Living Montessori Now

Montessori Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Montessori Monday – DIY Color Tablets

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There are lots of Montessori sensorial materials you can make at home inexpensively. Color tablets are some of my favorite  DIY Montessori materials.

DIY Montessori Color Tablets

DIY Color Tablets for Home Use

You’ll notice that Montessori color tablets (purchased or homemade) don’t vary in size or shape – only color. That isolation of difficulty makes it easier for preschoolers to understand the difference in colors. For home use, you really don’t need to purchase color tablets. Here are some lovely ideas for making color tablets for a homeschool.

DIY Color Box 1 (Photo from Teacher Weena)

DIY Color Box 1 (Photo from Teacher Weena)

Teacher Weena made color tablets from laminated paint samples and folder slides.

DIY Color Box 3 Variation (Photo by MaryLea at Pink and Green Mama)

DIY Color Box 3 Variation (Photo by MaryLea at Pink and Green Mama)

Pink and Green Mama (blog no longer available) made color tablets from red oak sticks, paint samples, and Mod Podge. These did require help cutting the wood into rectangles. The photo is a variation of Color Box 3 for grading colors from darkest to lightest.

Life is Bella, using the NAMC Montessori 3-6 Homeschool Program, made color tablets from embroidery floss holders and paint samples.

DIY Color Tablets (Photo from Wise Owl Factory)

DIY Color Tablets (Photo from Wise Owl Factory)

Wise Owl Factory made color tablets using plastic embroidery bobbins and origami paper.

Living With My Little Love made color tablets with wood pieces (cut from a tree branch) and paint samples.

DIY Color Tablets (Photo from Chestnut Grove Academy)

DIY Color Tablets (Photo from Chestnut Grove Academy)

Chestnut Grove Academy also made color tablets for Color Boxes 1 and 2  and Color Box 3 using embroidery floss holders and paint samples.

Tinkerbean made a Color Gradient Matching activity using paint samples and clothespins.

DIY Corporate Mom used Jenga blocks and poster paints to make color tablets for grading colors.

Merrilee Liddiard shared a tutorial for DIY Wooden Gradient Blocks at Handmade Charlotte.

Montessori Album has free printable color box 2 and color box 3 tablets.

lily fadliah at Teachers Pay Teachers also has free printable color box 3 tablets.

Montessori Print Shop has inexpensive color cards that can be simply printed out, laminated, and cut apart. You can even print them out on photo paper or cardstock and skip the lamination.

Montessori Primary Guide has directions for presenting the three color boxes.

School Version of Color Box 3 (Photo from Leptir)

School Version of Color Box 3 (Photo from Leptir)

Leptir has detailed directions for presenting the three color boxes along with photos of the school-quality color boxes.

Here are two helpful videos about presenting color tablets:


Note: for home use, you would only need to make Color Box 2 and Color Box 3. For younger children, you could have an extra box or basket for the red, blue, and yellow pairs of tablets (Color Box 1) until your child is ready for the 11 pairs of color tablets in Color Box 2.

My post on “How to Make Your Own Montessori Materials” has resources for making lots of other Montessori materials.

Amazon Affiliate:

If you’d prefer to buy color tablets, you can find a variety of color tablets on Amazon.


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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Shannon! I just added the link – forgot when I signed up. Mommy Club is a great idea – thanks for hosting! And thanks for following me on Networked Blogs, too! 🙂

  8. Reese says

    I just learned today that the original box of primary colors had flat spools of embroidery floss or thread – and it also worked itself into practical life. The children would have to wash their hands before handling the material in order to keep the thread clean and beautiful.

    • Deb says

      Thanks for your comment, Reese! That really is a lovely idea, isn’t it?! It would take a lot of care for the children to keep the materials clean – an especially challenging practical life element.

  10. Honey says

    Thank you for inviting me. I hope I did it right. My friend Leann, from Montessori Tidbits had to tell me what sharing a blog post was! I didn’t realize it was a linky! 🙂

    Again, thank you for the invite!

    Honey

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much for linking up, Honey! You did it perfectly! Your USA 3-part card freebie looks wonderful, and I really appreciate that you’re sharing it! 🙂

    • Deb says

      Hi Sasha! It’s great seeing you at Montessori Monday – I always love your posts! You’re linked up perfectly! 🙂

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Heather! I love that you’re participating in Montessori Monday! I’m having a wonderful summer … I hope you are, too! 🙂

  13. Leptir says

    Although the color tablets from my post are purchased, I described in detail presentation – how to work with color tablets. So I put the link anyway.