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! :)
I super love the idea of the fragile objects box. We are going to have to do this. Now to find fragile objects that are expendable....
ReplyDeleteI also love the fragile objects box! Objects made from paper could work, maybe. Some kind of delicate origami...
DeleteOh, good idea, Elsa! I was just thinking jewelry would probably work, too.
DeleteLuckily(?!) for us my mom saved all my little knick knacks from childhood, so there's a pretty solid supply for Elise to work with. ;)
ReplyDeleteI like the Fragile Objects material, too. We should have such material on our shelves especially during the start of classes. :) Thank you, Anne! The materials you prepared for Elise are all beautiful. Happy 20 Months tomorrow, Elise!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the kind words. :) This was an activity available on the practical life shelves in my classroom when I was teaching - it was part of my Montessori training. It's so simple, but makes a lot of sense!
DeleteI really liked the fragile items dea and I think I should introduce it to my 18 m babies
ReplyDelete