Screw/Unscrew

Screw/Unscrew isolates one movement, the turn of the wrist that a child needs long before opening a jar counts as an ordinary task. Taking the pieces apart comes first because it is the easier half, and only later does the child line the two parts up and keep turning until they hold. The pieces come apart and go back together only when the turning is steady and the parts are aligned, so the material corrects the attempt without a word from an adult. What is practised here goes straight into the practical life work of opening bottles, jars and containers on the shelf. It belongs with the first inset and sorting work for the youngest children, in the first three years.