28 Montessori Inspired Activities for Toddlers
This is week 1 of a four week (28 activities total) Montessori Inspired Activities for Young Toddlers series. These hands-on activities are for the young toddler who is 9 months old to 1.5 years old. These activities will help your child develop fine motor and gross motor skills. There are plenty of sensory and object permanence activities also included. Several of the activities that I am going to share with you are inspirations that I gathered from other Montessori moms and blogs. Many of the activities are uniquely my own DIY ideas. Enjoy!
Please also visit Week Two, Week Three, and Week Four.
Flower Arranging for Young Toddlers
Flower arranging is a classic Montessori work that teaches about the beauty of the flowers and how to arrange them. I modified this for a young toddler (16 months) by using a plastic vase and artificial flowers.
Containers and Lids
I collected a bunch of empty containers with lids for Little Bee to work with. He had fun trying to match up the lid to the correct container. He also liked to put some of the smaller containers inside the bigger ones. This activity kept him busy for a couple of hours.
Threading with Large Beads and Straws
Little toddler fingers are still learning precise fine motor skills. This activity helps to develop those fine motor muscles and dexterity of the fingers. I gave Little Bee a very large wooden bead and a large yellow straw. I showed him how to thread the bead onto the straw. He really enjoyed this activity! The sturdiness of the straw allowed him the leverage he needed to thread the bead onto the straw. (Please be aware of choking hazards at this age and monitor your child at all times.)
Associations of Objects and Color Cards
For this activity, I lined up a giraffe (stuffed animal) and a plastic duck with their matching Pantone Color Cards. I didn't think Little Bee would catch on so quickly, but he surprised me! He knew to place the correct object back down with its matching card.
Explore the Great Outdoors
Let your child climb, get dirty, and nibble on nature! Climbing helps to develop their gross motor skills and muscles. Letting them get dirty helps to develop their immune system.
Spaghetti Noodle Sensory Play
This sensory activity took about an hour from start to finish. Little Bee was apprehensive at first, but than was fascinated with the sticky noodles. He loved throwing them out of the bucket and across the room! It was a sensory experience we both will remember for a LONG TIME. 🙂 This post was inspired by a photo I saw on the blog site called Montessori on a Budget.
Quiet Container Activity
This was a quiet church activity that I thought up. I took an empty "happypuffs" container and turned it into a small plastic toy storage. Little Bee enjoyed grabbing the toys out of the container and putting them back in again, over and over x 20! 🙂
There are three more weeks of activities to enjoy in this series!
See the collage image below to get a sneak peak. 🙂
Please also visit:
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
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Love the different ideas you’ve presented here – thanks for taking us on your daily adventures! 🙂
Ahh! This is too much fun!!!
Great ideas! The spaghetti one has to be my favorite!
Your pictures always bring a smile to my face! Such good ideas for any age of kids, at least for mine…
There are so many fabulous ideas here. It makes me wish I had a little one again. Awesome!
This is so much fun! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas!
OMG. You have a Filipino broom?! Thank you for all the ideas here! Perfect for my daughter who is turning two!
You are welcome! 🙂
I’m new to Montessori, and I’m wondering how you handle a 16mo climbing. I want him to develop these gross motor skills, but worry about him falling and getting hurt, which he does pretty often.
This is a challenging question because this age falls and gets bruises all the time! I think that this is a natural process for the child and as a parent we have to accept that our child will receive a few bruises as they explore and climb.
I am new here and after just 5 minutes of browsing I feel the need to express my deepest gratitude for you taking the time to provide these materials and inspiration. What a great way to enhance parenting and prepare for homeschooling. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! You made my day! 🙂
This is by far the best website I’ve found so far!
These are great ideas, thank you for sharing!
I have a 9.5 month old and sometimes feel that activities I lay out / model for him are being missed… reading the above, I am pretty sure he would just want to put most of these items in his mouth, rather than interact with them at this other level…
Thoughts on this? Is this a phase he will outgrow, or should I be modeling/setting more limits? Putting stuff in his mouth feels like an important way for him to explore the world at his current place, but I’m eager for him to put things together a bit more!
Hello Ashley, Some children are more oral than others. My son hardly ever put things in his mouth and my daughter put everything in her mouth! So I totally understand your concern. You are doing great following your parenting instincts and I would not give your son anything that could be a choking hazard. Only give him things to explore that would be safe for him. I’m totally fine with my daughter putting most things in her mouth as long as it is not a choking hazard. I hope this helps! Yes, this is a stage and he will grow out of it. Enjoy it and follow the child. Good job mama!