The Ultimate Montessori Gift Guide in PH
This morning, I received 40 messages and it was quite amusing because all of them asked the same question:
"Is there a Montessori Gift List you can share especially for birthdays, baptisms, and of course CHRISTMAS (Hi Ninongs ang Ninangs!)? What items should we include in the wish list as we start integrating Montessori at home?"
I realized that copying and pasting my reply will take forever so I will just blog about it. But, before anything, let me tell you first about SENSITIVE PERIODS and why this is important in relation to what gifts you get or request for.
Dr. Montessori observed that children experience sensitive periods, or windows of opportunity, as they grow. As children develop, Montessori guides match appropriate lessons and materials to these sensitive periods when learning is most naturally absorbed and internalized. Parents are highly encouraged to be conscious of these sensitive periods and make the appropriate materials also accessible at home.
In early childhood, Montessori children learn through sensory-motor activities, working with materials that develop their cognitive powers through direct experience: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and movement.
In the elementary years, the child continues to organize his thinking through work with the Montessori learning materials and an interdisciplinary curriculum as he passes from the concrete to the abstract. He begins the application of his knowledge to real-world experiences.
This organization of information—facts and figures—prepares the child for the world of adolescence, when thought and emotion evolve into understanding more abstract, universal concepts such as equity, freedom, and justice.
The lists I'm about to share is meant for the following Sensitive Periods: Nursery (birth to 14 months), Infant Community (14 mos to below 3 years old), and Early Childhood or Casa (2.5 to 6 years old). I have yet to study about Elementary materials as Kara is currently a toddler but in terms of interests, she now prefers and can do activities at Casa Level so that's what I'm currently studying :)
A. Nursery Gift Guide
Focus on materials which provide a range of activities and exercises for children to experience the natural order of the physical environment, including such attributes as size, color, shape and dimension. This area prepares the child indirectly for mathematics.
Recommended Stores and Brands:
Plan Toys at Hobbes and Landes
Discovery at Toys R' Us
Hape at Toy Kingdom
Melissa and Doug at Ogalala World Shangri-La Mall or Ayala at the 30th
Mom and Milly Online Store (Facebook and Instagram)
A Little Montessori (Instagram)
Metrofurne (Facebook and Instagram)
Littlest Shepherd (Facebook and Instagram)
Petit Mamon (Online Store and Instagram)
B. Infant Community Gift Guide
Time to introduce Practical Life Skills! Focus on materials and exercises that respond to the young child's natural interests to develop physical coordination, fine motor skills, care of self and the environment. Provide materials that encourage independence and prepare the child for reading and writing concurrently.
Recommended Stores and Brands:
Plan Toys at Hobbes and Landes
Discovery at Toys R' Us
Hape at Toy Kingdom
Melissa and Doug at Ogalala World Shangri-La Mall or Ayala at the 30th
Mom and Milly Online Store (Facebook and Instagram)
Metrofurne (Facebook and Instagram)
Littlest Shepherd (Facebook and Instagram)
A Little Montessori (Instagram)
Manila Wooden Toys
National Book Store
C. Early Childhood Guide
Aside from honing practical life skills, already introduce materials that show such basic concepts as numeration, place value,addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.
Also provide experiences to develop use of a writing instrument and the basic skills of reading a written language.
Recommended Stores and Brands:
Plan Toys at Hobbes and Landes
Discovery at Toys R' Us
Hape at Toy Kingdom
Crayola & Melissa and Dough at Ogalala World Shangri-La Mall or Ayala at the 30th
Mom and Milly Online Store (Facebook and Instagram)
Metrofurne (Facebook and Instagram)
Littlest Shepherd (Facebook and Instagram)
Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (Sand Letter Writing & More)
Manila Wooden Toys
National Bookstore
Fully Booked
You may have noticed that the Montessori-inspired toys can be used for "real work" - you can use the actual plates for cooking, you can use the drying rack for hanging clothes, etc. Children are very capable you just need to make things accessible for them.
Moreover, make sure you get REAL-LOOKING animals and not "stuffed" toys because for Language development, picture-matching activities help and it is important that the child can recognize them properly. This is also how I discovered the Neobear Pocket Zoo (and now Kara knows 96 different animals! She knows the difference between an oyster, a clam, and a conch, and more).
As for parents, I highly suggest that you set-up a prepared environment at home by investing in the following:
1. Low Level Shelves or organizers
2. Kiddie Table and Chair
3. Floor Bed
4. Acrylic Mirrors
5. Low Book Shelf
6. Kitchen Helper
7. Baskets
Recommended Stores and Brands:
Furniture Source Philippines
Petit Mamon
A Little Montessori
Metrofurne
Warble Kids
Lazada (Acrylic Mirrors)
Foldaway PH
Baby Universe PH
Banig Handicrafts (Market! Market!)
I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you are the type who enjoys DIY - majority of Montessori activities can just be done on your own.
Join Facebook Group MOMTESSORI PH to learn more about the Montessori Method and be able to join our Meet-ups.
“The child's development follows a path of successive stages of independence, and our knowledge of this must guide us in our behaviour towards him. We have to help the child to act, will and think for himself. This is the art of serving the spirit, an art which can be practised to perfection only when working among children.” (The Absorbent Mind)
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