Toddler Montessori: Shape Sorters

Joshua loved this toy when he was an older infant and toddler. 

I painted the pieces blue so as to isolate the concept of shape, but I left the box unpainted. The bottom I lined with felt because the sounds of the pieces falling into the box. 

When he got older, we used the same pieces to learn the names for each of the shapes and all of the related sensorial games from the sensorial album. 

REVIEW POST: Montessori House Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers

Montessori House has been on my radar for a while. The author and I are in the same Montessori "team" on Etsy - and I have had to defend her right to utilize the team tag "TeamMontessori" on her albums.

The author has AMI training and has organized her AMI albums for use by parents and teachers. What she offers is authentic - with some caveats. 

I do have fundamental disagreements with a few areas of Montessori House: 

• The primary - or second half of the first plane of development - ages 2.5-6 is to be kept together. No child progresses perfectly in sync in all areas nor in sync with any other child ever. Thus it makes no sense to split up the albums for ages 2.5-6 into 4 different levels. 
• Primary only goes through kindergarten - not grade 1. Grade 1 (or first grade) should be the first year of elementary, the child has a different mind (a reasoning mind) and is need of the Great Lessons, not being held back into primary. 
• The author says on the main website that the primary albums at least are a compilation "of the best exercises and presentations". Well, in one sense, AMI provides the keys, thus the "best" are all of them; so this could mean all of them. But I am not so sure on that, looking over the table of contents. 
• There are related blogs and newsletters, but none seem to be producing new content of late. What is there is good however! 
• The groupings of how to purchase which albums is odd configurations as well, which leads to confusion of "what am I suposed to get for which age/experience". But this is minor. 

Still - what is there, should be quality. 

Last week, I finally purchased the infant and toddler binders for my own use. 

Some of my own Montessori background: 

• Before I had my son, I had spent many days at a then-local AMI Montessori school - I had no training, I didn't even barely know about Montessori when I first walked in. But I fell in love from the first 5 minutes! (it took 4 1/2 minutes to get used to the idea of "just sit in this chair and observe for a little while to get a feel for the environment here" ;) ). 
• At that school, I spent most of my time with the infants and toddlers; second-most time in before/after care, third in elementary (6-9 and 9-12 at this school) and lastly in primary (3-6). 
• I loved every moment - even when I was overwhelmed with confusion about what on earth was happening! Children excited about studying grammar!? Children ready to leave who spend 5 minutes picking well more than half of their "mess" from playing with a friend because that is what is done to be respectful to one another!? Respect!?
  Wow. 
• In the meantime, I have had an awesome son, went to AMI training for primary Montessori (ages 2.5-6) and elementary Montessori (ages 6-12), subbed at a slew of schools, spent more time with infants and toddlers (and all the other ages, including now a limited time with adolescents) - and run an in-home daycare based on Montessori principles. 

No Assistance to Infancy training is on my horizon at this time --- and the resources I have accessed have been much less than stellar (ahem - Montessori from the Start - I will post a review on that book soon - I don't recommend it anymore! I only used to recommend it with caveats.). I did use Montessori from the Start but set aside so much from it - and felt guilty for doing so (more in the upcoming post). 

I have been loving my recent discovery: Susan Stephenson's book The Joyful Child for children ages 0-3. I have a review post coming forth on that one too - I will only say here that my only caveat is the lack of some material descriptions. 

I started to write my own guide based on my own observations, readings, experiences, etc. It would have been awesome; but The Joyful Child takes care of a good deal of what I wanted to put together - and the remaining bits could be gleaned from Montessori from the Start, but still the separation of wheat and chaff was hurting me. 

Thus, I took a chance on the Montessori House Infant and Toddler binders. Spent $80-something after shipping. Then I read some reviews from others in a Facebook group, posted right after I ordered. I was doubting my purchase. Very concerned about the wasted money. There was one good review but she said she didn't want a lot of background/theory (and that portion is needed!). 

My verdict? 

YES! Just enough theory/background to get across the points without being overwhelming and spending hours upon hours of reading. And straight-forward material descriptions. 

And the emphasis on OBSERVATION! Phenomenal! Even places to record dates, notes, reactions, etc! 

