Practical Life
Making Clove Apples or Oranges
Provide your child with a small tray with a bowl of whole cloves and an apple or orange to poke them into. The small size of the cloves makes this great for fine motor development and your child will create something that smells beautiful to decorate the house or give to a friend.
Montessori Pro Tip: Create patterns to make more complex designs.
Math Activity
"Bring Me" Game
Montessori math for young children is extremely hands-on. Practice with your child who is learning to count by playing a "bring me" game. Say something like, "Bring me 8 red Lego bricks" or "Bring me 3 coloured pencils". Your child will have to keep the number in their mind while they find the objects, which makes it more challenging.
Montessori Pro Tip: You can combine language and math and ask your child “bring me three small red pencils” or “bring me five tall blue pencils”
Language Development
Household Labels
If your child has started to read, write the name of a household object on a slip of paper and let your child read it and place it on the object. Start with easy words like "box" or "cup" and increase the challenge as they're ready.
Montessori Pro Tip: Create challenges with more complex words to develop their vocabulary.
Sensorial Activity
Smelling Bottles
Fill a few spice jars with herbs or cotton balls with kids’ safe essential oils or essences. Let your child enjoy smelling and guessing what they are.
Montessori Pro Tip: For an older child, you can provide two sets of bottles and let them match the smells.
Creative Activity
Makerspace
Designate a small corner or table for a "makerspace" for your child. Keep a variety of objects there (simple things like boxes, toilet paper rolls, buttons, string) and encourage your child to construct whatever they like.
Montessori Pro Tip: Ask them to create a more elaborate project using all their creations, a bridge, a house, a car (where their interest lies).
Additional Resources
Some great Montessori activity ideas for home.:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCABMcwt-Imj1rY0TkrNyuEA/videos
Learning at Montessori Week 9
Learning at Home Montessori Week 2
