Montessori Activities 3-6 Months

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Since I have completed my newborn activities post and my 6-12 month activities post I have gotten a lot of requests for a 3-6 month post. Much of what we did in the 3-6 month period was a continuation of 0-3 months. We did a lot of snuggling. We started to do more of our tummy time outside. During this period Yitzchak also started rolling back to front and moving a bit while on his back.

There are some really big changes during this period, particularly gross-motor-wise. At the beginning, your baby is not moving but it is possible they are by the end. They also might start sitting up and rolling over during this period. Of course development varies widely from baby to baby.

During the 3-6 month period, I introduced a Montessori shelf for the first time. This allowed us to develop some sense of order with his toys. He still couldn’t crawl up to it but if I placed him near the shelf he could choose what he wanted to play with.

Mobiles

I talked more about mobiles in my newborn activity post, but some mobiles are still relevant at 3 months. The Gobbi Mobile and the dancer mobile might still garner some interest.

I would also introduce tactile mobiles. A few good examples of tactile mobiles include ribbons, bells, and a Montessori puzzle ball. We still loved our Lovevery play gym at this age and enjoyed the bell and puzzle ball on there.

Montessori Toys/Materials

As babies start gaining more hand control and are able to grasp things the variety of toys increases. This is a good age to start introducing rattles. The first one we loved was the Manhattan Toy Skwish. Afterward, we introduced some other rattles including the classing Montessori three-ring one and a barrel rattle.

Another simple favorite in this age is teethers. Our absolute favorite is this sensory teether (the one we have doesn’t seem to be sold anymore but it is similar to one of the ones in the set linked). We got a wide variety though as during this period everything was going in the mouth.

Crinkle books and crinkle paper were both favorites in the 3-6 month age range as was the rainbow drum. We got all of these in our Lovevery kit. I linked other options as well but I really love Lovevery for providing a great variety of toys. The rainbow drum remained a favorite for a very long time, I highly recommend it. A tummy-time wobbler is also fantastic for encouraging stretching and movement during tummy time (I prefer the Lovevery one but the one linked seems to be the most similar I can find sold outside of the kit and I have heard good things).

Montessori Activities

Montessori Treasure Basket: the Montessori Treasure basket is a great Montessori activity for 3-6-month-olds. Simply take a basket and fill it with a variety of objects and let them explore. Try to engage multiple senses (something with a scent, something textured, something that makes noise) and use real materials when possible. Materials such as metal and wood offer more sensory input than plastic.

Anticipation Games: Anticipation games are so fun at this age. Create a song or a little rhyme and repeat it ending in you giving your baby a kiss or otherwise making physical contact. You can also do an “I’m gonna getcha” game where you pause before making contact a few times and then finally do.

Sensory Bottles: It is still a bit early for most sensory bins since even taste-safe sensory bins are not ideal for this age. However, you can make sensory bottles with colored liquid or with things like beans. Smell bottles are also a great way to engage the sense of smell during this period.

Water Play: The first sensory bin we introduced was water play. We simply put water in a baking sheet and let him play with it and splash in tummy time.

Vegetable Washing: as we neared six months we began vegetable washing as our first Montessori practical life activity. We started this once he was able to sit up. We would simply give a container of water with the vegetable inside.

Looking at faces: books with faces or laminated photos of familiar faces are fantastic during this time. Your little one might still be interested in black and white cards at the beginning of this period but will likely switch to interest in faces as time goes on.

Floor time outside: We did a lot of tummy time outside during this period as lying on a blanket. This allowed him to explore the textures of the world around him and different temperatures. Simply place your baby at the end of a blanket and let them explore.