All of the materials for Sensorial Activities are purposeful, developmental ones, they should be handled in a way which acknowledges their essential property, to help refine the senses and intellect.
Pairing
By pairing the child identifies two objects with the same quality from a series of different objects, this is more simple than grading where the child must find two similar objects from a series of objects which have a range of qualities. It is easier to see differences than similarities and to find the pair it is only necessary to recognise ‘sameness’, not to fully understand a property and its range of qualities. However, even if all of the information is not fully taken in the ability to pair demonstrates to the adult, that the essential property has been recognised by the child’s conscious awareness. It is a task that is likely to be achievable as it uses the two most readily distinguishable objects from the set.
- Identical pairs – selected for contrasting objects, e.g. two blue tablets
- Abstract pairs – share some qualities
- Complementary Pair – one part relates inversely to the other e.g. a cylinder and it’s socket, a Geometric shape and it’s inset (shown later because child must be able to trace)
- Partial Pair – two object share a common feature, e.g. circular face of cone and cylinder
- Absolute Abstract, the geometric insets and their cards, two geometric cards with the same shape but different thickness of outline and the Geometric Solids and their cards
Grading
Members of a set are arranged according to their increments, similar ones are closely compared and the one at the desired extreme is isolated, until they run from long to short, wide to narrow, small to large in sequence. This is helpful in developing an awareness of the infinite intensities of each property. Grading is shown after pairing has brought conscious awareness to the property. To grade the child must be able to compare and judge the distance between differences and similarities.
Sorting
The requires the ability to separate identical, similar and different qualities from each other on the basis of one essential property.
Discrimination
The child uses her powers of discrimination, she carefully observes the details of one object, evaluates and makes conclusions about it’s relationships with the qualities of other objects in the set and their relationships with the essential property to establish the extent of the difference.