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List of Montessori Sensorial Activities and Materials by Age

Whether you are gearing up to send your child to a Montessori primary program, you are planning on Montessori homeschooling, or you are just curious about how Montessori works, you may be curious about Montessori sensorial activities and materials.

In this article, you will learn about what sensorial materials and activities are used in the primary (2.5-6) age group and the introduction of Montessori activities and materials by age.

Characteristics of Montessori sensorial materials

Throughout the Montessori curriculum, there is a heavy emphasis on learning through the senses.

Sensorial activities and materials are designed to refine each sense, which heightens a child's learning throughout all areas of Montessori.

montessori sensorial materials by age pin.

Here are some characteristics of Montessori sensorial activities and materials. You will notice most of these characteristics in many other Montessori materials.

  • isolated properties
  • control of error
  • aesthetically pleasing
  • universal properties
  • simple to complex
  • provide concrete representations of abstract concepts

Introduction of Montessori sensorial activities and materials by age

Below is a list of Montessori sensorial activities and materials, a brief description, along with the recommended age of introduction.

Montessori sensorial materials and activities are designed to refine a child's senses. Since all Montessori activities involve a sensorial aspect, this refinement is important.

Each Montessori sensorial activity has a specific presentation, a 3-period lesson, and activity extensions.

This list is great for Montessori homeschooling or if you are looking to supplement your preschool classroom's traditional curriculum.

Cylinder Blocks

  • 2.5-3.5 years old
  • These are also referred to as Knobbed Cylinders. A set of 4 blocks that house 10 cylinders each, varying in height and diameter.
Adena Montessori Cylinder Block (Set of…
  • 🌱【Premium Material】: Our Montessori Cylinder Blocks are…
  • 💡【Educational Value】: The Cylinder Blocks consist of ten…
  • ✏️ 【Development of Grip】: As children engage with the…
Child working with Knobbed Cylinders, with built in control of error.
4 year old demonstrating the Knobbed Cylinders.

Pink Tower

  • 2.5-3 years old
  • The Montessori Pink Tower is a set of 10 wooden cubes that increase in dimension by even increments.
Adena Montessori Pink Tower
  • 10 wooden cubes painted pink and width graduated in increments…
  • Develop the child's visual and muscular perception dimension in…
  • Develop the child's coordination of movement and fine motor…

Brown Stair

  • 3-3.5 years old
  • The Brown Stair (Broad Stair) is a set of 10 square prisms that increase in even increments.
Adena Montessori Brown Stair Montessori…
  • This series of prisms demonstrates to the child the change in…
  • The prisms are crafted in precise progressions from 1 x 1 x 20 cm…
  • Made by beech wood.

Long Red Rods

  • 3-3.5 years old
  • The Long Red Rods is a set of 10 wooden rods that increase in size by even increments.
Wumudidi Wooden red Long Rod, Montessori…
  • Nothing goes into the mind that does not first go through the…
  • This small number rods comes in set of two and is used for…
  • Montessori Stand for Long Red Rods or Number Rods

Knobless Cylinders

  • 3.5 years old
  • These colored cylinders are a set of 4 boxes, consisting of 10 cylinders each. The cylinders in each box vary in diameter and/or height.
Adena Montessori Knobless Cylinders (Set…
  • 4 sets of 10 cylinders varying in height and/or diameter in each…
  • Through observation, cultivate children's concentration; analyze…
  • For any Montessori classroom and home school, this is a good tool…
Montessori Red Rods.
Long Red Rods

Color Tablets

  • 3-4 years old
  • The Color Tablets are 3 boxes of colored wooden tablets. Boxes 1 and 2 are for matching and Box 3 is a grading activity.
Adena Montessori Color Tablets(3rd Box)…
  • Each tablet has wooden frames to facilitate handling; Box divided…
  • Let children distinguish different colors and have a certain…
  • Target Gender: unisex

Geometric Cabinet- Demonstration Tray

  • 3.5 years old
  • The Demonstration Tray is designed to prepare children for Geometric Cabinet work. The purpose of this activity is to introduce children to the names and characteristics of the shapes they will be working with.

Geometric Cabinet

  • 3.5 years old
  • The Geometric Cabinet consists of 6 frames with fitted metal insets. Each frame has a group of shapes or a single shape of different sizes.
Montessori Geometric Cabinet with 35…
  • The geometrical cabinet introduces the child to plane geometry.
  • Encourage the child to recognize representation of shapes leading…
  • Comparisons and geometrical deductions may be made.

Geometric Form Cards

  • 4 years old
  • The Geometric Form Cards consist of 3 sets of shape image cards. These are designed to present shapes in an increasingly abstract fashion.