Not a downside or a caveat - but just a point of interest: These albums are written pretty much without emotion; there is little in the way of wordy explanations. It is very much "here is the idea, here is why it works, go observe!" Some people may be put off by that, but just read it as a factual document and all is well! 

One issue noted by the Facebook group reviews: a lack of structure, finding some of it "vague and disjointed" - I have that part covered below ;) 

Of course I have my own personal caveats - personal to me, but also from my professional perspective. I thoroughly stand behind the infant album (up to 18 months). In the toddler album (18 months to 2.5 years), here are some of my tips: 

• page 83: When a child shows interest in letters at this age, Montessori House says to use sandpaper letters, DON'T. That is not the most accurate match for the child's self-construction. When the child is interested in letters and words, be sure you are playing the *sound games* instead. Separately, if a child asks about a word or a letter, give the word or give the letter *sound* (not the name). 
• The math section: Counting - YES! Making counters out of clay for the fun of it - YES!
  But please don't do sandpaper numbers at this point or do the numbers & counters activity. These come after a child has had the number rods experience later. 
• For math, keeping going with patterning, oral counting, one to one correspondence and the like. 

Overall, these two Montessori House binders, taken together with Susan Stephenson's lovely, parent-friendly gentle book The Joyful Child, will provide all that you need for an awesome Montessori infant and toddler home experience! What the one lacks, the over fills in! 

These two resources for infancy and toddler - transition readily into Keys of the World for 2.5-6 and Keys of the Universe for ages 6-12.

:) 

Montessori at Home: Infants and Toddlers

Cutie!

There have been SO MANY questions of late about what to do with infants; how to setup a Montessori environment for toddlers...

Legoboy, over a year ago, put together this list of then-current links to our infant Montessori and toddler Montessori experiences - I am copying/pasting its current version below.

I did find more old pictures that I want to get posted - but in the meantime, I thought I would highlight some of how we did Montessori at home, during a few moves (and a few months of no consistent home), and in small spaces (like the house we stayed in where we only had the bedroom!).

Enjoy!

(the following copy/paste is from the Infant-Toddler Page here on Montessori Trails - updated every so often, please visit for newer post links!)

Infant & Toddler
Montessori

Our Infant Toddler homeschooling Montessori Trails:

More to be posted as I get through our older photos :)

Infancy: 

Exercises of Practical Life in Infancy

Infancy: Home at Last

Infancy: Our Adaptations

Infants, Toddlers and Toothpicks

Toddler: 

Infants, Toddlers and Toothpicks

Toddler Montessori at Home

Infants and Toddlers at Home

Starting Montessori with a 2-Year -Old

Exercises of Practical Life in Our Home

Toddlerhood - Montessori Home Environment

Legoboy's First Dictionary


Last Updated: Legoboy
December 11, 2013

Reality vs. Fantasy Before Age 6 - My Experience

I knew about the Montessori principle of focusing on reality before my son was born. So I was good to go from the start. And I fully supported it because it made sense - it fit with my own experiences working with children that I had not been able to clarify before.

A not so scientific survey - well, it's scientific, just anecdotal/observational science:

Children founded in reality in the first plane of development (conception to age 6) have stronger imaginations, greater creativity and are generally still in awe of the world around them into the elementary years, as compared to children who were surrounded by other people's imaginings in those formative years.

For example, I can tell what sort of 0-6 upbringing a 6-8 year old child has had in response to the first Great Lesson: God with No Hands. Children founded in reality, recognize immediately that there is some amount of fantasy here (the inanimate world does not actually whisper "I hear my Lord, and I obey" nor do angels actually carry heat up and bring cool down). The children immediately recognize words such as "like" and "as if", referring to analogies. The children understand these analogies and pick up on them, even if they have not had an explicit lesson on "analogy." These children can immediately get into the exploration of the actual facts and have JOY in the imaginative pieces - 'those particles, "like" people, like some but have a strong dislike for others', the children find such amusement in this line!

On the other hand, the children who have had experience with a lot of other people's imaginations (things that are not real, adults telling stories that couldn't possibly be true for the fun of it, cartoons, etc.), even when they tell you they "know" the difference between fantasy and reality - will ask at the end (or interrupt in the middle!) of the First Great Lesson, "Is that real?" Or they will say, "Well, that's not really what happened."

