Wooden Montessori Nuts and Bolts Toy – 6 Fixings and Tools

Six heads, and the right tool for each one

The wooden base carries a row of six metal fixings, no two alike: a hex-head bolt, a screw with a wing nut, a hex nut, two hex socket screws and a cross-head screw. Beside it, your child lines up the screwdriver with its red handle, the open-ended spanner and the two L-shaped hex keys. This nuts and bolts toy asks the same question at every fixing: which tool fits this head? Your child tries one, looks closely at the head, swaps tools, then turns until the screw stops.

Two trays cut into the block take the screws and nuts as they come out. The wing nut needs no tool at all: it turns between thumb and forefinger, which makes it a good place to start.

What wrists and fingers practise, quarter turn by quarter turn

Screwing and unscrewing gets both hands working together: one keeps the tool straight in the head, the other holds the base steady. The wrist turns in small quarter turns while the fingers judge the pressure so the screwdriver does not slip. The fine motor abilities involved are precise ones, and any badly judged movement shows straight away, because the tool jumps out of the head and the screw stops moving. Turning a screw is one of the clearest examples of fine motor control a child can feel for themselves. Our fine motor skills range has other activities, built around pincer grip or threading, to vary the movements.

The second benefit is looking before acting. A cross-shaped slot, a hexagonal socket, a six-sided head or the two wings of a nut: your child learns to read a shape, choose accordingly, and then to name each tool.

A first presentation: slow, and without commentary

The first time, set the board on a clear table with the tools in front of it. Undo a single screw, slowly and without talking, then do it back up. Then let your child pick their own. This is how Montessori practical life materials are usually introduced: a real action, with real tools, shown rather than explained.

The mistake to avoid is correcting for them. The board does that already: a hex key will not go into a cross-head screw, and the spanner will not grip a hex socket screw. In the Montessori approach this is called control of error: your child sees for themselves that the tool does not fit, and tries another.

Progressing screw by screw, then caring for the board

The easiest order runs from the wing nut to the screwdriver, then the spanner on the bolt, and finally the hex keys, which are the most demanding. When every fixing goes in and out without help, suggest a variation: undo everything, put the parts in the trays, then put it all back together. The session then links unscrewing and screwing, and your child ends up knowing which way to turn without thinking about it.

Wipe the base of this wooden nuts and bolts toy with a barely damp cloth, never a wet one. Keep the metal parts dry and count the screws as you tidy up: they are small parts, to keep out of reach of younger brothers and sisters.

A board for screwing, rather than a full workbench

Among woodworking toys for children, a large workbench often brings together a hammer, a saw and pieces to assemble. This nuts and bolts toy isolates one skill: turning a fixing with the tool made for it. Unlike a toy screwdriver, the one supplied here drives a real screw into a real thread. Parents comparing it with a toy screwdriver set will feel the difference in the hand: each tool has one head it fits and several it does not. For a child who loves tools, it sits well alongside one of our kids' tool sets, which cover hammering and sawing.

Questions parents ask

Which way do you turn to screw and unscrew?

On a standard screw, you turn clockwise to tighten and anticlockwise to undo. On the board, your child sees the screw go down or come up and remembers the direction through the movement.

What age is this nuts and bolts toy for?

It is recommended from 5 years. Start with the wing nut, which turns by hand.

Which tools come with the board?

A cross-head screwdriver, an open-ended spanner and two hex keys, with the six fixings already fitted to the wooden base.

Specifications

• Recommended age: from 5 years
• Contents: 1 wooden base with 2 storage trays, 6 different fixings fitted to the base (1 hex-head bolt, 1 wing nut screw, 1 hex nut, 2 hex socket screws, 1 cross-head screw), 1 cross-head screwdriver, 1 open-ended spanner, 2 hex keys
• Materials: FSC-certified wood, steel; plastic screwdriver handle
• Brand: Les Apprentis Montessori
• 2-year guarantee