AMS Approved Montessori Activities at Home 

How do you keep kids entertained while schools are closed? Are workbooks and worksheets your only options when it comes to keeping up with your children’s academic progress?

Montessori is all about following the child, keeping them engaged, and relating learning to practical life. Here are 100 Montessori activities you can easily do at home for early childhood students, all approved by the American Montessori Society!

100 Activities for Montessori Early Childhood Students

1. Draw a map of a room in your house. Be sure to label everything.

2. Cut out pictures from a magazine and make a picture book. Tell a story!

3. Plan a healthy meal or snack for your family. Have someone help you prepare and cook the meal or snack.

4. Learn a new household skill like washing clothes, emptying the dishwasher, doing dishes, or folding clothes. Maybe you could do all of these!

5. Ask your favourite grownup how you can help with their big work!

6. Draw a picture of your family. Label everyone with their names. Can you write something about each of your family members? For example, “My brother’s favourite colour is red!”

7. Explore the website www.howstuffworks.com and find a section that interests you. Write or have someone help you write interesting facts that you learn, and then share them with others.

8. Make a treasure map of your favourite park. Be sure to label everything.

9. Can you clean the leaves of a plant in your house? Use a little bit of soapy water and a sponge.

10. Look out your window. Draw a picture of the biggest, smallest, and most unusual things you see.

11. Practice and memorize the days of the week in order

12. Practice and memorize the months of the year in order.

13. Name your favourite day. Tell someone why that is your favourite.

14. Name your favourite month. Tell someone why that is your favourite.

15. Count as high as you can. Write or have someone write that number. Can you read that number?

16. Sing the continent song. Print a continent map from this website: https://www.printableworldmap.net/category/continent. Color it!

17. Name all of the planets. Have someone help you look up your favourite planet. Write down or have someone write some interesting facts that you learn and share those facts with a family member.

18. Write an “I love you” letter to your friends and relatives.

19. Read a book or have someone read to you. Tell the basic idea and what you liked about it. Who are the characters? What is the setting?

20. Read or have someone read poetry or nursery rhymes. Memorize your favourite poem or nursery rhyme and recite it to your family.

21. Think of words that rhyme with: hat, car, ring, stop, man, dad, rock, pig, and lot. Can you write any of your rhyming words?

22. Practice telling stories. Think of a story that you know well and try to tell it in several different ways. For example, tell the story from a different point of view or in a different setting. Change the ending. Make it funny!

23. Watch a YouTube video on how something works. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VrdUYbHvyo this video shows you how glass is made. BEFORE watching the video, make a prediction on how you think the item is made. Then, watch the video and write or talk about the way the item is actually made. Were you close or did it surprise you?

24. Remember trick-or-treating? Make a bar graph of the different varieties of candy you received from your neighbours. For example, you might sort it out into categories such as chocolate, hard candy, and soft candy. Be creative! If you can’t remember, make a bar graph that shows what you would LIKE to get next Halloween.

25. Learn how to cook a food that is generally made in the fall like pumpkin bread, applesauce, or sweet potatoes.

26. Talk to an adult about what fruits and vegetables are in season right now. Do you know how to cook with those foods?

27. Explore the website Adapted Mind and play some math games. https://www.adaptedmind.com/index.php

28. If your family has popcorn kernels, measure out 1 tablespoon and estimate how many kernels are in it. Then count them and see how close you came. Help your family pop the corn and enjoy it!

29. Look through the store ads online. Choose 5 items to “pretend buy.” How much money would need to buy each? Can you add the cost up?

30. Get a lesson on how to take pictures with your family camera or smartphone. Learn to use the different settings. Can you edit a photo?

31. Write a thank-you note to someone. For example, thank a grandparent for spending time with you, thank a brother or sister for helping you learn something, or thank a coach for helping you learn a sport. Do you know how to address it and put a stamp on it? Ask your parents to help you mail it.

