Montessori Toys to Buy – Educational Toys Enhance your Child’s Development

You can use everyday objects for montessori activities, 'Practical life' is an area of the curriculum I have seen this in practice, but there are a few curriculum areas you can choose from.

For Practical life make little sets of objects in bowls and baskets and set them on trays (on a low shelf the children can access if possible). Let each child pick a tray.

Sifting flour with a sieve, sorting objects, polishing objects, pouring liquids from one container into another, threading wooden beads are some ideas i can think of.

This is a site I came across with pictures so you can get the idea-

http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/some-montessori-activities/

Have a google and I'm sure you will find more activities and curriculum areas that can be done with every day items.

EDIT- I just came across this site, it has a huge list of activities for Practical Life and pics too!

http://homepage.mac.com/montessoriworld/mwei/praclife/pltoc.html

I'm a Montessori teacher. We don't refer to them as toys – the children call them material or work. They are made out of wood because they are more pleasing to the eye and touch – more natural. We want the children to want to use them. It's part of the prepared environment.

I have been a Montessori teacher for over 12 years. In a Montessori classroom a child can use something as long as they want to. When they put it away, another child can use it. In allowing a child to use a material as long as they wish, we are preparing children for learning and lifelong success by encouraging concentration, as well as independence, coordination, self-control, sense of order, initiative, grace, courtesy, compassion, patience, peace, negotiation and self esteem. We don't force sharing. Forcing a child to share will only cause anger and resentment on the child’s part and hinder the goals of the Montessori philosophy. We will empathize with a child who wants something and encourage sharing to come from the heart. This is true to real life. What if you were forced to share your new car with your neighbor? How would you feel? It is essentially the same thing when it comes to a child sharing their prized possessions.

If the toy gets taken away and given to the child who wants it, the child who wanted the toy will not learn to problem solve. It is best for children to work out a problem for themselves, first with a little guidance. Say for example two children are fighting over a toy, say "It looks like you both want to use that (state the problem). Only one toy but two people that want to use it." The children will often say things like "I had it first! I want it!" Then empathize. "I can't tell that you really want that. It's very (upsetting, frustrating, making you angry) that Emma won't give it to you." Talk to the children in ways so that they can see the other person’s point of view. Then let them vent a bit then say "What can we do about this?" Sometimes they will problem solve on their own, other times they need some help. You can then say things like "I have an idea! When Kate it finished with she can give it to you”, or, “how about Kate uses it for 3 minutes and then you can use it?" This approach works very well. Always state the problem, empathize (A little empathy can go a long way. You are just empathizing, not joining into the problem.), validate, and help the child identify their problem, restate their ideas to fix the problem, help them to carry out the solution. Spend less and less time each time. After the children figure out that you won't solve the problem for them, they will get much better at solving their own problems. It takes some practice and active listening, but it works!

Guiding Young Children by Eleanor Reynolds is a great book to help deal with these types of problems. It offers practical problem solving techniques that exclude the use of punishment, blame, or guilt. It also presents techniques for developing listening skills, negotiation, conflict resolution, and setting limits. Hope this helps!

EDIT:
Please ignore the person who connected the Montessori philosophy to future drug use. This was just a coincidence and has NOTHING to do with being a student of Montessori. Check out these famous non-drug addicted students of Montessori. http://www.cmsaa.org/famous.html

Try looking at the Montessori website – they have all the answers there.

In Divisoria man!

Wear an armor though, you're gonna need it.

from immediate and close family, id say its more than okay to say, "we'd prefer that if you are going to buy Baby a gift, it be xyz"

and if anyone asks, its fine to say, you know, we'd like a set of blocks, or whatever gifts you want.

i wouldnt advertise it, bc as you said, it can be a little awkward/rude. but if they ask, tell!

Two days ago someone asked a similar question and a lot of people on the board complained that it was too free, with no boundaries and “children have got to learn”.

The sad truth is that the name "Montessori" is not copyrighted and many people sadly capitalize on this by opening schools and call themselves Montessori, but have actually no Montessori concepts, ideals, or materials. To see what I mean, look at the video on the bottom of this page http://www.montessorianswers.com/selecting-a-school.html. To be honest the classroom that the poster described does not sound like a real Montessori Classroom, usually there is an awful lot of materials available for the children to work with.

Now to answer the question. What kind of special skills does a child receive by being in a REAL Montessori school? Well, they learn to think for themselves as opposed to regurgitating answers, they learn to take care of their environment and themselves. They learn to be part of a community and to be an active participant in their education. They learn HOW to learn, as opposed to simply what to learn. Ultimately they learn to be concerned, active, and aware citizens of the world. Another good video for you to watch is titled What Children Receive From a Montessori Education from The Montessori Foundation. it addresses the very question that you asked and can be found at: http://www.montessorianswers.com/videos.html

So what is the difference between Montessori education and other forms of education?

Montessori education is based on the belief that children are individuals with their own strengths, needs, likes and learning styles. To used the latest educational catch phrases, Montessori education is “multi-modality, differentiated instruction.”

To achieve this a Montessori classroom is not filled solely with text books, writing paper and pencils.(or in pre-school shelves of toys). Instead it is filled with many materials that teach a range of levels and concepts all set up so that at a moment's notice a teacher can reach for a material and teach a student or students the concept they need or want to know about. Or students can reach for the same material and use it in the way that they were taught so that they can practice a concept that they are working on.

Obviously, a Montessori classroom will not look like a normal classroom. Rarely, if ever, will you find the whole class sitting with their books out looking at the teacher show them how to do something. Instead you will see children, some in groups, some by themselves, working on different concepts, and the teacher sitting with a small group of children, usually on the floor around a mat.

Lastly, I will leave you with this information…

In the past few years there have been more and more studies published comparing Montessori Education and traditional education. Contrary to what some people state, Montessori children DO NOT have problems in social situations, in fact, ALL studies show just the opposite, Montessori children are ahead of their peers when it comes to social interactions.

The most comprehensive longitude research on Montessori Education in comparison to traditional education was published last year by a psychology professor at the University of Virginia, Dr. Angeline Lillard.. Her recent article was so well researched and documented, that it is the only educational article ever to be published in a scientific magazine.

Her findings and other studies’ report that Montessori students have:

*more interest in learning,
*more self disciplined
* have a greater understanding of truth and fairness
*more creativity, especially in their writing
*are more independence
*a better understanding of concepts from grammar and story structure to mathematical operations, algebra and geometry
*have a deep understanding of and how geography, history, social studies, and science are all related.

For more information check out Angeline Lillard Ph.D's book Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius

I would really keep her where she is now, be able to spend the extra time with her while you can. At this age, they learn through play, she doens't quite need all those other things, I would give it one more year then switch her, this way you can save a little more money too

I don't have a lot of infant ideas, since I teach 3-6 year olds.

I would recommend this book:
http://astore.amazon.com/monteblog-20/detail/0805211128

Really, what I would suggest, thinking about Montessori, is your actual environment. Not so much specific activities, but I would look and see whether the environment is set up for the child. When your daughter is old enough to crawl, is everywhere she crawls safe for her?

Right now, language is playing a huge role in development. Not that she'll start talking, but it is important to make sure you talk to her a lot, sing and play games, and she sees positive communication from you.