Kids love Open Close trays! Some of the best Practical Life for young children are quite simple to put together. In this case, we have an “Open and Close Bottles” tray.
Great for fine motor and practical life skill development, I highly recommend creating one of these activity trays as a permanent fixture in your home learning space.
Related Post: Montessori Refined Tweezing Lesson
Montessori Open and Close Tray
I deviated a bit from bottles to include a bag with a velcro open/close, an open/close tie, a bag with a snap open/close, a box with a small button to push to open/close, a plastic spice container with a flip open/close, and a plastic container with a somewhat complicated open/close.
I wanted to present a range of difficulty and skill required to open and close. Plus most of these items were given to me as gifts when family members traveled abroad. So there are memories and stories to tell my sons as we explore the bottles and bags.
Open Close Tray Presentation
I intend on leaving these items on a tray on our shelves for future use. However the first time I brought the tray into our environment, I introduced it to my sons. I called them over, pointed to each item and then demonstrated how to open and close each item.
This tray was easy to create simply by looking around our home for interesting items to include as a part of the exercise. Both my sons (15 months and almost 3 years old) participated in and were interested in this activity. I placed the tray on our shelves and plan to leave it there for a few weeks at least.
This activity is the perfect Montessori DIY easy to put together and kids love it. The variations seem endless. So, have fun with your kids working their fine motor skills.
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