Montessori Toddler Development Tips

The toddler and preschool years can be trying. It takes forever to get out the door. Personalities are being developed, the word “no” has been discovered, and independence is being evaluated and tested! It can be far too easy to fall into the habit of doing everything for our kids. Yet with a little bit of intentional setup, we can foster independence and make life easier for everyone.

Winter can be an especially difficult time with young children at home. More layers, more buttons, more snaps, more laces - and more time stuck indoors. This is actually the perfect time of year to put a few systems in place. We can use the extra time indoors to start fostering the independence our children are already yearning for.

Montessori Toddler Tips for Independence at Home

The Montessori method places a large focus on independence for children. In a Montessori classroom you’ll find this everywhere: child-size sinks where even tiny children wash dishes after a meal, child-size cleaning supplies, shoes lined neatly along the wall, coats hung on low pegs, and tiny vases with fresh flowers tended by 2-year-olds. Most Montessori toddler programs even have tiny toilets and sinks.

While it’s not logistical for homeschoolers to replicate a full Montessori setup, there is a great deal we can do. When we set our children up for success, they fall into routines much more easily. As we give them skills toward independence, these years become smoother and more joy-filled for everyone.

In a Montessori home, there’s a place for everything and everything has its place. Skip the overflowing toy bins and catch-all drawers. Provide a few low shelves at the child’s height with just a few items on them: Toys can be rotated out regularly. Even the youngest children will know exactly where a toy goes when they’re done with it.

I’ll never forget watching my son toddle back and forth to his shelf to put things away. He even started to grasp the concept as a crawler: The toys didn’t always land in exactly the right spot, but they made it back to the shelf. Part of the reason playrooms get so messy is that children get overwhelmed by too many choices. A few well-organized shelves can be transformative, especially for families with multiple children.

Kids love having their own little cubby area by the door. Even if it’s just a shoebox and a stick-on-the-wall hook for their coat, providing children with a space all their own makes putting away their “gear” much easier. When my son was little, he had a small box for his shoes, a small box for his hat and mittens, and a little hook for his coat, all right next to the front door. He even helped select everything. I’ve seen parents build cubbies from wood and let their children decorate them too.

Learning to tie shoes is hard, and toddler shoes can be the stuff of nightmares. Some children won’t be ready for this for quite some time. But if you can get your child independently putting on and taking off their shoes, that alone saves a lot of time. Practice when you’re not rushing out the door. Snow boots are a great starting point because they’re easier to slip into. Practicing with hats, coats, and mittens helps too.

This is one of the best-kept Montessori toddler secrets. The child unzips their coat and places it on the ground in front of them with the tag at their toes. They then bend down, slip their arms through the armholes, and flip the coat up and over their head. It takes a bit of practice, but it is hands-down the easiest way to teach young children to put on their own coat independently and it is absolutely adorable to watch.

For trips where your child needs to be in a car seat, putting a coat on backward is a great trick. Car seats and bulky coats aren’t a safe combination but children still need to stay warm. Kids can get strapped into their seat and then slip their coat on backward to stay cozy. Practice this in a warm, parked car when you’re not in a rush. Once they have it down, it saves a lot of time and stress on cold mornings.

Kids love to help shovel snow. Tiny children aren’t going to clear the driveway, but they genuinely enjoy it and  it gives them a sense of accomplishment and the ability to contribute. (And it tires them out nicely for nap time.)

Winter is the perfect time to cozy up indoors and foster a love of learning. Young children can use ShillerLearning kits, and we include activities designed specifically for toddlers and preschoolers in our curriculum. Everything is set up to foster the independence your child is already reaching for alongside the academic skills you’re working toward.

See Inside Our Montessori-Based Kits

Math Kit I
Pre-K – 3rd Grade

View Kit

Language Arts Kit A
Pre-K – 1st Grade

View Kit

Watch: Montessori at Home

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