Montessori Activity: Tasting/Smagning/味道品尝 [wèi dao pǐn cháng]

Age: From 1.5 year old.

Activity Duration: 5-10 minutes

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Objective(s): 

1. To help to develop the child’s perception of taste and to introduce the 4 basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter)

Materials: 

1. Prepare 4 containers with 4 different tasting solutions (I use brown sugar, soy sauce diluted, Chinese rice wine vinegar diluted and black coffee diluted accordingly).

2. 4 droppers

3. 1 cup of water

4. 1 tray

Directions: 

1. Show the child how to take one drop of liquid into the dropper from one of the containers to the left of the tray, and how to let that drop fall directly onto your tongue, without allowing the dropper to touch your tongue or mouth.

2. Taste each of the 4 liquids in this way, taking a sip of water from your paper cup after all 4 have been tasted.

3. Encourage your child to taste the 4 liquids in the same way, but make sure that the sweet one is tasted first.

Storage: You can keep it in the fridge for a few days.

Additional Information:

Here, I am making brown solution from these carefully selected ingredients, but you can also make a clear white solutions with plain sugar, salt, white vinegar or lime juice and bitter gourd solution.

If you do not have dropper, you can ask your child to put a small drop on the back of her left hand and ask him to lick it slowly to get taste.