Montessori sensorial activities are those which refine the five senses – tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory senses. Children are particularly receptive to developing their senses from ages 2-6, and it’s important to give children at those ages as many sensorial experiences as possible.

Montessori sensorial materials are carefully designed. Whether purchased or handmade, they follow basic Montessori principles.

• They isolate the quality (for example, the geometric shapes introduced are the same color and only vary in shape).
• They have a control of error (for example, the child will not be able to fit all the cylinders properly into a cylinder block if one is out of place.
• They prepare the child indirectly for future learning (for example, many of the sensorial activities come with ten pieces as an indirect preparation for the decimal system).