating if you are building with them at times. So for me, I would instantly classify that as a math-focused activity. Hope this helps! ☺️
Hi Ashley, thank you for sharing this was very informative! On any given day, on an average of how much time do you think your girls play with any of the shelf activities? Do they only ply with those are does Kylie ever ask for other toys/activities that she might of played with before and remembered all of a sudden.
Your videos have been extremely helpful for me as I am fairly new to Montessori. I have a question regarding toys. Do you keep them in a different room? Separate than activity shelf? I have a problem with my boys wanting to play with some of the material and or bringing their toys from their bedroom out into the living room (which is our designed activity area) and getting them mixed together. I am also curious because most videos I have seen, toys are not mentioned, only what is referred to as "educational" or activity toys.
Would be really interested to hear your POV on weaning (breastfeeding) regarding Montessori style currently breastfeeding my 2yo and no signs of him leading towards weaning yet x
Hi. I have a 3 year old and I want to introduce her to montessori. I'm still reading into it. I feel tremendous guilt since she seems to have developed speech delay. I love how Montessori is focused on the child. I know that people are going to say that it's not too late but how can I do it. Where do I start with her? Thank you in advance.
Hey, I know this is an older video for you, but I am catching up. I was wondering what you do with the "non- Montessori" toys your kids will get from friends and families for birthdays and holidays?
Could you make a video that shows different toys/activities that fall into each of those categories for different ages? I have a lot of similar toys, but I don’t always know how to categorize them like you showed
Love this video! Can't wait to apply this for our 11 month old. How do you stop the child pulling everything off the shelf and only play with one item at a time?
Yeah.. I have the same problem too.. my 15 mo just pulls out multiple parts from different activities and starts running around with it.. wondering if I should present only one activity at a time.. any suggestions?
Thank you so much for your awesome videos! Where can I find a white front-facing bookshelf like yours? The Sprouts website only has birch, and other websites seem to only have the natural birch color.
Love your videos! I’m new to Montessori and am introducing it to my 18mo old. Question I have is: is it okay if the child plays with multiple activities at once? My son tends to pull an activity out of a cubby then continue to grab others and play with them simultaneously.
Oh. My. Goodness. Those shelves invoke so much peace in my mind. It's like...I just want to sit in a room like that and admire the simple beauty. Clearly, I need to get to work!
I love rewatching some of your older videos! My 20 month old cleans up like a pro! my family and friends don’t believe it until they see it. He’s been starting to do this around 17 months. It’s awesome and helps me out so much and is so rewarding for him to know where to find everything. Someone help me reteach these essential skills to my hubby 🤷♀️
I can second this! I do the same child. These have been such an immense help, all around.
This inspired me to make her toys look nicer and not put lots of toys on one shelf. It’s been great! She happily dove into her toys with fascination and it was so much easier to clean up ❤
thank you so much Ashley. thank you for choosing to make videos to help other parents out. you have changed my life & my parenting 360°. I wouldnt even know what montessori is without you. I believe that I was meant to find your channel. I found you when my baby was around 6 months old, & Ive been studying & implementing montessori ever since. I have a notebook dedicated to montessori & I take notes while watching all of your videos. youre so so helpful. thank you. Maria would have given you an award for all the work, awareness, & knowledge you have put into & shared regarding montessori.
Ashley, thank you so much for commenting on allowing children to play with toys after they have mastered them, and the reason why. I don't have kids but I am planning on having some soon. One of my biggest worry about being a mother is holding my child back from learning because I'm not providing enough new and challenging materials. It's nice to hear from a confident and successful mother say "it's okay to play with toys they've already mastered." I hadn't thought about the emotional side of learning these skills. Now that's definitely on my radar! Thanks again!
Great information, thanks so much!!! I love the sign, “play is the work of a child”
- Maria Montessori
I just finished reorganizing my daughter's play room and I cannot believe the instant relief I felt when I saw the finished product! Everything has a home, all heavier things are on the bottom shelf and the lightest things up top. I already have plans to add cleaning up one toy before we take out another one to our routine. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for making this video! I follow these practices in the rest of my house and just never applied them to her toys or playroom. 🤦♀️🤷♀️
Would love to see your take based on your learning of Montessori for attention-deficit or dyslexia etc. A common thing I hear from parents is: "oh! Montessori is supposed to be great for kids with learning needs!" Would love a video with your thoughts as a parent and Montessori learner.
My daughter is 3 and her therapist have been happy with the results of us moving towards Montessori methods. Especially less toys, rotating them and minimalizing things. Her play is so much better and her vocab is finally increasing!
