Most well known for scooping and pouring activities is the Montessori method. Scooping and pouring is used as a means to develop fine motor skills associated with practical life skills, not to mention the value of sensory experiences in young childhood education. Fortunately, scooping and pouring activities are easy to incorporate into at-home or preschool education.
The supplies include a tray, two identical bowls or containers, something to scoop and pour, such as rice or dried beans, and a scoop.
Set out the materials in front of your child and model how to play with them. I mention this because when given new materials with which to explore, children benefit from knowing their boundaries, and their learning space benefits from less mess. (With Corinne still in the stage of putting everything in her mouth, I must be especially careful of activities like these to avoid accidental choking hazards).
Now, you can see in the picture that there was a scoop for William to use…and he did use the melon baller to scoop the beans from one container into the other, for a little while. But, my creative little guy is about getting the job done efficiently, so he tossed aside the scoop and began pouring, with no instruction from me. This was fine.
While scooping and pouring are two separate skills worth practicing (the muscle use is different in each), I let William choose how he wanted to use the materials, staying within the boundaries I’d set forth. Perhaps next time he’ll be more interested in scooping rather than pouring.
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I am Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home mama of five! I am the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught range of levels, including preschool and college, and a little bit of just about everything in between. Right now, my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
What a sweet photo! I love that such simple activities can be so helpful for developing a number of skills. Thanks for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow.
Thanks for sharing my post on your FB page!
Montessori activities are so great for little kids!
Thanks for sharing with Learning Laboratory =)
It’s funny to hear someone like this described as part of a method as it just seems like such a natural stage of childhood. My twins love this type of activity. I haven’t used beans before bu I bet it makes a brilliant sound.
Thanks for linking to the Sunday showcase.