This fun Montessori-inspired practical life activity is based on a post from Pink and Green Mama and an excerpt from the eBook Montessori at Home by John Bowman.
The photos are from a post at Pink and Green Mama: Preschool At Home: Marbles and Golf Tee Game.
Marbles and Golf Tees (Photo from Pink and Green Mama)
Balancing Marbles (Photo from Pink and Green Mama)
(Note: This post was updated on 3/31/2013 to add information from the newly published 3rd edition of Montessori at Home. This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.)
In his eBook Montessori at Home: The Complete Guide to Doing Montessori Early Learning Activities at Home, John Bowman elaborates on a practical life activity from Pink and Green Mama that can help develop order, concentration, coordination, and independence. It’s a great activity to have on the shelf early in the school year. Here’s an excerpt from the book with directions for using the activity along with additional extensions.
Excerpt from Montessori at Home:
This fun activity can be varied in many ways. You will need:
- Styrofoam block for holding flowers (crafts store / section)
- Golf tees
- Marbles, ping pong balls
- A marker
- Bowls to hold the marbles and tees and a tray to hold it all
Set everything up on a tray as shown. Let your child make a line of golf tees pushed into the foam. Now he can balance the marbles on the tees. He will quickly learn about keeping the tees straight up. Watching marbles roll off crooked tees is the control of error . . . in this activity. Let your child figure this out.
After mastering the basic line, your child can make two or three lines of tees. A larger foam block or two blocks glued together will allow your child to make shapes – circle, square, rectangle, triangle – with the tees. You may need to draw shapes onto the block as guides.
For a math activity, use a fine point marker and write the numerals 0 – 10 on a set of tees. Write the same numerals on a set of ping pong balls. Help your child as needed to set the tees in a left-to-right line from 0 – 10, leaving a bit more space in between them than with the marbles. Your child can then match up each ping pong ball with the tee with the same numeral. Be sure to have your child count the tee & ball combos from 0 – 10 moving left to right.
(Excerpt and photos used with permission from John Bowman and Pink and Green Mama.)
Another marble and golf tee extension: DIY math tactile board using marbles and golf tees from Dancing with Dinosaurs.
I’m very impressed with the eBook’s TONS of ideas and extensions of activities that can be used easily at home or in any preschool environment.
John Bowman’s Montessori at Home eBook (available exclusively as part of the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle in the Living Montessori Now shop) is filled with amazing ideas for families.
The Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle Available Exclusively on Living Montessori Now!
You can get a free download of 51 sample pages from Montessori at Home eBook by clicking here! (This includes information on John’s simplified Montessori reading sequence.)
Here’s the direct link to the purchase page for the Montessori at Home! Materials Bundle,which includes the Montessori at Home eBook AND over $60 worth of Montessori Print Shop materials to go with the book (now only $14.95)!
- Phases of the Moon (3-part cards & chart)
- Animals of the Continents
- Continents 3-Part Cards
- Land & Water Form Photo Book
- World – Control Maps, Masters and Labels
- Moveable Alphabet – Print – (includes full instructions)
- Sentence Cards – Step 1 – Set 1
- Word and Picture Cards – Step 1 – Read Pictures
- 1-100 Math Series
- Geometric Matching Cards
- Geometric Solids 3-Part Cards – Blue
- Skeleton Nomenclature Cards
- Tree Nomenclature Cards
- Phonics Sound and Picture Sorting
- Association of Objects
- What Does Not Belong
- The Five Senses
- Plant or Animal?
- Animals and Their Names
- Color Grading Cards
- Metal Insets – Shape Outlines
Excerpts and Activities from the Montessori at Home eBook
you can read all the excerpts from the book that I’ve shared here at Living Montessori Now:
Activities with Marbles and Golf Tees from Montessori at Home!
Building a Flashlight and Pipe Building from Montessori at Home!
1000-10,000 Activity from Montessori at Home!
Make Fossils from Montessori at Home! 
Cutting with a Knife from Montessori at Home!
Free Play Tubs (Sensory Bins) from Montessori at Home!
Create an Attractive Home Environment from Montessori at Home!
Concentration and Normalization from Montessori at Home
How to Prepare a Montessori Jar for Meaningful Preschool Activities at Home (an activity prepared using one of the book’s printables)
Allow Time for Repetition and Concentration from Montessori at Home!
Activities Using Some of the Montessori Print Shop Materials from the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle
Here are activities I published using just 4 of the 21 Montessori Print Shop materials from the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle:
Montessori-Inspired Phases of the Moon Playdough Tray
Easy-to-Prepare Montessori Animals of the Continents Activity
Extending Montessori Animals of the Continents Work
Hands-on Fun with Montessori-Inspired Human Skeleton Activities
Seashell Color Matching {Easy-to-Prepare Variation of Montessori Color Box 3}
Again, John Bowman’s Montessori at Home eBook is available exclusively as part of the Montessori at Home eBook and Materials Bundle in the Living Montessori Now shop!
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
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Cute idea that fit nicely into supplies on hand from hammering tees into floral foam and then playdough or boxes once I realized foam was too messy for continued indoor use. I received a tee and foam activity as a part of an activity bag exchange. It is pictured with other ideas here – http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2010/04/gratituesday-fun-and-learning-in-bag.html. We tied a hammering into recycled boxes activities to a Saint’s day, too at http://traininghappyhearts.blogspot.com/2010/05/7-quick-takes-vol-6-looking-back-at-st.html Obviously, we love golf tees and hammering. I like the marble and ping pong ideas as a new use for them. Thx!
And congrats on the new sponsor.
Thanks so much Martianne! And I appreciate the links! When I had a Montessori school, we sometimes had an activity of hammering golf tees into Plasticine. I love hearing about creative uses for golf tees and for hammering! That’s a very creative idea to use recycled boxes! 🙂
This looks like it would be a challenge! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Thanks, D! I love that these types of activities are so popular that kids will want to make the effort to meet the challenge. I had a wonderful weekend … I hope yours was too! 🙂
This looks like so much fun – I will definitely remember this one for my classroom. I especially like the list of extension and variation ideas…thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Sasha! I really love the extensions, too – and I love that Montessorians are always looking for new extensions and variations! 🙂
Oh I love this!! And I just now realized that you were co-hosting the linky with One Hook Wonder. I’m slow lol!
Thanks so much! I just started co-hosting at the beginning of August. Who can keep track of anything in August?! Have a great weekend! 🙂
I’ve never heard of this book but now will get it! Thanks for sharing, Deb!
Thanks, Montessori Motherload! The book is an amazing resource! 🙂
This is such great fine motor fun. Thanks! I saw you at the TGIF link up.
What a fun activity!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
This is great! My little toddler would love this right now. Thanks fr linking to Share It Saturday. I’m featuring your post tomorrow.
what a great way to get kids started on golf! which such simple tools we can start all kids getting into it! thanks for the great idea!
I am new to Montessori methods for preschoolers (3-5yr). I am struggling with everything. I am attending classes but they rarely prepare me on the “How” to create a theme, unit, topic” etc. when children exhibit interest in a multitude of areas. Basically, it’s more error than trial. I understand DAP; I just understand where to begin when children already of a basic knowledge of shapes, colors, numbers.