Knobless Cylinders

Children are miniature explorers who are always drawn towards fun and exciting stimuli present around them. 

According to Dr. Maria Montessori, for the first six years of their life, the child is highly receptive to the stimuli that are present in the surrounding environment. 

To take advantage of such periods of sensitivity, Dr. Maria Motessori meticulously designed and integrated several Montessori Materials that facilitate the holistic development of the child. 

While cognitive development is integral for academic attributes, physical development and sensorial development of the child are equally important. 

The Montessori Method provides children with a designated sensorial working station, where a diverse range of Montessori Sensorial materials and sensorial activities are provided to children. 

If you have just entered the fascinating world of Montessori, you may have come across the Montessori Knobless Cylinders. 

This engaging Montessori material is the epitome of the Montessori philosophy and is an exciting way of introducing the child to concrete materials. 

If you are interested in incorporating the Montessori Knobless Cylinders into your child’s curriculum, here is everything you should know about Knobless Cylinders. 

What are Montessori Knobless Cylinders?

The Montessori Knobless Cylinders are the fifth Montessori Sensorial Materials, following up Broad Stairs, Red Rods, and Pink Towers. 

This exciting Material is colorful, vibrant, and most definitely visually stimulating. Knobless Cylinders often come in four separate boxes that assimilate 10 colored wooden cylinders. 

Each wooden box is fashioned with the same colored lid as the cylinders. 

Knobless Cylinders are an eye-catching and vibrant Montessori Material that includes cylinders of varied sizes and dimensions. 

These varying diameters and heights help the child visually discriminate between the different sizes of the Montessori Material. 

What are the different colors of Knobless cylinders and their purpose?

The Montessori Knobless cylinders are a fun and vibrant Montessori Sensorial material that facilitates visual stimulation for the child. 

The Montessori Knobless Cylinders are available in the following colors:

• Red: The Red Knobless Cylinders have a constant height but decrease in terms of their diameters. 
  
• Yellow: The Yellow Knobless Cylinders decrease both in terms of their height as well as their diameter. 
  
• Green: The Green Knobless Cylinders decrease in terms of their diameter but not in terms of height.
  
• Blue: Lastly, The Blue Knobless Cylinders decrease in terms of height while the diameter of the cylinders always remains constant. 

What is the purpose of the Montessori Knobless Cylinders?

The Montessori Knobless Cylinders come fifth in the Montessori sensorial material sequence and are introduced to children during their Primary session. 

Like any other Montessori Material, Knobless Cylinders have both direct as well as indirect aims as well as purposes. 

The Purposes and aims of the Montessori Knobless Cylinders are delineated below:

1. Visual Stimulation:
   The Montessori Knobless Cylinders often come in 4 different eye-catching colors that can be intriguing for any child. 
   
2. Control of Error:
   Almost every Montessori Material has in-built control of error that helps the child identify and rectify their mistakes. 
   The Montessori Knobless Cylinders are no different, with the help of visual discrimination the child is able to identify their mistakes and rectify them. 
   
3. Motor Development:
   The Montessori Knobless Cylinders are great for the refinement of fine motor skills in children. 
   
4. Dimension Discrimination:
   Another purpose of the Montessori Knobless Cylinders is to help children develop a stronghold on visual discrimination in terms of colors and dimensions. 
   The Knobless cylinders come in varying heights, diameters, and colors that help children visually distinguish between varied sizes. 

How to present the Montessori Knobless Cylinders to the child?

