Unlock Your Child’s Motor Skills with a Fun Montessori Activity: Using a Whisk

As parents, we all know how important it is to help our children develop their motor skills. From crawling to walking, and eventually running, every milestone is crucial for their overall development. But what if we told you there’s a fun Montessori activity that can help unlock your child’s motor skills? It’s simple, engaging, and provides endless hours of fun. Keep reading to find out more about this activity that can benefit your child’s development in so many ways.

Using a Whisk

Suitable Age: 3 1/2+

Materials: 

• A tray
• A small bottle of bubble soap
• 2 sponge (1large, 1 small)
• A whisk
• A bowl
• A pitcher (with a line)/
• A placemat
• A bucket
• A piece of paper towel

Direct Aim:

• To form bubbles, using a whisk independently, and working with two hands

Indirect Aim:

• Refinement of the muscles in the hands and arms
• Concentration
• Hand-eye coordination
• Independence
• Order of sequence
• Fine motor skills

Presentation/ Child instruction: 

1. Once seated, ask the child to fill the pitcher with water to the line. When he returns ask him to pour it into the bowl, using the drip sponge.
2. Now, invite him to put 2-3 drops of the bubble soap into the bowl of water.
3. Once the bubble soap has been added to the bowl of water, you will slowly reach for the whisk. Ask him what he does to warm his hands in the winter. If he shows you to by rubbing his hands together, tell him that is what he will do with the whisk. If he is unsure, show him and then tell him this is what he will do with the whisk. Place the whisk between both palms of the band and gradually rub the hands together, allowing the whisk to form bubbles as it turns back and forth. (The quicker the rubbing, the more bubbles form).
4. After some bubbles have formed, invite the child to try them. Once he is done making bubbles with the whisk, invite the child to tidy up. First, ask him to discard the water from the bowl into the bucket.
5. Once the water has been discarded, invite him to use the large sponge to dry the bowl and the whisk.
6. Once all items have been placed back onto the tray, invite him to return the activity to the shelf.

Point of interest:

• The bubbles, the noise, the whisk, and the smell

Control of Error: 

• Difficulty rubbing whisk handle fast enough to form bubbles
• Too much bubble liquid
• Tipping of bowl
• Not enough bubble liquid
• Forgetting the sequence
• Difficulty tidying up.

>> Read more: Unlock Your Child’s Motor Skills with a Fun Montessori Activity: Locks and Keys