Yes, you are correct my child, but did you actually listen?

The story itself doesn't say that it is really what happened - the analogies make this clear. But these children have been set up to argue something that wasn't an argument. They have to repeat to themselves the concepts in the story itself to say that the story is an imaginative event, with a good deal of real facts. So 1) they consciously miss the clues that are obvious to the other children yet 2) they are re-stating those very clues in their own words ("this isn't how it exactly happened").

It becomes almost a difference between true pure joy and a building cynicism.

Wow. And I just wanted to tell a story to open up the geography album.

It happens in other areas too.

The children with the mixed experiences before age 6 seem to spend several of their elementary years sorting out the difference between reality and fiction. I wonder, if a longitudinal study were done, if this carries over into their adolescent and adult years - leading to people questioning objective Truth in this world. Even those without cynicism waste those elementary years still sorting out real versus fiction.

The children with the solid foundation in reality spend their elementary years enjoying the awe and wonder of the world around them, asking many "what if" questions that explore the very real natural laws around us; then testing them out and seeing what more they learn. This is true imagination - to test the limits of reality.

The children with mixed experiences generally consider fairy tales to be girly stories (if they are boys) and baby stories (if they are boys or girls). They might participate because they know there is something there, but there is a rough exterior that says, "I'm actually too cool for this but I'll go along with it since everyone else is." Or they tend to tease the other children who actually still like fairy tales.

The children with the reality experiences DELVE into fairy tales (which are actually moral tales), reading the original versions and various re-writes. They explore the moral dimensions, they re-write endings, or write alternative viewpoints. They explore the cultural dimensions and what it meant to have Cinderella's eyes pecked out by ravens. They are fascinated with Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" and can actually sit through a reading of the original Jungle Books.


Now does this happen with EVERY child? Probably not. But think about this: even the children who SAY they understand the difference, and verbally state they know and then proceed to prove it... doesn't mean they really get it. And sometimes, the fact that they have to verbalize it, means that they have not entirely internalized it. Sometimes the whole talking through something is a sign that the child is still working through it.

And it has been consistent with all the children I have personally observed in this area.

Legoboy's First Dictionary

As I wax nostalgic these last few weeks... my baby is in upper elementary!!!!! I thought I'd share this photo of him "reading" his first dictionary. It was actually a birthday present for me from my mother, and he had received a late Christmas gift (the barn in the background, that we still have today - 6 years later).

He is not quite 3 in this photo and he spent a good part of that day looking through it. It has very few (black and white images) and he mostly looked at the pages without images. Could he read it then? I figured then that he couldn't, but I look back now... and I wonder.

Several months before this incident, I walked into the living room to find him looking at a picture-less book, while lounging in the recliner. I quietly walked out to get the camera and snap a picture. I put the camera around the corner (so he wouldn't see me), and he had turned the book upside down, clearly giggling hysterically and trying so hard to hold it in.... at not quite 2 1/2 years old. How did he KNOW it was upside down and therefore FUNNY????

(By the by, he also enjoyed then and still does now, turning maps south-north orientation (instead of north-south); he turned globes upside down in their holder and drove the other children and various teachers over the years crazy... so he can work with things in different orientations).

Please note - we also didn't really do characters - he didn't even know what the symbol was on his pjs there - he just knew they were in his drawer, and I just know they were less than a dime at a garage sale! that's a budget-use for you!

Infants, Toddlers and Toothpicks

I have mentioned this activity a few times - about an older infant or toddler sitting at their little table with a set of toothpicks and a jar of varying kinds.

Not everyone has baby food jars - some of us make/made our own ;) So an alternative?

NOT this (awesome spice jar from IKEA - lots of uses - this one ain't it)

Toothpicks go in, but don't all come out.
FRUSTRATING.
Does not encourage independence or skills. 

