Smelling Bottles (Nienhuis)
Made by Nienhuis Montessori · shipped by Heutink International (Netherlands) About the maker
Sharpening perception one step at a time, this authentic Smelling Bottles set invites children to explore and refine their olfactory sense through careful discrimination of various scents. The wooden presentation tray holds pairs of bottles containing matching aromas, encouraging systematic sensory exploration and vocabulary development. Children develop concentration and sensory awareness as they identify, match, and describe different scents in this essential Montessori sensorial experience.
“Education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.”
The Smelling Bottles isolate the olfactory sense, allowing children to focus exclusively on distinguishing and matching scents without visual cues. This wooden presentation tray with its paired bottles creates a concrete experience for abstract sensory discrimination, each bottle contains a specific aroma that must be matched through smell alone.
- Refinement of olfactory discrimination through systematic scent matching
- Development of sensory memory and recall abilities
- Expansion of descriptive vocabulary for aromas and scents
- Strengthening of concentration through focused sensory work
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By removing other sensory input, the Smelling Bottles help children ages 3-6 develop acute awareness of subtle olfactory differences. The systematic pairing of scents in these bottles builds the child's ability to classify and categorize sensory information, a foundational skill for later academic learning. Each matching exercise with the Smelling Bottles strengthens neural pathways for sensory processing while expanding descriptive vocabulary. The wooden tray's organized presentation encourages methodical exploration, as children learn to work through each bottle systematically rather than randomly sampling scents.
How to present it
Follow the Montessori method of presentation for optimal child development.
Place the wooden tray on a table mat. Ensure bottles contain fresh, distinct scents in matching pairs. Have a small tray nearby for completed pairs.
- 1
Invite the child to the table and show how to hold one bottle properly
Demonstrate holding the bottle below the nose, not touching it - 2
Remove the lid and wave the bottle gently beneath your nose, inhaling slowly
Model taking gentle sniffs rather than deep inhalations - 3
Replace the lid and set the bottle aside. Select another bottle and smell it
Show how to pause between bottles to clear the olfactory sense - 4
Continue sampling bottles until finding a matching scent, then pair them together
If uncertain about a match, return to both bottles after smelling others - 5
Continue until all bottles are matched in pairs on the completion tray
Work systematically from left to right to avoid confusion
Every Child Is a Little Creator
Heritage
Since 1929
In classrooms
Around the world
European brands
Nienhuis, GAM, Educo
AMI approved
To the association standard
Smelling Bottles (Nienhuis)
