Montessori in the home

Practical Life: Crushing Paper

October 8, 2009

Age: 9 – 12 months Goal: Laying the foundation for putting trash paper in a tr ash can as well as developing fine motor skills. Materials: work mat, tray, basket, five pieces of paper (ie, tissue paper, wrapping paper, construction paper) Avoid using paper with words (ie, magazines, newspapers, books) so that you can model [...]

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Motor Activity: Opening & Closing Extension

October 8, 2009

Age: 9 – 12 months Goal: To develop fine motor skills and the pincer grasp. Materials: mat, basket, 5 or 6 objects that can be opened and closed (book, box, purse, etc.) and an object to go in each container Prepare the work and get out the mat. Place the basket on the right side [...]

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Social Activity: Trying on Hats

October 8, 2009

Age: 9 – 12 months Goal: Interacting with others, to develop concentration, body awareness, and laying the foundation for dressing . Materials: mat, three or four different hats Presentation Prepare the work and get out the mat. Sit with the infant facing you. Once you have the child’s attention take the hats out and put [...]

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Motor Activity: Opening & Closing Objects

September 24, 2009

Age: 9 – 12 months Goal: To develop fine motor skills and the pincer grasp. Materials: mat, basket, 5 or 6 objects that can be opened and closed (book, box, purse, etc.) Presentation Prepare the work and get out the mat. Place the basket on the right side of the mat with the child sitting [...]

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Body Theme: Update

September 24, 2009

I had high hopes for the body theme this month, but after my laptop decided it needed a break many of the projects I had planned went by the wayside. I got a bit discouraged, because I had been taking pictures for a few months knowing I wanted to make a book of body parts [...]

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Cognitive Activity: Matching Pairs

September 22, 2009

Age: 12 – 18 months Goal: To lay the foundation for matching skills and to develop concentration. Materials: mat, basket, three pairs (such as shoes, socks, mittens/gloves, animals, cutlery, balls, etc) Prepare the work and get out the mat. With the work facing the child and the mat between you, set the basket to the [...]

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Sensory Activity: Experiencing Different Sounds

September 5, 2009

Age: 6-9 months Goal: To develop listening skills and motor skills. Materials: mat, a set of small containers filled with small objects (I used grits, rice, oats, and beans) tray or basket (for sound containers). Make sure the lid of the container is firmly sealed or glue/tape the lid secure. Choose containers that are identical [...]

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Homemade Child’s Placemat

September 4, 2009

Last week during a few of Joey’s naps I made a few placemats for his eating dishes. I like them and they were really simple to make. I just traced the dishes and silverware on a plain piece of cardstock, cut them out, glued them to an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of cardstock, and then [...]

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Treasure Basket: Primary Colors

September 1, 2009

A few weeks ago, I decided to change our treasure basket to reflect the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) over the next few weeks. The plan is to have just one color in the treasure basket for two weeks and then switch to the next color. The last two weeks were red and yesterday [...]

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A Montessori Infant Education Video

August 28, 2009

“Each object in the prepared environment is a potential learning tool, not just a toy or a diversion.” I came across this video earlier in the week and thought it was worth sharing. It gives a brief explanation of how the infant learns, the need for repetition, and how the environment aids the child in [...]

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Plans for the “School Year”

August 27, 2009

First off, it feels weird to think of starting the “school year” with my 9 month old. It’s not like we’re sitting down for formal lessons for hours a day. We’re pretty relaxed here. I aim to give him a lesson or two a day and I switch up the work on the shelves every [...]

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