Montessori has done a wonderful job with their educational approach for children, and has composed this chart to allow parents to quickly understand what chores are appropriate for what age level.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Montessori Educational Approach, a summary of its characteristics are as follows:

Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori developed many of her ideas while working with mentally challenged children. Her first school, La casa dei bambini, was opened in 1907 to working class children in the slum neighborhood of San Lorenzo in Rome. Her approach was characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development.

Although a range of practices exist under the name “Montessori,” the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:

• Mixed age classrooms; classrooms for children ages  2¹⁄₂ or 3 to 6 years old are by far the most common, but 0–3, 6–9, 9–12, 12–15, and 15–18 year-old classrooms exist as well.
• Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours
• A constructivist or “discovery” model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
• Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators often made out of natural, aesthetic materials such as wood, rather than plastic.
• A thoughtfully prepared environment where materials are organized by subject area, within reach of the child, and are appropriate in size.
• Freedom of movement within the classroom
• A trained Montessori teacher who follows the child and is highly experienced in observing the individual child’s characteristics, tendencies, innate talents and abilities.

For more insight into this topic check out an article on Fatherly.com that also featured this chart.

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