Montessori was actually originally created for kids with learning disabilities by Maria Montessori
Yay! I recently started rotating our toys but didn’t know a good strategy to it! Thanks! Can’t wait to watch!
This was very interesting and beneficial for me, I am a mom of a 18 months girl, and almost 6 months pregnant, your videos are so inspiring and educational.a big thank you from Algeria ;)
Great informations! I am a new mom of an almost three months baby boy and I find your videos really well done ,so I decide to follow all of your advices in oder to grow my little one! If you have more wonderful ideas for babies over 3 months please share them ! Your video for babies between 3 und 6 months i already watch it and afterwords i purchesed most of the items you recommended, except the big mirrors, because momentary we don t have a baby room. Greetings from Germany! Stay safe und healty you und your beautiful daughters:)😊👏🤩
Thank you for all your tips on getting started. I’m a first time grandmother retired educator of 30 years and so excited to be adapting the Montessori method at home with her. I have twin girls now grown women and one is a first time mommy. Love your channel and all your tips.
My husband and I are book hoarders so a front facing bookshelf that is big enough to hold all the books was too costly. But, amazon sells a cardboard front facing bookshelf that is perfect for small kiddos and we rotate the books and leave the rest on a normal bookshelf accessible to us.
Yes, books get rotated in the same fashion as all the activities! :)
In a classroom we have about 600 books. We rotate them based on the season, the children’s interest, the current skills they are working on, and the subject we are studying.
25,000 subs in less then 2 months that’s impressive!
I notice all of the toys/furniture are very curated, minimal, and engaging for the child. As you said, a large amount of toys can sometimes be overwhelming for kids especially during clean up time. Have you ever been gifted toys for your babies (birthdays, holidays, etc.) that perhaps you found inappropriate for your child either for their age or whatever. Do you put these toys in storage, donate or? How do you politely explain to your family/friends that the gifts are not only overwhelming for you but also your baby? I want to apply this method but I have a large family and the current babies of the family are just drowning in gizmos and gadgets.
I can't thank you enough for sharing your information. You deliver Montessori and such an easy way to understand. something I do for my baby is neatly place a couple of books against the wall on the floor instead of placing a book shelf in her bedroom
Recently stumbled upon your channel and I’m obsessed! Starting to implement so many of these philosophies with my 7 month old daughter.
Another fantastic video! About time we said Thank you for your great effort in helping us all!
God Bless you and your family and all families!
Thanks to God for our Children. May we move forward and grow together with our Angels with great patience and love!
🙏🏼
Cannot thank you enough for your videos! They're wonderful and SO helpful.
First off i absolutely love your channel and have made conscious efforts to incorporate Montessori learning with my baby about 4 months ago. Prior to that I wasn’t aware Montessori could start in infancy! You make it seem so easy to transition to a more Montessori style of play and I have loved learning so much from you! Have convinced myself to overhaul all of my 7 month olds stuff that isn’t currently Montessori and switching over but that is definitely a complicated process. Is there a video for when you started doing this when Kylie was younger? I remember in one of your videos you said you didn’t start doing this until she was closer to 9 months or so I think. Thanks for the great content 💜
Any tips on how to teach your child to put back or “clean up” their activities? My daughter (15 months) removes everything off the shelves to engage with them and then doesn’t put them back. I’m constantly cleaning up after her-if not her room would be in constant disarray
I'm so grateful for your content! You are a very good teacher💙
I got 2 minutes in and subscribed. Thank you for these videos!!
What an amazing video! Shelf sorting can definitely be daunting and you did a wonderful job explaining it! Thank you.
The intro to this video is so critical. 💯 And the video's main content too of course.
I would love a video on how to classify each toy. I very much appreciate the printable shelf category sheet but sometimes I’m unsure what toy fits in which category.
Or maybe a list of several options for each category is what I’m looking for. You’re usually really great at indicating what category the toys in your shelf fit into but I would love a list to help me with my understanding on how to separate my daughters toys and activities. She is 11 months old.
I have signed up for your e course also so I apologize if my answer is in there and I’m just not that far along in the material yet.
This is so inspiring thank you. I hope to implement this whenever I have my first child in the future.
I love the less is more concept along with toy rotation in my daycare!
I absolutely love your video. I live in Italy, in the region where Maria Montessori was born, and I am learning so much more from you than I have ever learned here. 😅
Wow! Love your videos! This one in particular gave me a better Understanding on how I can set my 3 and 4 year olds shelves and books.
