Montessori Practical Life: Wood Sanding

I’m always looking for new practical life works, and this one came to me when I was thinking about what else we could do with our wood polishing work.  My husband likes to build stuff, so I asked him for some wood scraps that the girls could use to make their own blocks, and he gave us a whole big box!  I put together a wood sanding work tray so the girls can sand each block before polishing it and adding it to their block collection.

This work requires some safety considerations.  I bought some face masks to keep the girls from breathing in sawdust, and safety goggles to protect their eyes from airborne particles.  My husband made a small sanding block by gluing some sandpaper to a piece of wood, and I showed the girls how to carefully feel the wood block to see if it was already smooth or if it was rough, indicating that it needed to be sanded.

After vigorously sanding for a bit, a lot of sawdust builds up!  I added a mini makeup brush so the girls can brush off the dust before continuing to sand.

When they’re done with the work, they sweep up the sawdust from the tray to put in the trash.  The sanded block then goes to the wood polishing tray, where it will be polished before ending up in our block bin downstairs.

The girls love getting to have an active part in the creation of their own blocks!

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