The Knock-Knock Game - A Montessori Favorite

There are so many amazing Montessori materials for children to learn from. I only touch the very surface of the traditional didactic learning materials here on The Kavanaugh Report. But, of those materials, some are just more engaging than others. While I think the sandpaper letters and numbers are super important step in the Montessori curriculum, they aren't the most engaging. It's not been my experience that by themselves, kids are just going to choose and repeat sandpaper materials over and over without something more. 

So, we get creative. We have fun, play games and make them more engaging. Hide and seek with the sandpaper letters was a favorite for Nora. And, with Gus, a simple knock-knock game has been speaking to him lately. I was introduced to this game a few years ago by Nora's children's house guide. She played it a lot in the classroom and encouraged us to try it at home. When Gus got to the age that we were introducing both the sandpaper numbers and sandpaper letters, I had Nora introduce this game to him. 

It's super straightforward, but, here's how you play: 

1. Gather the sandpaper materials (letters or numbers) you will play with. Make sure child has already had at least one 3-period lesson on the materials. You can start with just two or three at a time. 
2. Turn all of the cards over placing them on a table or rug in a random order. 
3. Then, with your fist knock on one of the cards like it's a door. Say "knock-knock who's there?!" 
4. Flip over that card, trace the number/letter and say the name/sound aloud
5. Repeat until all the cards are revealed. 

We add more cards over time. We also change it up some by guessing which number/letter will come up when flipped. For numbers we might also start to place them in order after we reveal them. It's a super simple way to get your kids interested in repeating work with the sandpaper materials that both Nora and Gus have found super engaging.