Best video I have watched in years. I learned so much.. thank you Ashley!
Love these videos! I have twin boys who are 13 months and am incorporating these things into their life!
ive watch a lot of your videos before but i'm rewatching them and taking notes!!
Began watching this video. Paused. Grabbed pen and notebook. Restarted video.
😂😂😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 This made my night! Thanks for watching (and taking notes, haha!)
Wait, when did you install a camera over my kitchen table 🤯 cause that’s exactly what I did!
Love your videos. Just getting in to montessori for my 9 month old. Find you videos very informative.
Love your videos. You make it so approachable. Beautiful channel and beautiful family.
Thank you so much! This video was so helpful, especially about how to incorporate for two children of different ages. That is something that I have been worried about doing in a few months.
I just love and appreciate your channel, your information and your approach. Currently bingeing your old videos to follow Mia’s birth story & learn more about raising your girls with Montessori philosophy. Our little lady is currently 7m and I’m looking for educational play ideas for her. If any of your or your favorite YT’ers videos stick out in your mind, I’m all ears. Thanks!
Hi, Ashley ! I discovered your video just now. It was good. I read the comments as well and offered some ideas. The Montessori system is not just one mind's work. It is ours to share and develop. :)
your videos are superb!! Honestly, the quality of your content is outstanding!
I absolutely love your videos! Thank you so much for all of the thorough information you provide. I'm looking forward to organizing this way
Glad I found your channel. I just started the Montessori Method at Home and need tips how to get started and a list of educational toys to buy and how to set things up.
Oh hallelujah thank you for this
Excellent video Ashley..much love and respect from UAE...
I love how you give each cubby as assigned “subject”. That is such a great idea to make it easier on the parent. You don’t have to worry about missing a part of play with a system like that.
Thank you for the idea :)
I'm aiming to fully Montessori my house this weekend! Right now it's an EXPLOSION of toys all day every day. Also majority of toys we have are electronic 😬 We have not practiced cleaning up.
Ugh you're amazing. Thanks again
a great informative video! thanks Ashley :) ..i had a rough idea about montessori shelves but this was a nice and concise refresher while still mentioning all the important points.. i appreciated the alternatives provided for each topic as well.. hope youre all keeping safe and sane!
Thank you so much for this video, Ashley! I’m almost 28 weeks pregnant and the age gap between my first born and my stepchild will be 6 years so I’m really going to have to get creative!😂
Superb work on children u have done
Hey Ashley! Any tips and tricks for getting a toddler to engage more in some of the activities? Mg 2.5 year old gets frustrated or disinterested if he can’t figure it out right away, or just wants to watch a show. Since quarantine and having a new baby, we’ve been using a little more screen time than I’d like to admit. I love all the activities you show in each video, but he is so spastic and energetic that it’s hard to get him to focus. For example, I’m trying to do sandpaper letters with him now but he doesn’t stay for even phase one. He also doesn’t really like arts and crafts 😱 any helpful tips to get an energetic kiddo to concentrate on one activity? (Btw, we live in AZ so it’s getting super hot outside. We used to play outside/ walk/ explore daily but now we can’t 😫)
I love your videos, they are so informative and gut structured, and helpful ❤️
Thank you so much, your videos are awesome. I always take notes when watching them. it s really like taking a very interesting class !
Your videos are wonderful. Thank you for the videos!
This video came up on my feed just as I was thinking about what to do with my shelves... thank you for this great video
Saved this video! Thank you!
Love this video! Such a good, simple breakdown! Thank you 🙏
wow so much to learn from! thanks Ashley!!
Thank you for another great video! Love all of the information you provide. Your an inspiration😊
Great advice. I will make some changes. I have 2 year old twins and was wondering if you would set up 2 toys per category? Do you have any resources for Montessori for twins?
Hi! I am a Montessori Director and we provide only one of each material. In this way, they learn the value of taking turns. Explain it to them and they will just choose something else while waiting. In our case, we provided the words for them. " Can I please have a turn when you're done?" And the other child says, :I'll let you know when it's your turn."And even twins chose different materials in most cases--because they have different interests and personalities.But as adults we want to observe closely their interests. Hope that helps. CEY
I’ve been slowly changing up our play area and this video was a great inspiration.