Ball jam jar
these glass jars come in a variety of sizes, including very short!
Get the wide mouth ones. You'll use them for everything!
Get the types that one-size lid fits all you get.
The child can even insert his hand to
remove the toothpicks without dumping. ;) 

Toddler Montessori At Home

Ok, in the last 2 weeks I have been asked for varying levels of insight into toddler-hood by no less than 15 individuals! I preface the entire following post with these points:
--I am not infant-toddler trained *at all*.
--My initial Montessori experience was in a wonderful AMI school in the after-school care, the lower elementary and the toddler room (somehow I was never needed in primary at that particular school!). These experiences were strong ones and truly formed my whole Montessori way of thinking - in comparing to later experience, I find that the children were full of joy, with very bright eyes, and the teachers were expert observers!
--I have raised exactly one child through the entire infant-toddler stage.
--I have played a role in providing Montessori environments to countless children on a part-time basis, including providing a Montessori environment in my own home for daycare purposes.
--I am not an expert; I would love to go back for more AMI training, but I (like most of my readers) simply can't do that. I did primary and elementary - those were two miracles by themselves. My official training time is done :(

But I love to share what worked for US!



So here we go: 


For toddler-hood, I did use Montessori from the Start (separating the wheat from the chaff ;) ) as well as my observations at local Montessori toddler programs (which wasn't all that great); I drew as much as I could from my past experience of working in an AMI toddler room as the routine substitute - to this day it is probably the best toddler Montessori environment I've ever been in - other AMI rooms came quite close; and none of the non-AMI ones suited me at all, sad to say - and at the time I didn't even know the difference between AMI and AMS.
NOTE: If I could begin again, I would set aside Montessori from the Start and read "The Joyful Child" by Susan Stephenson - available at MichaelOlaf.net. While Montessori from the Start has more detailed activity descriptions, it was really hard to separate the wheat from the chaff!

A simply grand infant-toddler activity.
Yes I bought this salt shaker set specifically
so my son could do this work of mounting toothpicks.
Solid glass, heavy, and a metal cap.
Step 1: toothpicks into wide-mouth jars
Step 2: tootpicks into water bottles
Step 3: Mounting toothpicks on salt shakers.
CONCENTRATION.
COORDINATION.
FOCUS.
FILLS their inner drive towards TINY work.
It's real (glass and metal).
(I don't care for pepper, so this is actually the pepper shaker -
we use the salt one for salt!)

My very strong advice on this age is to worry less about teaching anything in particular and focus more on:
--real experiences
--real materials (heavy glass tumblers are more appropriate for an older infant sitting at his chair, then a plastic sippy cup knocked off the tray or traipsing around the house)
--whole/real language - and verbally labeling all things in the environment.
--beginning the sound games just for the fun of it
--including the child in all activities possible
--lots of snuggling, reading, conversations (encouraging responses)
--trust the child's ability to learn, including learning boundaries. Maintain them. (provide toothpicks for mounting on a saltshaker lid, but no they do not go in the mouth)
--Develop good habits by allowing good things to happen. Don't interrupt a child's attention and focus for example.
--Cull bad habits by stopping them immediately. Those keys on the table with the swiss knife attached? Yep. They're enticing, but they stay there when you've said 'no' and the child has been given something else to explore.
--OBSERVE your child.

I can't emphasize any of the above enough! Perhaps some day I will be able to write a blog post (or series of blog posts) about each of those points. In the meantime, take them one by one and consider what you can do to implement them. What does it mean? What new habits do you need to work on for yourself? What environmental changes do you need to make?


For inspiration - we have always had small homes; for a few months at different times we did live with other families in larger houses (and I had less control over those houses, in regards to safety features) - so my posts focus on the smaller spaces - and limited budgets.

Three previous posts:
Practical Life for the Toddler Years
Infants and Toddlers at Home
Toddler Montessori Home Environment

See the full set of toddler posts by clicking here.

Infants and Toddlers at Home

How do we provide a Montessori environment for the littlest ones?

It is so easy and simple - that it is complicated.

Your best bet is start with nothing and add what you need; but most of us do not have that luxury. Instead we have to wade through the *stuff* to purge what we don't need. Ugh.


First, learn about your child's developmental stages - read Montessori's writings and attachment parenting books about this age, before really looking at other resources (even if you don't plan to attachment parent - the information is very sound). These writings will be based on observation and responses given to children of this age for the last 6000 years at minimum.

