3 Green Discs On Horizontal Dowel

Description

Key Purposes & Benefits

Wrist Rotation (Pronation and Supination): To slide a disc onto a horizontal peg, the Child must rotate their wrist 90 degrees. This specific movement is vital for future life skills like turning a doorknob, using a key, or eventually holding a pencil.
Midline Crossing: Depending on how the Child sits, they may have to reach across the center of their body to finish the task, which helps integrate the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Refined Depth Perception: Aligning a hole with a peg pointing away from or across the body is much more visually complex than dropping a disc onto a peg pointing up.
Bilateral Coordination: The Child often learns to use one hand to steady the wooden base while the other hand performs the precise threading movement.

How it is Used

The Grip: The Child selects one of the three wooden discs (usually brightly colored or natural wood).
The Orientation: The Child must turn the disc so the hole is facing the tip of the horizontal dowel.
The Threading: The Child slides the disc onto the peg and pushes it all the way to the end.
Completion: Once all three discs are on the dowel, the Child removes them, which is its own separate motor challenge, and repeats the process.

The Stacking Progression

In a Montessori environment, the “Dowel Series” follows a specific path of increasing difficulty to match the Child’s developing anatomy:

Vertical Dowel: Uses a simple “up and down” arm movement.
Horizontal Dowel: Introduces wrist rotation and “sideways” movement.
Serpentine or Curved Dowel: Requires the Child to manipulate the object around curves, involving multiple changes in wrist and hand position.

Why “Discs” instead of “Cubes”?

For the horizontal dowel, discs are almost always used instead of cubes or prisms. This is because the round shape of the disc is easier for a toddler’s hand to rotate smoothly as they try to find the correct angle for the peg. It isolates the challenge of rotation without adding the complexity of corners.

Contents and Features of the 3 Green Discs on Horizontal Dowel

3 wooden discs
horizontal dowel on a base
made from birch ply

Wooden Montessori Materials - Features and Care Instructions

One of the attractions to the Montessori Method is the extensive use of wood.

We use several types of wood, sourced from renewable sources, in the production of our Montessori Materials.

Solid beechwood for cylinder blocks, pink towers, dressing frames and brown stairs.
Birchply for trays, holders and animal and botany puzzles.
MDF for puzzle maps
Pineply for boxes and containers

We ensure that the coatings and inks used are not only eco-friendly, but also non-toxic.

Our wooden products are manufactured by responsible partner factories both locally and abroad and ensure that fair labour practices are adopted.

Care instructions for Childrens House Wooden Materials:

If wooden products are exposed to liquids, wipe dry as quickly as possible.
Most of the surfaces can be wiped with a damp cloth if exposed to dirt or grime.
Avoid leaving any of our wooden product in direct sunlight, as it may warp certain woods and/ or the coating may fade over time.

Order R1000 or more for FREE shipping to South Africa

Order R1000 worth of items to qualify for free shipping to your door anywhere in South Africa.

Transit times depend on your location:

Cape Metro – next day if your order is placed before 13h00
Gauteng & Durban – 2 to 3 days
Everywhere else – 2 to 4 days depending on your location

Feel free to email us should you require any further information.

Delivery to USA, EU, Canada & the UK

We offer free delivery to the USA:

USA – free for orders over $400 – 7 days to your door
Canada – 7 day shipping is calculated at checkout – subject to additional GST & PST which is billed on arrival
UK – 7 day shipping is calculated at checkout – subject to 20% VAT which is billed on arrival
EU – 7 day shipping calculated at checkout – subject to EU VAT which is billed on arrival
Australia – 9 days – may be subject to 10% GST which is billed on arrival
NZ – 9 days – may be subject to 15% GST which is billed on arrival

Should you require further information about shipping charges, please feel free to contact us at info@childrenshouse.co.za