Love this. We’re just setting up our activity shelf and other toddler stations 💖
I really love the content of your vlogs. I'm learning a lot from you!! Thank you so much. God bless your family. 😊
My son 3 year old LOVES animals. I just cant get them to stay in one place. They come with him to eat, to bed, to bath ( btw yesterday as he took a bath he became a hippo lol). Anywhere he goes an animal goes with him. I love that he can play independently and i can use animals to teach different concepts but there is absolutely no order to his play! I do try to implement montessori principles in our home, thank you for presenting them in such beautiful and thoughtful way
You are amazing! Thank you for what you are doing!
Thank you for this video! We just moved and the way the rooms are set up my daughter now has a playroom with a cube shelving system. I know we have too many toys out and this video just gave me extra push to put some up. Love your videos and personality! (I also have a Mia)
I’m headed the B&N to pick up your book! Thank you
Hi! I would like to ask you a question to which it is sometimes hard for me to find the answer. How many montessori tools should I buy/prepare for my toddler during let's say a 6 months period? I sometimes get lost in the long lists of recommended tools and I also don't want to ruin our budget. Thanks a lot 😉❤
Again, it’s like you knew actually what I needed. My dad is finally building my daughter a shelf and I was needing shelf setup inspiration. I asked for something simple but knowing my dad it won’t be lol
Ashely! You look really pretty in today’s video ❤️ love your hair and makeup 😉
Thank you so much for another informative video! And thanks for the tip less is more for baby to be organized for future life!
Do you guys get toys or toy kits from lovevery? If not, you should! It reminds me of you a lot! ❤️
Thankyou for this awesome video Ashley! I would really appreciate if you would make a video where you show different activities one can do in various subjects. For example math activities, language activities etc. ❤
Thank you for all the information! Your videos are superb! ❤
What's the age range for a set up like this? Is this kind of a set up important for Montessori at home with older kids? 5, 7, and up? Would you keep this kind of set up once your kids get older or is there another type of set up for bigger kids?
I have been using the shelving system for a while now but this was still so useful x
Thanks so much for your informative and helpful videos! You have inspired me so much! Do you have them take out one activity at a time? Have them clean up before getting another? I have a 10 month old. She pulls lots off the shelf and I am not sure if I should build in a routine of cleaning up after each activity. Thanks!!
I have the same question!
Yes! Modeling is very important at this early age. And for my toddler, cleaning up is not always consistent (much as I wish it were), but the reminders and modeling are always there.
Same question. How is it working for you? My 17 month old thinks it's fun to throw everything. Even with the front facing bookshelf he takes the books and puts them behind the shelf (almost like piggy bank). I ask him to help me put the (shoes, books, toys) away and he will, but only literally one or two. If I put more away he then tries to throw them again. Any tips, anyone?
It is important to set the standards before every use lie reminding them that they need to take care of the materials so it will look as new and that if it gets broken it has to be taken out of the room because it might not be safe to play with it anymore. I usually start by telling them that it is important that they are safe and others are safe--parents are safe.For those who are having a challenge cleaning up, I convert the moment into a little game, "I see with my little eye red pieces, and they usually pick it up with me. Or if they have learned how to count, " how many green pieces are there, can you help me count?" I hope that helps.
As always absolutely wonderful video ❤️ thank you for this ❤️
For offering a variety, is there anywhere I can find a comprehensive list of activity types and examples?
I am starting this system for my 8 month old and feel like I want to offer a good range of activities but don’t know exactly what can/should be worked on at her age.
We just received some stacking toys for Christmas, but I am now starting to think that we might be lacking in other areas but I just don’t know enough about the types or categories of activities to know what would be best to have out at one time.
I just bought this shelf too! thanks for your sharing (my son is 16M now)
This was so helpful Ashley!
Hope you guys are staying well (and not getting cabin fever) in isolation
These are such amazing tips!!! Thank you 💗💗💗
Hi Ashley, really like your video. I am wondering where you got the small display shelf from? The link is not showing anything. Thanks.
How many items should be out at any given time when you have more than one child (19 months and 3 months specifically)? Love your channel. ❤️
Right now, we’re doing 8-10 activities per child. But it depends on your available space. :)
@@HapaFamily would 4-6 activities be too little?
How do you feel about a play kitchen? How do you distribute the kitchen items? Thank you!
Thank you , thank you , thank you. I was getting so frustrated as of where to start .
Do you have videos of exactly what parents do during shelf time? I am new to all this and I’m not sure what it should look like or how long it lasts?
When you are choosing items to rotate in do you let Kylie pick from a couple options or do you choose for her?
I'd love to know this as well!
She chooses. She observes her child and chooses the activities acording to it
When would you usually start the "clean-up". Like does it make sense to show them to clean-up each activity/toy when they are finished? For example, my 11-month-old loves to crawl around her room and take out every activity from every shelf and throw it on the floor rather than doing the activity. If I leave her alone for 5 minutes her room looks like a tornado hit it haha.
