Chapters
- What does Montessori do for kids?
- Montessori baby activities
- Montessori activities for toddlers
- Montessori activities for 3 year olds and preschoolers
- Montessori ideas for 6-9 year olds
- Montessori at home activities for 9-12 year olds
The Montessori approach to learning can be wonderful for children. The great thing is, you can replicate most of the activities at home. In this article, we’ll walk you through a Montessori activity for each age group, including how to set it up and what the benefits are.
What does Montessori do for kids?
Montessori encourages hands-on learning that develops the whole child. This approach has sparked a wide following around the world, and for good reason! Most kids that attend a Montessori school love it and this helps them learn and grow. ❤️
Your child doesn’t have to go to a Montessori school to benefit though. Not when they have an awesome parent like you at home to be their learning partner. 👨👧👦
Our experts have an incredible Montessori activity for every age that you can set up easily. You might be surprised at how fun or simple they sound...but don’t worry, your child will still be learning. Montessori was designed to let kids learn in a fun and engaging way.
Let’s look at how you can implement the Montessori method at home today.
Montessori baby activities
As well as plenty of cuddle time it’s also important to stimulate your baby’s mind and encourage development. 👶 You can target different growth areas including language skills, motor skills, and social skills. We’re going to share a great activity for improving your baby’s motor skills.
- Baby reach-and-grab activity
🐻 Get some masking tape and stick objects to a wall above your baby’s head
🐻 Use their favorite toys so they’ll try and grab them and pull them down
This will help with their balance and coordination skills. Play it as many times as your baby wants to and try to reposition your baby so they use both their left and right arm. 💪
Montessori activities for toddlers
If you have a child that is 2-3 years old you will have noticed they want to do everything you do as their skills improve noticeably at this age. Take advantage of this and give them some light “chores” around the house. It’s great for building their self-confidence and also helps develop and hone their motor skills. ✨
- Stimulating household “chores”
🧹 Sweeping and vacuuming
🧹 Putting anything non-breakable away
🧹 Putting clothes from the washing machine/dryer into a basket
🧹 Dusting
🧹 Washing the windows
🧹 Watering plants
Montessori activities for 3 year olds and preschoolers
The Montessori philosophy is “Help me do it myself”. Montessori activities for preschoolers should do just that. At this age, your little one is probably inquisitive about everything. 😃
This activity is perfect for 3-6 year olds and will help bring out the budding scientist in them by conducting experiments on what sinks or floats.
- Sink or float activity
⛵ Prepare a bucket or pot with water in it
⛵ Gather different objects that will sink or float
⛵ Write down “sink” and “float” on separate pieces of card
⛵ Ask your child whether they think an object will “sink” or “float” and put the objects in the relevant pile on the piece of card you wrote on
⛵ Have your child put each object in the water one at a time and place it in the relevant pile once the experiment has been completed
⛵ Discuss why different objects sink or float
Montessori ideas for 6-9 year olds
“While the younger child seeks comfort, the older child is now eager to encounter challenges. But these challenges must have an aim.” - Maria Montessori
Make-your-own or grow-your-own type activities are popular with this age group. Your child will be challenged by doing something new and get a feeling of accomplishment when they see the finished product. ✊ This Montessori activity is to help them learn about plants and how things grow.
- Re-potting activity
🌱 Gather plants or herbs that need repotting, different sized pots, watering can, trowel, and potting soil
🌱 Have your child work out which plants should be upgraded to which size pots
🌱 Encourage your child to put some potting soil in the first pot and transplant a plant/herb. They will need to make sure that the roots are fully covered by adding more soil and adjusting the plant as necessary
🌱 Now your child can water their newly housed plants
🌱 Final step - which plants should go where (consider sun and wind exposure)
Montessori at home activities for 9-12 year olds
Your older children are much more independent by now but that doesn’t mean there aren’t activities they won’t enjoy getting involved in. It’s a great age to teach them life skills with activities that are new for them. 💡
For this activity, they will choose and cook a recipe. This one can be done mostly on their own but you will need to jump in as sous chef and supervisor when the time comes if they choose a recipe that uses the oven or stovetop.
You can incorporate writing, maths, and cooking skills all in one.
- Weekend lunch prep activity
🍳 Ask your child to think of a meal they want to cook (or prepare if cold)
🍳 Have them write down the ingredients they need and quantities to feed your family
🍳 If you don’t have the ingredients take them shopping and have them find what they need
🍳 Let them cook you a lovely weekend lunch (helping with anything that could be dangerous in the kitchen, of course)
As you can see, the Montessori approach emphasises learning in a fun and supportive environment. If your child is struggling with a subject at school, why not get one of our GoStudent tutors to help them? 🧩 They are masters at getting children to understand complex ideas and making learning fun.
