Our Montessori Shelf at 16 Months

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This month there has been intense interest in the shelf and in mastering some materials that have been out for a while. The multi-piece puzzle, for example, has been mastered this month and while still interesting to him will likely be rotated out for a more challenging one soon. I find there is still interest in toys that have been on the shelf for a while.

Wondering what Montessori toys are good for a 16-month-old? Here is a look at what is on our shelf this month!

Bedroom Montessori Shelf

On the top of our bedroom Montessori shelf we still have the rainbow drum and a basket of balls. We also added a Grimm’s stacker which he loves playing with this month.

On the next shelf we have his coin drop. Last month I switched out the carrot posting for the coin drop. He remains interested in the coin drop though I might bring the carrot posting back at some point just to mix things up.

Next to the coin drop I have a stacker we got in an older Lovevery box. When we first got it he was not particularly interested in stacking with it and was using it for all sorts of other things. When I brought it out this time he was interested in stacking with it. He has been really enjoying this older material.

Next up is a flower posting activity, also from Lovevery. We did some real flower arranging as well this month but that wouldn’t work as well on our shelf. He is enjoying the flower posting with the felt flowers though and learning to put stems down which will be useful when we try flower arranging again.

On the bottom shelf of his bedroom Montessori shelf we have his peg drop. This has been out for a while and still garners a lot of interest and concentration. he maintains great joy when he pulls the lever to drop the pegs and also enjoys just posting the pegs. Since he is still interested in it I have kept it on the shelf even though it has been out for a while (a look at my philosophy on toy rotations here).

Finally, on his bedroom Montessori shelf we have a multi-piece puzzle. I switched out the puzzle with multiple shapes for this one with different-sized circles and he was able to master it more easily. I will soon rotate it out and probably bring back the multi-shape one. He has pretty much mastered this puzzle at this point but still really enjoys it.

On the side of his shelf, I replaced the ball run we love with a car run he also loves. My plan is to continue rotating them in and out since he enjoys both of them.

Living Room Montessori Shelf

We don’t have a ton this month on the living room Montessori shelf. We have his basket of teethers. We are breaking some more teeth so having those available has been helpful. We also have a silicone puzzle. This got some interest at first but I plan to rotate out since he has lost interest.

On the bottom shelf we have Magnatiles which we play with together. Next to them is another stacker which has been out for a while but he still loves.

Off The Shelf

One of his favorite materials this month has actually been kept off the shelf as we keep it for in the stroller and on the go. This is a beading material. I introduced a different beading material at the end of last month which he played with this month and then switched to this more difficult one. He loves it and it was perfect for travel this month.

Practical life also remains a favorite. We introduced the crinkle cutter and a grape slicer this month, both kitchen tools he has enjoyed using. He loves setting the table, wiping spills, chopping, transferring, and pouring in the kitchen.