Child placing round circles in holes

Sensorial

What the hand does the mind remembers.

Maria Montessori

Montessori sensorial materials help a child refine and develop their five senses. The equipment is designed to help children experience, notice, and categorise sensory information around them.

The sensorial materials designed by Maria Montessori cover every quality that can be perceived by the senses such as size, shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness, matching, weight, temperature, etc.

Children can grade, sort and match colours, build towers, pair sounds, feel and compare different temperatures and weights. ​There are always creative and explorative things going on in this area of the classroom.

Exploration of the materials is accompanied with conversations and discussion during which the child and teacher describe the shared experience. Sensorial materials also prepare the children for numeracy and literacy, adding to vocabulary,