18 Educational Montessori Activities To Do at Home

Are you looking for fun, educational activities to do with your children? Then, consider adding Montessori activities to your child's playtime. Children are naturally curious about the world, and they have active imaginations that keep them interested in their surroundings. In this post, we'll walk you through 18 Montessori activities your children will love doing.

What Is a Montessori Activity?

Children learn best by doing. Luckily, they are great at exploring and are often willing to try new things — especially if they're fun! Montessori activities are exercises children can guide themselves through, learning more as they explore cause-and-effect relationships.

More specifically, Montessori activities are:

Self-motivated: Students partaking in Montessori activities navigate each one themselves, following their natural interests and curiosities.
Designed with error control: Mistakes are welcome in Montessori activities. Errors don't debilitate learning. Children are encouraged to make errors and learn how to correct them all on their own!
Isolated skill-builders: Montessori activities are usually designed with a specific skill or concept in mind. Below, we'll outline tasks for fine and gross motor, language, sensorial, math and life skills.
Uninterrupted fun: As a parent or teacher, your job is to give your child or student access to self-guided activities. From there, the young learner can explore and guide themselves through their learning projects.

Montessori activities don't have to be elaborately planned. You can use common household items to fuel your child's imagination and willingness to explore.

18 Montessori-Inspired Activities for Kindergarteners

Introducing a new strategy to your child's learning style can be fun and eye-opening, providing a better educational experience for you both. Get inspired by these 18 Montessori activities.

Motor Skills

Some Montessori motor skill activities your children will enjoy are:

Practicing on a balance board: Balance boards are great at helping children build their gross motor skills. You can easily find balance boards online, and they're exactly as they sound — boards children stand on to practice their balancing skills.
Trying yoga poses: You may enjoy a daily dose of yoga, and your kids might, too! You can find kid-friendly decks of yoga poses online. Allow your kids to study each yoga pose and practice them in a padded, open area.
Scrubbing baby dolls: Is your child a big sibling? They've probably seen you wash their little sibling and grown a bit curious. Even if your child isn't a big sibling, they can benefit from practicing their fine and gross motor skills by washing their baby dolls. Give them the materials needed — a bin of water, a cup for pouring, soap and a brush — and encourage them to scrub their baby dolls.

Language

Some language-based Montessori activities are:

"I Spy": Most of us are familiar with the beloved game of "I Spy." Encourage your children to get descriptive with what they see. Test their understanding of descriptors by describing things back to them and seeing if they can correctly identify what you "spy."
Rhyming scavenger hunt: Send your children on a scavenger hunt around your house. Place an item on a table, such as a spoon, and encourage your kids to explore your home looking for objects that rhyme with yours. For example, a book with a moon on it can be a great find, as "moon" rhymes with "spoon."
Story box: Somewhere in your house, have a box dedicated to storytelling. In the container, store imaginary play items like cowboy hats and princess dresses. Allow your child to pick out a few things that speak to them, and encourage them to make a story from their objects.

Sensorial

Sensory skills are important for children to develop as they get older. Some sensorial Montessori activities for your children to try are:

Mystery bag: Get a small bag and name it the "mystery bag." When your child is ready to explore, place an object in the mystery bag — like popcorn kernels or a toy dinosaur — and have them stick their hand in it. No peeking! Encourage your kid to use their senses to identify what's inside.
Scent identification: Place one cotton ball in a handful of jars. Then, put a few drops of essential oils into the jars, allowing the cotton balls to soak them up. Have your child smell each container and try to identify the scent.
Sound matching: For this activity, you'll need two jars of different colors. Fill one jar halfway with little objects, like rice or black beans, and fill the second quarter-way. Put a lid on both. Allow your child to shake and explore each container and determine which one is filled the most or least.

Math

Some math-based Montessori activities your children will like exploring are:

Button sorting: For older children, practice sorting by giving them a handful of different-colored and -sized buttons. Buttons are versatile learning methods — kids can practice fine motor, one-to-one correspondence, counting and sorting skills. Give your child some ideas and let them explore at their own pace.
Trail mix: Recipes are great tools that encourage children to practice math skills like measuring, sorting and judging quantities. Print a simple trail mix recipe, lay out the ingredients and let your child follow the instructions to make their own.
Sensory number tracing: For this activity, you'll need a deck of numbered cards and a deep-set dish. Fill the dish with small rocks. Encourage your child to draw a numbered card, like the number five, and then have them use their finger to trace the number on the rocks.

Science

Some science-inspired Montessori activities are:

Sink or float: Fill your bathtub or sink with water. Then, go around your house with your child and look for items they think will sink or float. Revisit your body of water and test their prediction skills.
Magnetic or non-magnetic: For this activity, you'll need a handful of magnetic and non-magnetic items and a magnetic board or fridge. Allow your child to self-discover which objects are or aren't magnetic.
Living or non-living: Print images of items that are either living or non-living. Then, explain to your child the difference between living and non-living things. With their knowledge, have them separate each picture into its respective grouping.

Life Skills

Life skills are important for your child to develop, as these encourage their independence. Some Montessori activities that strengthen life skills are:

Flower arranging: Go to the store and pick up a bouquet. Then, pick out a flower vase and fill a separate glass with water. Put these three materials in front of your child and have them make their own flower arrangement.
Window washing: Need help with chores? Give your child some cleaner and a rag and carefully monitor them as they wash the windows. This activity also doubles as a fine motor movement exercise.
Sweeping or mopping: Similarly, set your children up with the tools they need to sweep and mop around your house. Have them practice gross motor skills as they work on learning and doing their household chores!

Interested in Montessori Education? Browse Sapientia Montessori Online for More Information

Sapientia Montessori School is recognized as one of the largest and oldest Montessori schools in the Cedar Park, Texas, area. We believe the best way for students to learn is through willing exploration. At our schools, we provide students with the tools they need for success. Learn more about us by contacting us online — we would love to get to know your family and discover how we can help your blossoming learners!