Practical life - Seasalt and Chalk Crushing
We are looking forward to seeing you all as we start our new year at Jane’s House Montessori.
One of the favourite activities will be returning to the shelves as it was a big hit with all the children last year. The children thoroughly enjoy using the chalk eggs to colour salt in our mortar and pestle before adding a new layer to the bottle.
This activity targets a massive range of developmental skills outlined across the Early Years frameworks.
Physical development and fine motor skills
Hand and finger strength - pressing the grinding the hard chalk into abrasive salt exercises the tiny muscles in the hand, fingers and forearms.
Pencil grip foundations - manipulating a thick piece of chalk builds muscle memory, grasp and dexterity for a mature pincer grip later on.
Bilateral coordination - aligning tools (like the pestle or the chalk) with the salt and eventually scooping and pouring coloured salt into the bottles and jars without spilling refines spatial visual control.
Cognitive Development and Early Science
Cause and Effect - children directly witness how physical force transforms a solid stick into powder and how friction dyes the salt.
Colour theory - they observe how white salt dilutes colours and how rubbing two different chalks together creates a new shade
Material properties - it offers a rich introduction to textures (smooth chalk verses gritty salt.
Early Mathematics
Patterning and sequencing - layering the coloured sand into jars and bottles requires children to plan and execute visual patterns
Measurement concepts -inherent to scooping and pouring are early lessons in capacity, volume and estimation (e.g. “How many scoops will it take to fill the jar?”)
Creative and Executive functioning
Focus and Persistence - crushing requires prolonged physical effort. This strengthens the child’s attention span and concentration ( a key aim in Montessori) and teaches them to stay with a multi step task until they achieve the desired outcome.
Process Art Expression - because there is no “wrong” way to blend the colours it encourages open ended artistic choice snd creative pride.