Preschool Montessori Activity: Playing With Pinto Beans

Little Bear has started to show some sustained interest in real Montessori activities.  It's been delightful to see.  So, I decided to introduce some spooning activities to him.  I started with Pinto Beans.

Pinto beans or lima beans work really well to start off because they are so big.  I liked using it first because I could easily monitor how controlled he would be with the beans.  I did find them on the table and on the floor some but, for the most part, he kept them in the bowl.

I have Little Bear several types of spoons to work with - a big spoon/measuring cup all the way down to a small child sized spoon.  He enjoyed using them all.  When I found him less interested in the activity, I put it up for another day.