28 Montessori Inspired Activities for Toddlers

This is week 3 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 Two, and Week Four

Practical Life - Sweeping: Process over Product

Art Cards and Matching Work

Hide-n-Seek Game

Little Bee loves to play hide-n-seek!  I hid the bug under this little green bucket and than I asked him, "Where is the bug?"  He had fun uncovering the bug and then covering it again.  He would make the sign for WHERE with his hands.  I love the picture of him pointing at the bug!  This was his response to my question.  It was as if he was saying, "Here is the bug, Mom!"

Pom Pom Drop and Plastic Container

Tool Match Up

This activity was inspired by "The Measured Mom" blog.  I think this activity is really cool and will be super fun... for a child a bit older than Little Bee.  🙂  Little Bee could sort of put the tool back in the correct place (at 16 months), but apparently Little Bee thought this activity was for the birds because he went and hid the wrench under the couch!  Clever little guy!  😉

Lids & Containers for Matching Work

I set up a mix and match for Little Bee to explore.  I rummaged around the house and came up with these three plastic containers with lids - small, medium, and large.  I mixed up the lids to give Little Bee a bit of a challenge.  I thought he would find the lids for the correct containers, but he surprised me again by stacking all three containers inside of each other.  He did the same for the lids.  He LOVED this activity!  It seems simple, but it fascinated him for at least 40 minutes!

Ball Drop Box

Little Bee adores this ball drop game.  I added the element of the metal jigger for balancing the ball after it comes out of the box.  Also, having the wooden tray as a base prevents the balls from traveling under the couch.  🙂  I showed Little Bee how to do this a couple of times.  He had fun with this activity.

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 One

Week Two 

Week Four
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