One of the beautiful things about Montessori is the way each material prepares the child for the next.
What looks like a simple wooden board with three strings is the beginning of a journey that leads all the way to weaving, knitting, beading, and even making friendship bracelets.
Before the Braiding Board
Even before children are ready for braiding, they already work with many activities that prepare their hands and minds.
Threading with large wooden beads (under 3 years old):
Toddler Threading Activity Tray, Wooden Orchard Set, Wooden Lacing Apple, Wooden Lacing Cheese, Wooden Dinosaur Lacing Toy.
Early lacing and threading activities (around 2½–3 years):
Wooden Lacing Set, Wooden Lacing Shoe, Weaving Animals (Set of 3).
Dressing Frames (sequence and precision):
Lacing Frame, Shoe Lacing Frame, plus Buttoning and Bow Tying Frames. These materials help children practice careful movements, follow a sequence, and coordinate both hands.
The Braiding Board
At around age 3, children are ready for the Montessori Braiding Board.
This is one of the best inventions for introducing braiding. Because the three cords are fixed, children don’t have the frustration of strands slipping out of their hands. Instead, they can focus on the rhythm: over, under, over… and suddenly a neat braid appears.
- Control of movement and bilateral coordination
- Concentration, patience, and sequencing
- Fine motor skills that prepare the child for more advanced handwork
What Comes Next: A Pathway of Handwork
The Braiding Board is not the end, but the beginning.
After mastering this material, children can explore many meaningful extensions that build on the same skills:
- Wooden Braiding Disc for circular braids
- Wooden Weaving Loom (Small) and Round Weaving Loom for weaving patterns
- Knitting Set (Clover & Primrose) and Knitting Mushroom for knitting practice
- Bead Loom for combining sequencing with design
From Braiding to Friendship Bracelets
The natural outcome of all this careful preparation is the joy of creating something children can actually wear or share: friendship bracelets.
By the time they move on to using small beads and thin cords, their fingers are already trained through years of Montessori Practical Life activities.
The Braiding Board, weaving looms, and knitting sets give them the coordination, concentration, and confidence that make the step into bracelet making and kids jewelry smooth and enjoyable.
Children love designing their own DIY bracelets, choosing colors, and experimenting with patterns.
The same skills practiced on the Braiding Board: crossing strands, keeping a steady rhythm, finishing a sequence—now help them create a real bracelet to wear or gift to a friend.
Tip for families: if you already have an older child making friendship bracelets with tiny beads, younger siblings often want to join in, but the small beads can be too difficult and even unsafe.
Montessori offers the perfect solution: give the younger child large wooden bead threading activities like Toddler Threading Activity Tray, Wooden Lacing Apple, or Wooden Lacing Cheese. Even a 2–3-year-old can enjoy stringing colorful wooden beads, building the same concentration and hand control as the older sibling, but at a developmentally appropriate level.
Why This Matters (and how people find it)
Families and educators often search for phrases like “how to make friendship bracelets for kids,” “DIY bracelet making,” “beading kits for children,” “kids jewelry,” or “Montessori braiding board.”
This Montessori pathway connects those interests with solid developmental practice: starting from large bead threading, moving to Dressing Frames and the Braiding Board, and then expanding into weaving, knitting, bead looms, and finally friendship bracelets.
It is a complete, child-centered progression that turns fine motor practice into creative self-expression.
