Montessori Activites for the Very Young

My baby's first Montessori-inspired activity was putting the parts of the tea kettle back together. But recently, I presented more formal activities.

Here's her opening and closing film canisters. With young kids, you need to have them already half open so it's easy to work with.

She loved this pincer grasp activity where you place the pom poms from the left to the right, one at a time.

And of course sorting, which she can't do yet. She just enjoyed plunking the rocks to the heart dish one by one. Then she later did handfuls. And yes, that is an Ikea bathmat. She's now 17 months and she's so happy doing these activities. I'm amazed how she'll plow through the same activity three or four times in a row.

I'm still thinking about what are the essential Montessori equipment that I need to purchase for my older three year old. So far, we have the sandpaper letters, numbers, the rods, and a fish puzzle. Any ideas?

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