Make it accessible

I have a lot of eye droppers in my classroom. Like a lot. Usually about 16 out and available to the children. That's not including the numerous spares I've squirrelled away in the high cupboards for the inevitable breakages.

Opening an eye dropper for polishing

Part of the reason there are so many is because I've found eye droppers to be the most practical tool to hold polish  And so not only do we always have 3 bottles out on the shelf for the three different polishing activities. (wood, metal, glass), but there are 3 identical ones tucked away in the resupply cupboard.

The resupply cupboard (or shelf like in my last classroom) holds duplicates of the consumables items in the classroom. Bottles of polish, full spray bottles for window washing, cotton balls, buttons and fabric for sewing, etc. Anything the children might use up during the course of the day and need to replenish. These are kept "out of sight out of mind" to keep a student from simply fiddling with them and making a mess. However at the same time they're in an area the children are free to access if they need more of something specific.

Obviously not everything is in this space. Most paper supplies for language, math or art are stored elsewhere due to space and are replenished by an adult before class. Or the tasting bottles which would require an extra set of 8 more eyedroppers! (and something that is usually used up due to overly silly activity anyway!).

Generally though the idea of making things accessible to the children without adult help is key to a Montessori environment. The more the children can do for themselves the less dependant they are on adults. And the easier it makes our work!

Sometimes making things accessible requires a new space, sometimes it just requires a stool to allow the child to reach an existing supply. You don't need to put out a separate apple on the child's table if you feel comfortable letting them use a stool to grab one off the counter instead.

Think about what your students or children commonly come asking you to get out for them. Is is something you would feel comfortable giving them access to? How could you put it within their reach so they could be more independent? And once you have relax in the extra time you're not wasting fetching the crayons out of the highest drawer again!

Our tasting activity