Botany Cabinet

  • 3.5 years old
  • The Botany Cabinet is a set of 4 frames of leaf shape insets. A wooden stick is typically introduced with this material for tracing the insets.
DANNI Baby Teach Toys Montessori Botany…
  • A wooden cabinet with four drawers: The first drawer: lanceolate,…
  • The third drawer: inverted heart shape, heart shape, round shape,…
  • Purpose: Perceive the shape of the leaves to understand and…
montessori color tablets.
Color Tablets Box 3

Constructive Triangles

  • 4-4.5 years old
  • The Constructive Triangles set is an extensive material, comprised of 5 boxes of triangles. With this Montessori material, children construct various geometric shapes using triangles.
Montessori Wood Math Geometry Shape…
  • Presentation : 1. The Directress shows the child how to take any…
  • 3. Directress shows how to lay out all the contents on the mat. 4…
  • 7. The Directress then invites the child to put the shapes…

Binomial Cube

  • 4 years old
  • The Binomial Cube is a 2 layered cube made up of a series of small wooden blocks. The purpose of this material is to help develop visual discrimination of pattern, color, and shape.
Adena Montessori Binomial Cube…
  • 🌱【Interactive Learning】: The Montessori Binomial Cube…
  • 💡【Conceptual Understanding】: With eight wooden blocks of…
  • 🎉【Sensorial Exploration】: The Binomial Cube encourages…

Trinomial Cube

  • 4.5 years old
  • The Trinomial Cube is a 3 layer cube made up of a series of small wooden blocks. The purpose of this material is to help develop visual discrimination of pattern, color, and shape.
Montessori Trinomial Cube Montessori…
  • Montessori sensory teaching aids binomial and trinomial, suitable…
  • Develop children's visual ability, build cube wood blocks, and…
  • Prepare for the binomial and trinomial learning of mathematics…

Touch Boards

  • 2.5-3 years old
  • The Touch Boards is a set of 4 wooden boards. The purpose of this material is to help children discriminate between rough and smooth textures.

Touch Tablets

  • 2.5-3 years old
  • The Touch Tablets are 2 sets of sandpaper tablets, 5 tablets in each set. This is a tactile, pairing material.
Adena Montessori Touch Tablets – Inspire…
  • 🌱【Sensory Development】: The Montessori Touch Tablets…
  • 🌱【Fine Motor Skills】: These touch tablets are excellent…
  • ✨【Sensorial Education】: The Montessori Touch Tablets…
montessori brown stair, a montessori sensorial material.

Touch Fabrics

  • 3 years old
  • The Touch Fabric set is 6 pairs of fabric squares varying in texture. Pairing, contrasting, and grading activities can be done with the material.
DANNI Baby Sensory Toy Montessori Fabric…
  • The child pairs the fabrics according to the varying textures by…
  • wooden box containing 12 matching swatches of a selection of…
  • Increase the sense of touch, develop muscle movement (softness,…

Thermic Tablets

  • 3.5 years old
  • The Thermic Tablet set is 6 pairs of tablets of varying surfaces. This material is designed to refine a child's thermic sense, or sense of temperature.

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Baric Tablets

  • 4 years old
  • The Baric Tablet set is 3 boxes of seven tablets designed to refine a child's baric sense, or sense of weight.
Adena Montessori Baric Tablets with Box…
  • The Baric tablets help the child to explore differences in…
  • The homeschool materisals help to develop children's judgment.

Mystery Bag

  • 3 years old
  • The Mystery Bag is a small bag containing small objects. Children attempt to identify the objects only by touch, refining their stereognostic sense.

Geometric Solids

  • 4 years old
  • The Geometric Solid set is 10 large wooden 3-dimensional geometric shapes designed to give children to provide children a tactile representation of 3-D shapes and refine the stereognostic sense.
Adena Montessori Geometric Solids with…
  • The box includes five wooden plane figures and three wooden…
  • Through observation, cultivate children's concentration; analyze…
montessori sensorial quote.

Sound Cylinders

  • 3-4 years old
  • The Sound Cylinders consist of 2 sets of wooden cylinders, color-coded for a sound/volume pairing activity.
YHZAN New Montessori Sensorial Auditory…
  • Montessori Sensorial Materials and Activities-Sound…
  • Purpose:To Develop Sensitivity Of the Auditory Sense.
  • This Sound Boxes Set is with 6 different sound,Match Sound…

Silence Game

  • 4 years old
  • The Silence Game is a peaceful activity that teaches a child to improve mindfulness and listen for subtle sounds in their immediate environment.

Montessori Bells

  • 4 years old
  • The Montessori Bells consists of 2 sets of bells. The 13 bells on each set present the chromatic scale to children.

Smelling Bottles

  • 3-4.5 years old
  • The Smelling bottles are 2 sets of 6 bottles designed to refine a child's sense of smell as a pairing activity. Each bottle has a perforated, removable lid for smelling and filling.
Adena Montessori Smelling Boxes…
  • 2 sets of 6 sealed wooden cylinders that make a distinctive…
  • Direct purpose: to distinguish various odors and to promote a…
  • Indirect purpose: 1. Let young children understand the existence…

Montessori sensorial materials are a lot of fun for children to explore. What is your child's favorite sensorial material or activity?

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Kristi

Monday 11th of December 2023

If your child is 4.5 is it to late to introduce these materials?

Sue

Thursday 14th of December 2023

No. Ideally, these materials would be introduced in a sequence and prior to the introduction to certain concepts, but you can introduce them at any time.

Mrs Masooma Iqbal

Thursday 22nd of September 2022

nice effort. kindly send age appropriate activities