Montessori Pink Tower Lesson Activity

AGE

2 ½ years approx.

MATERIALS

10 pink wooden cubes varying in size from one cubic cm. To one cubic decimeter.
Work mat.

DIRECT AIM

To develop the child’s visual perception of dimension.

INDIRECT AIM

To develop the child’s co-ordination of movement.
To provide controlled experiences of seriation particularly working with the cube which is important in Maths.
To give the child basic language important in Maths.
To strengthen the child’s hands for writing.

PRESENTATION

[DAP hasAccessTo=”11,21,22,23,319″ errMsgTemplate=”LONG”]
Individual exercise done on a floor mat.

1. 1. Place a floor mat on the working space.
   2. Show the child how to carry each cube to the mat by supporting the bottom of the cube with the left hand held just below the block and with the right hand held stretched over each cube.
   3. The sensation will give the child a muscular impression of size.
   4. The cubes are randomly placed on the mat. Show the child how to build the tower starting with the largest cube first.
   5. Each cube is placed centrally on the previous cube. When the tower is built, ask the child to walk around the tower with you looking at the tower from all sides.

Exercise 1:

1. 1. The child builds the tower

Exercise 2:

1. Once the child can build the tower as in exercise 1 show the child how to build a tower which has two flat walls all the way up. Show the child how the smallest pink cube fits around every ledge of the tower.
2. Invite the child to now build a tower in this way.

Should the child struggle with this exercise he can do:

A

The 4 or 5 smallest cubes

B

The 5 largest cubes

C

5 successive cubes from the middle

D

Use every other cube.[/DAP]

Game 1

The Montessori Directress hides one of the cubes and the child says which one is missing.

CONTROL OF ERROR

The tower will topple.
The child may see the irregular pattern when he walks around the tower.