Dimension (1 block): 46cm x 7cm
Recommended Age: 28 months old +
What skills does the Knobbed Cylinder activity teach?
(Source: Wonderful Montessori)
This activity is one of the first sensorial activities that we present to children in Montessori classes. Knobbed cylinders are wooden cylinders of varying diameter and heights, all of which must be inserted into the correct hole. The children are asked to fit the correct sized cylinder into the correct hole. If a child makes a mistake and puts the wrong knobbed cylinder into the wrong hole, then the activity cannot be completed and the child must find the problem and re-order the knobbed cylinders into the correct holes.
Children will acquire many different skills by mastering the knobbed cylinder activity, for example one-to-one correspondence, crossing the mid-line, development of the correct pincer grip, alignment and judgment, fine motor coordination, and hand-eye coordination. By using all four of the knobbed cylinder sets, children can learn and internalize the differences in size, height, and diameter.