Educational andencouraging games for childrenare a great idea, because learning works particularly well when you have fun while doing it. And the Montessori concept tries to adhere to this motto. For this reason, there are numerous Montessori games, some of which you can even make yourself. Today we would like to introduce you to the Montessori game with story stones, which also include the well-known weather stones. Learn how to make them yourself and how you can use them to learn.
What are story stones according to Montessori?
As the name suggests, this Montessori game involves stones. These are designed with different motifs on different topics. This also includes the weather stones on which the various weather phenomena are depicted. But the weather is by no means the only possible topic. You can put together entire sets. How about the following topics, for example:
- Beach vacation - waves, sun, sand, palm trees, fish, shells, beach toys
- Swimming pool – swimsuit, swimming trunks, diving goggles, swimming cap, armbands, mattress
- Forest – trees, forest animals, tree fruits (chestnuts, acorns, beechnuts, pine cones), berries, leaves
- Camping – campfire, tent, flashlight, sleeping bag
- School – notebooks and books, pens, blackboard, sponge, teacher, students, letters, numbers
- Weather – sun, clouds, rain, snow, rainbow, thunderstorms (lightning), wind, possibly also moon and stars
- Children's room - cot, wardrobe, desk, toys (alternatively other rooms in the apartment)
- Zoo – zoo animals
- Universe – planets, comets, stars
- Fruit and/or vegetables
- Farm yard
Montessori game – making story stones
When you make the story blocks, you get a really diverse Montessori toy that you can continually expand with new topics over time. You can play not only on any day with your own children, but also during a party with other children. The story stones are therefore perfect as Montessori games for kindergarten, daycare and primary school. These are really fastpainted stonesfor Montessori games homemade, but how exactly?
All you need are flat stones that aren't too big, acrylic paints, brushes and a varnish to seal it. You need to clean the stones well with soap and water and then let them dry. Then you can draw something with a pencil and then color it with the acrylic paints. It is an advantage if you apply a white primer (simple white paint) before drawing and painting so that the colors of the motif can then be shown to better advantage. Thecreate motifsFinally, seal with glossy or matt, transparent varnish once the acrylic paint has dried.
Ideas for games with Montessori stones
You can then use the stones for various purposes, which mainly depends on what theme they represent. For example, using weather, you can ask children to describe the current weather (Is it sunny right now? Is it raining or snowing? Are there clouds coming in?). You can also use the stones to explain how a thunderstorm occurs and what happens during a thunderstorm. Later, the children should retell it using the stones.
Montessori game – telling short stories
Depending on the age of thechildren toldeither an adult or the child himself a creative story. To do this, for example, choose 5 stones or alternatively take them out one after the other from a bag or other container. The illustrations must then appear in the story. Stories are also a great idea for whole groups, so you can use story stones again in elementary school or kindergarten. Everyone sits in a circle, everyone draws a stone and expands the story with a new sentence that includes the motif depicted on the stone.
Story stones inKindergarten, at schoolor at home can simply be placed in a basket where they are accessible to the children at any time. The little ones will certainly pick them up on their own from time to time and play with the stones and babble to themselves. A Montessori game does not necessarily have to be planned specifically, but can also be a spontaneous decision by the children.
The human body
This idea is great for older children who want to get to know the human body and especially the organs. Storytelling stones for oneeducational MontessoriGames are also very practical for school because they can be used to learn new things in a clear way. Just prepare the stones with the different organs. Place them on a piece of cloth or paper and draw the body around them.
Montessori game – learning to interpret feelings and facial features
Draw a little man on fabric or paper. The stones can then be used to create different facial expressions: sad, happy, angry, tired, surprised, etc. Your child can then not only learn how the different feelings are expressed on people's faces, but also describe their own feelings with them. So if your child is still too young to put these into words, such story stones can be very helpful.
Puzzle Ideas
Paint a motif on a piece of paper and the same thing again on the stones, giving each stone a different element of the image. The stones then turn into a kind of puzzle piece, which the child then has to put together based on the painted template. For example, it is very suitablea caterpillarlike in the example above (the body parts can also be colorful), a train with different wagons and the like.
Learn numbers, letters or months
You can also encourage preschool children by helping them learn numbers, letters or the names of months and weeks. The story stones are simply perfect for this purpose and can be made by parents who would otherwiseno talent for paintinghave.
Months of learning with children
Ideas for self-painted motifs on stones
Theme “Forest”
Food as a theme for the narrative stones
Learn to count with points
