,

Practical Life: Dry Pouring

Although much of the learning that happens in a Montessori classroom requires specific Montessori materials, there are activities that can be practiced at home – Dry Pouring is one such exercise. All that is needed for a lesson is: a tray, two identical jugs and a dry ingredient (beads, rice, grain, lentils etc.).

The idea behind Dry Pouring is to make the daily task of transferring a material or liquid from one vessel into another something that is inviting rather than daunting, and indirectly the exercise will assist fine motor and problem solving skills, too. It’s one of the lessons that children enjoy most in a Montessori classroom; discharging the chosen materials from one jug into another is great fun and little ones usually take great pride in mastering the skill of pouring.

Have a look at the below tutorials for a quick introduction to a couple of Dry Pouring exercises:

It’s important to note that as this is a pouring exercise, the vessels used should have a spout to enable success in the activity (as highlighted in the video). Something else you may have noticed is that the exercise starts off simply (pouring materials from one jug into the other using both left and right hands) and as little ones become expert pourers, the exercise gets more complicated – incorporating extra vessels and smaller objects until finally, children are ready to engage with Liquid Pouring as an activity.

If you’d like further information about this tutorial, feel free to contact us at info@saintandrewsmontessori.com. We’re happy to answer any questions.

Image Attribution: Thebrilliantchild.blogspot.co.uk