How to make DIY Montessori training materials?

The Montessori technique is popular even after over 100 years. According to this technique, it is necessary to give the child complete freedom, providing him with the most prepared environment. The development environment should contain a variety of materials for the sensitive development of the baby. You can make such materials for classes using the technique with your own hands.

You can learn more about the features of the Montessori technique from another article or by watching the following video.

We make materials for do-it-yourself classes

Each of us knows that children grow and develop very quickly. In order for their development to proceed in an interesting way, babies constantly need new developmental toys that will correspond to their level. If you have chosen the Montessori parenting system, then you will need special materials to prepare the child's developing environment.

In stores, you can find a huge selection of materials suitable for the developing environment of Montessori, which will not be difficult to make at home yourself. You will not spend so much time on this, but at the same time you will save a significant part of the family budget.

First of all, you should conduct an audit among your crumbs' toys. This will help you understand what materials you have enough and what needs to be done. Place the materials that are suitable for the activity at a height that the child can reach. Consider the division of space into zones, which is assumed according to the Montessori system.

Now you can start working on crafts.

Making frame inserts

In order to make your own earbuds you will need:

thick cardboard (shoe boxes or corrugated cardboard are suitable);
colored or self-adhesive paper;
Whatman for the base or other suitable material;
buttons or beads;
wire;
scissors, stationery knife;
glue;
pencil;
ruler;
compass.

How to do:

Cut out equal rectangles from cardboard. The number of rectangles is determined by the number of shapes that you will introduce your baby to. For a one-year-old child, 4 basic shapes will be enough: a circle, a square, a triangle, a rectangle.
In each rectangle, using a clerical knife, cut out several identical shapes that differ in size.
Cover them with colored or self-adhesive paper. Try to make sure that all shapes of the same shape are pasted over with different colors.
Attach a button or bead to each liner in the middle with a wire. This will make it easier for the baby to use them.
Glue the resulting frames to the base.

Your earbuds are ready. You can conduct a lesson. With the help of such a frame, you can learn colors, geometric shapes with your baby, learn how to compare objects by size. This manual is intended for children from a year.

Rough letters

To make letters you will need:

thin sheets of blue and red paper (colored printer paper);
stencils of lowercase uppercase letters;
thick cardboard;
PVA glue;
glue stick;
scissors;
pencil;
ruler;
semolina.

We master:

Draw the sheets into rectangles of equal size. Blue rectangles by the number of consonants, red - vowels, as advised by Maria Montessori herself.
In each rectangle we outline a letter on the stencil.

These 2 steps can be performed on a computer and printed out sheets.

We glue the sheets to the cardboard. The cardboard should be taken as tightly as possible, sheets of whatman paper will not work. It would be better to do this with glue stick, it lays down smoother.
Place under a press and dry well.
Now we cut into separate cards.
Apply PVA glue along the contour of the letters and sprinkle with semolina. Too thick a layer should not be done.
We shake off the excess semolina and fix it where necessary.
Let's start drying. For this, it is better to fix the cards from all corners. You can use a sheet of fiberboard, drywall, corrugated cardboard from boxes. We pin each corner with pushpins. If the cards are not secured, there is a high probability that they will curl or bend.
Apply a second layer of PVA glue and let it dry again. The second layer is necessary so that the semolina does not crumble from the letters during classes.

The following video shows a small master class on preparing numbers in the above way.

It is better to start using the allowance no earlier than 3-4 years old. With its help, the child will develop direct associations of sounds and letters, memorize the names of letters and their spelling, prepare for the subsequent writing and reading, he will develop fine motor skills. It is very important to follow the correct outline of the letter, as in writing. If the child does not do it right, you must stop him and show him again. If now the child remembers the incorrect spelling of the letter, then in the future, when writing, he will write it in the same way.

Sensory bags

Required:

natural fabric (for example, satin);
a variety of cereals, you can use buckwheat, beans, peas, rice, millet, semolina;
pasta;
scissors;
threads;
ruler;
pins;
a spoon.

How to do:

Cut the fabric for the bags, choose the size yourself. Make the length of the fabric cut equal to two lengths of the bag and add 1 cm to the seams.
Fold the fabric for one bag in half, the front side should be inside.
Sew the side seams and top seam halfway. Secure the threads at both the beginning and end of the line.
Cut off the corners.
Turn out and iron.
Roast the cereals in the oven for 20 minutes. This will help prevent bugs from appearing in the future.
Put cereals in bags. Use only one type of cereal for each bag, the weight of each bag should be the same as the rest.
Sew the top seam to the end and you can place the toy at the child's disposal.

Another option for the preparation of sensor bags in the following video.

You can simplify the process of making bags by making them look like a fun caterpillar.

To do this, cut the desired length from loose tights. Place one type of cereal in a sock and tie a knot. You should get a tight ball. Now we fall asleep the next type of cereal and again tie it with a knot. This should be done with each type of cereal. The last ball can be filled with plastic wrap or rustling bags. Sew the tail of the caterpillar, decorating it. From the side of the toe, arrange the muzzle. For the eyes, you can use beads, for the mouth - a small flap of red cloth. You can make antennae from wire and beads.

These toys are suitable for children from a very young age. With their help, tactile sensations, fine motor skills, and attention of the crumbs will develop perfectly. Also, due to the different sound, using tactile pouches will help develop hearing.

Mobile

The Montessori system provides for the use of mobiles for newborns. However, they are not at all like those that you can find on sale. Montessori mobiles are distinguished by clear shapes, calm colors, clear colors, lack of music and rapid rotation of parts.

The forms are chosen abstract, the movement is carried out with the help of air currents, smoothly and naturally. It is easier for the baby to follow and focus his gaze at such a pace of movement.

