I have so much to write about that it sometimes overwhelms me and I just don’t write. Does that happen to you? Well I decided to start simple and make myself a list and hopefully it keeps my thoughts on track.
- Activities at 13 months
- Activities at 14 months
- Dealing with Difficult Behavior – Practical Solutions
- A love for books
- Practical Life – The Key…
- Care of self and the environment
- Kids in the kitchen – Getting started
- Grace and Courtesy
- Order – A key to independence
- Observation – The Montessorian’s Super Power
I told you I had a lot to write about. Several of these posts have been drafted so I’ll just use this list as my guide.
Ok so I’ll start of with Activities at 13 months. I only changed some of the materials from the 12 months post.
This is our shelf at 13 months
Can you spot the new items?
I wrote about the open and close box already. This has been and continues to be a huge hit.
This is a fun material which provides just the right level of challenge. He has to hold the ring a certain way and position it correctly to feed it in. It also has to go into the top hole to come down the ramp. He enjoys it and it holds his attention for a few minutes.
In use. It requires him to focus for those seconds while he tries to get it in. If you follow us on Instagram you might have seen the joy on his face when he gets it in.
The farm animals came back into rotation with the addition of a Rooster. He really enjoyed this activity and loves fetching it from the shelf when asked. He also likes making the sounds and lining them up.
This puzzle has also been a hit. He has perfected the circle and square but still struggles a bit with the triangle.
I am not happy with the way I have it in the tray on the shelf. I’m not sure it serves his sense of order. I did not realize this till someone pointed it out on the post about dealing with difficult behavior. Since then I have observed that it does bother him everytime he tries to pack up. I’ll have to find a better solution next time it’s in rotation.
In use. He sometimes did this at his table while sitting. Other times he would pull out the mat and do it on the floor or take it to the coffee table and do it standing.
Working at the coffee table
He likes to stack them and straighten to put away
I don’t have an individual picture of the truck but I added it on a whim and it worked so well that I will add something similar every month. I observed that when he works for long with several materials back to back, he then picks the truck and it lets him cool off for lack of a better description.
The other new material that was available to him this month were these stacking and nesting blocks. I noticed him trying to stack everything. from trash cans to fruits so I put this out and he really likes it. I was surprised by his ability to balance them properly. He even checks and adjusts as needed. Sometimes I hand him the boxes one at a time and other times, I just let him do his thing and the results are usually beautiful.
I gave him each box in this instance
Unstacking after building
His creation when I just left him with the boxes.
I noticed a change in his pattern of work this month. When he chose to work, he would choose work after work, focus on each one and put away when done. I’m not sure if it’s due to maturity or if the materials this month captured his interests so much but I was pleased. I made an amazing video that I was going share but somehow deleted it.
There was also a ton of practical life work this month but I’ll leave that for the practical life post. I hope this gives you ideas for your little ones.
Live a Good Life!
0 Comments
Lynne Aiken · November 19, 2014 at 1:16 pm
I’m wondering how you feel about the materials varying in multiple aspects. The shape puzzles are so attractive, but vary in color as well as shape. The same is true of the stacking boxes; they vary in size and color. I use these same types of materials also because that is what is available. When I have the choice, I will purchase materials that vary in only one way.I am curious to hear what others say about this topic.
nduoma · November 21, 2014 at 11:10 am
Hello Lynne! So good to hear from you. I was thinking of you because I will be in your neck of the woods soon. I’ll send you an email once my plans are concrete.
To answer your question, I completely agree that ideally, the materials should isolate one concept so using your one of your examples, since the puzzle are intended to match the shapes, they should all be the same color with only the shapes differing. It is so hard to find materials that meet this criteria though and so sometimes I compromise and choose a material if it meets most of my criteria so well made, simple, beautiful, natural materials etc. I also think for the home it may not be ideal to have a different material for every concept like the classroom so again compromise. I isolate the concept with the language that I provide. So in this case I focus on the shapes and never try to point out the colors even though they are hard to miss. I hope that when he is ready for colors he would have mastered the shapes and can then focus on the concept of colors.
Thank you for bringing up such a good point and please continue to provide your insight to the posts!
Sharron Lerew · December 5, 2014 at 4:27 am
I love the colored stacking boxes. They look larger than the ones I’ve found. Can you tell me the stacked size and where they can be purchased?
14 activities at 14 months | · November 21, 2014 at 4:27 am
[…] working so hard on the materials for Months 12 and 13, I noticed that for close to one week, Nothing on the shelf was touched. It was time for material […]