Montessori – Lima Beans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of these concepts seemed easy for her to grasp, which surprised me. Where had I been when she was tooling up her brain? ~ Phyllis Theroux

We’ve been getting a lot of use out of the Ikea Montessori Table. Here’s 1 hands-on activity that Z likes! We started off using Gerber Baby Jars with a few lima beans in them, and I just introduced this huge Pyrex Bowl, a mini Ikea ladle, and a small  bowl.

 

 

Eventually, she will just give in and use her hands. Lima beans feel nice and cool to the touch and make a reassuring sound as they fall. We bought a bag from Kroger.

 

Transferring them from one container to another is a montessori skill, and if Z is in the right mood, she can do this for a while!

 

 

 

I love how her legs look like they’re learning too. She’s sitting on the yellow Ikea Chair that is on her level. Also, there’s a spilled lima bean on the floor – there will be mess, but you have to encourage them to not drop the lima beans, and pick it up. I’ve tried this activity with lentils and it’s much harder clean up- Lima beans are much easier to use!
Here’s a gorgeous glossy paged book full of activities, photos, and ideas. I know there are much more thorough books out there, but this is a sort of intro book, and I gravitate to books with photos in them, as I can try to incorporate photos right away.

Will try to post more activities later – we’ve done a few; I just haven’t had the opportunity to photograph them!

I am not a Montessori expert by all means, but this is a fun activity to do on a rainy day such as today!

 

“My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” ~ Quran 20: 114