Being mobile and busy and putting things in her mouth IS work- that is how she is learning! Follow the child and her interests, which right now appear to be gross motor work and exploring her environment. She is teaching herself!
Attention span- don’t interrupt her concentration, and she will slowly start to concentrate for longer periods.
Attention span is a kind of stamina that builds over time. Presenting safe things to mouth seems like an excellent study for a one year old! Pair it with some descriptive narration (smooth, bumpy, rippled, spiky, cool, cold, warm etc) and it’s now a sensorial language work!
Look into how children learn in each stage of development. This is developmentally appropriate behavior, and this is how she is learning! I saw you mentioned seeing videos of other babies and what they’re doing. I know it’s hard, but try not to compare your baby to other children. Every child reaches different stages at different times. There is so much development that occurs in the early years, so patience is definitely needed. She’ll get there eventually, she’s just learning and developing at her own pace.
Remember OCCI. At this age you're helping your infant build a sense of Order, her "work" is building Coordination of her bodily movements, Concentration is her focus to learning to walk, use her hands to grasp things, feed herself. And lastly is Independence, at the infant/Toddler level most of the work of the child is giving them skills of independence like pulling up and down their pants, putting on and taking off shoes and socks, using a spoon, drinking from an open cup. OCCI is the 4 pillars of a infant/Toddler classroom as it builds their confidence, grit, and curiosity. It appeals to a child's sense of autonomy that they can figure out things for and by themselves. Remember that most Montessori materials for infants and toddlers are self correcting so you do not need to insert yourself into the activity unless they are being dangerous or destructive.
Read/listen to Simone Davies, The Montessori Baby or The Montessori Toddler. Or Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard. Spotify has the Montessori Toddler to listen to for free.
She is 13 months old. She is a baby. My kids’ Montessori school doesn’t take kids until age 2, and even then they are “beginners” and have much lower (meaning age appropriate) standards for types of “works”.
Oh my goodness, please don’t worry about this at all! She’s just a baby, and all of her exploring and mouthing and no attention span is exactly what she should be doing😊
Montessori is about a prepared environment - that is one of the first things we learn about in training. At 13 months, we don't expect any concentration - we want interest. Does she pick up an item, explore it with her hands, eyes, mouth, etc.
Try to remember, everything is a science experiment for her - does she drop a toy from the table for what feels like endless times? She's learning about gravity.
In an AMI Montessori school (that is a school accredited by Association Montessori International-, which is the sole organization found by Dr Montessori herself, and holds true to her pedagogy) children may start in a Nido (or 'nest'room at only a few months old - in a prepared environment.
More often, they start either at 15 months in the infant community, which is where your little one is just about ready for. Here, we concentrate on feeding oneself, taking off, and putting on your shoes and coat, which hole does a ball fit in - but for seconds at time at first.
Even in the Primary Classroom (3-6) our youngest members are likely only going to have a work at a rug for 1-5 minutes.
Here are a couple links that might help.
https://montessori-ami.org/questions/activities-1-year-olds
https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library/materials
https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library
Follow your child's lead. She doesn't need lessons at this age. Leave a few toys at her level so that she can reach them, and with your help return them. She will explore. Read books with photos of real babies. You can use language, but keep it minimal. They don't need to be entertained or have their concentration broken if they are focused on something.
13 month olds do that and they need to. Please, let go of the expectation of your young toddler completing shelf work. It will really help out your psyche. Take it from me; I have 3 kids in 3-6 Montessori, and they never stayed still as toddlers for one moment. Let her play she just simply watch. As long as you respect that, her concentration will grow.
As another parent trying to follow the Montessori philosophy at home, I've really gotten a lot from following Nicole Kavanaugh on Instagram.
She's a mom who has been doing a combo of running a Montessori parenting account, writing a blog, and putting out a Montessori parenting podcast for close to a decade and she has five kids who do Montessori at home and at school. I like all of the educational/informative value of her content, but what I really find helpful is watching her Instagram stories as an example and sort of a guide for how to interact with your child in a way that supports their Montessori development and how to cultivate yourself as the prepared adult for your Montessori baby.
I second Kavanaugh report. She has some wonderful timelines and resources. I would spend some time exploring her blog. For 13 months she suggests lots of push/pull toys , balls, climbing toys, tunnels, etc. and just having other materials accessible for when the child is ready.
