on the shelves - 20 months

A handful of E's favorite activities this month:

1. color basket one
A homemade version of the traditional Montessori material, Color Box I.  I made our color tablets by simply gluing paint samples onto rectangles of cardboard.  Elise is able to successfully match all three primary colors, and she really enjoys checking her work by "telling the whole story:" red, red; yellow, yellow; blue, blue!

2. caring for a plant
Up until this month, our only house plant had been a small, happily-neglected cactus.  When I saw these little daffodil plants at the grocery store, spring fever got the better of me, and I decided to bring one home!  Although it's looking a little past it's prime, Elise continues to enjoy smelling the blossoms and keeping it well-watered. ;)

3. beginning sorting 
While I drooled over a million and one awesome sorting activities on pinterest, I decided to keep this introductory activity simple.  I put two different types of objects in a basket - cotton balls and wooden eggs, and showed Elise how to sort them into a divided baking dish.  She caught on right away, and has has been getting a lot of satisfaction out of the activity - it must appeal to her sense of order!

4.  matching animals to their babies
Elise has gone completely baby crazy, so this is quite possibly her favorite activity of all time.  I tried to include both male and female animals - if you've ever examined a Schleich figurine, you'll know what I'm talking about.  Anyway, I'm glad I did because while Elise is very much a mama's girl right now, she is really drawn to the male animals, especially the dog - she calls him "Papa" and the puppy "Elise."

5. smelling jars
This is another homemade version of a traditional Montessori material, the Smelling Cylinders.  I'll add another set of jars soon, so Elise can match the scents.  For now, she is busy figuring out how to open the lids, and happily sniffing away at the essential oils I dabbed onto a few cotton balls.  While this activity may seem simple, I think it's really increased Elise's awareness of aromas in the environment.

6. hot and cold cards
Elise continues to be fascinated by hot and cold.  I made these cards out of photos I took of hot and cold things around our house - a steaming tea kettle, an ice cube, etc.  (Thanks to Elsa for the idea!)  Eventually, this will be another sorting activity, but for now we've just been talking about the cards and matching them to the environment.

on the shelves - 19 months

Elise turns 20 months old tomorrow, so I thought I'd better get her favorite 19-month-old activities posted!

1. colander and pipe cleaners

I'd been seeing this fine motor activity on pinterest for awhile now, and thought Elise might enjoy giving it a try. Pushing the pipe cleaners into the holes on the colander has been a great challenge for her little fingers. I'm not sure which she thinks is more fun: pushing the pipe cleaners in or pulling them back out!

2. colored rings on dowels

Hubs and I made this little stacking and sorting activity for Elise.  She has been enjoying ring stacking activities for awhile, and these smaller rings and dowels require her to use more refined hand movements.  I've also shown Elise how to sort the rings by color, but she is more interested in creating her own combinations at this point.  ;)

3. fragile objects

Elise is beginning to have a good understanding of what it means to have "gentle hands."  I put a few precious, breakable items in a special box for her to practice with.  It's very sweet to watch her carefully take each item out of the box and explore it.  The little dog is her favorite, of course!

4. horizontal ring stacker

Another homemade activity - we sure went for it!  I'm glad we made this one because stacking rings horizontally requires completely different hand and wrist movements than stacking rings vertically.  It's really been a great challenge for Elise - you can almost see the gears turning in her brain...

5.  play dough

Play dough is quite possibly Elise's favorite activity.  Right now, she's really into rolling "snakes" between her hands - she even makes a hissssing sounds as she rolls!  We've been loving the 4 minute play dough recipe from the Imagination Tree.  The little rolling pin was a gift from our friends over at Sixtine et Victoire - it is just the right size for Elise's hands and she adores it!

6. The Mitten story props

Of course!!!  I'm SO glad Elise has been enjoying these hand-knit story props.  I love finding ways to support her interest in books, and I think using props is a great way to add another dimension and encourage creative play.  I think we'll get a lot of use out of these little animals!  :)

on the shelves - 18 months

Here are a few things that Elise has been working on this month:

1. potty and basket of reading materials 
Ok, just to be clear, we don't actually keep the potty on the shelf!  It's usually on a comfy rug in the middle of the living room.  While slightly unorthodox, this central location has worked well for Elise.  At first, when we noticed her starting to pee or poop, we would hustle her over to the potty.  Now, a few weeks later, Elise is using the potty independently.  She is one proud girl, and I am one happy mama - no more diaper laundry!

2.  pushing pennies through a slot
Elise has had some variation of this activity on her shelf for the past few months.  She is finally not sticking every. little. thing. in her mouth, so I thought she would enjoy putting some real coins in her "bank."  The pennies have been a fun challenge for her little fingers to manipulate.  As a side note, I have decided to stop picking all the labels off the containers I reuse in lessons for Elise - it is an impossible waste of time and Elise actually finds them quite interesting!

