One of my favorite at-home baby activities is to hold your very own daily, Montessori circle time! To start incorporating this at-home baby activity, let’s first consider what first pops into your mind when you think of a circle time. Until I entered this field, my mental image of a “circle time” was teacher sitting in a circle with a classroom of young children all reading and singing in a circle.
And while that can be true in some cases… it definitely is not the only way to hold a circle time!! I held circle times every day in my Montessori Nido classroom with babies. Even in moments where I was one on one with a child, I would still always hold my Montessori circle times.
Also, in my in-home consulting experiences we gather for daily Montessori circle times! Sometimes those circle times only have one infant & three adults all sitting on the living room floor … and even still they are so much fun!
You see! Montessori circle times come in all shapes and sizes 🙂
What Makes a Circle Time… Montessori?
To be honest when you’re observing a circle time in a Montessori home or classroom, it will look an awful lot like any other circle time. That said, Montessori principle honors and incorporates the developmental benefits into each element of the experience.
Remember: Montessori is an educational approach aimed at optimally supporting the natural progression of human development. That being said, here are some tips to keep in the forefront of your mind when conducting your Montessori circle time:
- Music is amazing for language development
- Back and forth interaction between you and your child builds trust and conversation
- Your child is watching your mouth and body to learn language using their absorbent mind
- Use of instruments with music introduces rhythm
- Developmentally appropriate instruments show babies that they can transform their environments
- Songs that incorporate hand gestures and movements refine motor skills
- Directed choices can be an empowerment tool within this experience
At-Home Baby Activity: Montessori Circle Time
I definitely suggest choosing a special place in your home where your entire family can gather. That can look like your living room rug, your child’s book corner, your play room etc.
I always liked to hold my circles in a little nook in my classroom. Funny enough, as soon as I would say “Would you like to sing?”, my mobile babies would rush over to our nook and sit, waiting for me to join. They knew their routines. 😉 (I also had rockstar assistant teachers who would assist our non-mobile babies over to the circle time area to join.) Since babies have a strong since of order, it’s nice to honor that by holding your Montessori circle time in a consistent place.
Why in the Same Place, You Ask?
1) It ends up becoming a sense of empowerment for our babies when they know where to go and what to do in that moment.
2) And for us big people… it’s just so darn cute to see our tiny humans being so confident and happy in their knowledge of the routine. 🙂
That said, what you add into the circle is totally up to you! The beautiful thing about having a Montessori circle time is that you can really make it everything you want it to be! It can be a couple of kids songs that you consistently sing together. Perhaps you play a Spotify playlist of songs you all sing. Or you bust out your drums, ukulele, & egg shakers and get loud. Whatever you want to incorporate is totally up to you!
Personally, I like having a solid set of consistent songs with hang gestures and then adding something unique and fun onto the end (like a dance party). This way the kids have an element of expectation and also something fun and exciting at the end!
More Benefits to Hosting a Daily Montessori Circle Time with Your Baby
This at-home baby activity is truly a great way to sit, connect, and teach your baby. Plus this Montessori circle time can be fun for the entire family! Having mom, dad, siblings, grandparents and more involved only enhances the experience! Everyone can take turns choosing a song (which is modeling turn taking 😉 ) and can connect through music! What better way to spread joy than through music?!
Bonus: I listed some of my all-time favorite Montessori Circle time songs below!
(Approved by hundreds of babies 🙂 )
- Happy and You Know It
- Open Shut Them
- Pound, Pound
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Three Little Ducks
- Speckled Frogs
- The Wheels on the Bus
- And always as the grand finale….. Slippery Fish
What are some of your favorite songs to sing with your baby?! Let me know in the comments below! Sending you all so much love and positivity. <3
Xoxo,
Bianca, Your Baby Tour Guide