Train yourself in observation and response. Subtle cues. Environmental. People. Temperature. The sounds of silence.

Establish a peaceful home. A joyous home. Filled with love and light.

For materials - consider what you REALLY need. Babies need very few contraptions - on the contrary, they need room to explore.

Consider human needs and tendencies as they will be displayed in a very young child, even one in the womb. How can you meet these needs and tendencies? Fulfill them?

Through simplicity. Focus. Yes there are mobiles and images that are strongly recommended, but in the end, YOU can come up with most of what you need with only a small nudge for the rest. Trust YOURSELF, trust YOUR instincts. Develop your instincts. Follow your gut.

Observe and Respond.

(NOTE: Blogger is being funny with the photo arrangements - if you see a HUGE blank space below, please keep scrolling down for the rest of the post!)

Start with one piece puzzles and large knobs
(geometric shapes best to start with -
see the top puzzle of the stack on the left)

So happy to be at the table with the big people :)

booster for at the table
(doubles as high chair with detachable tray;
also tilts back for infants
and has 2-3 height settings)

booster that doubles as high chair when needed.
Less furniture and smaller. 

Attachment parenting
confidence that mom is always there

Real food; real utensils
the bowl was in my hands at the time of the photo

Time with family, participating with the family

Drinking from bowl of cereal for the first time!
This photo: about 12 months
visiting at a friend's house
their kids thought the toy would neat
he ignored it ;) 

Building and exploring
does not have to be Montessori materials
although plain colored blocks are best,
if you have colored, have 1 color for each shape

Concentration

Visiting at friend's house - no glass tumblers available
plastic is ok from time to time, but has no weight
plastic is easier to knock over than heavy glass
glass encourages control of movement
This photo: 12 months
start with glass tumbler: 7-10 months

Lots of real experiences in natural spaces

Experiences - get out with baby!
In this photo: pointing at the birds around St. Peter's Square
shouting "Duck! Mama look! Ducks!"
(birds, ducks... well... he *was* only 23 months!)

Freedom in nature

Controlled exploration

Floor-mirror next to bed. 

Floor mirror
I'm not excited about that duck thing.
But sometimes you have to compromise for family peace ;)  

Freedom of movement as much as possible
get in or out at will most of the time
then stay in seat during regular family meal time,
church services, prayer, etc. 

What the child sees on one of the infant mobiles

One of the infant mobiles
I made some pieces reversible to conserve materials

Lots of reading
as much reality as possible,
but don't mess with Great-Grandma's preferences ;) 

Lots of babies and other children!

A proud happy boy after Thanksgiving meal 

Own table to utilize between family meals

Quality time with godparents :) 

Quality time with godparents ;)
Yes, they are both genuinely asleep ;) 

about 20 months
eating with regular bowl and spoon

Collecting peas that had fallen off of dish during mealtime

Explore lots of textures (not all at once!)

Thinking he is ordering for himself ;)
Probably about 11 months here. 

~1.5 year old at Thanksgiving
Serving self from controlled portions
in small dishes

Real experiences - snow! 

Lots of space to crawl and move. 

Experimenting - this time with a drain in our kitchen floor.
What will fit? 

1 year old at Thanksgiving
Eating with own real utensils and drinking from glass
I love those little lips puckering out in concentration. 

Lots of other children
does not have to be all the time -
enough to learn proper social skills

Toileting when ready
(the attached child seat was
not appropriate for his anatomy,
thus we added the removable one with handles)
Step-stool for toilet
and step-stool for sink

Watching the infant mobile

Climbing on staggered couch cushions;
floor mirror is on back of couch to entice interest
for new infants in my daycare

All those photos and not a good one of our family floor bed. It is hinted at in some of the photos. For the most part, we used a regular mattress on the floor and called it good. And when I was pregnant it was FAR easier to get out of bed off a mattress on the floor than out of any of the taller beds I slept in when visiting family. Roll over onto hands and knees on the floor, then slowly rise from that position - stretches all the appropriate muscles to bring blood flow throughout the body, controlled any possible light-headedness or low blood pressure, and gave a bit of exercise in preparation for a smooth birthing experience. Very nice. And a fantastic transition into having baby on the floor bed, family style.

