Living Montessori Now

Information and Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Montessori-Inspired Movement Activities

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Movement activities, both large- and fine motor, are naturally part of Montessori education. Still, it’s helpful to add some activities that focus primarily on movement.

Montessori-Inspired Movement Activities

Here are some Montessori-inspired movement activities and printables. They aren’t all part of the traditional Montessori curriculum, but these are movement activities that are popular in many Montessori schools. They would generally work well for homeschools, and you can even do some of them along with your child!

Montessori-Inspired Movement Printables

3-Part Movement Cards (Photo from Training Happy Hearts)

3-Part Movement Cards (Photo from Training Happy Hearts)

Alerting Activity ABC Cards, Act Like an Elephant Action Cards, and 3-Part Movement Cards (photo) from Training Happy Hearts

Movement Cards (2 different sets) from The Home Teacher (Set 3 is from Homeschool Share, so be sure to download the ABC Exercise Cards from there.)

Alphabet Movement Cards (Photo from Chasing Cheerios)

Alphabet Movement Cards (Photo from Chasing Cheerios)

Alphabet Movement Cards (as used by Chasing Cheerios) from ABC exercise cards at Homeschool Share.

Making Body Shapes (with Printable Body Shape Cards) from Childhood 101

Paper Plate Pushing (Sample lesson) from Montessori Movement Matters

Simple and Fun Frog Leap Activity for Kids (Instant Download) from Fit Body Full Life

Free Kids’ Dice Fitness Printables (a series of free printables that work well on a Montessori-inspired tray) from Fit Body Full Life

Montessori-Inspired Movement Activities

Montessori Walking on the Line for Toddlers

Montessori Walking on the Line for Toddlers. Also check out Activity of the Week: Walking on the Line and Outdoor Line Hunt and Walking on the Line.

Montessori-Inspired Physical Fitness for Preschoolers

Montessori-Inspired Physical Fitness for Preschoolers (my post)

Movement in the Montessori Infant/Toddler Environment, Montessori Musings: Development of Movement in Children, Independence and Movement: Montessori Preschool, and Independence and Movement: Montessori Elementary from North American Montessori Center

Can Montessori Principles Be Used to Teach P.E.? (my post about child-led P.E. in our homeschool)

Movement Activities (Photo from Carrots Are Orange)

Movement Activities (Photo from Carrots Are Orange)

The Sensitive Period for Movement – Yoga and Montessori at Home: Movement (photo) from Carrots Are Orange

Montessori Movement from Confessions of a Montessori Mom Blog

Calming Movement Activities for Children by Andrea Coventry at Curricula/Lesson Plans @ Suite 101.

Olympic Unit Study Pinterest Board

Olympic Unit Study Pinterest Board

Olympic Unit Study Pinterest Board

You’ll also find lots of movement activities for kids as well as for families on my Olympic Unit Study Pinterest Board.

Montessori Monday Link-Up

Montessori MondayIf you have some Montessori activity trays/lessons to share, please link up below. It’s fine to link up a post from your archives – and you may link up anytime during the week! Your post may be any Montessori-inspired activity or idea. It doesn’t need to be related to my Montessori Monday post.

Link up your exact post URL so that we can find your activity if we return to the linky at a later date (which I often do when I’m looking for activities for a roundup post). I publish the Montessori Monday post and linky at 6:00 a.m. EST each Monday and keep the linky open throughout the week.

Please place the Montessori Monday button (using the code from the right sidebar) in your post or put a link back to this post. Let’s use Montessori Monday to gain inspiration/ideas and to encourage each other! If you would leave an encouraging comment on the post linked up ahead of you (along with any other posts you’re drawn to), that would be awesome! Thanks for participating!

Note: If you have a giveaway on your blog, please add it to my Family-Friendly Giveaway Linky Page! If you enjoy entering giveaways, you’ll always find some great giveaways there!

Also, if you’ve ever been linked to in one of my roundup posts, please feel free to grab the “Featured on” badge.



Linked to Tuesday Tots, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , The Weekly Kid’s Co-op, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, Preschool Corner, Saturday Show & Tell, Show-and-Share Saturday, The Sunday Showcase, and Link & Learn.

 

 

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Comments

  2. I have not taken part on Montessori Monday in so long b/c the way we have been living and learning, though still Montessori-inspired at it’s core on many levels has not been looking Montessori re activities and materials. Without our home environment in shape, I got disheartened and moved away from many typical Montessori activities. however, I am still extremely inspired by Maria’s work and hoping to apply much of “traditional” Montessori again in the near future.

    In any case, it was a delight to find your comment on my movement cards today and then to click over here to see so many fantastic ideas. I admittedly had stopped browsing Montessori blogs recently b/c after a string of computer, I have a backlog of emails and computer things to catch up on and when I took breaks during limited computer time to click over to Montessori blogs, I began to feel discouraged. I WANT to be doing so much of what I see others doing, but found myself telling myself that what is “right” is not always right “right now”. So,there’s my true confession.

    Now that I have stopped by again, I am feeling less discouraged and more inspired once more. Not sure why, but am glad to have my old attitude back and want to thank you for being a catalyst.

    I also wanted to share a few other resources folks might find helpful:

    An old book, but worth getting ahold of if you can borrow a copy: Jack Capon’s stuff, such as what I wrote about at http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2010/10/perceptial-motor-lesson-plans-level-1.html

    And two resources meant for sensory integration, but great for all that my kids love, both of which can be set up on trays or in workboxes with a Montessori twist,active imagination, which I reviewed here: http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2012/01/active-imagination-activity-book-review.html

    and Move About Activity Cards, which was reviewed here: http://special-ism.com/moveabout-activity-cards-a-review/

    Blessings!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much for your kind comment, Martianne! I’ve missed you! I’m so happy I could be a catalyst. I didn’t rotate my Montessori materials nearly as often as many Montessori homeschoolers do. I think there are so many ways to use Montessori at home … feel free to find the balance that works best for your family. 🙂

      Reply

  3. These are awesome and timely ideas! Now that I’m physically recovered from birthing, I’m looking to move, and my toddler is always happy to join me 🙂 She’ll love doing some of these things together.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Barb! I think Montessori concepts can be applied to almost anything … and movement is definitely an important part of Montessori education! 🙂

      Reply

  8. Hi Deb! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and time with us. This article about movement was just what I needed.
    Kind regards

    Reply

  9. Hi!
    I am new to this type of web page but I am excited to begin to use them. I enjoyed the sites for Montessori Movement ideas. I have recently completed a book and wanted to let you know about it.
    Movement Matters
    A Movement Album for Early Childhood Programs

    It is a Montessori Album with lesson plans for teaching Fundamental Movements in the classroom; implementing independent movement practice through concrete materials on a Movement Shelf; and over 50 Large Group Activites as well. Really wonderful resource for teachers as it is written in Montessori lesson plan format. It also has invaluable chapters on leading movment in the classroom, and information to support movement assessments for children in the sensitive period for movement.
    Hope you can look it up and find it useful.
    [email protected]

    Melani Fuchs

    Reply

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