Practical Life Activity - Melamine Sorting Tray

A 10" (25cm) round melamine tray with a central section and 4 outer compartments, comes complete with 40 painted wooden 3/4" (2cm) counters. All sizes approximate.

The counters colours are the main primary colours of red, yellow and blue along with the additional colour of green.

The tray and counters have many purposes. For example, they can be used for sorting colours, sizes or shapes and counting items. However, the tray can be used with a range of other house hold items, allowing for different textures and other colours to be added in to teach the child.

Items could include beads, dried pasta, Lego, crayons, sweets or candy such as M&M’s. Due to the nature of the small items, please do not leave your child unattended in the event of choking. 
Age: +3 

Not suitable for children under 3 years old (small parts), choking hazard. 

Educational and fun go hand in hand: Sorting is a way which allows children to make sense of their world. Using this Montessori sorting tray teaches the child how to organise and sort objects. Not only is the child learning to sort objects by colour, but they are also improving visual perception, colour discrimination, co-ordination, fine motor skills and concentration.

It also provides an excellent opportunity to introduce vocabulary so that the child can learn the names for each of the colours along with descriptive terms such as textures, size and shape. This task also begins to build the foundation blocks of developing mathematical skills. By sorting the buttons, the child begins to develop numerical skills along with grouping similar objects together.

By doing this every day task, the child begins to apply logical thinking to objects. Using the principles of Montessori work, by using all the childs senses in one activity, the child begins to organise objects and even their own thoughts.