“Our senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world…” (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind (1988), p.167). Montessori firmly believed that by stimulating and developing a child’s sensorial sensitivities, you can assist in laying the foundation of the child’s intellectual development through exploration of the environment. Children begin perceiving visual, auditory, gustatory and tactile sensations from the time they are in their mother’s womb. These senses become more refined and developed as the child grows and develops, assisting him or her in classifying, navigating and making sense of the world around him or her.
The Sensorial materials are comprised of a series of objects grouped together corresponding to some quality that is linked to one of the five specific senses. One of the major aims of these material is to help a child catalog and classify sensory exploration to prepare a child for further intellectual development. The materials in this area possess a built-in control of error, enabling the child to independently determine if he or she has completed the lesson correctly rather than rely on a teacher’s constant direction. The use of Sensorial materials can also enable the teacher to detect functional defects in the senses to allow for early intervention, if necessary. The shapes, colors, textures and sounds of these materials are very inviting and attractive to children, thus increasing their interest in and use of them.