Apple Sequencing

The children have been so successful with the following sequencing activity.  The lesson was shown at circle time, and then placed at table for the children to complete.  These types of lessons typically remain where they are until everyone who would like to complete the activity has had a chance to do so.  Usually, this means the lesson stays at its place for a couple of weeks.
We have been enjoying other apple themed activities in the classroom since the beginning of school in early September, so I wanted to be sure this lesson was presented as another apple-themed option in the language area.  Not only has it provided opportunities for practice using scissors and glue, but it also has been wonderful to see and hear how the children are able to articulate their reasonings for the sequencing.

Here, the materials are set up at a table.  First, children color and cut the page.  Then, they are to place the apples in sequence, gluing them on the folded, purple paper.  

What delight to see the children concentrating for long periods of time to complete this activity.  They have been very proud of their work - Some eager to bring it home and share with their families, others wanting to share it at circle time to show their friends!

Language Development

"Through engaging in spoken language actives with the children, we are building our relationship together, and sharing a social connection that is a deeply human quality.  As [Montessori's son] Mario Montessori cautioned the students in the 1946 London Lectures, before we go into the classroom and attempt to 'teach' them language, we ourselves must first feel the deeply human connection that comes through sharing language.  'For every word is a monument to some soul that has gained strength through agony or happiness, who has broken the silence, created a word which will pass from generation to generation as long as the soul and intelligence lasts'.  This is the spirit in which we introduce the sandpaper letters, and the silent communication of writing and reading.
Our joyful purpose with all our language activities is to help every child feel she is capable of meaningful and effective communication, worthy of respectful interpersonal communication, and able to identify with the expressed thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others.  Through language  development, the child builds self-confidence, self-worth, and empathy" (Andrews, 2015, p.43-44).

Andrews, Sarah Werner. (2015).  The social relevance of Montessori in the first plane.  The NAMTA journal, 40(2), 31-61.

Attributes

As part of the process of preparing the environment for our incoming class in just a few short weeks, I wanted to be sure  the Pre-Reading and Pre-Writing activities on the Language shelves provide inviting, meaningful lessons.  While these shelves in our classroom offer various vocabulary development cards, matching activities, and lessons preparing the child for reading and writing, I wanted to offer a couple of different, new options.  One such activity includes these attribute strips which were obtained HERE.  Activities with varying attributes allow young learners to develop critical thinking skills, enhance the ability to find patterns, and develop vocabulary while finding similarities and differences.  While this lesson this lesson could have also been in the Math area of the classroom, I chose to place it in Language as the cards are also appropriate for language development.

A sample Attribute Set.
The strips were printed in a smaller format than provided on the download - I thought they would fit better on our shelves in the classroom and take up less space.  Small counters are placed on the one that is different and a control of error is provided on the back (a small dot behind the correct one).  It could also be beneficial to provide small clips instead of counters which is something I may change later for a variation.

More on St. Isaac's Cathedral

Some of my readers may recall the post about our visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral last week.  Imagine my delight to find a beautiful set of matching three-part cards of churches and cathedrals in the classroom:

Matching cards each with a labels including the name of the cathedral its architect.

My daughter saw this and exclaimed, "Oh, I've been there!"

Each set has the control of error on the back of the cards.

I have a feeling that I will be scouring the book stores and buying postcards in sets of two for lots of material making!  

Rainbow Letters

We have been seeing a lot of Sandpaper Letter practice these days and the children very much enjoy this writing activity.

I also want to give my students as much practice as possible for writing and strive to provide lessons with variations that allow them to refine their skills.  To that end, I thought it would be exciting to introduce 'Rainbow Letters' for writing practice.  I had seen a great set of letters HERE and decided to use them for this activity.

I love how these two friends have set up their work next to each other .

A completed 'Rainbow Letter.'  The child is able to practice writing the letter at least six times with the different colors. What fun!

After plenty of practice with the Sandpaper Letter, a student can practice writing with a 'Rainbow Letter."  To complete the activity, a student can retrieve the letter from the file folder box in which all the letters are stored:

The letters are categorized into red, yellow, and blue groups according to the way they are organized on our shelves.

A tray housing two wooden trays for pencils (and sharpeners) fits directly on top of the filing box when not in use.     

Name Puzzles and Name Tracing

Many of our students are finding delight in the following pre-reading and writing activities recently introduced to the classroom.  They are really nothing novel - just new to our classroom.  The first lesson is a simple name puzzle made from a set of nameplates - one set includes a child's first name and the second set includes a bag with the child's name cut into separate letters.

The top name plate acts a control while the child pieces together the letters of their name.

If interested, the child can then obtain a pre-cut piece of tracing paper and clip it their name plate to practice tracing.

Each child keeps their tracing paper and places their nameplate back on the shelf.

The puzzle pieces are housed in zip-loc bags (which also allows the students to practice opening and closing!), while  the name plates and tracing papers are filed in the divider. 

The clips are right next to the name plates and paper on this beautiful dish.  

Ready to Start!

Where did the summer go?  I usually have the to opportunity to post periodically throughout the summer, but in all honestly, the time just got away from me…  I have been spending a great deal of time and attention getting our classroom ready for the new school year - we are ready to start another year in just a few days!

So far, this year is turning out to be quite different from years past.  Some of my readers may recall that my family is getting ready for an extended period of international travel beginning in January of 2015.  Preparation for this endeavor has enabled me to hire another Montessori teacher beginning at the start of this school year.   For the first time, I will have another Montessori trained teacher working with me.  This is something I very much look forward to as sharing ideas and learning new information from one another will be invaluable both for  our own professional growth as well as for the children in our care. Our four months together in the classroom prior to my departure will allow for a smoother transition in the classroom come January when I will be leaving.

