Practical Life: Pin Poking

Pin poking is yet another really simple Montessori activity that children love. It teaches hand control, fine motor strength, pencil grip, attention to detail and concentration, and is something that can easily be done at home. Here’s what you’ll need:

• A big pin poker (bigger, so it’s easy for little hands to grip).
• A variety of designs on cardboard, like numbers, letters, names, patterns and shapes.
• Soft backing – carpet remnant (as in the below video), felt (folded) or even an old towel or wash cloth. This is used to help the pin poke through the cardboard and not straight into the table.

Children will choose their favourite card design, which is placed on top of the soft backing, and then proceed with the activity by poking holes through the paper along the lines of their chosen letter, shape or pattern.

Have a look at the tutorial by My Montessori Works to see how it is done:

The great thing about this activity is its versatility. Whilst smaller children might be happy to poke their way through the design, older children will enjoy creating their own design to pin poke. As children get more skilled, encourage them to poke holes as close together as possible in order to punch the shape out. This is often done as part of a cultural continent lesson, whereby children will punch out the shape of the continents, and then stick them down to create a map of the world.

The activity can also be adapted for seasonal themes, according to the Montessori curriculum.

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.

Photo Credit: The Kavanaugh Report