Living Montessori Now

Montessori Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Montessori-Style Water Pouring and Water-Bead Pouring

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I had fun putting together two pouring activities for preschoolers. Both activities are red, which is great for a number of themed activities – whether it’s for the color red, apples in the fall, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Heart Health Month, or patriotic holidays.

Montessori-Style Water Pouring and Water-Bead Pouring

Many Montessorians simply have materials on a tray that are primarily one color (not according to a theme) to make it easier for children to return materials to the proper tray. You can choose whether or not you want to use that system.

Disclosure: The materials in this post were given to me in the past to review for giveaways. My opinions are all my own. This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori-Style Water Pouring

Water Pouring Activity

Water Pouring Activity

This activity was one of the easiest activities I ever prepared. Since I had the Montessori Services Pouring Water Exercise 3: Basic Pouring Activity, everything was included except the water. I just added some food coloring to the water so that it coordinated with the red tray. I love the set, but I especially love the large plastic tray, which I’ll use for activities of all kinds.

Montessori Services specializes in practical life materials, including lots of other pouring sets. Whether you like purchasing complete sets or individual items, their prepared sets give some great ideas.

Montessori-Style Water-Bead Pouring

Water-Bead Pouring Activity

Water-Bead Pouring Activity

For this activity, I used the same red tray and some of the items from pouring water exercise 3. I just added an oyster cup from the Small Tongs Activities. I’ve always loved the way Montessori Services trays and other materials can be used for a wide variety of activities.

I love water beads, so I used a mixture of water beads and water for this pouring activity. It makes the pouring activity more challenging … and who can resist pouring water beads?!

Update: Water beads have been found to be dangerous for children, so I now recommend using tapioca pearls instead. They can be colored with food coloring to make the color you’d like. They’re totally non-toxic and edible, and they don’t cause life-threatening obstructions if swallowed.

Resources for Pouring Presentations

The Montessori Services prepared sets come with presentation ideas. In my Montessori Practical Life Activities post, I have links to some free Montessori online albums.

I really recommend owning the Montessori Print Shop Teaching Manuals (link is to my review of the Montessori Print Shop AMI albums). 

Be sure to see my post with links to my Montessori Services product reviews.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Matea says

    Great idea, especially when I see my son playing with water like it’s a liquid gold :). I will definately try it at home, maybe even skip the water clening part as the tray is just perfect. 🙂

    • Deb says

      Thanks so much! Pouring water beads is a bit trickier, but I think children would have enough fun that they’d want to master it. 🙂

    • Deb says

      Thanks, Melissa! I love water beads, and I found them to add another dimension to water pouring … plus, they’re just fun! 🙂

  6. Ashley says

    My little guy loves pouring water, so I am sure he would enjoy pouring water beads (when he isn’t throwing them around). We will have to try next time we get them out!

  8. Jen Fischer says

    With some tips and advice from Marnie over at Carrots Are Orange (via FB), I set up a system for my 3 year-old to scoop his own cereal and pour his own milk from a small pitcher like the one you show here. It has bolstered his self-esteem/confidence and made him love breakfast! I think he would love a pouring activity like this too!