Button Frame
Doing up and undoing buttons can be tricky for children. Lining up the button and pushing the button through the buttonhole takes patience and practice. With little practice, it might take children many minutes to do up a few buttons on their coat. Usually, children will give up and ask parents or teachers to help them do up buttons.
Button frame
Using a Button Frame in Montessori
To teach children how to do up buttons, Montessori uses a special button frame. It can be difficult for children to do up or undo buttons on their own clothes. By using a Button Frame, children can learn how to hold the buttons with their fingers and how to push the buttons through the buttonholes. You can buy the button frame here and you’ll be supporting this website.
How to present the Button Frame
Start with the Button Frame totally done up. Sit next to the child and undo the first button, then pause. Now undo the second button, then pause. Then the third, and so on. Let the child watch you and how you are undoing the buttons. When you reach the bottom, totally open the flaps of the button frame.
Now go back to the top and do up all of the buttons one by one. Allowing the child to watch you undo and do up all the buttons one by one on the Button Frame is a great way to teach children how to do undo and do up buttons. Now let the child use the Button Frame and do up the buttons by themselves.
Looking for more Montessori activities?
Here is the full list of the Montessori tasks, including preliminary, elementary, applied exercises, and grace and courtesy. Just click on the activity you want to learn about to go there.