3.  basket of musical instruments
I introduced most of these instruments to Elise one at a time over the past several months.  Now that she's comfortable playing them, I've combined them all in one basket.  This is an activity that friends and family who stop by for a visit really enjoy doing with Elise.  Also, our family band is totally shaping up - Elise on the cymbals, Hubs on the cowbell, and me on the tambourine!  ;)

4.  miracle pushing toy
This was one of those activities I saw on basically every other Montessori baby blog when I was pregnant with Elise, so I thought I'd better buy one!  How does it work?  Well, first you load up all five of the balls.  Then, you push down on the top ball, and the bottom ball will pop out - or vice versa.  Repeat again and again.  Elise has just started to show an interest in it, so we'll see if it was worth the $35 or not!

5.  empty puzzle with the pieces in the bag
I saw this idea over on Grow, Grow, Grow -  Elsa, if you're reading this, pretty please keep posting - this new blog of yours is really great!  I chose a puzzle that Elise was already familiar with and put the pieces in a bag (a box or basket would work well, too).  So far, Elise has really enjoyed pulling out a surprise puzzle piece and figuring out where it fits. This is definitely a good way to add interest and challenge to a well-loved puzzle!

6.  dropping cylinder-shaped blocks into a milk jug
This one is an oldie-but-goodie for us around here.  I first introduced this activity to Elise when she was 14 months old, and she's been playing with it daily ever since.  It kind of blows my mind that a milk jug with a hole cut in the side can be this entertaining, but it is!  If you don't have this on your shelf yet, make one!  Worst case scenario, you can always recycle it...

e's new shelf: before & after

Oh, how I love a good before and after!  Those of you who have Montessori-inspired homes know tricky it can be to find child-sized, attractive shelving - especially those of us who live hundreds of miles from the nearest IKEA (452.67 miles for me - I checked).  When I found this top portion of a hutch on the side of the road for free a few days before Christmas, I nearly did cartwheels down the snowy sidewalk.  After dragging it home, Hubs tinkered with it a bit to make it more sturdy, I slapped on a few coats of cornmeal yellow paint, and - voila! - it's now quite possibly the coolest piece of furniture in our house!  

Hope you're all having a lovely week so far!  :)

on the shelves - 17 months

Here are a few of Elise's favorite activities this month:

1.  rolling shape sorter (Wonderworld)
2.  opening and closing boxes
3.  pushing chips through a slot (a variation on E's first "bank")
4.  a basket of winter woolies (similar to our much loved basket of hats)
5.  hanging ornaments on a child-sized tree
6.  whistle and harmonica for jamming out by the Christmas tree ;)

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

on the shelves - 15 & 16 months (in action!)

stacking trucks

One of Elise's older friends loaned her these trucks when he heard how much she likes to stack rings on posts.  ;)  While she doesn't necessarily put them back together (yet!), she loves pushing them around and taking them apart.

(stacking trucks - Melissa & Doug)

pounding balls with a hammer

We've been using this material for months now, but I just recently introduced Elise to the hammer. 

What's old is new again!

(punch and drop activity - Plan Toys)

peeling clementines

I'm so excited for citrus fruit to be back in season!  Pulling the peel off this juicy snack is a great way to strengthen fine motor control, as-well-as develop organization and problem solving skills.

 sorting and stacking rings

Elise continues to explore this intriguing stacking activity.  While she occasionally rebuilds the cone to its original form, she seems to prefer taking it apart and creating her own combinations!

  (cone sorting activity - Plan Toys)

"bear!"

It's been a signing explosion around here lately! Elise loves reading this book, which features illustrations and photos of children signing familiar words. Bear, wind, book, and all done are some of our favorites!

dropping a cube into a box

I made this imbucare box a few months ago, but Elise has only recently showed an interest in it. 

Now, she thinks it's so great, she hauls it all over the house.  Seriously.  

Oh, how I love this girl!

on the shelves - 14 months

 the learning tower

Elise is now able to climb into and out of her learning tower all by herself!  This is a great spot for stirring, scrubbing, and sampling (E's favorite!).  If you're deterred by the cost of a new learning tower, check craigslist - that's where we found ours, and I see them on there frequently.

 

 

nesting tubes

A friend loaned us this Plan Toys Cone Sorting activity.  There are actually two parts to this activity:  the nesting tubes on the inside and the cone-forming rings on the outside.  Right now, Elise is exploring the tubes - next, she'll try out the rings.

 

rainbow people mover

Minus one blue person - any guesses where he could be???  He's eluded us since day one.  Hmmm...  This is the first "toy" I've bought Elise in months, and she loves taking the people out and putting them back in the holes. 

