I love winter. I love the holidays and the snow. I live in Minnesota, so I am walking in a winter wonderland at least 6 months out of the year. But as a Montessori toddler teacher, the worst part of winter is trying to stuff 10 toddlers into outside gear every day to go outside. One of the best things we do to cut down on this prep time is teach the toddlers to put on their own coat using the Up and Over Method. Here is the simple way toddlers can put on their own coat. (Sorry, you will still have to zip it!)

Line Up the Coat

We usually tell the toddlers to put their feet by the tag. (You might need to give a small lesson about how that doesn’t mean on top of the tag.) If they don’t have a tag, you can say the loop or the hood. They just need some kind of distinguishing mark at the top of their jacket so they know when they have it right.

Arms in the Sleeves

Have your toddler bend at the waist and put their arms in the arm hole. Make sure your toddler sticks their arms quite a ways into the sleeves. Sometimes a toddler will just barely put their hands in the holes and it just doesn’t work.

Up and Over the Head

Have your child stand up while putting their arms over their head. The jacket should flip over their head and slide down their arms. Ta-Da! It should be on.

(Side Note: don’t ask your husband to take blog pictures when he is in the middle of something else. You’ll end up looking like an idiot. Except I also thought this was funny, so I left it.)

Troubleshooting

The first couple (sometimes up to 50) times a toddler does this, they will need you to line the jacket up. Even if you have to make sure the sleeves aren’t inside out and toss it on the floor, you will still be saving time. If your child puts their jacket on upside down (which is so common) just tell them it isn’t right and they need to stand with their feet by the loop. Encourage them to try again.

So Many Uses

Once a toddler knows how to do Up and Over with their jacket, they can use the same method for lots of different clothes. This works for button up shirts, vests, zip-up sweatshirts, etc. Independence is so important in a toddler, so using this method as often as possible gives them their independence.