Montessori Sensorial: Knobless Cylinders

This activity is great to start at around 4.5 years of age, but I have worked with these with my son since he was 3.5 years of age.
There are four boxes with four cylinders in each.
Red: They have the same height, but have different circumferences.
Yellow: Different circumference, different heights, from tallest and widest to shortest and smallest.
Green: Different circumference and different heights. Wider to thinner, shortest to tallest.
Blue: Same circumference, different heights.

Presentation:
Start with the red box. Open it, take all cylinders out and close the box.
Find the thickest cylinder and start a line on the left side.
Find the next thickest and place it to the right of the first cylinder.
Continue grading all cylinders until all 10 are lined up correctly.
Mix up all the cylinders and have the child do the activity again on his/her own.
Open the red box, place all cylinders back in the box and close it again.

Work with one box at a time in this order: red, green, yellow and blue.

Extension: red and green boxes together
- Grade the red box and then the green box.
Extension 2: red and yellow boxes together
Extension 3: green and yellow boxes
Extension 4: red and blue boxes
Extension 5: green and blue boxes
Extension 6: yellow and blue boxes
Extension 7: grade three boxes together
Extension 8: grade all four boxes together

Extension 9: make towers out of those boxes that can be made into towers (see pictures below).

Extension 10: make towers out of two or more boxes at a time.


For more extensions, CLICK HERE.