The Skittle Stand is a Furniture & Storage Montessori material designed for children aged 6-12, crafted by Nienhuis Montessori to AMI standards.
This elegant wooden sorting tray features four precisely carved circular wells, ideal for organizing and presenting small Montessori materials like beads, counters, or natural specimens. The smooth-finished wood construction provides a defined workspace that helps children develop order and classification skills while supporting various mathematical and sensorial activities.
“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”— Maria MontessoriEducation and Peace
“The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence.”
— Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
The Skittle Stand serves as an essential organizational tool in the elementary classroom, where children's work becomes increasingly complex and requires precise arrangement of materials. This wooden sorting tray with its four circular wells addresses the elementary child's need for logical order while working with mathematical operations, classification systems, and research projects. The tray's defined compartments eliminate visual clutter, allowing children to focus their attention on relationships between sorted items rather than managing loose materials. In Montessori elementary environments, where children often work with multiple components simultaneously—whether sorting grammar symbols, organizing bead materials for long division, or classifying specimens—the Skittle Stand provides the external order that mirrors and reinforces their developing internal sense of organization. The wooden construction offers durability for daily classroom use while the smooth finish invites repeated handling, making it an indispensable support for the elementary child's increasingly abstract work.
Each order includes everything needed for proper presentation and long-term use.
Follow the Montessori method of presentation for optimal child development.
Introduce the sorting concept by demonstrating how to place one category of items in each well
Allow the child to sort materials independently, observing their classification criteria
Once sorted, invite the child to count or compare quantities in each well
Document findings through drawing or writing, using the tray as reference
Each material supports multiple areas of child development simultaneously.
Supports counting, grouping, and classification exercises essential for concrete mathematical understanding.
The defined spaces help children develop systematic approaches to sorting and arranging materials.
Precise placement of small objects in the wells enhances pincer grip and hand-eye coordination.
The structured workspace promotes focused attention during sorting and classification activities.
Designed for child-sized hands
Professional tips from AMI-trained guides to maximize the educational value of this material.
“Position multiple Skittle Stands on the mathematics shelf for various bead work presentations”
Use the tray during geometry lessons to organize different types of angles or shapes
Incorporate into cultural studies by sorting artifacts, shells, or rock specimens
Clean the wooden surface weekly with a slightly damp cloth to maintain its smooth finish
Everything you need to know about this material.
The Skittle Stand is perfect for sorting beads, counters, marbles, natural specimens like shells or stones, and small mathematical manipulatives. The four wells accommodate materials up to approximately 3cm in diameter.
This sorting tray promotes order, classification, and visual discrimination skills essential to Montessori education. It provides a defined workspace that helps children organize materials systematically, supporting both mathematical concepts and sensorial exploration.
Each of the four circular wells measures approximately 5cm in diameter and 1.5cm deep, providing adequate space for sorting and organizing small materials while preventing items from rolling away.
Yes, the Skittle Stand features a smooth, child-safe natural wood finish that's free from harmful chemicals. The surface is carefully sanded to prevent splinters while maintaining the natural wood texture children can appreciate.
Children can use it for counting exercises, color sorting, pattern making, fraction work with beads, nature study classification, and fine motor skill development through transferring activities using tweezers or fingers.
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