Develop An Age-Appropriate Activity For Your Child

Part Adevelop An Original Age Appropriate Activity For Your Preschool

Part A: Develop an original age-appropriate activity for your preschool class using one of the following: Froebel’s cube gift, Froebel’s parquetry gift, Lincoln Logs. Describe the activity that you have developed. Identify at least two (2) skills that the activity would help develop. Part B: Develop an original age-appropriate activity for your preschool class promoting the same skill(s) as the activity above, but develop the activity based on the Montessori method. Describe the activity that you have developed. What are at least two key differences between the two activities you developed?

Paper For Above instruction

Developing engaging and educational activities for preschool children is a cornerstone of early childhood education, fostering cognitive, motor, and social skills. The activities should be age-appropriate, meaning they match the developmental level and interests of preschoolers, and should support foundational learning objectives. This paper presents two activities designed around the same skill set—specifically, spatial reasoning and fine motor skills—one based on the Froebel’s cube gift, and the other adapted from Montessori principles.

Part A: Froebel’s Cube Gift Activity

The activity developed using Froebel’s cube gift involves children working with a set of colored wooden cubes. The activity encourages children to explore stacking, pattern creation, and spatial relationships. Children are provided with a simple task to create patterns by stacking cubes in particular sequences, guided by visual prompts or their own creativity. For instance, a child might be asked to replicate a pattern shown on a card or to arrange the cubes in a specific order—such as red, blue, red, yellow.

This activity promotes the development of several key skills. Firstly, it enhances fine motor skills as children grasp, manipulate, and stack the cubes with control. Secondly, it fosters spatial reasoning—children learn about relationships between objects, sizes, and sequences, which supports later mathematical understanding. Additionally, pattern recognition and early logical thinking are stimulated as children recognize and reproduce patterns.

Part B: Montessori-Style Activity Promoting the Same Skills

The Montessori activity designed to promote the same skills uses a set of Montessori control charts and concrete materials like the Pink Tower or the Knobbed Cylinders, adapted to emphasize spatial reasoning and fine motor control. For example, children might manipulate size gradations of cylinders or blocks, fitting them into matching slots or stacking within a frame. The activity involves self-directed exploration, allowing children to freely choose and manipulate the materials, guided by educator prompts that encourage discovery.

In this activity, children build towers or fit cylinders within designated spaces, which develops their hand-eye coordination, precise grasping, and control. Concurrently, they learn about size relationships, order, and spatial concepts through the tangible experience of fitting and stacking. The activity emphasizes sensory-motor exploration, with an emphasis on independence and concentration, core principles of Montessori pedagogy.

Differences Between the Two Activities

• Material and Approach: The Froebel activity involves open-ended construction with geometric blocks, encouraging creativity through patterning and free play, whereas the Montessori activity uses specifically designed materials like cylinders and towers that are meant for precise, controlled manipulation to foster a sense of order and logical understanding.
• Guidance and Structure: Froebel’s activity emphasizes child-led exploration with visual prompts and open-ended tasks, fostering creativity and spontaneous learning. In contrast, Montessori activities are more structured, with clear hands-on tasks that develop concentration and independence through self-correction and precise sequence control.

Both activities effectively develop fine motor and spatial reasoning skills but do so through different pedagogical philosophies—Froebel’s focus on play and creativity versus Montessori’s emphasis on sensorimotor activity, independence, and order. Integrating both approaches can provide a comprehensive developmental experience for preschool children, balancing guided discovery with self-directed exploration.

References

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• Lillard, A. (2017). Montessori: The Science behind the Genius. Oxford University Press.
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