The Montessori Sensorial sequence
Sensorial runs 12 published lessons here, from Knobbed Cylinders at 2 to 4 years to Trinomial Cube at 4 to 6 years. They're listed in the order a child meets them, each linked to its full page. We add lessons as each one is written and checked against Montessori's own books, so the list will grow.
Start with Knobbed Cylinders, which needs nothing before it. If you aren't sure your child is ready for Sensorial, two minutes of questions place your child on the sequence.
Sensorial lessons in the order a child meets them
| # | Lesson | Age | Before this |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knobbed CylindersKnobbed CylindersTo discriminate differences in dimension, judged by sight and confirmed by fit. Leads to Pink Tower and Color Tablets: Boxes 1, 2 and 3 and Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets) and Metal Insets. | 2 to 4 years | Can come first |
| 2 | Pink TowerPink Tower, Work RugTo discriminate differences in size in three dimensions and build a graded series. Leads to Brown Stair (Broad Stair). | 2.5 to 4 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 3 | Brown Stair (Broad Stair)Brown Stair, Work RugTo discriminate differences in two dimensions (width and height), while length stays constant. Leads to Red Rods (Long Rods) and Number Rods. | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Pink Tower |
| 4 | Touch Boards (Rough and Smooth Boards)Touch BoardsTo feel the difference between rough and smooth with the fingertips, then to feel finer and finer differences. Leads to Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag). | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Hand Washing (Practical Life) |
| 5 | Red Rods (Long Rods)Red Rods, Work RugTo see differences in length, with every other dimension held the same, and build a series of ten. Leads to Binomial Cube and Number Rods. | 3 to 5 years | Brown Stair (Broad Stair) |
| 6 | Color Tablets: Boxes 1, 2 and 3Color TabletsTo match colors by sight, and then to see small differences of shade and put them in order. Leads to Sound Cylinders (Sound Boxes). | 3 to 5 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 7 | Sound Cylinders (Sound Boxes)Sound CylindersTo match sounds of equal loudness, then to grade six sounds from loud to soft. | 3 to 5 years | Color Tablets |
| 8 | Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets)Geometric CabinetTo see and feel differences of shape, and later to learn the names of plane figures. Leads to Geometric Solids and Fraction Insets (Fraction Circles) and Metal Insets and Botany Cabinet: Leaf Shapes. | 3 to 5 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 9 | Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag)Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag)To recognize objects by their shape through touch alone. | 3 to 5.5 years | Touch Boards (Rough and Smooth Boards) |
| 10 | Binomial CubeBinomial CubeTo build a cube from its parts by matching color and size. Leads to Trinomial Cube. | 3.5 to 6 years | Red Rods (Long Rods) |
| 11 | Geometric SolidsGeometric SolidsTo know the solid forms by touch and by sight, and to learn their names. | 3.5 to 6 years | Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets) |
| 12 | Trinomial CubeTrinomial CubeTo build a cube of 27 blocks from its parts by matching color and size, one layer at a time. | 4 to 6 years | Binomial Cube |
Touch Boards (Rough and Smooth Boards) also needs Hand Washing from Practical Life.
How the Sensorial lessons depend on each other
Sensorial is one strand of the shelf. To see what sits beside knobbed cylinders at the same age across all five areas, go to Montessori activities for age 2, or answer six questions for a first shelf of your own.