Child's Broom
"Care of the Environment" is an extremely significant and valuable element of the Montessori Practical Life curriculum. Caring for the environment allows a child to gain a sense of independence, self-confidence, self-control and responsibility. Sweeping is a skill that will be relied upon so many times in an individual's life and so it makes sense to introduce this as early as possible so that it feels like a natural part of the daily routine. This gives the child the best possible opportunity to successfully master the skill but also helps to instil a sense of normalcy to the task - if it is unexpectedly imposed later in life it might feel like an inconvenient chore but by being introduced early it simply feels natural!
Working with brooms - both indoors and out - also assists children with developing gross motor coordination and spatial reasoning. The movements required for effective sweeping take some practice and it is lovely to observe a child learning to coordinate the motions of the whole body to work towards a single goal.
Our brooms come in 3 variations: Small head (and smaller bristle span) for indoors, hard bristles with a broader span for outdoors and the cute 'Straw Broom' style.
The height of each broom is approximately 80cm. The wooden handles of the Indoor & Outdoor Brooms screw safely into the bristle-head but can be disconnected again for storage.
When children begin learning to sweep it is particularly useful to offer a presentation focusing on 'direction' and/or 'targeting'. Many children observe adults sweeping and view it as simply moving the brush around the room, without noticing the subtle detail that the adult is ultimately gathering all the dirt in one spot. It is therefore useful to create a 'point of interest' surrounding this detail by showing a child how to create a target (using chalk, masking tape or another non-permanent way to mark the floor). The child can then be shown how each stroke of the brush needs to push the dirt towards this target. Similarly, if sweeping the path outdoors an adult will need to demonstrate to the child that the leaves must be pushed in one direction, with the brush then lifted and returned to the starting point, otherwise the leaves will just move back and forth!
Please note: Due to the dimensions of the broom(s) these items are not eligible for our usual flat-rate shipping price. The Heavy/Bulky Goods rate $28 will be applied. Please note that this $28 is a flat-rate maximum cost, and as such you can add as much as you like to the order without spending more on shipping!
