Horse Puzzle
https://childrenshouse.co.za/shop/hor...
Maria Montessori believed in educating holistically. The zoology and botany puzzles; when used by the young child; improves, and develops their hand-eye coordination, focus and concentration. Lifting the pieces with the knobs, strengthens their fine motor control, preparing the hand to hold a pencil. Finding where to replace the puzzle piece, develops cognitive, problem solving skills.
One of the quintessential core Montessori activities, are the wooden zoology puzzles. The full traditional Montessori zoology curriculum, has 5 puzzles. Each puzzle represents a specific class of vertebrate animal, in this case the Horse Puzzle represents the mammals. These puzzles are brilliantly coloured, developed to attract the Child. Indirectly, they learn about the key parts of the animal, through the shapes of the pieces.
Features of the Horse Puzzle
the direct objectives, for the Child are;
to understand the key parts of a horse
improve their hand-eye coordination and their fine motor skills
indirectly, the Child can;
develop problem solving (cognitive) skills
encourage an interest in the world around us
improve their manipulative skills
lay a sound foundation to improve their focus and concentration
this activity is a great support for various Montessori curricula, i.e. toddler, and zoology
the horse puzzle was used to develop our puzzle activities, which is the next step in the Child’s development.
Contents and Size
A beech wood puzzle in a frame
24cm x 24cm x 0.5cm / (9½” x 9½ x ¼”)