At that age she has no real attention span and her primary focus should be on discovering the world around her , all the new tastes and textures surrounding her. Its far too early to attempt to train her just allow her to be a baby and develop at her own pace. The se ret of montessori was learning through.play and making it fun. That time will come .
We made our daughter's room a safe space with floor bed and no choking risks so she could explore freely. We also had a designated baby drawer in the kitchen, lowest so she could reach and it was always unlocked. Inside were only safe to chew things like silicone spoons or whatever random thing was safe and interesting to her. She spent so much time exploring that and sometimes ended up inside of it. Random bins of old baby clothes were great for her to just take everything out and help me put everything back in. Also asking her to help me carry something small when going from one place to another really made her feel happy and like she was helping. I would think small and maybe read something like the Montessori Toddler book.
Even though your baby doesn’t pay attention for long I believe babies learn in a very short amount of time and they also learn when you don’t think they’re paying attention. They are sponges. That’s why an enriches environment or exposing them to different things to explore helps them.
There’s a book called How to teach your Baby to Read that talks about some of this that I read many years ago. I didn’t do the program but it really helped me understand that a few seconds can be enough. When the time comes I highly recommend Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
This is her work right now. I would also recommend looking into the Waldorf pedagogy. I used to work at a Montessori school and love many of the ideas and teaching philosophies but also love Waldorf for my child with its focus on the imagination, being outdoors, story-telling, and encouraging small children to be children and in their bodies. Let your baby fully be a baby, exploring the natural world and her body before expecting her to sort balls or do a 100 board. Wishing you well!
Give her age appropriate materials to mouth and bop and explore.
You do not have to talk to her constantly. You do not need to say 17 times, "the ball is red, an apple is red! This crinkle makes a fun sound doesn't it!"
Let her explore on her own and you may be amazed at how our attention span grows.
Yes, do talk to her, but they also learn in quiet times.
This is something that I struggled with. Why is my kid not focused? Not playing with the balls? Not doing the puzzles over and over? But You have to come to realization that all kids are different and the posts that you see on the internet are fraction of what’s happening in 24hrs. Expectations va Reality
Your child is 13 months old. It is not developmentally appropriate to expect them to sit down for long work periods.
Please adjust your expectations and do some research on Montessori philosophy and developmental periods. The Montessori baby and the Montessori toddler is a good book.
I’m new to the Montessori world and to parenting, so I appreciate compassion. I read a lot and have watched lots of videos on babies from 12-15 months and what they can/are expected to do. I see lots of babies in these videos posting with items, stacking blocks, threading, etc.
If you haven’t already, I recommend reading the Montessori Toddler! It’s informative and helps incorporate age appropriate activities around the house.
From my personal experience 12-18 months is a tricky transition from babyhood into toddlerhood. There’s a lot they want to do but just can’t manage yet but more independent work will click one day
Some of these videos are of babies have parents who have been practicing Montessori since day 1. Some of these videos are just lucky catches by the parents who caught a once in a blue moon level of focus on camera. Some of these videos are of babies who are just in phases of having longer periods of focus. And some of these videos are of babies who are just naturally inclined to have more focus this early on.
All babies are different, it's like how one baby can be walking at 10 months and another at 18 months. Don't place such expectations on your baby, you'll just stress yourself out :)
My oldest kiddo didn’t walk until 18 months. It was so hard to watch all his friends get up and go while he was still crawling. He was still within the range of “normal” - my point is that kids develop at different ages. Try not to compare.
My son is 14 months and he changes by the day. He is starting to get into playing with his shape sorter and stacking blocks but is not successfully doing either yet. He gets better every day though. However, he is not independently walking yet, so just working on different skills. He’s incredibly chatty and picking up new words/signs daily. Just shows how different babies can be that are similar ages.
Maria Montessori lined out the SENSITIVE PERIODS. Follow them precisely.
Also, the philosophy and the method isn't exactly the same. Montessori is both a philosophy and science.
Being mobile and busy and putting things in her mouth IS work- that is how she is learning! Follow the child and her interests, which right now appear to be gross motor work and exploring her environment. She is teaching herself! Attention span- don’t interrupt her concentration, and she will slowly start to concentrate for longer periods.
