Encouraging Kids to be Household Helpers

When we toured daycare centers for Oliver we looked at various types of care centers: a church school, a nature-based facility, in-homes, traditional centers, and a Montessori. We ultimately chose an in-home provider, but we still talk about the Montessori school and the ideals of Montessori.

For those unfamiliar with Montessori (i.e. me a few years ago!), here is a great definition:

Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the highly trained teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. Children work in groups and individually to discover and explore knowledge of the world and to develop their maximum potential. 

 Taken from: https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education

Basically, to really simplify it for myself, I refer to it as "letting your toddlers (or babies, or kids) figure things out themselves." The man who gave us a tour of the Montessori school gave a great example of an assignment for 2nd graders where they planned a business startup. One 7-year-old girl literally wanted chickens at the school so that they could sell the eggs. This girl took it upon herself to use the teacher's office phone to call various people to get this approved (building manager, neighborhood council members, etc). She ended up petitioning the mayor to allow the chickens to be kept on the school grounds even though no one lived there. In the end, SHE WON. They got chickens and sold eggs for years. At this point in the tour I asked to see the chickens, but they were no longer there. I didn't dare to ask what happened to them or the girl who fought so passionately to have them. But, I digress. Montessori is cool!

While I have no formal training in Montessori I have a thirst for knowledge and fostering independence in my own children, which has led me to read about and follow many Montessori-inspired families and Montessori professionals on various platforms. I have then taken their examples along with a large cup of coffee (or wine) and let Oliver try things out for himself. Overall, we've been pretty successful. But, I think we can both agree that we have a few activities that are both easy for Oliver to help with AND not terribly messy for mom to clean up after. So, here are our top two activities Oliver (age 26 months) loves to help with (plus a few extras listed at the bottom!).

Mixing Pizza Dough

A small taste test

1. Cooking-- This is our go-to activity when we're feeling a little rocky in the afternoons. Oliver can often help with dinner preparation in addition to other unplanned baking. He takes a dining room chair and slides it over to the counter and is ready to help. For those that can't imagine using a chair, there are beautiful structures called "learning towers" available. My husband is in the process of building us one asap because our floors and the microfiber chairs are taking a beating! In our first lessons, he learned that knives and graters are sharp and the stove is hot, so he doesn't touch. But, there are a few activities that he loves doing: peeling carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes( with assistance), mixing with a designated whisk or spoon, pouring ingredients together, and most of all taste testing. He has tried so many raw veggies (kid loves onions?) and licked many a beater/spoon doing this. Other special baking activities he enjoys include rolling with a rolling pin (pizza dough, cookies, etc), spreading butter on bread, and occasionally cracking eggs (this one is a doozy for mom). At this time he has his own drawer in our kitchen with a baking hat and apron (made by grandma), his whisk, a mini rolling pin, and cloths to wipe up. We also have been toying with him learning safe cutting habits, so he has a crinkle cutter in another drawer that he can use only with assistance from mom or dad. So far we've been very fortunate with our cooking experiences and I truly believe that he eats more at mealtime because he is actually making the meals. Some of Oliver's favorite recipes include: lasagna, homemade pizzas, eggs/omelets, croissants, and any sort of baking. Of course, you could adapt almost any recipe to include your toddler, just remember the key ingredient you will need is PATIENCE.

Learning Tower 

Crinkle Cutter

Melissa & Doug Cleaning Set

2. Cleaning/Tidying-- Picking up toys has been a struggle for us over the last months, Oliver loves dumping all the toys out and then not even playing with them. Recently, I got so tired of cleaning up 8,000 toys that I packed up most of the toys, categorized them in our guest room and began a toy rotation. Oliver seems to do better with fewer toys and if he wants a particular toy/activity he must pick up whatever is already out. Like I said, so far, SO much better than before! I honestly think he was overwhelmed by choices of toys before, this seems better for all parties involved.
For Christmas, Oliver received a Melissa and Doug cleaning set and has enjoyed cleaning up some of his messes with the broom and dustpan. Usually, I will help him by either holding the dustpan for him to sweep or vice versa. If there are crumbs or a dry spill he will now rush to get his broom to sweep up. He likes cleaning our patio door (the bottom half at least) as well, so I will spray and he will wipe (we use plant-based, nontoxic cleaner). When I bring home diapers, he always likes to help bring them up to the boys' room and put them away. I hope these activities not only strengthen his independence but also give him a sense of responsibility for household chores (a mom can dream, right?!).

Some other odd jobs he helps with: feeding the dog (kibble), handing me clean dishes out of the dishwasher, dusting with a handheld duster, shoveling/raking, and helping

make coffees (scooping into the espresso baskets and turning the knob when it is green).

We hope to enroll Oliver and Charlie into Montessori at some point in the future, but until then I will keep up his helpful nature, with a large dose of patience on my end. How do your little ones help out at home? Tips or tricks?