Advent calendars are a wonderful way to build anticipation during the Christmas holiday season. For parents who love the Montessori philosophy, creating a DIY Montessori-themed Advent calendar can be a delightful, personalized experience that enriches each day of December with homemade crafts, hands-on activities, and filler ideas for toddlers. Below, we explore how to create a Montessori Advent calendar and offer ideas for activities from December 1st to the 24th that align with the Montessori approach.
Why Create a Montessori Advent Calendar?
Traditional Advent calendars often feature chocolates or small toys, but a Montessori Advent calendar can offer much more: meaningful learning experiences, sensory activities, and practical life skills. By making your own calendar, you can incorporate activities that match your child’s interests and developmental stage, creating opportunities for connection, growth, and discovery each day of the countdown to Christmas.
How to Make Your Own Montessori Advent Calendar
Creating your Montessori Advent calendar can be a simple yet rewarding DIY project. Start by selecting a suitable container—an organizer with small drawers, 24 small envelopes, or cloth bags that can be hung from a line. Number each bag or drawer from 1 to 24. Each compartment will hold a daily activity or an item related to a Montessori lesson.
Daily Montessori Advent Calendar Filler Ideas
Below, we provide 24 Montessori-inspired ideas for each day leading up to Christmas. Each activity has been thoughtfully chosen to foster curiosity, joy, and independence, and is suitable for children aged 3 to 6 years old.
December 1 – Nature Walk
Spend some time outdoors collecting small nature treasures like leaves, acorns, or rocks. These items can be used for sorting or creating nature-inspired art.
Alternative: Create a nature-themed sensory bin using items collected from a walk, such as leaves, pinecones, and rocks. Let your child explore different textures.
December 2 – Practical Life Skill: Cleaning
Give your child a small dustpan and brush and let them help clean up a space at home. It builds fine motor skills and helps children take responsibility for their environment.
Alternative: Let your child water indoor plants using a small watering can. It helps build motor skills and encourages responsibility for living things.
December 3 – Sensory Play: Cinnamon Dough
Make cinnamon-scented playdough together. It’s easy to make and ready in just 5 minutes! Let your child mold shapes and enjoy the warm, festive scent.
Alternative: Make gingerbread-scented kinetic sand and let your child sculpt and explore the unique texture.
December 4 – Seasonal Books
Add a special winter or holiday-themed book to your reading collection. Spend time reading together and discussing the story.
Alternative: Create a winter-themed storybook with your child by drawing pictures and telling a simple story together. Let them add their own imaginative details.
December 5 – Bead Garland Making
Provide some string and wooden beads so your child can create a simple garland to decorate the home. This encourages concentration and creativity.
Alternative: Offer pasta in different shapes to string together and make a unique garland. This helps with hand-eye coordination and creativity.
December 6 – Matching Game
Create a matching card game with winter symbols like snowflakes, pinecones, or animals. Matching helps build memory and attention to detail.
Alternative: Create a sensory matching game using fabric swatches of different textures for your child to match by touch.
December 7 – Baking Together
Let your child assist in baking simple cookies. Measuring, mixing, and rolling are all excellent practical life activities.
Alternative: Have your child help prepare a simple fruit salad by peeling, cutting (with a child-safe knife), and mixing fruits.
December 8 – Montessori Bells
Introduce bells of different pitches and let your child explore sound and musical concepts.
Alternative: Give your child a small drum and mallet to explore rhythm and sound patterns by tapping along to their favorite songs.
December 9 – Feeding the Birds
Prepare a simple bird feeder using peanut butter, birdseed, and a pinecone. Hang it outside and watch the birds gather.
Alternative: Make a birdwatching journal with your child. Have them draw pictures of the birds they see and record observations.
December 10 – Fine Motor: Clothespin Snowflakes
Give your child clothespins and craft sticks to create snowflakes. This helps refine fine motor control while celebrating winter.
Alternative: Offer your child small pom-poms and tweezers to create winter-themed patterns, enhancing their fine motor precision.
December 11 – Self-Care: Button Practice
Prepare a frame or fabric with buttons for your child to practice buttoning and unbuttoning—a great practical life skill.
Alternative: Provide lacing cards shaped like holiday symbols (trees, stars) to help your child practice threading and enhance their hand-eye coordination.
December 12 – Sensory Bottles
Make winter-themed sensory bottles with glitter, water, and small items. Your child can shake and observe how the glitter settles.
Alternative: Create a snow globe using a small jar, water, glitter, and a small figurine for your child to shake and enjoy.
December 13 – Sorting Pinecones
Collect pinecones of different sizes and have your child sort them from smallest to largest. This helps develop early math skills.
Alternative: Use different-sized jingle bells and have your child sort them by size or by sound.
December 14 – Seasonal Puzzle
Introduce a winter-themed wooden puzzle to engage your child in problem-solving activities.
Alternative: Create a DIY puzzle by cutting a winter scene drawing into pieces for your child to put back together.
December 15 – Light Exploration
Use a flashlight in a dark room to explore shadows. Children love discovering how light interacts with objects.
Alternative: Create a simple shadow puppet show with your child using cut-out animal shapes and a flashlight.
December 16 – Practical Life Skill: Wrapping Gifts
Allow your child to help wrap a small gift. It might be simple, but this teaches patience and coordination.
Alternative: Let your child practice folding napkins into different shapes. This helps with precision and following instructions.
December 17 – Leaf Rubbing Art
Gather leaves and create rubbings with crayons. This activity combines nature and creativity.
Alternative: Use natural items like pine needles or small twigs to paint with instead of brushes, creating winter-inspired artwork.
December 18 – Yoga for Kids
Introduce simple yoga poses inspired by animals. This helps children with balance and body awareness.
Alternative: Lead your child through a guided breathing exercise, pretending to blow up a big winter balloon, to help them practice mindfulness.
December 19 – Decorating the Home
Give your child a few simple decorations that they can place in their room or around the house. It helps them feel a sense of contribution.
Alternative: Provide materials for your child to make their own holiday wreath using a cardboard ring, fabric, and decorations.
December 20 – Homemade Snowflakes
Provide paper and child-safe scissors to create paper snowflakes. This builds cutting skills and allows creativity.
Alternative: Let your child use cotton balls and glue to create a fluffy winter snowman collage.
December 21 – Practical Life Skill: Pouring
Set up a pouring activity using a small jug and cups. Water or dried beans work well to teach control and coordination.
Alternative: Have your child practice spooning rice or lentils from one container to another to refine their control and focus.
December 22 – Holiday Music & Dance
Play some festive music and encourage your child to dance. It’s a joyful way to introduce rhythm and expression.
Alternative: Make simple musical shakers using empty bottles and dried beans, and let your child play along with the music.
December 23 – Making Salt Dough Ornaments
Make salt dough together and form small holiday shapes. Once baked, they can be painted and used as decorations.
Alternative: Create handprint ornaments using air-dry clay to capture a special memory of the season.
December 24 – Gratitude Discussion
Take a moment to reflect on the month. Ask your child what they enjoyed most and discuss things to be grateful for during this holiday season.
Alternative: Write a thank-you card together to someone special, expressing gratitude for their presence in your lives.
Wrapping Up Your Montessori Advent Adventure
A Montessori Advent calendar provides an enriching alternative to traditional treats and toys, offering children meaningful, hands-on activities each day of December. By incorporating Montessori principles, parents can create a magical, educational, and heartfelt countdown to Christmas that encourages independence, creativity, and a deeper connection with the world around them.
Each of these activities is simple to prepare and offers children an opportunity to develop important skills, engage their senses, and cultivate their curiosity throughout the holiday season.