Tape Maze

Sweet Pea is 4 years old.

From: This is a variation on the traditional Montessori “Walking on the Line” activity.

Material:

• A roll of masking tape.

Procedure:

• Tape a very long piece of masking tape to the floor.
• Place several other long pieces of masking tape on the floor that cross with the first piece.  Add more strips of tape that intersect each other so you have a sort of tape maze on your floor.

• Invite your tot to walk along the tape lines.

Observations: Sweet Pea begs to walk along the lines on a parking lot, on curbs, medians, fountain ledges and any other “balance beams” that she sees.  I was not surprised that she loved this activity.

Sweet Pea liked walking the line just for the fun of it, but you could place a treat at the end of one of the lines or add an extra element of role playing by suggesting that your tot pretend she is a tight rope walker or crossing a rope bridge, etc.  We even invented our own game with the tape maze which I will describe in my next post.

This is a nice physical activity that helps with coordination and balance.  I have never seen a tot who didn’t enjoy trying to walk precisely along a line.  This activity is very quick to set up and is highly recommended.

Notes from the Trenches: The masking tape easily pulled off our carpet when we were done, but you might want to test a small piece of tape on your own type of flooring.

Rating: 4 Stars * (Fun, Easy, Independent, Frugal)