How to Make Montessori Spindle Boxes at Home (DIY Math Activity for Kids)
The Spindle Boxes is another exercise for your child to practice the quantity and sequence of numbers. The special thing about this activity is that this will be the first time we introduce number 0 to our children. With the Spindle Boxes your child will start understanding the value of number 0. It is a very easy and affordable activity to make at home and your children will love it!
At the end of this post you will find a PDF, with the numbers 0 to 9, for you to use in your own DIY Spindle Boxes!
Target ages: 4 to 4 ½ years old.
| Table of Contents |
| What is the Montessori Method? What is the Math Area in Montessori? The Mathematical Mind Quantity Before Symbol How to Make DYI Montessori Spindle Boxes Conclusion |
What is the Montessori Method?
The Montessori Method follows the child’s interests and needs. Maria Montessori created different areas in the classroom (Practical Life, Sensorial, Math and Language) with specific materials to teach children different skills that will help them in their everyday life.
If you think about a normal school, you would probably imagine a big chalkboard on the wall and all of the students sitting at their desk looking at the teacher. In a Montessori classroom this looks very different. The main difference between a Montessori school and a traditional one is that the teachers give one-on-one lessons, or very small group lessons, and follow the interest of each child. Individual lessons are a great way for teachers to get to know the children and their needs. We use tangible materials that are built to teach specific skills, perfect to catch the attention of the little ones since they are using their hands. Maria Montessori once said: “Movement of the hand is essential. Little children revealed that the development of the mind is stimulated by the movement of the hands. The hand is the instrument of the intelligence”.
In the Montessori classroom, children are also allowed to walk freely in their environment and choose the work they want to do that has been previously presented by the teacher. Seeing children walking around the classroom like this can look a little messy at times, but I like to call it “organized chaos”. Children have a lot of freedom but within set boundaries.
The Montessori Method has been such a big eye opener for me in the way I want to teach and educate my children. I hope it inspires you too!
What is the Math Area in Montessori?
Since math can be a hard topic to understand for children, Maria Montessori broke down the hard concepts into concreate materials for children to manipulate.
She has lessons to teach children the numbers 0 to 10; the Decimal System; the different equations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division); fractions and much more! And all of this before a child is 6 years of age! The only explanation that children can understand such hard concepts at such a young age is because the materials she created are simply amazing!
Maria Montessori often referred to the hand as the instrument of the mind.
The Mathematical Mind
Whenever you are crossing the street, buy something at a store, scheduling your time or measuring ingredients to make a meal, you are using your mathematical mind. Mathematics is not just found in books but in the world that surrounds us. Maria Montessori said that our mind is mathematical by nature. We are all born with a mathematical mind that have the following abilities:
- Curiosity and interest, which leads to investigation.
- An awareness of the world that leads us to observe everything around us.
- The ability to reason and make judgements.
- The ability to make order out of chaos.
- Organize and classify information.
- The ability to complete a task through repetition, exactitude and precision.
Screens and technology have put to sleep a lot of this innate abilities that we are born with. We should be conscious on how we use them with our children so that we make sure their spark for investigation, exploration and curiosity is still there!
Quantity Before Symbol
It is not uncommon for children to know the name of the numbers by memory, but that does not mean they understand the quantity that is associated with those numbers.
Maria Montessori prepared different materials to understand this abstract concept of numbers to children. The first lesson she created for this was the Number Rods. The Number Rods introduce children to the quantity of each number (e.g.: “two is a bigger quantity than one”) in a concrete and tactile way. After this, we will teach the Sandpaper Numbers (symbol) for our children to learn what every number looks like. The materials that follow after that will reinforce the learning of the quantity and symbol together (like the Number Rods with Numerals, Spindle Boxes, Cards and Counters or the Memory Game of Numbers).
When we teach the numbers to our children in this way, we create a strong foundation for more complicated and abstract math in the future.
How to Make DIY Montessori Spindle Boxes
Materials:
- 2 plastic boxes with 5 compartments each
- Tape or sticky tack
- 45 sticks or spindles
- 9 ribbons
- Box to hold the spindles/sticks
- Box or basket for the ribbons
- PDF with printed numbers 0 to 9
Age: 4 to 4 ½ years old
Instructions:
- Print numerals 0 – 9 and cut them.
- Laminate the numbers so that they are more durable (optional).
- Stick them to the box with tape or adhesive following the sequence 0 to 9.
- Make a little loop at the end of each ribbon to make holding the spindles easier.
- Place the sticks and ribbons in their respective containers.
- You are done!
NOTES:
- Boxes: You will need two different containers with five different compartments each to put the numbers 0 to 9. Here are some similar boxes to the ones I have!
- Spindles: Instead of spindles, I just use sticks. Try to find something that is not too thin since you want your child to feel the sticks getting harder and harder to hold as the numbers get bigger. Here are some I like!
- Here is a blog where I show you how to teach this lesson to your child.
Conclusion
The Spindle Boxes is a great material to reinforce the numbers that your child has already learned and a visual way for them to understand number “0”. Making the Spindle Boxes at home is so easy. I hope you give it a try!
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Printables for Download
How to Make DIY Montessori Spindle Boxes
In this DIY you will be making the Montessori Spindle Boxes at home! This is a great activity for your child to keep practicing the quantity and sequence of numbers. The special thing about this activity is that this will be the first time we introduce number 0 to our children. With the Spindle Boxes your child will start understanding the value of number 0. It is a very easy and affordable activity to make at home and your children will love it!
Below you will find a printable PDF where you can print the numbers 0 to 9 for your Spindle Boxes.
Target ages: 4 to 4 ½ years old.
Materials
- 2 plastic boxes with 5 compartments each
- Tape or sticky tack
- 45 sticks or spindles
- 9 ribbons
- Box for sticks
- Box or basket for ribbons
- Printed numbers 0 to 9
Instructions
- Print numerals 0 - 9 and cut them.
- Laminate the numbers so that they are more durable (optional).
- Stick them to the box with tape or adhesive following the sequence 0 to 9.
- Place the sticks and ribbons in their respective containers.
- You are done!
