Tasting Bottles

The gustatory exercises develop the child's ability to discriminate tastes while building vocabulary for this often-neglected sense.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Sensorial
• Learning area: Gustatory Discrimination
• Level: Ages 4-6

Objectives

• Identify basic tastes
• Match pairs of identical tastes
• Develop gustatory vocabulary
• Understand taste categories

Materials

• Tasting bottles with droppers
• Solutions: sweet (sugar water), salty, sour (lemon), bitter (unsweetened cocoa)
• Small cups or spoons for tasting
• Water for rinsing between tastes

Instructions

1. Present one set of bottles. 2. Place one drop on spoon or cup. 3. Taste, identify: 'This is sweet.' 4. Rinse mouth with water. 5. Continue with other tastes. 6. Later, match pairs from two sets.

Educator tip

Always check for allergies before tasting activities. Make solutions dilute enough to be pleasant.

Assessment

Child correctly identifies four basic tastes and matches taste pairs.

More from Sensorial

• Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag)
• Geometric Solids
• Baric Tablets (Weight)
• Knobbed Cylinders
• Knobless Cylinders
• Geometric Cabinet
• Constructive Triangles
• Thermic Tablets