Monday, April 25, 2011

New Life for our Geometric Solids - Thanks to Montessori Print Shop!

I must admit, use of our Geometric Solids in the classroom has been sporadic and a bit uninspiring.  For quite some time, I have been meaning to add some extension work to the material such as a set of matching cards.  Enter the wonderful products at Montessori Print Shop!  I was recently provided the opportunity to review some of their products in exchange for a blog post which was an opportunity I did not want to miss.  I have always been pleased with the quality of their materials, so I decided to try their Geometric Solids Sorting cards.  This is a set of cards depicting each of the Geometric Solids with three corresponding photos for each shape.  You can view more details of the product here.  As always, the process of making the set is just as much fun as watching it in use by the children!

Anytime I make materials for the classroom, I make sure keep consistency.  For example, these beautifully illustrated cards come with convenient cutting lines where I am sure to cut on the inside - that way, there is no risk for the black line to appear on the cards themselves.  Also, I took time to measure and cut black card stock to mount the cards onto.  I think this gives the material a finished look and adds a certain depth to the photos.  For control of error, I used color-coded dot stickers on the back of the cards.  For example, the cards with a picture of  a sphere had a red dot as did its three corresponding photos.

During the lesson, I first re-introduced the names of the solids.  Then, I introduced the the matching Geometric Solid cards and the child matched the cards to the shape as seen in this photo:


Once the child was successful with the first set of pictures, I then invited them to sort the remaining photos underneath:

Sorting in progress

Sorting completed.

Control of Error - matching dots on the backs of cards underneath each Geometric Solid.
I was surprised with the visual impact the cards created once they were all laid out with the Geometric Solids.  In fact, throughout the lesson, several children in the classroom came to see what the "new work" was and I heard more remark, "Oooh, what's that?  I want to do that!"  It was heartening to see a new interest develop in the Geometric Solids sparked by this quality set of cards from Montessori Print Shop.

29 comments:

  1. What a fantastic way to renew interest in the geometric solids! I always enjoyed doing the mystery bag and activities with the geometric solids at line time, but this is a wonderful activity for independent work. Great review and photos, Sasha! Deb @ LivingMontessoriNow.com

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  2. Thanks, Deb. The lesson was enjoyable and it really got the kids looking at the details of each shape!
    By the way, thank you for the badge - it looks great on my sidebar!
    Sasha

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  3. I find your blog via Montessori Print Shop. I must say you have interesting posts - thanks for sharing ideas and activities :-)
    I'm your new follower because your blog is brand new and has great ideas. I can not wait to see what you're going to do next :-)
    Nataša

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  4. I'm so glad you found my blog - thanks for the kind words and I look forward to sharing more ideas! Sasha

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  5. Oh! I have never seen those picture cards! Cool! I use a basket of small objects to match.

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  6. I love the idea of having a basket of small objects too!

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  7. I just featured your post and photo in my geometric solids post at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/03/26/montessori-monday-inexpensive-and-diy-geometric-solids-and-extensions/

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  8. Thank you, Deb. It's always such an honor to be a part of your posts!

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  9. I had fun revisiting your post, Sasha! I featured your post and photo in my post on control of error at http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/04/23/montessori-monday-control-of-error/

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  10. Thank you so, Deb. I'm glad this post has been so valuable in sharing information!

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  11. For quite some time, I have been meaning to add some extension work to the material such as a set of matching cards. happy new year 2016

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