Funnel Activities for the Montessori Preschooler
Learning and Applying Funnel Skills in the Early Years
Oct 30, 2009
Young children are fascinated by the funnel. They may be drawn to its conical form. There is motor pleasure in manipulating its narrow tube into a small-mouthed vessel. They enjoy watching how contents flow through its wide opening down through the tube and out from the small opening at the other end into the receiving container. The funnel has even been described as one of the perfect tools for young children.
Learning to Pour Through a Funnel in Practical Life
The Montessori preschooler is introduced to the funnel in practical life. When young children are fairly skilled in pouring liquids into different containers, they learn how to pour water from a jug into a bottle using a funnel. This activity requires greater hand control and hand-eye coordination. Children have to insert the funnel into a small opening and ensure that the liquid goes down through the narrower end of the funnel faster than it is poured into the funnel.
In this pouring activity, the teacher shows how to insert the funnel as follows:
- gently pick up the funnel from the tray
- grasp the bottle firmly with the non-dominant hand to support it when the funnel is inserted
- look at the mouth of the bottle to indicate the point of insertion
- gently position the narrow end of the funnel into the mouth of the bottle
- carefully ease it in
- remove the funnel and place it onto the tray
- invite the child to insert the funnel
When the funnel sits snugly in the mouth of the bottle, pour the liquid into the wider end of the funnel. Check the pouring speed to ensure that the liquid does not overflow from the wider end of the funnel. Hold on to the bottle or the funnel with the other hand, if it is necessary. Invite the child to continue to fill up the rest of the bottle.
Have the child remove the funnel when all contents are emptied into the bottle. Next, invite the child to pour the liquid back into the jug, and this time the funnel is not used. The child learns that the funnel helps him or her to pour substances into small-mouthed containers.
Funnel Success for Beginners
It is important to give the child a clear demonstration of how to manipulate the funnel and opportunities to practice and perfect the skill.
In addition, the right tools must be provided to ensure that the child achieves success in his or her first attempt at using the funnel. The bottle should be stable enough to stand firmly on the tray. Funnel size is critical. It is best that the funnel sits nicely in the opening of the bottle. The funnel should not be too large as it might topple the bottle over, nor too small as the child then has the added challenge of holding the funnel in position as the liquid is poured into the bottle. This may be an extension exercise when the child is comfortable with pouring through the funnel.
Uses of the Funnel in the Nursery
Children who can pour through a funnel find many opportunities to use this skill. In flower arrangement exercises, the funnel is handy when vases are small-mouthed. Funnels can even be a part of bubble play. Children dip the wide end of a funnel into a bubble solution. Have them blow through the narrow end to see what bubble shapes can be formed.
Funnels for Science Experiments
Children conduct science experiments on flow using an assortment of funnels. They learn the relationship between the size of the funnel holes and the speed at which the water flows through the funnel. The funnel is also an important apparatus in air experiments. Children use a funnel to fill a balloon with yeast, sugar and water to discover how microorganisms breathe out carbon dioxide that inflates the balloon. Similarly, they funnel vinegar into a bottle and baking soda into a balloon. When the balloon opening is placed over the mouth of the bottle and the baking soda mixes wih vinegar, children will be amazed to see the balloon inflate.
Funnels for Creative Expression
In art and craft, children who have a steady hand can create sand layers in a clear bottle. For this sand art activity, they pour different coloured sand through a funnel into a clear bottle.
The children also use the funnel in music making activities. For example, children pour different amounts of water through a funnel into identical glass bottles. They tap the bottles with a stick or blow into them to make music. They can make shakers by pouring rice or beans through a funnel into small plastic bottles, which are then carefully sealed.
In short, young children find funnels a lot of fun. They enjoy learning how to pour through a funnel and many activities can be planned for them to use their funnel skills in the nursery.
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