In Montessori Schools, children often use a Mystery Box. The idea is for the child to place their arms into the box and feel the item/s inside. This isolates their senses. They identify the item/s in the box by touch only!
Once I found the right sized box, this DIY took me less than five minutes. I cut one end of the box open. On the other end I traced around a drinking glass and cut two holes with an x-acto knife. This gives the child two holes in which to place their arms.
We like to play this in a few different ways. Without the child looking, the adult places three to five objects in the box. The child then puts their arms in the box. The child can take their time and feel to identify all the items in the box. Alternatively the adult can say “can you find me the pinecone” and the child will search until they find the pinecone.
Or the child can have one object in the box and identify it. We like to use household objects, fruit and vegetables, model animals, little toys, wooden geometric solids and items from our nature basket.
My son Otis says, “this is a cone?” I ask, “why is it a cone?” Otis replies, “it has a circle here and flat here and a point here,” (as he touches the wooden shape). It’s a lovely, peaceful activity to do together.
What is significant about playing a game like this? Maria Montessori in The Discovery of the Child writes at length about the importance of educating the senses.
“The training of the senses must begin in the formative period of life if we wish to perfect them later through education and make use of them in any particular human skill.. To learn a craft, especially if it is of an artistic or refined nature, means that one must develop his senses and the movements of his hands, and these movements are assisted by a consequent refinement of the sense of touch.”
She further goes on say the ages of three to six is “when there is a natural inclination to perfect one’s senses and movements.”
Have you played any Mystery Box games with your child? Do you think they would like it?
olive / 58 posts
Hi Everyone, It’s good to be back and writing a few new Montessori posts for you!
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
@Kylie: great post! I just had to laugh at the “lovely and peaceful activity” comment. Maybe mine need to get a bit older but right now they don’t appreciate any lovely or peaceful activities
squash / 13208 posts
Love this idea!
Reminds me of a Halloween box where you stick your hands in and feel wet spaghetti and you tell them its brains
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
That’s awesome he can tell you why he thinks it’s a cone!
pear / 1696 posts
I definitely plan to try this activity with my LO. Thanks!