Home/school material overlap?

[CB73]

I am curious as to opinions about having Montessori materials at home, prior to and during a child attending the school.

Is it a bad thing to have Montessori materials at home if they are not going to be used exactly as they are in the school setting?

Will it introduce materials in one way, then be confusing for the child when introduced another way at the school?

And what about boredom? Will a child be "bored" with materials at the school if they've been seen at home?

Is there a balance to what you buy? Our family appreciates wooden, simple and age appropriate materials - but do not want to interefere with the school experience when that happens for our sons.

Thoughts?

[Flor]

I order things from www.smallhands.com their website is more parent-based, their catalogue has school matierials. I think kids are adaptable. there will always be materials that will be used slightly different at school (even things like markers and paints might have different rules at school). I have mostly purchased kid-sized cleaning, cooking and gardening items rather than materials that he will see exclusively at school.

[Lillianna]

It depends which materials you are talking about. Many of Montessori's materials must be understood in the context of the entire continuum, many have prerequisites or activities that are done ahead of time to prepare the child for its use, some materials have many different extensions or games that extend their use. I have had children at school that are "overworked" academically at home and are not interested in doing anything challenging at school.
Of course, we always encourage parents to extend the ideas of independence and giving the child time to work things out on their own at home. So, having materials for care of self and care of the environment at home is encouraged such as child sized broom, dust pan, bucket, towels, etc. - having toiletry items accessible - watering plants, washing windows, food preparation, things like that.