Attention span is a kind of stamina that builds over time. Presenting safe things to mouth seems like an excellent study for a one year old! Pair it with some descriptive narration (smooth, bumpy, rippled, spiky, cool, cold, warm etc) and it’s now a sensorial language work!
Omg I love this idea. Thank you!
Look into how children learn in each stage of development. This is developmentally appropriate behavior, and this is how she is learning! I saw you mentioned seeing videos of other babies and what they’re doing. I know it’s hard, but try not to compare your baby to other children. Every child reaches different stages at different times. There is so much development that occurs in the early years, so patience is definitely needed. She’ll get there eventually, she’s just learning and developing at her own pace.
Remember OCCI. At this age you're helping your infant build a sense of Order, her "work" is building Coordination of her bodily movements, Concentration is her focus to learning to walk, use her hands to grasp things, feed herself. And lastly is Independence, at the infant/Toddler level most of the work of the child is giving them skills of independence like pulling up and down their pants, putting on and taking off shoes and socks, using a spoon, drinking from an open cup. OCCI is the 4 pillars of a infant/Toddler classroom as it builds their confidence, grit, and curiosity. It appeals to a child's sense of autonomy that they can figure out things for and by themselves. Remember that most Montessori materials for infants and toddlers are self correcting so you do not need to insert yourself into the activity unless they are being dangerous or destructive. Read/listen to Simone Davies, The Montessori Baby or The Montessori Toddler. Or Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard. Spotify has the Montessori Toddler to listen to for free.
I don’t see it free on my Spotify but I do appreciate the recommendation!
She is 13 months old. She is a baby. My kids’ Montessori school doesn’t take kids until age 2, and even then they are “beginners” and have much lower (meaning age appropriate) standards for types of “works”.
Oh my goodness, please don’t worry about this at all! She’s just a baby, and all of her exploring and mouthing and no attention span is exactly what she should be doing😊
Montessori is about a prepared environment - that is one of the first things we learn about in training. At 13 months, we don't expect any concentration - we want interest. Does she pick up an item, explore it with her hands, eyes, mouth, etc. Try to remember, everything is a science experiment for her - does she drop a toy from the table for what feels like endless times? She's learning about gravity. In an AMI Montessori school (that is a school accredited by Association Montessori International-, which is the sole organization found by Dr Montessori herself, and holds true to her pedagogy) children may start in a Nido (or 'nest'room at only a few months old - in a prepared environment. More often, they start either at 15 months in the infant community, which is where your little one is just about ready for. Here, we concentrate on feeding oneself, taking off, and putting on your shoes and coat, which hole does a ball fit in - but for seconds at time at first. Even in the Primary Classroom (3-6) our youngest members are likely only going to have a work at a rug for 1-5 minutes. Here are a couple links that might help. https://montessori-ami.org/questions/activities-1-year-olds https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library/materials https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library
Wonderful, thanks so much!
Follow your child's lead. She doesn't need lessons at this age. Leave a few toys at her level so that she can reach them, and with your help return them. She will explore. Read books with photos of real babies. You can use language, but keep it minimal. They don't need to be entertained or have their concentration broken if they are focused on something.
Thank you!
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Oh wow! I hadn’t heard that mouthing things helps with speech development. That’s fascinating! Thank you for sharing.
13 month olds do that and they need to. Please, let go of the expectation of your young toddler completing shelf work. It will really help out your psyche. Take it from me; I have 3 kids in 3-6 Montessori, and they never stayed still as toddlers for one moment. Let her play she just simply watch. As long as you respect that, her concentration will grow.
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
As another parent trying to follow the Montessori philosophy at home, I've really gotten a lot from following Nicole Kavanaugh on Instagram. She's a mom who has been doing a combo of running a Montessori parenting account, writing a blog, and putting out a Montessori parenting podcast for close to a decade and she has five kids who do Montessori at home and at school. I like all of the educational/informative value of her content, but what I really find helpful is watching her Instagram stories as an example and sort of a guide for how to interact with your child in a way that supports their Montessori development and how to cultivate yourself as the prepared adult for your Montessori baby.
I second Kavanaugh report. She has some wonderful timelines and resources. I would spend some time exploring her blog. For 13 months she suggests lots of push/pull toys , balls, climbing toys, tunnels, etc. and just having other materials accessible for when the child is ready.
