“Little children, in fact, touch everything they see, thus obtaining a double image (visual and muscular) of the countless different objects they encounter in their environment.” (p.116, para 2)

When a teacher presents the sounds of the alphabet to the child, she does so by saying the sound and tracing the shape of the sound with her finger.  She then invites the child to do the same.  The presentation of the lesson incorporates auditory, visual, and touch.  The movement of the tracing develops muscle memory and connects their movement to the image they see.  When children begin writing their muscles will remember the movements they traced when introduced to the letter.

Students grade, sort and match sensorial objects isolating the skills associated with differentiating objects using the senses.  They work towards mastery and in some cases enjoy doing the matching using a blindfold.  They enjoy developing the ability to see with their hands!

Montessori, M. (1972). The Exercises. In The discovery of the child (pp. 116-120) New York: Ballantine.