32. Explore the website, https://teks.mathgames.com/ and try out some of the math games.

33. Learn the proper way to set the table. Set the table for dinner.

34. Make a list of 20 nouns and say them or write them. Remember a noun is a person, place, thing, or animal, such as brother, beach, basketball, or buffalo.

35. Make a list of 20 powerful verbs and say them or write them. Remember, a verb is an action, such as jump, dance, or play.

36. Make name cards for your family to use at dinner. Does everyone usually sit at the same spot?

37. Make a menu showing what your family is having for dinner. If you are able to, add some choices, such as water, juice, or milk for the beverages.

38. Use sticky notes to “label” a room. If you can’t spell a word, it’s okay. Do you best to use the sounds you know.

39. Find some objects to build with. How high can you go? Long? Wide?

40. November 14 was National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. Did you miss it? Help your family clean out your refrigerator.

41. Explore the website www.theweathernetwork.com. Look up the weather forecast for your town. Compare the weather where you live with the weather in two other cities in other parts of the country or the world. Can you find a place that is much warmer than where you live? Much colder?

42. On New Year’s Eve, many people make resolutions for the upcoming year. Write one resolution or tell someone a resolution you had. How can you plan to keep your resolution?

43. Count down from 10 to 0. Now can you do it from 20? How about 50?

44. Start at 23 and count up. Start at 41 and count up. What about 56, 29, 48, 78, and 93?

45. With your parent’s permission, call an aunt, uncle, cousin, or grandparent and chat.

46. Explore the website https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/. Read or have someone read through some of the news stories.

47. Learn how to make a friendship bracelet and make a bracelet for a friend.

48. Write a story that starts like this: “I was on my way to my best friend’s house when…”

49. Write a story that starts like this: “It had been raining for an hour when…”

50. Do you like cookies? Help an adult make cookies. You might even want to try a new recipe!

51. Did you get holiday or birthday gifts recently? Write thank you notes to people for gifts or for the gift of their time.

52. Talk with someone in your family about one of your dreams, and write one thing or draw a picture of what you can do to help your dream come true.

53. Dust or polish an area in your house.

54. Make your bed today. You can do it all by yourself!

55. Yummy pancakes! Research a recipe for blueberry pancakes and make breakfast for your family.

56. Make some sort of a sculpture or structure with clay, cotton balls, toothpicks, etc., and take a picture of it. Can you make something unlike anything you have ever made before?

57. Give 5 compliments to someone you love.

58. Learn a new crafting skill: knit, crochet, spin, weave, quilt, hook rugs, embroider, tie-dye, beadwork, paint, or sculpt.

59. Do you watch the news? Can you name a world leader?

60. Choose a favourite book and create a book cover for it. Decorate it, write the title and author, and draw a picture. Try to make it different than the cover that the book already has.

61. Do you know about dental hygiene? Do you brush your teeth? Draw a picture of your teeth.

62. February is Children’s Dental Health Month. Ask your parents to look at this website http://www.ada.org/2714.aspx#sheets for puzzles about healthy teeth.

63. Count all of the table legs in your house. Can you write that number? What if you had one more table? What would the number be? Can you make an addition problem to show that number sentence?

64. Practice tying your shoes.

65. Estimate (make a good guess about) the number of plates there are in your house. Write down your estimate and then count. Was your estimate close?

66. Did you know that every country has a unique flag? Visit this website: http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/countries-cultures/flags-of-the-world and choose your favourite flag, print it, and colour it.

67. Prepare your own lunch or snack today.

68. What can you make with toothpicks? Visit this website for ideas: https://www.stemlittleexplorers.com/en/create-amazing-structures/

69. Research what types of flowers, fruits, and vegetables grow best in your province in April. Draw a picture of some of the flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

70. Have a conference with your parents about what you think you do well and what you think you need to practice more.

71. Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685. Listen to a piece of his music. Which piece did you listen to? How does it sound: happy, sad, or excited

72. Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Draw a picture that shows what you love about the earth.