It is important to note that you must always introduce the Montessori Knobless Cylinders in the following sequence: 

1. Red 
2. Yellow 
3. Green 
4. Blue 

The following vocabulary should be used when instructing or guiding the child with the Montessori Knobless cylinder activity:

• Short, Shorter, Shortest
• Tall, Taller, Tallest
• Thin, Thinner, Thinnest
• Thick, Thicker, Thickest

Instructions for Red Montessori Knobless Cylinders:

Here are some integral steps to follow to effectively introduce the Red Montessori Knobless cylinders to the child:

• The adult will first invite the child to the working station and ask them to bring the Red Montessori Knobless Cylinder Box to the table. 
• Then the adult will remove the lid of the Knobless cylinder box, place the box on the top of the lid, and place the box on the top left corner of the work table or work mat.
• The adult will indicate how to properly hold the knobless cylinder by using the pincer grip( using their thumb, index finger, and middle finger) and remove each knobless cylinder from the box. 
• The adult will then demonstrate how to place each Knobless cylinder block in the right sequence. 
• Starting from the cylinder block that has the thickest diameter the adult will begin to compare its size with other cylinders in the row. 
• Then the adult will place the thickest knobless cylinder block on the left side of the table or mat. 
• The adult will select the next thickest cylinder in diameter and continue to compare the block with the others.
• The adult will keep continuing the same procedure with the rest of the blocks until the Knobless Cylinder blocks are arranged in a descending order based on their diameter. 
• The adult will then touch the top surface of each of the cylinders to indicate the varied dimensions and diameters of the Montessori Knobless cylinders to the child. 
• The adult will disperse the blocks and place the sequence in a random sequence. 
• The adult will then instruct the child to place the Montessori Knobless cylinders in the prior order. 
• Once the activity is successfully completed, the adult will guide the child to assemble all the Knobless cylinders back into the box and place the box in its designated space. 

Instructions for Yellow Montessori Knobless Cylinders:

Once you are done with the Red Montessori Knobless Cylinders you can now begin to introduce the yellow Montessori Knobless cylinders. 

Here are some integral steps to follow to effectively introduce the Yellow Montessori Knobless cylinders to the child:

• The adult will first invite the child to the working station and ask them to bring the Yellow Montessori Knobless Cylinder Box to the table. 
• Then the adult will remove the lid of the Knobless cylinder box, place the box on the top of the lid, and place the box on the top left corner of the work table or work mat.
• Starting from the tallest first, the adult will then begin to take out each Knobless Cylinder block by using the pincer grip (using the thumb, index finger, and middle finger) and place them in a horizontal line. 
• The adult will then invite the child to assemble the Montessori Knobless cylinders in descending order in a horizontal line. 
• The adult can also ask the child to assemble the blocks in a standing tower starting with the tallest cylinder at the bottom and the smallest at the bottom. 
• Once the activity has been successfully completed the adult will guide the child to assemble all the Knobless cylinder blocks in the box and place the box in its designated place. 

Other Activities involving Montessori Knobless cylinders:

Here is a list of some other activities the child can indulge in while using the Montessori Knobless cylinders:

• Stereogenic activities:
  This activity will enhance the child’s stereogenic senses. The adult will place the knobless cylinders in cloth and ask the child to feel the knobless cylinders. 
  Or the adult can invite the child to participate in the Montessori Knobless cylinder activity blindfolded. 
  
• Combining cylinders: The adult will instruct the child to set out all the Montessori Knobless Cylinders of the same dimensions in a row. 
  The adult will then indicate how the Montessori Knobless cylinders blend from the top view. 
  
• Mixing and Matching:
  You can spread out all the series of Knobless cylinders on the table and ask the child to match cylinder blocks with the same heights or diameters.

Why should you incorporate Montessori Knobless in your child’s curriculum?

Montessori Knobless Cylinders are a unique Montessori Sensorial Material that is introduced to the child when they reach 3 years of age.

The main purpose of this wonderful Montessori Material is to isolate the visual sense and provide the child with a sensory stimulating experience for sensory development. The child with the help of Montessori Knobless Cylinders is able to visually discriminate between various dimensions, sizes, diameters, and heights.

Another purpose of Montessori Knobless Cylinders is to enhance as well as develop fine motor skills in children. Children are encouraged to use a three-finger pincer grip which is essential for writing and holding a pencil.

See Also:

• Montessori Brown Stairs
• Pink Tower in Montessori
• Montessori Red Rods
• Knobbed Cylinders