Putting a Toy in the Basket
One object, one basket, one spot: cleanup starts with just a single thing.
Putting a Toy in the Basket is a Montessori activity for a child aged 12 to 18 months. Area: Practical Life. Time: 5 min.
What the activity builds
Complete a cycle by returning the object to its place, and discover that everything has a home.
The materials
- A low, open basket, always in the same spot
- Just one toy or object at a time
- A low shelf, within their reach
How to do it, step by step
- Choose the moment when they're done playing, never in the middle of an activity.
- Pick up the object, carry it slowly to the basket, and drop it in.
- Take it back out, hand it to them, and point to the basket.
- Let them carry and drop it, even if it lands next to the basket instead of in it.
- Put the basket back in exactly the same spot, every day.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Just one object, never a rug covered in toys to pick up. At this age, putting away isn't a chore, it's a carrying game, and it falls apart the moment there's too much of it. The steady location does the rest of the work.
Safety
Choose a light basket, with no rigid handle that could tip over on them and no hinged lid that pinches fingers. Keep anything smaller than a toilet paper tube out of reach.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: you hold the basket right next to their hand.
- Harder: two baskets, one for balls and one for blocks.
- Extension: they put their bowl in the sink after a meal.
Up next
More activities for a 12 to 18 months child.
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