28 Montessori Inspired Activities for Toddlers

This is week 2 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 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 One, Week Three, and Week Four

Textured Balls and Muffin Tin

I put different little balls into a muffin tin.  Little Bee had fun exploring the various textured balls, throwing them across the room, and rearranging them in the tray.  He mostly liked to take the balls out of the tray.  He only put the balls back a couple of times.  This activity was inspired by Kids Activities Blog.  I kept this activity out for Little Bee to play with for the next three days.  It kept him interested for about 10-15 minutes at a time.

Exploring a Cold Egg

Little Bee had a blast handling a cold egg.  In the first photo below, he is showing me the sign for "EGG."  Next I cracked the egg and let him explore the gooey mess.  I kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't put his hands in his mouth. After he was done exploring the egg, I washed his hands.

Visiting a real chicken and gathering the eggs is also a wonderful opportunity for a young child to learn about where eggs come from.

Nature Walk and Treasure Bowl

I set out a nature sensory bowl for Little Bee to explore from the treasures we found on our walk around the neighborhood.  The evergreen branch smells amazing!  This sensory bowl is displayed on his Montessori shelves this week.

Ball Drop Game

I created this ball drop game out of an empty plastic nut container from Costco.  I cut holes in the plastic on top and on the side.  Then I duct tapped the cut parts because they were sharp.  I placed all the balls into a tissue box. Little Bee reached into the tissue box and found a ball to "press" into the ball drop container. The end result was a fun game!

Pouring, Stacking, and Scooping Bath Toys 

Instrument Basket for Toddlers

Little Bee has a instrument basket that we use every morning when we sing songs together for worship.  It is a really fun tradition that we have started!  Daddy, Mommy, and Little Bee all pick an instrument and tap our sticks or shake our shakers along with the rhythm of the song.

Q-Tips and Herb Container: Concept of In & Out

This activity was a lot of fun!  I emptied a large Oregano container and showed Little Bee how to put Q-tips inside the holes.  In the photos below, you can see how much Little Bee is concentrating on this task.  This activity really intrigued him!  This activity was inspired by a Montessori mama in one of the groups I belong to. Please come back and visit next week for 7 more FUN Montessori inspired toddler activities!

There are three more weeks of activities to enjoy in this series!

See the collage image below to get a sneak peak.

Please visit the other three weeks in this series:

Week One

Week Three

Week Four 
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