We suggest making a hexagon mobile, a classic Montessori mobile.

We will need:

3 sheets of thick colored cardboard, choose the main colors: red, blue, yellow;
scissors;
ruler;
glue;
tape;
lightweight wooden stick.

How to do:

On the sheets, print the unfolded hexagon. Can be printed on thin paper and pasted onto cardboard. Then press dry.
Work the folds with a ruler and scissors so that they fold well.
Cut the flat pattern.
Assemble the hexagon and glue at the joints.
Secure the tape at one of the seams.
On the other side of the tape, tie it to a wooden stick. Make sure the stick is smooth.
Secure the mobile at a distance of 20-25 cm above the child's head, but not directly above the face.

In the video below you can see how to make a hexagon for a mobile using the origami technique.

Such a mobile can be offered to a baby from 3 months. With its help, he will learn to focus his gaze on moving objects, follow them with his gaze, perceive color and shape.

Stand (board)

In the modern world, Montessori stands are also called business boards. These are the so-called developmental boards on which you can fix everything that is prohibited in life for the baby. With the help of them, the baby will be enthusiastically familiar with home life.

In order to make a stand yourself using the Montessori method, you will need:

Chipboard or any board;
self-tapping screws;
glue moment;
various door locks with a key, a chain, a code lock, a bell, switches, a socket with a plug, discs from old stationary telephones, a window latch, a window latch, a zipper, on buttons, Velcro, on buttons, lacing, movable hooks, massager for hands, a padlock, a carabiner, sensory bags with cereals - in general, everything that in everyday life you will not entrust a crumb and that your imagination tells.

How to do:

It is necessary to fix the elements of the business board on the board. You may well come up with a plot for him and act in accordance with it. You can simply use scattered, all those elements that were found in your home. The more elements you place, the more the baby's stand will be carried away.

The following video presents a small video review of a handmade business board.

This educational game is suitable for children from 2 to 7 years old. However, she will be able to interest the little researcher earlier. While playing, the child learns to open and close locks, use sockets and switches, works with lacing and various fasteners. At the same time, fine motor skills, attention, perseverance develop very well. The kid learns to find solutions to various everyday problems, satisfies his cognitive interest. At the same time, he gets freedom of choice and can work with only one element or switch to different ones.

You can find an idea of how to make an interesting business cube in the next video.

Touch pad

Such a rug will be fun for the baby for a long time, because there are many surprises on it. You can sew such a rug from fabric cuts, old clothes, scraps of fabric of different textures. Any accessories, hooks, zippers, appliqués, Velcro, buttons, belt buckles will do.

To begin with, sew the base of the future rug according to the intended dimensions. Sintepon can be used as a filler. You can also take a thin flannel blanket as a basis.

Next, turn on your imagination and think over a sketch of the future rug. The rug can combine fabrics of different textures, you can sew patch pockets on various fasteners in which cartoon characters will hide (ready-made applications can be put inside the pocket), make non-opening pockets (or hide under the applique) with various cereals (pre-heat the cereals in the oven ), plastic rustling bags, sew in the tweeters that make a sound when you press them.

All you have to do is bring your sketch to life.

Watch a small video review of the ready-made touch pad for toddlers.

Such a mat will facilitate the sensory development of the baby. With its help, the kid will develop fine motor skills, tactile sensitivity, get to know and learn to use various mounts. Suitable for 8 month old baby and up.

Pyramid "pillows"

In order to make such a pyramid you will need:

fabrics of different colors;
Velcro fasteners;
stuffing materials - synthetic winterizer, mica or polyethylene, buckwheat, toys from kinders, pasta.

Cut out 2 squares from the fabric. Keep in mind that pillows can be made in different sizes and colors. In this case, you will need to calculate the size of the square and the color so that the adjacent sides of the pads are the same color. For example, for the base of the pyramid we make a square with a side of 12 cm. Make the bottom of the square red, and let the top be green. The sides of the next square will be 11 cm. We sew the bottom of this square in green, and the top in yellow, we make the third square with sides of 10 cm, the bottom is yellow, and choose the top yourself and continue in this sequence.

Sew Velcro on the front side of the squares fabric. On the one side of the future pillow, the hard part of the linden, on the other, the soft part. We fold 2 squares of one pillow with the right sides to each other and sew on 3 sides completely, and on the 4th side we leave a small area open. We will need it to fill the pillow.

We turn out the pillow and fill it with filler. For the largest bottom cushion, use the heaviest filler (such as buckwheat) to stabilize the pyramid. After filling, we stitch the area that remained open. One pillow is ready.

In the same way we sew the rest of the pillows for the pyramid. Use lighter fillers for them.

The pyramid is ready and you can give it to the child for use.

Children from 1-2 years old will be very happy with such pyramids. It will help kids learn colors, will promote the development of tactile perception, and help form an understanding of the concepts of "more" and "less".

Playing with clothespins or colored hedgehogs

This tutorial will be the easiest to make. You will need to cut out the outlines of any shapes from colored cardboard. After that, the child completes the missing elements with the help of clothespins. You can cut out a circle for the sun, a cloud for rain, a triangle for a Christmas tree, a hedgehog and make needles for it, make paws and a tail for birds and animals. The kid will be able to help you decorate the figures by drawing eyes for them, coloring them.

Try to match your clothespins to your shape. Then the child will not only develop fine motor skills while working with this material, but will also learn the basic colors. For the rays of the sun, use yellow clothespins, for rain to a cloud, let the baby find blue clothespins, for the green triangle from which you plan to make a Christmas tree, ask to pick up green clothespins.

As you can see, a lot of Montessori materials are easily made by hand. You don't have to buy a lot to make them, mostly toys are made from improvised means. In stores, analogs of these didactic games will cost you a lot.