Throwing Trash Away
Carrying a scrap paper to the trash can and dropping it in: one complete little job.
Throwing Trash Away is a Montessori activity for a child aged 12 to 18 months. Area: Practical Life. Time: 5 min.
What the activity builds
Carry a useful task from start to finish, and practice a deliberate release by aiming at an opening.
The materials
- A small open bin, no lid, always in the same spot
- Clean scraps to throw away: a dry tissue, a fruit peel, a wrapper
- Nothing dirty or sharp, ever
How to do it, step by step
- Hand them a scrap of paper to hold, and point toward the bin.
- Carry yours to the bin and drop it in, slowly.
- Come back near them and wait.
- Let them make the trip themselves, even if they stop partway or change their mind.
- Always finish by washing hands together, that's the end of the cycle.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Don't turn this into a throwing game: we carry and we drop, we don't aim from a distance. The bin has to stay in one fixed spot, or the task loses its meaning and turns into just a walk.
Safety
The bin should hold ONLY clean, dry trash while your child has access to it: no glass, blades, batteries, or cleaning products. Keep the real trash can closed and out of reach, and wash hands afterward.
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: the bin about three feet from them.
- Harder: they carry a peel all the way from the kitchen table.
- Extension: putting dirty laundry in the hamper, the same motion, a different destination.
Up next
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