Montessori activities and games for children 1 year at no cost

After talking about DIY Montessori style games for the age group from 0-6 months and from 6-12 months, today I give you some suggestions to create Montessori games for children from 1 to 2 years.

In this age group (12 -24 months), motor activity intensifies: children are certainly more moving than before and are able to walk independently around the house even going down and climbing steps and stairs.
Creating a suitable and safe environment that will help the child to be independent is one of the most important teachings of the Montessori method. To do this, you can organize spaces using low shelves, keep toys in baskets and drawers, and use child-friendly accessories such as stools, coffee tables and children’s chairs.
1-year-old children also learn to do many things with their hands, they are curious, they touch, look, observe, experiment (useful at this stage to make them play with the basket of treasures) begin to appreciate small objects and details and begin to communicate by saying the first words.

To stimulate them and help them in motor and sensory development, here are some Montessori inspired activities and games that you can do at home.

Montessori activities and games for children 1 year

Motor activities and games

Even before the first year of age, the child is strongly focused on learning a whole series of motor skills that will make him free and independent (even if still a bit clumsy in gestures and movements). With the use of a couple of chairs (as Claudia did) you can create not only a safe point of support, but also a nice table on which children can play turning around.
Once the children have learned to walk more confidently, get them a trolley or even a simple basket to push.

Fine motor activities and games

Once the motor bases have been acquired, the child will show interest in all those activities that allow him to carry out complex actions.
Starting from 12 – 18 months, in fact, the acquisition of fine use of the hands is one of the objectives that children work the hardest on. To perfect the movements and develop eye-hand coordination , games can be proposed that train fine motor skills, or the ability to perform precision actions with the hands.

For example, you can find a colander at home and invite the child to insert thin materials – such as straws, toothpicks, or colored pipe cleaners – into the holes or you can create a treasure box with a container of kleenex tags. All you need to do is insert many scraps of fabric into the box that the child can pull or insert as he pleases.
Another useful and fun activity is to  insert colored buttons or tokens into a piggy bank that you can build with a simple jar.

To perfect the movements and dexterity of children, you can also invite the children to  insert the felt-tip pens into holes  made in a cardboard box, or create a Cardboard Panel with Higes Attached  that the children will learn to open and close.
Another fun activity that children can enjoy is being able to thread  Large Cardboard Beads on a string .
In short, consider these as simple ideas to be implemented with the do-it-yourself. Paying attention to daily gestures, you will not lack inspiration to offer many other games.

Language activity: the thematic maps

Montessori tables

One of the most well-known and widespread materials of the Montessori method are the Montessori tables, which can be proposed at all ages even if in different ways. Montessori tables are One of the to do. They are generally perfect for bringing children closer to practical life and for teaching them daily gestures. In this age group, both multiactivity panels (with several things attached that teach to perfect different actions) and panels with where specific gestures or actions are learned (press, snap, open, close, screw, unscrew, recognize shapes and colors) can be useful. Just stick on the panels what you think is most suitable. Indulge yourself.

As always, I remind you that the recommended ages for this type of games and activities inspired by Montessori should not be taken literally, but are only a basic suggestion. The proposals of the games must in fact adapt to the answers and growth of the child and can also be proposed at different ages, perhaps with changes dictated by your imagination.

In the coming weeks we will continue the “journey” and we will see:

• DIY-Montessori games for-babies-0-6-months
• DIY-Montessori games for-babies-6-12-months

Recommended books:

Maria Montessori: The mind of the child. Absorbent mind

Elena Balsamo: Freedom and love. The Montessori approach to education according to nature