Color Box 3
From Montessori Album
| Color Box 3 | |
|---|---|
| Sensorial - Visual Discrimination of Color | |
 | |
| Level | Primary |
| Age | 4+ |
| Prerequisites | Color Box 2 |
| Materials | Color Box 3 set of tablets |
Use of this material teaches the child visual discrimination of shades of color. This activity prepares the child for art activities.
Presentation
- Take the box of tablets to a rug or table.
- Remove all the tablets of one color and lay them out randomly on the mat.
- Find the darkest and lightest tablets of that color. Set them next to each other to point out the difference in the extremes. Then replace them randomly back with the rest.
- Select the darkest of the tablets and place it in the top left corner of the mat. Find the next darkest and place it next to the first. Proceed in this manner until all the tiles of that color have been put in order.
- Repeat steps 2-4 with each of the other colors.
- When finished, replace the tiles back in the box in mixed up order within each color.
Video
Segment on Color Box 3 begins at 22:40.
Points of Interest
- making a rainbow
Control of Error
the visual disharmony
Variations and Extensions
Variations
A nice variation can be done at home with a large pack of markers (or crayons, or colored pencils) in which there are several shades of each color.
Source: Walk Beside Me
Extensions
Language
- dark, darker, darkest
- light, lighter, lightest
Material
Make Your Own
- Printable Color Box 3
- The tablets could be made by wrapping and gluing paper cut from paint samples around this pieces of wood:
- (For a more detailed description of how this was done see A Handmade Childhood.)
- Squares from paint samples are used in these color tablets as well. They have been laminated and a wide edge of laminate has been left for the child to hold.
- Source: Counting Coconuts
Where to Buy
Prices and links checked: 23 January 2022
(Amazon/Bookshop are affiliate links, which help cover costs of running the site.)
| Color Box 3 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Absorbent Minds wood, also available in silk |
£42.99 GBP |
| Adena | $43.92 |
| Affordable Montessori (plastic) |
$85.00 |
| Affordable Montessori (wood) |
$59.00 |
| Albanesi | $145.00 |
| Alison's | $104.73 |
| Alison's | $125.00 |
| Bruins | $150.00 |
| E & O (plastic) |
$165.60 |
| E & O (wood) |
$156.60 |
| Hello Wood | $147.00 |
| IFIT | $43.00 |
| Kid Advance | $44.99 |
| Leader Joy (plastic) |
$58.95 |
| Leader Joy (wood) |
$119.95 |
| Materials Co. of Boston | $110.00 |
| Montessori Concepts | $59.00 |
| Montessori N' Such | $65.00 |
| Montessori Outlet | $62.95 |
| Nienhuis |
$151.00 |
| Pink Montessori | $42.90 |
| Thinkamajigs | $56.95 |
| Wintergreen | $184.95 |
| Boxes 1, 2, and 3 | |
|---|---|
| Store | Price |
| Absorbent Minds silk, also available in wood |
£139.99 GBP |
| Albanesi | $145.00 |
Further Reading
- Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-fives by David Gettman, pages 80-84
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock, pages 61, 94
