Homeschool Montessori Math with Babies and Toddlers Underfoot

by Katie Key

Is it possible to do Montessori at home when I have babies and toddlers around? Isn't it dangerous? What about math with all the beads and tiny pieces? 

I get this question a lot. I had this question myself, particularly when my oldest as four years old. She was so ready for math lessons, and we had started Montessori homeschooling when she was 2 1/2, so she had been working with the sensorial materials and language materials for some time. 

The problem was, we had our second daughter when she was 2.5. Then we had our third daughter when she was four. She was also still napping, so we couldn't really work during the younger girls' nap time!

Enter: The Montessori Math Workbook. I needed an on-paper solution that didn't require materials. I still used materials, but sometimes it was much easier to grab a workbook and head to the table. I wasn't going to give up the Montessori curriculum. I wasn't going to jump to a different way of presenting math. Instead, I was stubborn enough to create on on-paper solution to Montessori math. We could still use materials when we wanted, but we were always armed with an at-the-table (adult sized table, above the babies!) solution! 

It's been a game changer for our homeschool, as we now have five children and their ages range from 11 months to 10 years. Our homeschool has to work for our family. I'm not about to sacrifice the wellbeing of my children to make my home "perfect Montessori." If that is what you are looking for, you will need to enroll your child in a Montessori school.

Here are some things we have done to make Montessori homeschooling work for our family: 

✔️Choose an adult height table when the littles are awake.
✔️Have age appropriate toys and work accessible for the younger children in the SAME room you are giving lessons
✔️Prioritize connected lesson time for each child, not letting the chaos interrupt you (unless it is unsafe)
✔️Use lesson time for the toddlers and younger preschoolers to model proper use of the toys and materials in the room and how to react when the baby makes a mess (did you notice the disaster in the reel? 😂)
✔️Keep small math materials out of reach of the younger children.
✔️Use the Montessori Math Workbooks to contain our lessons and help me present the material… we can forego materials altogether when we need to with these workbooks, and we can work at the table easily (which is why I made them in the first place!)

If you want to make your math time happen every day, you need these Montessori Math Workbooks. There are three so far. Shop here. 

 

 

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