Please note that this post was written toward the beginning of our Montessori journey. I no longer recommend this way of letter learning, nor do I find trays like this necessary from a Montessori perspective. This isn't to say that none of these could be used in a Montessori environment, but these are Montessori inspired and not often found in traditional toddler environments. - Nicole, 2018
Letter P trays! These were fun and reminded me how much a simple practical life tray can be enjoyed when just one more step is added.
Letter P trays! These were fun and reminded me how much a simple practical life tray can be enjoyed when just one more step is added.
The first tray we did this week was wet pouring. But instead of just using pitchers, I added a funnel for the first time. This changed the process and the kids really had to concentrate on the amount of water they were pouring into a vase.
This was by far Henry's favorite work this week. I often found him working on pouring and filing up vases.
The second tray this week was another practical life -- scooping peas. This time, however, I made it a two step process. Scoop peas from one pail into a pitcher, then pour pitcher into the second pail. Just that extra step kept Henry interested in the work when otherwise it would be a bit basic for him.
The third tray this week was a letter sorting tray. Here the kids could sort pandas that were stamped with a p,q,b or d. This was quite a challenge for the kids. While I thought it was a fun way to start to reinforce the letters, Henry was not attracted to this and never chose it.
Other things we did this week included:
Patterning -- using wooden shapes, I created a few pattern sheets for the kids to follow. Henry never chose to do this either and I don't think it was all that popular during co-op either.
Polishing -- this was a big hit this week! I included some wooden fruit {a pear and a peach}, q-tips, polish, and a cloth. The children could then polish the fruit. This was the first time I've done polishing with Henry or any of the kids and, boy, were those fruit clean by the end of the week!
Pig Sorting -- this was a tray from last year when we did the letter P. Here the kids had to sort the pigs into three sizes. The corn adds an extra sensory element that Henry and the other kids enjoy.
