Filling Activity with Glass Gems

Young toddlers are quite fascinated with small items as well as containers. This is an activity that combines the two and is delightful in many ways! The items used for this activity were a glass dish, glass gems that are typically used to fill the bottom of a vase or decorative bowl (I bought two bags with different shapes), and a glass vase. I was able to purchase all of these from the dollar store. I found the gems to be visually beautiful as well wonderfully smooth and the star dish very heavy duty!

 I showed Tyler him how to put the gems into the vase. I can't say that it was the most difficult activity, though it would be considered a sensorial activity in several ways. He loved it immediately and had great focus!

He filled the vase in no time.

The vase started to concern me, as the glass wasn't all that thick, so I grabbed a different vase from the bookshelf. He didn't like this one as much, as he couldn't see the gems after he put them in, and kept trying to look down into the vase. The visual was just as important to him in this activity. I decided to find a more suitable container and try again the next day.

By the next morning, I had found a heavy glass olive oil bottle and a glass spice jar to use, making this a science activity as well, as Ty would notice that it took less gems to fill the small jar than the large bottle. 

Filling the spice jar.

Let me take a moment to also point out our new rug for Montessori activities. I love how soft and beautiful it is! Tyler will later be taught how to take the rug out and to roll and unroll it for these activities.

Curious about the spice jar. Using real (heavy duty) glass teaches responsibility. I have some glass juice cups arriving from MontessoriServices.com any day now. Very exciting!

Shaking and listening carefully to the sound.

The sound of the gems hitting each other during the actual activity and the sound of the gems on the glass was really pleasing and as a child who is quite audibly sensitive, I could tell he enjoyed that quite a bit

Because the gems in this activity are small, parental supervision is, of course, necessary! I am very comfortable with Ty handling small objects because I know that he no longer mouths such things, but please know your child and decide on an individual basis whether this activity makes sense.