 

Ball!

"Ball!" is a word Elise has been saying a lot lately.  This rubber ball from Crocodile Creek is just the right size for her to carry, throw, and kick. 

 

first purse

Elise continues to love having her own purse.  Occasionally, I change the contents to keep it fresh.  Yes, it's waaaay more organized than mine - no old shopping lists and receipts for this girl!

 

  Louise and friends

Elise has recently become very into playing with dolls and stuffed animals.  She wraps them up, feeds them, and carries them everywhere.  I put together a little basket of fabric and ribbons to help support her play.  Honestly, I am over the moon that Elise likes Louise so much -  I definitely feel inspired to make more toys!    

on the shelves - 13 months

rings on a post

Elise started out stacking one or two rings, 

and now she's able to do all six!
(stacking rings - Plan Toys)

capping/uncapping "markers"

Elise is fascinated with taking the caps off markers

 and then putting them back on.

I got the idea for this simple activity from Montessori ici. 

opening and closing round containers

A little vintage variation of the ever popular 

opening and closing lesson.

pulling scarves out of a box

A diaper wipes container filled with nylon scarves

- you know, the little old lady kind!

Whenever we listen to music, Elise runs over

and pulls out a scarf or two to dance with.  :)

 

cube in a box

I couldn't bring myself to actually buy imbucare boxes,

so I've been improvising.  This one is made from a painted cracker box!

a basket of farm animals

My little Montana girl has been loving farm animals lately.
Most of these figurines are made by Schleich.
They're just right for naming and making animal sounds!

on the shelves - 12 months

 

a bag of personal care items

This activity is part treasure basket, part vocabulary lesson.  

After Elise takes out an object and explores it, I tell her what it is called.  

She doesn't repeat me yet, but I know she's soaking it up like a sponge! 

rings on a post

Elise has been enjoying this stacking activity for awhile now.  

To keep it interesting and add a little challenge, 

I replaced the wooden rings with silver bracelets.

hinged boxes

Elise continues to love opening and closing boxes. 

Every so often, I put out new boxes or change the objects inside.

birthday card basket

This basket holds the cards Elise received for her first birthday.

She enjoys looking through them - they're kind of like little books!

peg and cup

Elise spends a lot of time exploring how the peg fits into the cup.

This activity is slightly more challenging than the egg and cup - 

both came in a set from Pinkhouse Handworks.  

a tube of balls

Do you recognize these felt balls?  They're from the gobbi mobile I made Elise last summer! 

(The tube is a Pringles can wrapped in fabric - I got this idea from Montessori Beginnings.)

Elise enjoys taking out all the balls, and then putting them back in the tube - again and again!

 Although it's a bit beyond her skill level, she works at putting the lid back on the tube, too.

on the shelves - 10 months

 rings on a post

This wooden ring stacker comes with six rings in three different sizes.  

Elise started with one ring, and now she's stacking two!

 discovery bottles

Elise loves to shake things, and these bottles are visually interesting when shook.  

(left to right) colored water and dish soap, water and aluminum foil pieces, colored water and oil

 classified vocabulary: pets

According to Maria Montessori, when we talk to our ten month old, "the baby realizes that these words are meant for him, and he begins to grasp that we are saying them intentionally." (The Absorbent Mind)

 textured fabric basket

This basket holds squares of fleece, vinyl, satin, and mesh - all red, so that Elise can focus on texture.  I saw this on At Home with Montessori, and E has enjoyed exploring these fabrics for the past few months.  

The large squares are perfect for playing peek-a-boo! 

insect art cards

Elise continues to love Wee Gallery art cards.  
Now that the weather is getting nice, we're actually seeing some of these insects in our yard!  

 a jar of balls

I made this in and out activity with an empty peanut butter jar and five wooden balls.  The wooden balls are from this activity, but Plan Toys also sells sets of five balls for $5. 
(I know because I emailed the company to ask about replacements!)

on the shelves - 9 months

 the circle treasure basket

A variety of lids to look at, chew on, and hit together.  Lids scavenged from around the house. 

 the ball drop

This is our version of the object permanence box.  The ball is dropped into one of the three holes on the top, and then rolls out the hole on the side.  Box and ball purchased here, and then slightly modified.  :)

egg and cup

This activity is great for exploring the concept that things fit together.  Plus, the egg is perfect for chewing on!  Egg and cup from Pinkhouse Handworks.

the photo album

Elise always enjoys looking at photos of herself and other people she knows.  I switch the photos out occasionally to keep it fresh.  I like the concept of a baby photo album, but I don't like the way the plastic sleeves stick to the photos in this one.  Still curious?  Check it out here.

 the blue bag

A blue bag full of blue objects to explore.  Can you guess which one Elise likes the best?