Montessori Smelling Bottles

Sample hands-on activity:

Place a cotton pad soaked in essential oil in each bottle: mint, orange blossom, eucalyptus and lavender.

1. Go to the shelf with the child
2. Sit down together at a table
3. Take a bottle from the first set, open it, set the cap on the table and pass the bottle under your nose, then offer it to the child to do the same
4. Once the bottles from the first set are out, take a bottle from the second set
5. Pick up a bottle from the first set and smell the two bottles one after the other to find out whether the scent is the same. After smelling, let the child smell too
6. When the matching bottle is found, place the two bottles side by side. Do the same with all the bottles
7. Once the pairing is complete, have the child check it.

Benefits for the child:

1. Development of olfactory discrimination
2. Improved memory and attention
3. Enrichment of the vocabulary of smells
4. Preparation for matching activities

Key learning outcomes: • Recognizing and classifying smells • Developing concentration and observation • Training olfactory memory • Enriching sensory vocabulary