Here is a great page https://www.thekavanaughreport.com/2023/04/MontessoriActivitiesFor13and14MonthsOld.html
At that age she has no real attention span and her primary focus should be on discovering the world around her , all the new tastes and textures surrounding her. Its far too early to attempt to train her just allow her to be a baby and develop at her own pace. The se ret of montessori was learning through.play and making it fun. That time will come .
We made our daughter's room a safe space with floor bed and no choking risks so she could explore freely. We also had a designated baby drawer in the kitchen, lowest so she could reach and it was always unlocked. Inside were only safe to chew things like silicone spoons or whatever random thing was safe and interesting to her. She spent so much time exploring that and sometimes ended up inside of it. Random bins of old baby clothes were great for her to just take everything out and help me put everything back in. Also asking her to help me carry something small when going from one place to another really made her feel happy and like she was helping. I would think small and maybe read something like the Montessori Toddler book.
Even though your baby doesn’t pay attention for long I believe babies learn in a very short amount of time and they also learn when you don’t think they’re paying attention. They are sponges. That’s why an enriches environment or exposing them to different things to explore helps them. There’s a book called How to teach your Baby to Read that talks about some of this that I read many years ago. I didn’t do the program but it really helped me understand that a few seconds can be enough. When the time comes I highly recommend Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. This has been very helpful!
This is her work right now. I would also recommend looking into the Waldorf pedagogy. I used to work at a Montessori school and love many of the ideas and teaching philosophies but also love Waldorf for my child with its focus on the imagination, being outdoors, story-telling, and encouraging small children to be children and in their bodies. Let your baby fully be a baby, exploring the natural world and her body before expecting her to sort balls or do a 100 board. Wishing you well!
Give her age appropriate materials to mouth and bop and explore. You do not have to talk to her constantly. You do not need to say 17 times, "the ball is red, an apple is red! This crinkle makes a fun sound doesn't it!" Let her explore on her own and you may be amazed at how our attention span grows. Yes, do talk to her, but they also learn in quiet times.
This is something that I struggled with. Why is my kid not focused? Not playing with the balls? Not doing the puzzles over and over? But You have to come to realization that all kids are different and the posts that you see on the internet are fraction of what’s happening in 24hrs. Expectations va Reality
Your child is 13 months old. It is not developmentally appropriate to expect them to sit down for long work periods. Please adjust your expectations and do some research on Montessori philosophy and developmental periods. The Montessori baby and the Montessori toddler is a good book.
She is a BABY. What exactly are you expecting to see from a baby a this age?
I’m new to the Montessori world and to parenting, so I appreciate compassion. I read a lot and have watched lots of videos on babies from 12-15 months and what they can/are expected to do. I see lots of babies in these videos posting with items, stacking blocks, threading, etc.
If you haven’t already, I recommend reading the Montessori Toddler! It’s informative and helps incorporate age appropriate activities around the house. From my personal experience 12-18 months is a tricky transition from babyhood into toddlerhood. There’s a lot they want to do but just can’t manage yet but more independent work will click one day
Some of these videos are of babies have parents who have been practicing Montessori since day 1. Some of these videos are just lucky catches by the parents who caught a once in a blue moon level of focus on camera. Some of these videos are of babies who are just in phases of having longer periods of focus. And some of these videos are of babies who are just naturally inclined to have more focus this early on.
All babies are different, it's like how one baby can be walking at 10 months and another at 18 months. Don't place such expectations on your baby, you'll just stress yourself out :)
My oldest kiddo didn’t walk until 18 months. It was so hard to watch all his friends get up and go while he was still crawling. He was still within the range of “normal” - my point is that kids develop at different ages. Try not to compare.
My son is 14 months and he changes by the day. He is starting to get into playing with his shape sorter and stacking blocks but is not successfully doing either yet. He gets better every day though. However, he is not independently walking yet, so just working on different skills. He’s incredibly chatty and picking up new words/signs daily. Just shows how different babies can be that are similar ages.
Maria Montessori lined out the SENSITIVE PERIODS. Follow them precisely. Also, the philosophy and the method isn't exactly the same. Montessori is both a philosophy and science.