Montessori Made Simple

In the past Abby has done quite well using silverware at mealtimes, but lately she seems to prefer her hands. I decided to try a few Montessori life skills activities to see if I could pique her interest in silverware while also working on mind-hand coordination.

Our first activity was moving beans from one bowl to another and back again using a tablespoon. She did very well and responded better than I had expected to the "tray" concept that MM was so fond of.

Look at that concentration!

I got a little ahead of myself for the second activity and gave her a small pitcher with water and several small glasses. She did well, but was clearly not ready for the water. I regrouped and brought out two small glasses one of which was filled about two-thirds of the way with dried beans. I demonstrated how to pour from one jar to the next and then back again. She eagerly took the reigns. At first she was using her right hand to pour from right to left and her left hand to pour from left to right, but then she stopped pouring with her left hand altogether. Instead, she would use her right hand pour the beans from the glass on the right to the glass on the left then she would put the empty glass down, pick up the full glass with her left hand, transfer it to her right hand and continue.

She went on and on playing this "game" for quite a long while longer than I expected it would have held her interest. When I told her we were all done she protested quite vocally! Later in the evening when I brought the game out again she used her first two-sign ASL phrase, "fun game." Score two for Abby!