There are other photos missing as well - such as the coffee tin with the slit in the lid (for inserting poker chips) and the Discovery Toys ship with the balls that roll (we removed the colored rings and the hammer and just dropped the balls in; add the rings and press hard at an older age - no hammer). Too bad I didn't keep a daily diary at the time (ha! in what time!?) ;)


See other Montessori Trails for lists of the items I did utilize as well as practical life ideas.


By 2 1/2 the primary albums can be utilized to work on early language, early exercises of practical life and early sensorial. But don't rush things before that. Don't worry about providing knobbed cylinders - just have lots of exploration with real materials that provide experiences with shape, size, colors, weights, muscle control - and LOVE.

An AWESOME resource for this age: The Joyful Child by Susan Stephenson - available at MichaelOlaf.net. PLease note, this is a book, not a catalog; The Joyful Child, not A Joyful Child; Susan Stephenson, not another author ;) There is some confusion out there. This book is written for parents in a natural friendly tone, specifically for infants and toddlers!


Please see our other Infant and Toddler experiences on Montessori Trails.

Starting Montessori with a 2 year old

How to start Montessori with a 2 year old is a very popular question.

The Pink Panther at age 2

Regardless if you have been doing infant/toddler Montessori, the child will be transitioning into the primary age somewhere around 2 1/2 and you'll do the same things with the children regardless if they are new to Montessori or have had a Montessori environment already.



For a 2 year old, the best places to start are:

• practical life
• sensorial
• language

Practical life:

You may or may not want an album right away for the Exercises of Practical Life. If you do, look for the following in the table of contents: preliminary, care of self, visual art, control of movement (walking on the line and the silence game), grace and courtesy, care of the environment. Interspersed are skills for food preparation, care of animals, etc.
Otherwise, just consider those areas and apply them to YOUR practical life :)

Introduce a new activity every couple of days in a variety of areas. These materials do not have to be fancy (ie learning to button might be a vest or jacket with large buttons, hung on a hanger such that it faces out towards the child - work with it on the hanger, or lay it on the floor or a low table to work with; teach the skill of hanging hangers on the rack; shaking out small rugs (we have a rug in our home where shoes are placed when we come in - a small child can easily take that outside and shake it out - even take some muddy shoes and knock them together outside to get mud off)).

The main thing in practical life is: keep it REAL. You might have a few trays of sample skills to practice, but keep the it REAL. A real banana to slice (not a wooden one with velcro - this can be kept in the toy area); real dishes to place on the table.

And you want to have practical life practice areas in their appropriate areas - in a classroom there is an EPL area; in the home, it is nicer to keep food in the kitchen; laundry folding where YOU do laundry folding; etc).


Sensorial: think textures, colors, sounds, etc. A good sensorial album for the primary age is good to get for age 2 1/2 and older - the very beginning work with the pink tower, color tablets, etc. can start with the 2 year old, but will also contain extensions for 5 and 6 year olds (see if you can check that part before making a purchase). The sensorial album should also include beginning music activities, so check for those in the table of contents.


Language: you want to work on real vocabulary and sound awareness. So you'll play sound games, listening for sounds at the start of words, end of words, and eventually the middle of words; play games like I Spy or very similar with objects around the room, the house, the yard, etc. First you will give the language in a 3 period lesson ( 1) give the name of 3 items 2) play games with asking the child to touch, move, hide under, hide it behind his back, etc. 3) when period 2 is successful (might be that day, at that sitting; might be another time), point to the object and say "What is this?" if period 2 is not successful, point to each object and say it's name - and be done for that sitting - come back to it later).

A language album is not necessary until age 3, but if you get one, be sure it lays a SOLID foundation of the sound games and spoken vocabulary building. The spoken language portion of the album is ALL you will need until age 3 1/2; then you will start introducing the sandpaper letters, etc.


If you start just those things at age 2, you will be laying a very strong foundation.

In the meantime, pick up a primary level theory album and Montessori's books for your own reading pleasure and to fully prepare for the primary ages of 3-6 :)

The not so Pink Panther;
with clean bed and wall behind him