Montessori Sensorial Material- Cylinder Blocks

“What the eye sees and the hand feels”

Sizes and Shapes – Cylinder Blocks

Four plainly varnished wooden blocks, each contains ten wooden cylinders in different sizes. Each cylinder varies by 5 millimeters from the one next to in size.
Block 1. The cylinder increase in height and diameter from the shortest to the tallest. The shortest cylinder is 10mm or 1cm high and 10mm or 1 cm in diameter; the tallest is 55 mm high and 55 mm in diameter.
Block 2. The cylinder decreases in height and increase in diameter from the tallest to the shortest. The tallest cylinder is 55 mm high and 10 mm in diameter; the shortest is 10 mm high and 55 mm in diameter.
Block 3. The cylinder vary diameter only. All cylinders are 55 mm high; the thinnest is 10 mm in dimeter, the thickest is 55 mm in diameter.
Block 4. The cylinders vary in height only. All cylinders are 25 mm in diameter; the shortest is 10 mm high, the tallest is 55 mm high.

Purpose:
To refine visual perception of dimension – The child must compare, judge and decide about the size of cylinders.
To learn one-to-one correspondence.
To classify according to common physical characteristics.
To prepare for writing ( The thumb and two fingers which hold the knobs of the cylinder will later hold the pencil in a tripod position )
AGE: 2 to 4 years