Montessori Touch Tablets
The Montessori Touch Tablets are a vital part of the Montessori Sensorial curriculum, focusing on the development of the tactile sense.
- 📏 Range Age: 3.5 - 5 years (activity should be adjusted based on the child's age and skill level).
- 🧠 Prerequisites: Sensorial Activities (Tactile Boards, Fabrics), Language Activities (vocabulary building activities for texture and tactile sensations), Cognitive Activities (sorting and classifying by texture, understanding of rough and smooth)
- 🛠️ Enhancement Skills: Fine Motor Skills (tactile sensitivity, finger strength), Cognitive Development (perception, attention to detail, comparison and contrast of textures).
This article explores the purpose of the touch tablets, their significance in the Montessori method, and practical ways to incorporate them into your child's learning at home.
Content
What are the Montessori Touch Tablets?
The Montessori Touch Tablets are a set of tablets with different textures on their surfaces. The child's task is to feel each tablet and group them by texture.
This activity helps children refine their sense of touch by distinguishing between various textures such as smooth, rough, soft, and hard.
Benefits of the Montessori Touch Tablets
Integrating the Touch Tablets into your child's learning offers several benefits:
- 🖐️ Enhances Tactile Discrimination: Children learn to differentiate between various textures, refining their sense of touch.
- 🧠 Develops Cognitive Skills: Matching tablets by texture challenges the child's memory and decision-making abilities.
- 🌐 Expands Vocabulary: Describing the textures introduces new adjectives, enriching the child's language skills.
- 👀 Encourages Visual and Tactile Integration: Using sight and touch together enhances the child's overall sensory perception.
- 🤲 Fosters Concentration: Focusing on the tactile experience helps improve the child's attention span.
Purpose of the Montessori Touch Tablets
The purpose of the Montessori Touch Tablets is to develop the child's tactile sense, allowing them to explore and understand the world through touch. This activity also lays the groundwork for future learning in areas such as science and art.
How to Present the Montessori Touch Tablets?
Materials
- A set of Touch Tablets, usually consisting of pairs of tablets with different textures such as smooth, rough, and various gradations in between. These are used for tactile discrimination exercises.
- A blindfold (optional) to heighten the child's tactile sensitivity by removing visual cues.
- A tray or basket to organize and present the tablets neatly.
The following instructions are the presentation of Montessori Touch Tablets - Introduction:
Presentation
- Invite the child to join you for a sensory exploration activity, expressing excitement about what you're about to discover together.
- Present the box of Touch Tablets to the child, placing it on the table where you both can easily access it.
- Open the box and introduce the Touch Tablets, explaining that they help us explore different textures with our fingers.
- Select the first pair of tablets with contrasting textures, such as smooth and rough, and place them on the table in front of the child.
- Demonstrate how to gently touch and feel the first tablet using your fingertips, focusing on the texture.
- Encourage the child to do the same, inviting them to describe what they feel.
- Repeat the process with the second tablet, guiding the child to notice and verbalize the difference in texture.
- Once the child has explored both tablets, mix them up and ask the child to match the tablets based on their textures.
- After the child successfully matches the first pair, continue with additional pairs of tablets, each time focusing on the contrast in textures.
- As the child becomes more comfortable, introduce more subtle differences in textures for them to differentiate.
- Once all pairs have been matched, encourage the child to close their eyes and use only their sense of touch to match the tablets, enhancing their tactile discrimination.
- After the activity, guide the child to pack the Touch Tablets back into their box neatly.
- Invite the child to repeat the activity whenever they wish, reinforcing their sensory skills and encouraging independent exploration.
Language: Comparative - Superlative: Rough or Smooth
Variations & Extentions
Variations
- Introduce tablets with varying temperatures, such as warm and cool, to explore thermal sensitivity.
- Use tablets made of different materials, like wood, metal, or fabric, to provide a diverse tactile experience.
- Incorporate a memory game where the child matches the tablets based on texture while they are face down.
Extension
- Once the child is comfortable with basic textures, introduce more subtle differences, such as slightly rough versus rough.
- Combine the Touch Tablets with other sensorial materials, like the Fabric Box, to expand the child's tactile vocabulary.
- Encourage the child to use descriptive language to express the textures they feel, enhancing their language skills.
Recommendations
- Ensure the tablets are clean and in good condition to maintain the integrity of the textures.
- Observe the child's technique and offer guidance to improve their tactile exploration and discrimination.
- Encourage the child to work at their own pace, allowing them to fully engage with the activity and develop a keen sense of touch.
References
- Montessori Education Programs - Montessori Academy
- Classroom and school practice - National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector
- Montessori, M. (1988). The Child in the Family. New York: Clio Press. pp. 75-90.
- Lillard, P. P. (1973). Montessori: A Modern Approach. New York: Schocken Books. pp. 100-115.
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