Back when I was running my Montessori Infant Class, I always had to have a Montessori Ball Basket in my classroom environment. This simple activity was so effective I’m serving so many purposes. I highly recommend having one available for your baby (babies) to use!
DIY Montessori Ball Basket
Ok so first thing you will need is a basket or small bin. Anything will work really, you just want it to be large enough to hold a few balls of various sizes. I tend to always lean toward baskets just because they’re soft… 🙂
Next you will need to collect balls of all different sizes and textures! You’ll want to get as diverse as possible in your ball selection! Since babies are sensorial learners, the wider the variety of textures, colors, and even shapes, the more learning opportunities they get!
Benefits to Having a Montessori Ball Basket for your Infant and Toddler
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Pro tips from having worked with a Montessori class of infants all day every day for years…
Infants are always learning about their new world and environment. Sometimes that may look like observing your movements and sometimes it may look like throwing a wooden Montessori material to test its reaction. They’re scientists from birth!
That said, even though we can appreciate their interest in experimentation, we do have to help teach them how to be gentle and handle things with care. A great way to do this is by positive redirection. This is where the Montessori Ball Basket comes in handy!
Pro Tip…
If your baby is throwing something that really should not be thrown, you can redirect to the Montessori Ball Basket to help them learn what CAN be thrown. That gives them a purpose to fulfill an inner need to throw!
(Also… throwing refines both fine motor and gross motor development)
Anyway, this Montessori Ball Basket is a great and inexpensive activity to have around the house! You will hit so many areas of development by offering this, and also have a tool on hand for all of your redirection needs!
Try it out! I’d love to hear how it works for you on the comments below.
Xoxo,
Bianca, Your Baby Tour Guide
