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DIY Montessori Button Sorting Activity

DIY Montessori button sorting activity

Toddlers enjoy exploring new objects and sorting them into groups based on their features. Young children have a keen desire for order and sorting activities, just like this DIY Montessori button sorting activity, helps to satisfy that need. It also helps them better understand their surrounding world.

assorted buttons for button sorting activity

This activity is super easy to set up and you probably already have everything you need right in your home. (Nothing to buy! Yay!)

Here's what you will need:

  1. A small muffin pan
  2. An assortment of buttons (The age and maturity of your child should determine the size of the buttons, as well as the level of supervision.)
muffin pan for Montessori button sorting activity

Here is how the activity works:

  1. Sitting with your child at a table or rug, place the container of buttons and the muffin pan in front of your child. (Buttons to the left, pan to the right.)
  2. Invite your child to look at and pick up some of the buttons and tell you about their shapes and colors. For the pre-verbal toddler, you can simply ask, “Are these two buttons the same color?” or “Is this button the same shape as this one over here?”.
  3. Let you child know that you are going to sort the buttons based on their color, or whatever attribute you choose. (We will use color in this example.)
  4. One by one place buttons into the tin, one color per muffin pan cup. Name each color as you go and let your child know that only that specific color belongs in the assigned muffin pan cup.
  5. Invite your child to continue the activity on his own. If he seems unsure of what to do, you can repeat the steps above until he feels comfortable taking over the activity.
  6. After all the buttons have been sorted, ask your child if he would like to do it again. If he is not interested, let him know where the buttons and the muffin tin can be found. If you are presenting this as a tray activity, have your child gather all of the buttons back into the container, place the muffin tin and button container on the tray, and carry the tray back to its place on the shelf.
button sorting activity pinterest

Other DYI Montessori sorting activities

There is no reason to stop at buttons! Pom-poms, miniature animals, bits of fabric, toy cars…you name it!

This is also a great pincer grasp activity! When the child picks up a button, those small muscles used for handwriting are getting a workout. You can even add tongs or tweezers to this activity for extra small muscle exercise!

I hope you are finding out that Montessori activities are not stuffy, formal, and expensive!

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