This week I want to offer you this ultimate list of DIY indoor Montessori lessons for babies and toddlers. I figured since we are spending so much time inside nowadays, it may be nice to have a list you can quickly grab for ideas to work with your babies and toddlers. Let’s take this together time to optimize their developmental foundations!
My suggestion (to create consistency) is to have general subjects that you do at the same time everyday and rotate what you do within each subject. (You’ll understand more of what I mean as you read further.) 🙂
I divided the list into subject categories of indoor Montessori activity ideas. This way, as you go throughout your day, you can grab from the list!
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Montessori Work Time
The Montessori work time is when the child has opportunities to work on the materials that are strategically placed on the shelves.
This time would be the perfect time to offer lessons on:
- Wooden Puzzles
- Nesting Cups (my favorite nesting cups linked here)
- Psychosensory Montessori Materials
- Open/Close Basket
- Language Cards
- Stacking Blocks
- Bead Stringing
- DIY Pinterest Activities
Practical Life
Practical Life are opportunities for your child to do real life activities to get involved around the house. This offers a sense of empowerment and community as an active participant in their environments!
This time would be the perfect time to offer lessons on:
- Washing Windows
- Sweeping
- Wiping Tables
- Polishing Furniture
- Dusting
- Helping with Laundry
- Dishwashing
- Watering Indoor Plants
Music and Movement
Music and movement time is the perfect time to dance, move, and get out all those wiggles that one would normally release outside!
This would be the perfect time to:
- Sing!
- Dance (You can even change up the types of dance! I always liked to play Irish music one day, and then Hula dance another! Our babies would have so much fun with all the variety!)
- Do Yoga with Yoga Cards
- Jump to music
- Climb (if you have a pickler triangle or climbing cubes)
- Circle Time with Hand Gesture Songs
- Play Instruments
- Dance with Ribbons
- Dance with bells
- Have a few children? Try a parachute!
- Build a fort or tunnels to crawl through
- Throw balls into a basket or bucket
Arts and Crafts
It is really fun to offer a designated time for art and creation! Babies love creating art and become really empowered when they see their finished products!
- Coloring with Crayons
- Drawing with colored pencils
- Gluing
- Sticker art
- Finger Painting
- Painting with various art tools
- Sprinkling glitter on glue
- Seasonal creations (I always liked planning specific art projects for holidays and special occasions with my babies.)
Snack Time/ Food Preparation
When implementing Montessori in the home, it is important to try to get your babies and young toddlers involved as much as possible. And snack time is no different!
You can get your babies involved in their food preparation by getting them involved in:
- Peeling their orange
- Peeling their banana
- Spreading jam or butter on bread
- Smashing avocado to make dip
- Baking and involving your baby as developmentally appropriate
- Pouring their water
Time to Eat
Eating time is the ultimate time to allow your babies to practice self-feeding! That said, get them involved as much as possible by giving them opportunities to practice using a spoon and fork. Also give them every chance to drink from a small cup! It’s okay if they spill… you can always offer a rag practice wiping it up! 🙂
Reading Time
Reading time is the perfect time to relax and connect though story. This is the time to offer things like:
- Montessori Book Basket
- Rhythmic Poetry
- Song Cards
- Family Reading Corner (family reads a book together)
Diaper/Toilet Time
Diaper and toilet time is a great opportunity to offer lessons in dressing and undressing. Babies love practicing and getting involved in their diaper changes!
You can show them how to:
- Washing Hands
- Pull up/pull down their pants
- Put on t-shirt
- Wipe themselves
- Take off their diaper straps (great for younger babies)
- Pull out a wipe from the wipe container (great for younger babies)
- Sit on the toilet
- Flush the toilet
- Throw away their diaper
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Ok so now that we went over some examples of indoor Montessori activity ideas, now let’s look at a sample schedule of how a 12-18 month infant’s day could possibly look.
Daily Schedule
- 7:30am Wake Up & Snuggles
- 7:45am Milk
- 8am Montessori Work Time (puzzle & slot box lessons)
- 8:30am Practical Life (window washing lesson)
- 9am Morning Snack (peeling the banana & string cheese)
- 9:45am Practical Life (snack clean up)
- 10am Music and Movement (latin dance music with egg shakers)
- 10:30am Practical Life (watering indoor plants)
- 11am Milk or Lunch (depending on age of infant/toddler)
- 12pm Reading Time (read 3 books together)
- 12:30pm-2:30pm Hour Midday Nap time
- 2:45pm Snack Time (yogurt *feeding with spoon* & berries)
- 3:45pm Arts and Crafts (painting using paint tools)
- 5pm Practical Life Round’ the House (laundry and dishes time)
- 6pm Free Play (while family situates and cooks dinner)
- 6:30pm Family Dinner
- 7pm Night time routine 🙂
… obviously this is just an example of a day of indoor Montessori activity ideas. You can totally implement what you feel will work for you and your family!
Sending you all of the love and big, warm, virtual hugs. I think if anything this quarantine has shown us, it’s that we are all in this together. 🙂
Xoxo,
Bianca, Your Baby Tour Guide
PS… I created a video focusing on Optimizing Our Babies Developmental Foundation During A Quarantine. Go check it out!
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