Montessori Sensorial Activity with Rough and Smooth Boards

Rough and smooth boards fall within the Haptic Sense of the Montessori sensorial works. The boards allow children to explore their sense of touch and learn to feel the difference between textures.

Rough and Smooth Boards Montessori Sensorial Lesson

One of the critical pieces of Montessori is giving a lesson. There is a defined way of introducing work to a child. The way the material should be handled, the words that should be used, and the positioning of the material in relation to you and the child are all important when delivering the lesson. Nothing is set in stone, but these are the parameters within which a child learns a new work.

With tactile sensorial work, the first step must always be hand washing.

Next, remove and handle the material by carefully gripping the sides. Move slowly to place on the mat.

For the first board, run fingers down the left side of the board and say, “rough.” Then run fingers down the right side of the board and say, “smooth.”

For the second board, run fingers down each panel and say, “rough, smooth, rough, smooth, rough”.

For the third board, start on the left and move right, “rough, less rough, less rough” and so on until the last timle when you say “smooth”.

Tips for the Rough and Smooth Boards Activity

• Economy of words is important. Less is better. Stick to “rough” or “smooth” and avoid “this panel feels rough…”, etc.
• Always offer the child a turn to feel the board.
• Look away when you feel the board, and let the child know that you’re going to “use your fingers to do this work”.

These boards aren’t expensive, and they’re also easy to create on your own. Have you taught a Montessori sensorial lesson using the rough and smooth boards?

Marnie