The Montessori Spooning with a Ladle activity is easy to make and great for teaching hand-eye coordination and developing fine motor skills.  Your three year old will love it!

Materials: a small ladle, two small bowls, a tray, and a sponge (or face cloth). Most Montessori classrooms make each piece of a practical life activity the same color, but if you don't have matching pieces, that is OK, too. Food coloring optional.

You will need to add water to the activity as needed. Some teachers like to use food coloring in the water activities. If you choose to use food coloring, I find it helpful to save several large water bottles, re fill them with water, and make each bottle of water a different color, then use them as needed.

You may want to make this water activity for outside, or in your kitchen.

1. Spoon/ladle from left to right, then right to left.
2. Sponge up any spills, or use a small towel cloth.
3. Ask child to have a turn.

You can substitute water with beans, pasta shells, or rice, but make sure it is easy (not too hard) for the child to pick up if spilled.

You can also make a spooning work with a Chinese soup spoon, which is more challenging, or a baby spoon.

Staff Member
Foothill Montessori School

18692 E 17th St., N Tustin, CA 92705

COUNTERS AND NUMBERS are great to do with a child after they have been introduced to the sandpaper numbers and can put them in order from one to nine.

Language: Odd and Even
Control of Error: Too many or too few counters for the last number
Indirect Aim: Mathematics
Direct Aim: To make the child aware of odd and even
Material: A box divided into two compartments, one containing red plastic numerals 1-10, the other compartment containing corresponding numbers of red disks called counters. You can make your own using buttons or pennies, and plastic numbers.

Presentation:

1. Do on a mat. Take out the numbers. Ask the child, "Can you line the numbers up for me? What is the first number?" "One." Let the child line up the numbers. Tell him to leave a nice space between the numbers.
2. Ask, "What does this number say?" "One." "So it gets 1 counter." "What does this number say?" "Two." "So, it gets 2 counters." Each time place the counters below the number in rows of two, with any odd counter placed in the middle of the row. Continue through to 10.
3. Next, take your pencil and place it in between the two counters for "Does this fit?" "Yes." Try to place your pencil between the counters for 3. "Does this fit?" "No." "Four?" "Yes." " Five?" "No." Continue. Ask the child if he would like to place the pencil between the counters.
4. "Now, the numbers where we can put the pencil in between the counters are called even numbers; and the numbers where we cannot put the pencil through the counters are called odd numbers."
5. "One is an odd number, we'll leave it up here. Two is an even number, we will leave it down there. Three is an odd number, we'll leave it up here, etc."
6. "Now can you tell me which are the odd numbers?" "One, three, five, seven, and nine." "Which numbers are the even numbers?" "Two, four, six, eight, and ten."
7. Later on, only if there is interest, you may ask, "how many two's are there in two?" "One." Separate the groups of two with you pencil. "How many groups of two are there in four?" "Two twos." Etc.

School Director
Foothill Montessori School

18692 E 17th St., N Tustin, CA 92705