Ditto!!! 😂
In the Montessori system, the idea of "completing the cycle of work" is greatly emphasized. Just explain that cleaning up is part of the cycle. So that if they need to use it again, they have all the pieces and be successful or else they will be wasting their time looking for it. It is also a good time to let them know that we have to respectful of other users. They found the material where it is because someone took care of it and cleaned it up and place it in its spot.Let the cleaning up process be calm and a nice experience by turning it into a game. Example: " I spy with my little eye a barn house, did you find it? Go ahead and put it in the basket."Or you can do counting or guessing game as well: " How many little blue trucks do you think we have all in all? Can we count together?" For some children, the way cleaning up is worded makes a difference.And for some, making them feel that cleaning up on their own is a big boy/big girl's task. Eventually, they will say I am a big boy/girl, I can clean up on my own." I hope that works.
Hi! I love the sensory shakers featured in this video. I can see the oats, rice, and dried (kidney?) beans. What’s in the other 3 shaker bottles ?
Do you have any resources you can recommend to find activities for the shelf categories? I love that idea, but I struggle with what activities are handeye vs math, etc. maybe there is more overlap than I think?
With reference to the traditional Montessori materials, Dr. Montessori actually specified a primary and secondary objective for each one. So, yes, you are right in the sense that some activities may have more than one learning goal. For any activity, though, I find that it helps to think of which area is very obviously the most primary goal, and which ones may just be coincidental. So for example, with the knobbed cylinders, while accurate hand-eye coordination is an important goal as they learn how to place the cylinders into the holes, the child learning how to discriminate by size is much more clearly the primary goal. Or with the magnetic tiles, yes, they need to have good hand-eye coordination to assemble structures… but the hope is that they are gaining spatial reasoning skills by assembling structures, and learning the names of the different shapes (geometry) they are creating if you are building with them at times. So for me, I would instantly classify that as a math-focused activity. Hope this helps! ☺️
And in reference to activity ideas, you might try checking out montessorialbum.com 👍🏻🥰
Hapa Family Thanks that does!! And I’ll definitely check out that link
Hi Ashley, thank you for sharing this was very informative! On any given day, on an average of how much time do you think your girls play with any of the shelf activities? Do they only ply with those are does Kylie ever ask for other toys/activities that she might of played with before and remembered all of a sudden.
Your videos have been extremely helpful for me as I am fairly new to Montessori. I have a question regarding toys. Do you keep them in a different room? Separate than activity shelf? I have a problem with my boys wanting to play with some of the material and or bringing their toys from their bedroom out into the living room (which is our designed activity area) and getting them mixed together. I am also curious because most videos I have seen, toys are not mentioned, only what is referred to as "educational" or activity toys.
Would be really interested to hear your POV on weaning (breastfeeding) regarding Montessori style currently breastfeeding my 2yo and no signs of him leading towards weaning yet x
I love this thank you! I have 3 1/2 mo old twins. What do you recommend as far as their separate interests vs same age?
Hi.
I have a 3 year old and I want to introduce her to montessori. I'm still reading into it. I feel tremendous guilt since she seems to have developed speech delay. I love how Montessori is focused on the child.
I know that people are going to say that it's not too late but how can I do it. Where do I start with her?
Thank you in advance.
Hey, I know this is an older video for you, but I am catching up. I was wondering what you do with the "non- Montessori" toys your kids will get from friends and families for birthdays and holidays?
Could you make a video that shows different toys/activities that fall into each of those categories for different ages? I have a lot of similar toys, but I don’t always know how to categorize them like you showed
Love this video! Can't wait to apply this for our 11 month old. How do you stop the child pulling everything off the shelf and only play with one item at a time?
Yeah.. I have the same problem too.. my 15 mo just pulls out multiple parts from different activities and starts running around with it.. wondering if I should present only one activity at a time.. any suggestions?
Thank you so much for your awesome videos! Where can I find a white front-facing bookshelf like yours? The Sprouts website only has birch, and other websites seem to only have the natural birch color.
Love your videos so much! You mentioned kids going through an order sensitive period when they’re young, what age does that tend to be?
Love your videos! I’m new to Montessori and am introducing it to my 18mo old. Question I have is: is it okay if the child plays with multiple activities at once? My son tends to pull an activity out of a cubby then continue to grab others and play with them simultaneously.
Same here, I just don't know what to do