This Montessori-aligned printable is designed to help your child strengthen memory, attention, and language skills in a calm and playful way. The classic “What’s Missing?” activity invites your child to observe, remember, and recall as they build the foundations for later reading and writing.
With this activity, you’ll lay out a small set of picture cards in a row for your child to study. After a moment of quiet observation, cover the set with a cloth and gently remove one item. Invite your child to notice and remember: “What’s missing?” This simple back-and-forth supports working memory, concentration, and visual discrimination - skills that help children recognise details, spot changes, and recall names confidently.
Your digital download contains:
9 sets of 4 hand-illustrated cards
Each set groups related objects for focused observation
Worksheet Alternative
Montessori-aligned guidance
With gentle instructions for presenting and progressing the activity
The What’s Missing? activity helps children:
build visual memory and attention
strengthen observation and recall
practise naming familiar objects
develop logical thinking and sequencing
gain confidence in self-correction
work independently and at their own pace
If you’d prefer not to cut out the cards, you’ll also find an alternative in the included worksheets: each set is printed on a single page, so you can use a question mark card or small cover to hide a different image each time as you play.
This Montessori-aligned printable is designed to help your child strengthen memory, attention, and language skills in a calm and playful way. The classic “What’s Missing?” activity invites your child to observe, remember, and recall as they build the foundations for later reading and writing.
With this activity, you’ll lay out a small set of picture cards in a row for your child to study. After a moment of quiet observation, cover the set with a cloth and gently remove one item. Invite your child to notice and remember: “What’s missing?” This simple back-and-forth supports working memory, concentration, and visual discrimination - skills that help children recognise details, spot changes, and recall names confidently.
Your digital download contains:
9 sets of 4 hand-illustrated cards
Each set groups related objects for focused observation
Worksheet Alternative
Montessori-aligned guidance
With gentle instructions for presenting and progressing the activity
The What’s Missing? activity helps children:
build visual memory and attention
strengthen observation and recall
practise naming familiar objects
develop logical thinking and sequencing
gain confidence in self-correction
work independently and at their own pace
If you’d prefer not to cut out the cards, you’ll also find an alternative in the included worksheets: each set is printed on a single page, so you can use a question mark card or small cover to hide a different image each time as you play.
