Best Montessori Activities for Your Children at 3-6 Months

Early child development and early childhood education begins shortly after your baby is born. At this early age, and until age 5, children are like sponges. They absorb a ton of information and sensory experiences and begin developing all of their emotional, physical, and intellectual interests and abilities.

As any good parent would, you want to help your baby learn and grow. Accepting that there may be slight delays milestone developments is part of the process, but babies and children all grow at their own pace. Montessori schools and Montessori education were established by Ms. Montessori, who recognized that every child is an individual deserving of attention, respect, and encouragement to grow at their own pace.

If you also agree with Montessori’s approach to childrearing, then you may find the following activities for your 3-6 month-old baby very helpful indeed. These activities encourage babies to explore as babies are wont to do, with their hearing, their hands, and their mouths. These activities focus on those beginning skills.

Montessori Activities for 3-6 Month Old, Broken Down by Month

At 3 Months

At this age, babies are just starting to lift their own heads. They are looking around more. They still cannot see any object that isn’t within two feet of their faces, but when objects come into view, they are immediately fascinated. Their hearing is excellent, so one object that is safe for them to explore and play with is a quilted ball with tinkling bells inside.

The ball is soft, and has lots of bright colors. You can talk to your baby about the colors, too. It helps with language development and color recognition skills.

The tinkling bells reinforces baby’s play every time they shake the ball or passes it from hand to hand. Small motor development increases when you place your baby on their tummy and put the ball just barely in reach, which motivates your baby to reach for the toy and use their fingers and hands to grab it. Because it is plush, your baby can explore it with their mouth, and you can wash it later.

At 4 Months

Right around this time, your baby should be attempting to roll over, or they already rolls over. Play mats, mobiles with stimulating toys, and baby gyms are all excellent choices. Your baby can begin to grasp objects well, and reaching for wooden rattles and brightly-colored balls are good ways to encourage these skills.

Towards the end of four months, babies can see a little farther, and a mirror mounted to a wall becomes fascinating to them. They think it is another baby, and they will try to make faces and interact with the other “baby” in the mirror. Language development begins here, with early babbling.

At 5 Months

By now, your baby should be able to fully roll over. Some babies even begin to use rolling as a means of locomotion, going from one end of the room to the other when there are no impediments! If your baby is starting early locomotion, you can begin to play games that encourage your baby to move toward a toy, grab it, explore it, play with it, and then take the toy away and place it a little further away to get them to go after it.

Early picture books with single words are a good thing to start. You can also start reading simple books with short sentences to your baby. This encourages more language development, and helps your child begin to recognize sounds, words, and the correlation between pictures and words.

At 6 Months

Your baby is starting to sit up and eat semi-solid foods. They are also fascinated by things inside things. While object permanence is still a ways off, it works to your advantage to introduce the Montessori education idea of “treasure boxes.” Montessori schools frequently have low-set shelves with baskets that these little ones can reach, grab, and turn over. You can put soft toys or balls in one little basket or see-through tub, plastic animals in another, and noise-making items in one more.

In terms of Montessori activities for 3-6 month old children, this is the perfect time to introduce the leading concept of Montessori education; the child-led activity time. As your baby grasps and explores the basket or baskets that interest them, they are choosing to learn about things that matter to them. You can talk to them as they explore, too.

Montessori Daycare

American Montessori Campus serves parents with small children in Carrollton, The Colony, Addison, Frisco, Richardson, and North Dallas. We follow the standard Montessori care principles for 3-6 month olds.

Learn more:

Best Montessori Activities for Toddlers

Why Parents Should Know About Montessori