I’ve been incredibly busy researching and trying to figure out some sort of way to “map” L’s progress with the new skills she’s learning. I felt like I had all of these Montessori skills and ideas to try out, but they all floated around randomly. I wanted something that I could look at and say, “Okay, she’s mastered this one, what’s next?” – Instead of skipping from a level 0 concept to a level 4 and then back to level 2 (if that makes any sense). Some things are obvious when it comes to what a 16 month old can do, but some things I take for granted and others I would have never thought she could do them, yet she can.

So, I’ll be posting some of the new things we are trying, and great resources I’m finding, and our little journey in general. I know that some of you who aren’t into the whole homeschool or Montessori thing won’t care much, so you can skip over this post if you want lol. I just think it’d be great if someone else can find help by me journaling what we’ve done.

I forgot to mention that last week, I re-organized L’s room. Yes. Again. I thinned out her toys, and luckily she didn’t have too many that I couldn’t store on the top shelves of her bookcase in canvas baskets or on the shelves in her closet. Then, I use the 6 shelves she has low to the ground and filled those using the Montessori categories as a guide. One cubby has sensorial toys: plush rattle, squeaky octopus that plays a different note depending on which leg you squeak, maracas, and a baby “mp3″ player. Another shelf has a couple of baby dolls and a stuffed bear. Another cubby has wooden blocks, a pull along toy, stackable rings, etc. Yet another cubby has an assortment of different sized books (from only a couple of inches big to really tall books), and all with different types of pages. Another cubby has items for pretend play – a Melissa and Doug picnic basket with pretend food, pretend baby bottle, etc. And, the last cubby has a basket with personal care items – hair brushes of different kinds, a hand mirror, a hat, washcloth, easy to put on shoes, etc.

We use the other rooms to store some of her other toys like a car with blinky lights, balls, etc. We do arts and crafts in the kitchen and coloring sometimes in the living room. Although, she gave my Thesaurus a good coloring, so I think I may need to clean off the table completely when we do coloring, eh? Any extra toys would go into the attic if they needed to, to be switched out with what she currently has every month or so. The idea is that she has enough to play with but not enough to get overwhelmed. That, and we really want her to learn how to play extensively with each toy and not just pick one up to throw it down and pick up another. (Plus, it makes it a lot easier to clean up and tidy.)

I also put together an activity list with ideas geared towards certain age groups. First, I’ll post the 3-12 Months list:

INFANTS: 3-12 MONTHS

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Focusing On an Object
Activity 2: Remembering an Object’s Location
Activity 3: Matching Lids to Pots
Activity 4: Making a Simple Toy
Activity 5: Identifying and Finding Specific Objects When Asked
Activity 6: Finding Covered Objects
Activity 7: Matching Shoes
Activity 8: Tracking Objects Being Moved
Activity 9: Fitting Nesting Cups
Activity 10: Putting On a Glove

MOTOR ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Rolling Over
Activity 2: Grasping Objects
Activity 3: Developing the Pincer Grasp
Activity 4: Introducing “In” and “Out”
Activity 5: Dropping an Object into a Container
Activity 6: Putting Shapes into Holes
Activity 7: Practicing “In” and “Out”
Activity 8: Stacking Assorted Objects
Activity 9: Pouring Dry Material from One Container to Another
Activity 10: Pulling a Hidden Object Out Of a Cylinder

SENSORY ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Following Movement with the Eyes
Activity 2: Experiencing Different Food Textures
Activity 3: Experiencing Different Sounds
Activity 4: Hearing Different Levels of Sound
Activity 5: Recognizing Patterns
Activity 6: Making Different Sounds with Utensils
Activity 7: Experiencing Different Fabric Textures
Activity 8: Gathering Objects in Nature
Activity 9: Identifying Containers with Objects Inside
Activity 10: Experiencing “Warm” and “Cold”

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Focusing On Names of Objects
Activity 2: Naming Parts of the Face
Activity 3: Naming Parts of the Body
Activity 4: Identifying Pictures of Familiar Objects in a Book
Activity 5: Adding Sound Effects to Favorite Stories
Activity 6: Naming Categories of Objects
Activity 7: Retrieving a Hidden Object
Activity 8: Providing Specific Objects When Requested
Activity 9: Identifying Objects from Their Description
Activity 10: Introducing Numbers

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Imitating Facial Expressions and Mouth Sounds
Activity 2: Anticipating
Activity 3: Reaching Out and Touching
Activity 4: Learning Quiet-time Exercises
Activity 5: Recognizing Simple Songs
Activity 6: Pulling an Object Back and Forth
Activity 7: Joining a Rhythm
Activity 8: Filling In Words to a Song
Activity 9: Trying On Hats
Activity 10: Sharing the Treasure Basket

PRACTICAL LIFE ACTIVITIES

Activity 1: Introducing Eating Utensils
Activity 2: Handling Eating Utensils
Activity 3: Sorting Eating Utensils
Activity 4: Squeezing a Sponge or Cloth
Activity 5: Crushing Paper
Activity 6: Ripping Paper into Strips
Activity 7: Nose-Wiping
Activity 8: Using a Spoon
Activity 9: Pouring Water
Activity 10: Drinking out of a Cup

Welcome back!