It is believed in the Western world that the father of tessellations was M.C. Escher, who was born in Leweuwarden, Netherlands during 1898.  He did not actually manage to complete high school himself!  Yet; as a graphic artist; his detailed realistic prints achieved bizarre optical effects, and these made him famous. This activity, the Tessellations with 104pcs, will allow the Child the opportunity to use their own creative skills to design their own images or patterns.

Features of the Tessellations

• the direct objective is to;
  • make a symmetrical pattern, or picture with some of the tiles
• indirectly, the Child;
  • stimulates their imagination to creatively develop an artistic picture or pattern
  • recognises the shapes in every day objects, i.e. the diamond patterns found on a chain-mail fence
  • matches and recognises colours
  • aids the cognitive skills, and helps to develop problem solving skills
  • learns how to manipulate shapes, i.e. by rotating a shape, they can make a new design
• this material acts as a support activity for the Montessori early learner curriculum

Contents of the Tessellations

• 104 pieces
• 6 different shapes in 5 colours
• sold in a plastic box with a lid for easy storage – 25cm x 15cm x 5cm / (10″ x 6″ x 2″)

Related Products

• the metal insets are a traditional means of introducing the 3 year old child to trace shapes, before they even learn the name of the shape
• visual discrimination of 3-D shapes introduces the Child to the geometric shapes by comparing everyday objects to the 3-D shapes
• the geometric shapes control book, used with the blue geometric solids, introduces the Child to mathematics

Further Reading and Resources

1. Presenting the activity for tessellations to the Child, by the Montessori World Educational Institute
2. Teaching with tessellations by gvsu.edu.

How to Make Tessellations