Sensorial Education: Using the Five Senses to Explore and Understand the World
The Montessori method of education places a special emphasis on sensorial education as a foundational element of a child’s development. Sensorial education equips children with the tools to explore and understand the world around them in a hands-on, experiential manner.
In this article, let’s talk about how sensorial education in Montessori works and let’s also highlight some of the specific materials used in this transformative approach.
Exploring the world through the senses
Maria Montessori recognized that children are naturally curious and that they learn best when their senses are engaged. Sensorial education capitalises on this innate curiosity, helping children develop their sensory perceptions and hone their cognitive abilities. Through a carefully designed set of materials and activities, Montessori classrooms offer a rich and immersive sensory experience.
Specific Montessori materials for sensorial education
Pink Tower. This consists of ten wooden cubes varying in size, with the largest cube measuring 10 cm per side and the smallest cube 1 cm per side. Children learn to differentiate between sizes and develop spatial awareness as they stack the cubes from largest to smallest.
Brown Stair. This material comprises ten wooden prisms of varying lengths and widths. It helps children refine their visual discrimination skills by arranging the prisms from the thickest to the thinnest.
Sound Cylinders. A set of wooden cylinders with various fillings, these materials help children develop their auditory discrimination skills. By shaking the cylinders and matching them by sound, children learn to distinguish different tones and volumes.
Colour Tablets. Montessori colour tablets come in three boxes, each containing a set of tablets in various shades. Children use these materials to explore and classify colours, developing their ability to discriminate and name different hues.
Touch Tablets. These textured tablets come in pairs with different tactile surfaces, such as sandpaper, velvet or silk. Children learn to recognize and match the textures by feeling them, enhancing their tactile discrimination abilities.
Smelling Bottles. Montessori introduces children to various scents using smelling bottles. This material heightens olfactory awareness and helps children identify and differentiate between different odours.
Geometric Solids. This set includes wooden three-dimensional shapes like spheres, cones and cylinders. Children explore these solids through touch and learn to recognize and name geometric shapes.
Baric Tablets. Baric tablets consist of wooden cylinders filled with varying amounts of sand. Children use their sense of touch to identify and match cylinders with the same weight, refining their tactile discrimination skills.
Thermic Tablets. Montessori thermic tablets introduce temperature concepts. Children learn to feel and classify tablets as “hot” or “cold,” helping them develop awareness of temperature variations.
Fostering confidence and independence
Sensorial education in Montessori is not just about honing sensory perceptions; it fosters independence, critical thinking and a love for learning. By engaging with these materials and activities, children develop skills that extend to various academic subjects and life situations. They become more confident, capable, and curious individuals who approach the world with a deeper understanding and appreciation.
Sensorial education in the Montessori curriculum provides a unique and invaluable foundation for a child’s growth and development. Through the use of specific materials tailored to each sensory experience, Montessori classrooms empower children to explore and understand the world with heightened awareness, curiosity and confidence.
Here at Monash Early Learning Centre, we emphasise sensorial education in our curriculum. We facilitate a variety of sensorial activities that concentrate on each separate sense. Along with other learning areas such as practical life, mathematics, language and culture, we support children with their rapid development and preparation for formal schooling.