The Montessori Brown Stair (Broad Stair): Activity and Extensions

The Montessori method is famous for self directed learning, sensory based education and independence in children. One of the sensory materials used in Montessori education is the Montessori Brown Stair also known as the Broad Stair. This simple yet powerful tool introduces children to mathematical concepts of size, dimensions and spatial awareness in a hands on way.

In this post we will go into the Montessori Brown Stair in depth—its purpose, benefits and how it helps shape a child’s learning journey. Whether you are a parent, educator or Montessori enthusiast, knowing how to use the Brown Stair effectively can help with cognitive and sensory development in young children.

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Introduction

The Montessori Brown Stair is one of the classic Montessori materials, often seen with other foundational materials like the Pink Tower and the Red Rods. It is used to develop a child’s visual and tactile sense of dimensions, especially thickness and subtly introduce mathematical concepts of geometry and volume.

This is a great example of the Montessori philosophy in action—children learn by manipulating concrete objects and then abstract the concepts later in life. The Brown Stair is introduced in the Montessori Sensorial curriculum around 3 years old. Its structure and activity goes beyond just play and supports many areas of cognitive development.

Before we get into the details, it’s worth noting that educators can benefit greatly from formal Montessori training. This training helps them fully understand how to guide children in these activities. Platforms like Entri offer Montessori Teacher Training Courses. These courses prepare educators to use the Brown Stair effectively and get the most out of young children.

You can see a demonstration of how the Brown Stair is used in this YouTube video.

What is the Montessori Brown Stair?

The Montessori Brown Stair or Broad Stair is a set of 10 wooden blocks, all the same length (20 cm) but varying in thickness from 1 cm to 10 cm. Each block is 1 cm thicker than the previous one as the child progresses from the thinnest to the thickest. The uniform length of the blocks allows the child to focus only on the variation in thickness.

Children can arrange the blocks from thickest to thinnest or vice versa. This activity develops fine motor skills and helps children to see and distinguish between sizes, a skill essential in geometry and math.

What is the purpose of Montessori Brown Stair?

The main purpose of the Montessori Brown Stair is to refine a child’s visual discrimination of size, thickness. But it’s more than that:

1. Size and Dimension Awareness: By working with blocks of different thicknesses, children get to understand 3D space.
2. Mathematical Foundations: Children start to intuitively understand mathematical concepts like sequencing, comparison (greater than/less than) and the base 10 system used in measurement and geometry.
3. Hand-Eye Coordination and Motor Skills: Building with the stair blocks develops a child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
4. Preparation for Geometry: The different block sizes introduce children to basic geometric concepts like volume, proportions and measurements in a hands on way.
5. Focus and Concentration: Assembling and disassembling the Brown Stair in the correct order helps children to focus and concentrate.

Through repeated use of the Brown Stair, children lay the foundation for more advanced math.

What are the benefits of Montessori Brown Stair?

The Montessori Brown Stair has many benefits beyond its initial introduction as a sensorial material. These include:

1. Mathematical Readiness: Children using the Brown Stair become more aware of mathematical concepts like volume, measurement and size. The different block thicknesses provide a concrete base for abstract math later on.
2. Problem Solving and Logical Thinking: By ordering the blocks correctly, children are doing logical sequencing. This develops problem solving skills as they learn to differentiate, categorize and arrange objects according to their attributes.
3. Sensory Development: The Brown Stair engages the child’s visual and tactile senses, helping them to notice subtle differences in thickness and weight. It encourages the child to use their senses to make decisions and manipulate the environment.
4. Self Confidence and Independence: As with many Montessori materials, the Brown Stair allows children to work independently. Completing the task gives them confidence in themselves.
5. Social Development: In a Montessori classroom, children often work together on materials like the Brown Stair, promoting cooperative play, communication and teamwork.
6. Creativity and Imagination: Children may use the Brown Stair in creative ways, beyond its basic function. This supports their creativity by incorporating it into imaginative play.

Brown Stair Extensions

In Montessori, extensions help to deepen a child’s interest in the material and further learning. Here are a few extensions for the Brown Stair:

1. With the Pink Tower: The Pink Tower and the Brown Stair are often used together to challenge the child’s visual discrimination of height, width and depth. Children can be asked to stack the Pink Tower cubes on the Brown Stair blocks or make different structures.
2. Grading with Other Objects: Children can be asked to match the Brown Stair blocks with objects of the same thickness from their environment. For example, children can find objects around the classroom that match each block’s width, to further their understanding of dimensions.
3. Introduce Vocabulary: Teachers can introduce vocabulary like thick, thin, thicker, and thinner. This helps children verbalize their observations and gain language skills for size and dimension.
4. Building and Imaginative Play: The blocks can be used for building imaginative structures, for creativity and artistic expression.

These extensions also help to reinforce the concepts of the Brown Stair and give children opportunities for problem solving and co-operative play.

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Conclusion

The Montessori Brown Stair is a simple but powerful tool in the Montessori Sensorial curriculum. Introduces young children to size, dimension and thickness and concentration, problem solving and fine motor coordination. Through hands on and experimentation children begin to understand early maths concepts. And that will serve them for the rest of their education.

The Montessori Brown Stair provides opportunities for independent learning, creativity, and intellectual development. By using it with your child, you are helping them benefit from these opportunities. And by taking a Montessori Teachers Training Course on Entri you can help educators and parents to get the most out of Montessori materials like the Brown Stair and know how to guide children.

In summary the Montessori Brown Stair lays the foundation for mathematical learning and independence, self confidence and creativity in young children. Knowing and using this material correctly can make all the difference in a child’s life.

Sign up for the Montessori Teachers Training Course on Entri to learn more about Montessori philosophy. It goes into detail on Montessori methods including the Brown Stair and how to guide children.