In my view, I have learned a lot while bringing up my children of 15 months. During that, I have found Montessori-inspired educational method has become a noteworthy and effective support in collaborative sports, hands-on learning, and self-motivated activity.
In Montessori activities for a 15-month-old, children work to explore their world and grow their maximum potential. For better understanding, I jot down some Montessori activities here.
Montessori Activities for 15-Month-Olds:
I, as a responsible father, took meticulous care in choosing the best Montessori activities for my 15-month-old babies. Hence, I emphasized their language activities, activities at home, both indoor and outdoor activities, and the development of their cognitive abilities.
Language activities for a 15-month-old:-
15 months – this age is very much rewarding in respect of a child’s growth. Normally find that children of 15 months try much to join interactive activities and development significantly by boosting their stock of words. As a result, I found the following ideas very useful:-
- Interactive sport:
Plays like Peek-a-Boo and Pat-a-Cat are classic in this respect.
Peek-a-boo is a very simple sport and it helped my children to understand ‘where’, ‘whence’ ‘here’, and ‘there’. In short, it is object permanence.
Pat-a-Cat is another sport by which my children learn how to follow actions properly.
- Talking and Questioning: I spent my day with my children narrating almost every activity and describing things around them. I asked simple questions like ‘What is this?’/ ‘Do you like this?’ and gave them enough time to answer.
- By Use of Flashcards: I showed my children flashcards with bright colorful pictures and name the pictures before my children. Next, I urged them to repeat the names after me.
- Sensory Exploration: It is one of the best Montessori activities for 15-month-olds.I needed to fill up a basket with rice, beans, pulses, and little toys and then talked about their task charts’ colors and sizes to my children.
- Joint Reading: I collected some board books with colorful pictures about which I talked to my children if possible in various tones according to the pictures of animals and people.
- Naming Body Parts: It is a very good idea to encourage my children to talk and learn different things. I needed to name different body parts, maybe, in a singsong manner and urge my children to repeat.
- Outing For Identification: It is another simple way to learn. For this. I went out with my children and pointed out trees, grass, fruits, flowers, cars, houses, etc, and asked them simple questions like ‘What is this?’ ‘What is that?’ etc.
Indoor Montessori activities for a 15-month-olds:
Montessori activities for a 15-month-old include indoor activities mainly. Very naturally for the nourishment of my children’s sensory growth, motor skills, and self-independence, I positively considered the given activities below:-
- For language development –
- a) I read out picture books and name them before my children in an interesting way.
- b) I helped my children with too many toys with pictures.
- For sensory activities –
- a) I filled a bean with rice, sand, marbles; beads, etc, and provided my children a cup or scope to put them into another bin, obviously under supervision.
- b) I gave my children a board with different textures, made of paper, sponge, sand, and fabric and urged them to explore.
- For Life-related activities-
- a) For this, I took some small water containers like a bucket and urged my children to pour the water into another container with a cup and practice it whenever they liked under supervision.
- b) I offered my child an absorbing cloth to wipe up water that spilled.
- For Creative Activity-
As creative boosting, I gave my children some chunky crayons to jot or draw anything on a sheet of paper. What is surprising, I found that my children are scribblomanic.
- For Gross Motor Skills :
- a) I arranged pillows, a bundle of fabrics, and cushions resembling obstacles and urged my children to crawl over them.
- b) I offered my children different-sized colorful balls and asked them to hold, throw, and catch them.
These are some Montessori activities for a 15-month-old for all-round development.
DIY Montessori Activities For A 15-Month-olds:
DIY – ‘Do it yourself ‘ is an expected activity in Montessori learning. Needless to say, it is important as a part of Montessori activities for a 15-month-old. Here are some common activities that my children did.
- Treasure Basket For Curiosity And Sensory Exploration:
For this, I took and filled it up with toys and household articles like spoons, plastic or metal cups, and fabrics. Next, I urged my children to explore them and experience their sounds, weights, and textures.
- Object Permanence Box For Head-Eye Coordination:
As this was for understanding, I made a hole in a small box and took a ball. Thereafter, I asked my children to drop the ball into the hole and follow it to get out of the hole within seconds.
- Pom- Pom Drop For Understanding Cause- Effect:
To materialize it, I needed empty paper towel rolls and pom-poms. Before my children took part in it, I had to paste or tape the rolls on a wall. Then, I showed them to understand how to drop pom-poms through them.
- Pouring For Co-ordination and Concentration:
For this, I took containers or pitchers and cups for pouring rice, pulses, beans, and berries. Then, I taught interestingly how to pour the things from one container or pitcher to another with cups, making mistakes as minimal as possible.
- Water Play For Motor Skills and Concentration:
For this purpose, I collected a shallow tray, small cups, and sponges. As children love to play with water, my babies were no exception. Therefore, I asked them to transfer water from the tray to the cups with the help of the sponges as early as possible for him/ her.
- Cardboard Puzzles for Problem-Solving Ability:
For this, I needed DIY Puzzles that were made from thick cardboard and cut-fitting shapes. After that, I guided them to fit the shapes into the corresponding holes. This is also helpful for motor skills.
Cognitive Development Activities For A 15 Month Old:-
It is universally found that children of 15 months old grow fast their cognitive skills. Regarding this, I supported them in the following ways:
- Joint Reading:
For the enhancement of my children’s vocabulary and curiosity towards the identification of different things, I arranged picture books with large textual descriptions and then pointed them out by name. If needed I read out in advance.
- Play and Pretension:
For this, I encouraged my babies to pretend to play with toys kitchen articles, dolls, etc. When they played or interacted with dolls, they developed their imaginative power and sense of empathy.
- Interactive Activity:
As children love to imitate, my children normally copied my actions of running, stomping, clapping, and moving body parts. Furthermore, the classic game, peek-a-boo played an important role in understanding object permanence while interacting.
- Stacking Game:
This is the game for which I had to collect wooden stacking blocks and then urged my children to arrange them. This helped them how to solve problems properly.
- Outdoor Activity:
This is a special way to teach my babies how to act and react in the outdoor. I used to take them for a walk and point out various things including natural objects like trees, flowers, and plants, and subsequently helped to stimulate curiosity and observational power.
The above-mentioned write-up for Montessori for a 15-month-old encourages people like me who have a 15-month-old and undoubtedly, I needed to supervise everything.
FAQ:
What activities can I do with a 15-month-old?
By creating interest, I can engage my child in activities like water play, finger painting, stacking blocks, dancing, crawling over obstacles, sensory play, etc.
How Can I Keep My Child Busy?
I can keep my child busy with painting, cardboard puzzles, Pom Poms dropping, block setting games, waterplay, etc.
Where Can I Take My Child For Fun?
I can take my child to a park, a baby show, a walk through nature, and a baby game zone for fun as well as mental growth.
Sumanta De is an educator. He has been teaching students for more than 16 years following the principles of Dr.Maria Montessori. He has a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.
He is nurturing his children abiding by the principles of Dr.Maria Montessori. His passion for Montessori methods goes beyond the classroom.
Hence, he shares his experiences and insights through a dedicated Montessori blog and a YouTube channel under the name “NewChild Montessori”. He aims to offer valuable guidance to both parents and educators.
Education: M.A. English, Masters in Child Psychology & Bachelor’s Degree in Montessori Teachers Training