5 Best Montessori Activities for Preschoolers

Rooted in the philosophy of Italian Educator Maria Montessori, Montessori activities seamlessly blend education with play.
Often revolving around everyday routines and practices, these activities are designed to foster independence, creativity, and critical thinking in young minds.
In this blog, we’ll delve into the benefits of Montessori activities. We’ll also outline five engaging Montessori activities for preschoolers to try that will not only capture their interest but also lay the foundation for lifelong learning.

What are Montessori activities?

Quickly growing in popularity, Montessori activities are hands-on, child-centred learning experiences that emphasise self-directed exploration and discovery.
Ranging from preparing food, cleaning skills and even learning to dress oneself, these activities encourage children to develop practical skills at their own pace while promoting independence and a love for learning.

The benefits of Montessori activities

Montessori learning activities provide pre-schoolers with a holistic approach to education and offer several benefits that are not gained from more traditional teaching methods.
By focusing on the individual needs and interests of each child, Montessori activities have been proven to foster a deep sense of independence, self-esteem, and self-motivation.

By engaging in these hands-on activities, preschool children not only acquire academic knowledge but also develop vital skills for everyday life such as problem-solving, decision-making, and time management.
The philosophy encourages:

• Collaboration
• Communication
• Social skills
• Empathy
• Leadership

And lays a strong foundation for effective interpersonal relationships.

Additionally, the integration of mixed-age classrooms in Montessori settings promotes a sense of community and mentorship. Although the age range between preschool children is limited, this structure is conducive to creating a supportive learning environment where collaboration and cooperation flourish.

The 5 best Montessori activities for preschoolers

Though there are many to choose from, here are the 5 best Montessori activities for preschoolers.

1. Sink and Float

Sink and Float involves experimenting with several objects to observe whether they sink or float in water.
It promotes scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and also helps form a basic understanding of physics concepts. Through this activity, preschoolers enhance their cognitive abilities as they make predictions, test their hypotheses, and categorise the various objects according to their buoyancy.
Having a working understanding of how different objects and substances interact in the world is an essential lifeskill.

2. Colour Sorting

Colour-sorting activities enhance visual identification skills and cognitive development in preschoolers.
By categorising objects according to their colour, children improve their ability to differentiate between colours in a more hands-on way, enhancing their overall perception and coordination. This activity also fosters language development as your child begins to pronounce colour names while sorting.
Since colours are used so often in life to signify things (like a red stop sign for example), the sooner your child gets a grasp on colours the better!

3. Sort Small to Big

Sorting objects from small to big is a common Montessori activity for preschoolers that hones a child’s spatial awareness. By engaging in sequencing and sizing, your child will enhance their understanding of proportions, laying the foundation for early mathematics concepts which will only continue to become more important later in life.

4. Matching Pairs

Matching pairs is a memory-based cognitive development activity where preschoolers identify and pair similar objects or images, for example, socks. This activity enhances memory recall, and concentration, and also helps to develop basic pattern recognition skills.
By also promoting logical thinking and attention to detail, your child will develop a crucial foundation for various academic subjects and problem-solving.

5. Folding:

Folding activities can involve tasks like folding:

• Napkins
• Paper
• Clothes
• Fabric

This promotes fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and concentration in your preschool child. Not only does this Montessori activity instil a sense of order and independence, but it also contributes to the development of practical life skills, grip strength and coordination.
Plus, it’s a useful way to teach them vital housekeeping skills so they can take care of themselves in a practical way later in life!

Looking for a caring childcare centre for your preschooler?

At Little Miracles, we help instil crucial life skills in your child and build a foundation for a lifetime of learning..
And we make it super fun, too!
Our priority is to keep kids interested and their minds challenged in an environment where they feel loved, valued, safe and free to develop their full emotional and social potential.
If you’d like to learn more about Little Miracles childcare centres, just check out our website.  

To enquire about childcare centre vacancies, feel free to contact us today.