I originally posted this on my old blog back in 2007. The materials, and the table are still used by our children. Nowadays, I keep our Montessori materials in a cabinet in the basement.
Homemade Montessori Materials
I’m not Montessori-trained(nor do I play a Montessori teacher on tv). I have read some books, though not much on the philosophy of Montessori schooling, mostly the practical aspects of creating a Montessori-type environment at home. Okay, caveat over.
This week I decided to pull together some materials for my 3.5 year old son to use while I work with his older brother. He has expressed some interest in doing his own stuff, and he’s also been joining his brother during our Math lab times. The items you see in the pictures came from Walmart or Ikea. I didn’t use the normal presentation method to introduce the materials, but I did show my three year old how to work with the materials and provided ongoing comments in case I forgot to mention something in my initial presentation. My goal is to work on my son’s motor skills.
We started with transferring colored magnets into a cupcake pan. We did each color by itself and allowed for some observations of the nature of magnets. I had originally intended to use plastic ice cubes, but couldn’t find them. I found the pictured magnets at Ikea.
Next we did a dry transfer between plastic containers using dried soybeans and measuring spoons. The three year old likes to help in the kitchen. This gives him the opportunity to practice using these spoons. He did want to rush the process by dumping the remaining soybeans, but I think he’ll slow down and do the exercise more carefully over time.
This is the last exercise we did today – inserting pins into a salt shaker. Again, this will help my son’s fine motor skills.
I forgot to mention that the tray in the pictures came from Ikea and is a good size for the exercises. The table in the picture also came from Ikea. Some day I’ll get around to painting it!
Montessori Online Resources
More posts on Montessori Materials:
- Home Environment
- Homemade Geometric Insets
- Montessori Materials
- Montessori Boxes
- Grace and Courtesy
- Weekly Planner
- Sorting a la Home Depot
Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.
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