A Montessori shelf – what's the point and do you need one?

You might have come across various Montessori at Home accounts on social media and noticed toy shelves with a few carefully selected toys on display. We could write a book about the background of and debates about Montessori approaches, so this is a simplified version of a small part of the discussion!  

Who was Maria Montessori? 

Dr Maria Montessori was an Italian doctor and educator. In 1907, she was asked to organise the care of children at the Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House).  

She noticed that children really concentrated on ‘practical’ activities, such as sweeping or getting dressed, and this led her to an approach that involved children in everyday life.  

Montessori also believed in giving children time to do things at their own pace, with a choice of activities.  

She believed children should be given time to make mistakes and correct them themselves, and in group settings be in a mixed age group of children.^[1] 

How do these ideas lead to the carefully organised toy shelves on Instagram?  

Montessori toy shelves – a selection of toys your toddler can see and move 

The photos of toy shelves you see on Instagram grew out of the idea that your toddler should be able to choose what they would like to do and get what they need without help.  

The selection of toys is usually quite small and swapped regularly (sometimes called toy rotation), as having just a few toys might make choosing a bit easier for toddlers.  

Toy rotation or maybe no toys at all?  

If you have started to think about this approach you might see some quite strict ideas being shared about when you should change the toys on your shelf.  

But really, like so many things in parenting, this comes back to watching your toddler and deciding when it’s the right time for them to have a change.  

When you choose toys or objects that can be used in different ways, you might find they don’t need to be swapped as your toddler changes how they use them.  

It is also probably important to mention that in the Montessori approach there is a strong emphasis on involving children in everyday tasks using small versions of real objects rather than toys.  

So, rather than pretending to wash up, your child would help to wash up – then the toys on your shelf would be chosen to help your toddler practise skills that they need for these everyday tasks.  

Other aspects of independence encouraged in Montessori approaches include floor beds, clothes that children can take off and put on themselves and involving toddlers in preparing food.  

The Montessori approach is described by Lecturer in education Susan Feez as, ‘allowing children to reveal what they can do themselves’.^[2] 

You might not want to fully embrace the Montessori approach, but you could think about making it possible for your toddler to be more independent by organising their toys so they can see what they have and decide what to use. 

References: 

[1] Maria Montessori Institute (undated). Why Montessori? Available at: https://www.mariamontessori.org/about-us/why-montessori/ 

[2] Feez, S. (2010). Montessori and Early Childhood. A Guide for Students. Sage: London.