Friday 5: Five Montessori based children's games

I'm a fan of Maria Montessori's teaching. She believed that kids should be taught with a scientific approach rather than traditional education. The thing that makes Montessori different from traditional education is that it fosters self-growth and motivation. Montessori schools don't have homework or a grading scale, but instead, offer independent activities at school. Children are in the same classroom usually for 3 years, so that the kids can help teach each other.

The Montessori approach, especially with homeschooled children, isn't all technology based. With that said, comes a whole new set of games, and a whole new way to keep your kids engaged and eager to learn.

I tried to include some of my favorite Montessori based children's games not based on age or activity, but by about how much I like them, as I only have room for 5 games. In the future, I'll talk more about other Montessori based activities and games.

1. Sound Scavenger Hunt (here): The whole wide world of words and phonics can be challenging, but what if you could go on a scavenger hunt with words! The game works by the parent (or the kid) asking to find something in the room, outside, or wherever you may be that begins with a certain letter. For instance, if you're grocery shopping, you can ask your child to find something that begins with the letter "C" there are tons of things at the store that begin with the letter "C" like crackers, cookies, and cereal. It's a way to keep your child engaged and learning everywhere that you go.

2. Alphabet Discovery Bottle (here): This game/activity is geared towards three-year-olds, can be adapted for older children as well. The object of the game is to find the letters in the bottle that match those on the paper, or if your kids are older, you can always switch from finding letters to finding words in the bottle instead.

No Time for Flash Cards

3. The Silence Game (here): The silence game is a classic Montessori game, that teaches self-discipline. While the game is usually meant for the classroom, it can be adapted to fit one to even a couple of children. The object of the game is to be quiet for a minute at a time. The time can be adjusted if your child wants a challenge or a minute seems to short of a time span.

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4. The Scooping Game (here): Want a game that teaches your youngster hand-eye-coordination? This game is specifically designed for toddlers and younger children. All you need is a bowl, water some balls that float (they used ping pong balls) and something to scoop the ping pong balls out with.

5.  Color Tablets (here): The color tablets are another classic Montessori game/activity. The child matches colors to colors. There are actually three boxes of colors, the first box only has red, blue, and yellow, the second box has a few more colors, and the third box has tons of differnet colors, but they all have a match.

Pink Montessori