Montessori vs. Traditional Education / Maria Montessori / History of Montessori Education

The Knobbed Cylinders

These were among the first materials Maria Montessori devised for three- to six-year olds.  There are four and each is different.  The first cylinder block is graduated in size by differences in diameter and height, with the tallest also having the largest diameter.  In the second block, the cylinders resemble the first block but the cylinder with the largest diameter is also the shortest cylinder. In the third block,  the cylinders differ in diameter only and are all the same height.  In the fourth and most difficult of the cylinder blocks, the cylinders differ in height only. 

The knob on the cylinder is among the many preparations for writing in that the young child has to use the "pincer grip" to grasp it.  The blocks are self-correcting; if they are not done correctly, there will be a block that does not fit left over at the end.  This is when the real learning takes place.  The child has to solve the problem of the cylinder that will not fit.  When they are successful, they will repeat the exercise many times. 

Some points of interest are the feel of the wood of the cylinders sliding into their wooden slots and the beauty of the blocks, the order of gradation which is satisfying to the primary students, and the teaching of vocabulary such as tall, short, big, little, thick and thin. 

When children have mastered each block, they then do them with a blindfold on which makes them use their tactile sense.  They will do one, then two, then three, and as you see laid out here, eventually all four with a blindfold on.  this is always one of the first lessons I give three-year-olds and I have never met one that did not want to do it themselves right away. 

Here, Christina takes on the challenge of all four knobbed cylinders while she is blindfolded.  This is not for the faint of heart. 

-Dr. Pamela Autrey