Smelling Bottles

The Smelling Bottle Tray (also known as Smelling Bottles) is an essential Montessori sensory material for refining the sense of smell in children, usually between the ages of 3 and 6.

What does the set contain?

Typically, this teaching material consists of:

A tray or two wooden boxes: Used for storage and display.

Two identical sets of bottles: Each set usually has 6 bottles (12 in total). The caps are often color-coded (for example, one set with red caps and one with green/blue caps) to help the child tell them apart.

Fragrances: Inside the bottles are cotton wool soaked in various aromas (essential oils) or dried natural ingredients (cinnamon, coffee, lavender, peppermint).

Purpose and how to use

The main purpose is to pair identical smells. Here's how the activity works:

Exploration: The child opens a bottle from the first set, smells the contents and tries to memorize the aroma.
Identification: Then, they look in the second set for the bottle that has exactly the same smell.
Sense isolation: The exercise can also be done blindfolded to force the child to rely exclusively on their nose, not on visual cues.

Benefits for the child
Sensory refinement: Learn to make fine distinctions between similar aromas.
Vocabulary development: Introduce the names of plants or substances (e.g., "This smells like rosemary").
Concentration and memory: Exercises long-term olfactory memory.

This product is a teaching material, not a toy. Not recommended for children under 3 years of age without supervised by an adult.