I was so diligent about creating a serene, perfectly Montessori area for Ophelia, and, well, Ralph mostly plays with Barbies. And sticks.
But lately I've been trying to a little more Montessori work with him- the "ones" are my very favorite age (where they just waddle around like little people speaking complete gibberish!) and it's amazing how much they pick up.
Ralphie's very favorite thing lately is animals- seeing them at the zoo or outside, or reading about them in books. He just LOVES our animal identifying cards- we point at the card, make the sound, and name the animal. Then we match it with our animal figurine.
His other favorite is our musical instruments. He and his sister love to play "music class" which is completely adorable.
I also show him the stacking ring (start with just two rings at a time) and a three piece puzzle, presented undone. It is much more engaging for the babes (and thus lengthening the time they will spend working with it!) to have the pieces out.
The last one we've done is transferring work- one year olds are all about taking things out of containers, right? So having something like popsicle sticks or pom poms in one area and having them transfer them to another is a big hit!
My oldest daughter was a Montessori teacher until she started having kiddos. She incorporates a lot of Montessori concepts with the girls and they love it. Thanks for some great ideas here!
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