73. We often hear “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” when talking about the Earth. This week, find 3 ways that you can reduce, reuse, or recycle what you use.

74. Can you name all the coins? Sort a piggy bank or extra change from a parent. Can you put all the coins that are alike together?

75. The first week in May is Be Kind to Animals Week. Write a poem or story that expresses the importance of animals in your life.

76. What do you know about fractions? Look for fractions in your home and draw what they are and where you found them. Hint: Do you like pizza?

77. Can you sort some objects? Ask a parent for some small objects (coins, beads, jewelry, and paperclips are some great ideas)! Can you sort them? Put all the objects that are the same together. Do any of the objects share characteristics?

78. May 16 is “Love a Tree Day.” Draw a picture of a tree on your sidewalk or in your yard, neighbourhood, or park near you. Can you label the trunk, branches, and leaves? Where are the roots?

79. Have you heard of the artist Piet Mondrian? He liked to use primary colours (red, blue, yellow). Using paint or food colouring (with a parent’s permission), mix primary to see if you can make secondary colours (green, orange, purple). If you make a mess, make sure you clean it up!

80. Find shapes in your house: circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. Can you draw them?

81. May is National Photograph Month. Work with a member of your family to put together a family collage using your favourite photographs.

82. Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of the new year on a traditional Chinese calendar. Count on your calendar how many days we have until the Chinese New Year.

83. Use a ruler to measure your foot. Can you trace your shoe or foot? Use a ruler to measure how long your foot is. Measure the foot of someone else in your family, too!

84. Help wash and prepare vegetables. Chop celery, peel potatoes, slice tomatoes, and more.

85. Interview an adult using 4 questions. Ask them: “Where did you live as a child?” “What school did you go to?” “What was your favourite food?” “What sports/activities did you do?” Draw a picture of this adult when they were little.

86. Make a calendar of your summer break. Include any classes or trips you are planning on taking, or activities you would like to do at home

87. Practice writing the numbers from 0 to 100.

88. Practice writing the alphabet. Can you write all the letters?

89. Write your name in rainbow colours! Can you write your last name, too? How about your middle name?

90. June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month. Try a new fruit or vegetable this week and tell someone what you thought of it. Did you like it? Draw the vegetable or fruit and make a smiley face or a sad face depending on if you liked it or not.

91. Do you have a pet? Draw a picture of your pet and label the parts of your pet: leg, tail, nose, whiskers, etc. If you don’t have a pet, draw the pet you would like to have!

92. Can you name all of these body parts? Elbow, ankle, knee, neck, shoulder, chest, thigh, and face. Have an adult draw around your body on a big piece of paper. Can you label your body parts? You can do this outside on the sidewalk with some chalk!

93. Have a grownup download the TinyBop app on their phone and learn about the inside of the human body.

94. Create your own cartoon. Draw a picture of a superhero and villain. Then, tell a grownup the story of your hero.

95. Using bedsheets, pillows, and anything else you can find, create a fort or tent to play in. You can even pretend you’re camping and add sleeping bags and story time to the fort.

96. Find an old shoebox and see how many creative ways you can use it. Is it a hat? A rocketship? A shoe?

97. Ask an adult to play music and have a dance party.

98. Have an adult help you cut pieces of paper to make a paper chain. Can you write down one thing every day that you are grateful for and add it to the chain?

99. Do you have a deck of cards lying around the house? Try building a house of cards and stacking them as high as you can.

100. Learn about a job that you see often in the community, such as teacher, police officer, or trash collector. Talk to an adult about what that person does. Can you pretend to be that person for the afternoon?

Take care and think positive!

Parenting full time while being stuck at home can be stressful for many families. The above activities have been modified by Inspire Montessori School to best fit the needs of Canadian children. We at Inspire Montessori School (Markham) wish you good health (both physically and mentally)! Let’s have some coding fun while we are all stuck at home!