The Magnet and Household Objects
One magnet, ten objects, two piles: what gets pulled in and what doesn't.
The Magnet and Household Objects is a Montessori activity for a child aged 3 to 4 years. Area: Science and Nature. Time: 15 min.
What the activity builds
Sort by an invisible property, and discover that a force can act from a distance, unseen.
The materials
- A large refrigerator magnet, or a horseshoe magnet, big enough to hold with a full hand
- Ten household objects: a paper clip, a key, a metal spoon, a screw, an eraser, a cork, a pencil, a scrap of fabric, a Lego brick, a wooden spoon
- Two small bowls
- A tray
How to do it, step by step
- Spread the ten objects on the tray and set the two bowls behind it.
- Take the magnet, bring it slowly toward a metal spoon, until it jumps to it.
- Set the spoon in the bowl on the left.
- Bring the magnet near the pencil, wait, say nothing, and set the pencil in the bowl on the right.
- Hand the magnet to your child and let them test the eight remaining objects.
- Look at the two bowls together at the end, and let them tell you what they notice.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Always bring the magnet in slowly, that's what makes the force visible. Don't mention metal or iron before they've noticed it themselves, and don't correct a sorted object, just pick the magnet back up and run the test again in front of them.
Safety
NEVER use small round magnets, the kind found in desk toys or bag closures: swallowed in a set, they pull toward each other through the walls of the intestine and cause serious injury. Use one large magnet only, held with a full hand, and stay present the whole time. Paper clips and screws get put away right after.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: four objects, two that get pulled and two that don't.
- Harder: set a paper clip under a sheet of paper and move it with the magnet from above.
- Extension: walk around the house with the magnet and look for what it's drawn to, the fridge, the radiator, a door handle.
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