Smelling Jars

Smelling Jars
Sensorial - Sense of Smell
Level	Primary
Age	4+
Prerequisites	Practical Life activities

Also called Smelling Bottles, Smelling Cylinders, Smell Matching, or Scent Cylinders.
This activity helps to refine the child's olfactory sense.

Presentation

1. Take the Smelling Jars to a mat or table. Set it in the middle with red on the left and blue on the right.

   

2. Remove the first red smelling jar. Flip the top to open (if using this type of bottle).

   

3. Smell the bottle.

   

4. Set the bottle in the middle below the box.

   

5. Remove the first blue smelling bottle, Flip the top to open, and smell to see if it is the same as the red one.

   

6. If it is not the same, set it to the right side of the box.

   

7. Continue smelling the blue bottles one at a time until a match is found.

   

8. When a match is found put the pair side-by-side in the upper left corner.

   

9. Return all the unmatched blue bottles to the box.

   

10. Take the next red smelling cylinder and repeat the process. Continue in this way until all the matches have been found.

    

11. Be sure to mix up the bottles when putting them back in the box.

Variations and Extensions

• A basket of items with distinctive smells could be available for the child to explore

  

Material

Make Your Own

Fill pairs of bottles with spices, dried flower petals, or coffee grounds. You can also use cotton balls with drops of essential oils, cooking extracts, cooking oils, pickle juice, or perfume.

• "Powder bottles" work well for this material. These can be wrapped with red and blue electrical tape. (These can be seen in the lesson pictures above.)
  
  • Container & Packaging Supply (3 oz)(plastic) $0.68 each, lid sold separately $0.25
  • SKS Bottle & Packaging (30 cc)(plastic) $8.64/12, $16.80/48 (as shown in photos above)
  • SKS Bottle & Packaging (3 oz)(plastic) $10.80/12, $21.60/48
  • For Soapmakers (5 oz) (cardboard) $1.50 each, 12+ $0.84 each
  • Elements Bath and Body (3 oz)(plastic) $0.68 each
  • Bramble Berry (1.2 oz)(plastic) $1.75 each, $15.00/10
  • Mountain Rose Herb (4 oz)(cardboard) $1.50 each
  • From Nature with Love (5 oz)(cardboard) $1.50 each
• These are made from wedding bubbles bottles. They were emptied and the bubble wands were removed.

  

  (For a detailed description of how these were made, see Little Schoolhouse in the Suburbs.)

• These were made from spice jars:

  

  (For a detailed description of how these were made, see Counting Coconuts

Where to Buy

Prices and links checked: 23 January 2022

6 Pairs of Bottles
Store	Price
Adena	$23.95
Alison's	$62.00
Bruins	$71.00
E & O	$41.40
Kid Advance	$24.99
Montessori Outlet	$22.95
Montessori Services	$18.95
Montessori Services	$18.95
Nienhuis	$82.70
Thinkamajigs	$29.95

4 Pairs of Bottles
Store	Price
Absorbent Minds	£21.99 GBP
Affordable Montessori	$29.00
Alison's	$25.13
Materials Co. of Boston	$62.00

Further Reading

• Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-fives by David Gettman, pages 129-130
• Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock, pages 62, 93