Another difference this school year is the fact that our incoming class is very young and new.  For a variety of reasons, we do not have the regular proportion of new students and returning students and I have been mentally preparing myself for a what will seem to be an entirely brand new class.  While we will not have as many returning students this year, I am pleased that we have a very full class and we will focus on establishing strong foundational beginnings - both in practice in the classroom as well as with parent education.

Most years, I have an overarching (general) theme which is carried throughout the school year and throughout the curriculum areas.  The last couple of years, this theme has had to do with geography and the continents of the world.  Beginning this year, we will be highlighting a Montessori math material called the Short Bead Stair.

Numbers 1-9 with the Short Bead Stair.   Click HERE for an example of how this lesson is used in the Montessori classroom.

Our plan is to focus on the color and number correspondence to guide us in creating lessons in the other areas of the classroom.  For example, as we prepared the classroom for the beginning of this year, we have chosen the color red (and the number one) for our Practical Life shelves and some of the art materials.

Here are some examples from around the classroom:

Practical Life shelves:  basic transferring lessons on the left (spooning, tonging, dry pouring);  basic water transferring lessons on the right (we will be using colored water - there is no water in the vessels in the photo).  Also, the large vase on the top shelf is filled with red carnations - right now they are for decoration as the Flower Arranging lesson is not out yet.

The corresponding number with Sandpaper Letters...

…and the Sandpaper Number (next to a print of one of our group art projects last year).

I feel it is important to have these items on display throughout the environment as the children are getting to know our classroom and the Montessori materials.  Also, because the class will be very new, we are only planning to change the shelves ever other month or so.  If all goes according to plan, we will only get through number five (light blue) by the end of this year.  So, this is really a two year plan which is especially critical given that I will not be here for part of this year…  (There is also a part of me that does not want to miss out when we get to the number ten whose corresponding color is gold!!!).  In any case, this general theme allows us to have a plan in place even when I will be out of the classroom this year.

There are many other activities that have been prepared and I will be sure to share them with you as we get our school year started, so stayed posted!

We've Gone Around the World

One characteristic of a Montessori setting is the mixed age group,  which gives the opportunity for students to remain in the classroom for up to three years.  This allows for increased continuity throughout the years both for the child and the teacher.  It has been two years since we first started our continent studies with North America.  That same year, we also learned about Europe and Asia.  This school year, we continued these units with Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Australia.  Many of the lessons from these units of study can be found under the  label Geography in the sidebar on the left of the page.  Recently, I decided to purchase the following book for our classroom as I knew it would be a fitting culmination to our continent themes (and when I discovered the book promotes the use of cursive writing I just couldn't resist!):

Around the World from A to Z by Christina Cheung and Han Tran; Illustrated by Tong Wu

The illustrations are dynamic, engaging, and appealing to adults and children alike.  Of course, the cursive component is outstanding and I very much appreciate the explanation in the front cover:

"The book approaches language learning as a holistic process that combines letter formation and pronunciation with cultural awareness and mindful thought.  Careful penmanship and cursive writing not only refine motor skill from shoulder to fingertips, they also help to sharpen thought formation and brain development.  More specifically, cursive writing has been shown to stimulate brain synchronicity: the physical act of fluidly connecting letters coordinates the visual right wide of the brain and the verbal left side."

To read more of this explanation, see close-ups of the illustrations, and get a sense of the meaningful text in the book, please look HERE.

Needless to say, this is the perfect book to end our year together (and to have in our classroom for years to come)!  For a culminating lesson, I put together the following booklet making activity:

The materials at a table:  The labels are to make cover for the booklet - My Book of Continents and a place to write a name.

Each page has an outline of a continent...

…to color and label.

The last page with a map of the whole world.

(I can't seem to remember the source for the booklet - if anyone knows please let me know so I can include it in the post.  Thanks!)

UPDATE:  Please find a link to the source of the booklet pages HERE.

Patterning with Stamps

This has been a lesson has been actively used since it was introduced late last week.  It is a an engaging patterning activity which promotes pre-reading, literacy, language, and math concepts.  The koala and kangaroo pictures are intended to go along with our unit of study for Australia.  Many of the children have been creating stories while making their patterns, associating their knowledge from the Aboriginal stories we have been reading together.  Here is the lesson on a language shelf:

Far left - strips of paper with eight sections; tray with stamps, pencil, stamp pad; mat underneath with two pattern cards.

The materials set up at a table with an ABB pattern card.  The other pattern card is for  an AB pattern.

Completed strip with ABB pattern.

As with other activities in the classroom, the child replaces all of the materials used in the lesson and brings it back to its place on the shelf, readying it for use by the next child who wishes to use it.

Reading Sentences: Animals of South America

Here is a simple reading lesson for readers and pre-readers alike.  Readers may sound out words and identify sight words while pre-readers can use the pictures for matching objects.

I had introduced the cards during circle time over the course of a few days.  Once all the cards were introduced, the animals were placed in a basket so that children may match them to the cards:

Children may also wish to copy the sentences for handwriting practice or make and illustrate their own booklets.  I have a feeling these animal replicas will be irresistible for most of the children! :-)

Flags of South America

While learning about flags of South American countries, we have also been honing phonemic awareness skills with the following lesson.  A big thank you goes to Every Star is Different for providing a link to download these great cards!  Prior to placing the activity on the shelf, I had taken a few days to introduce the cards/flags at circle time.  For example, one morning we would look at a few cards and the following day a few more were introduced.  We did this for several days until all the cards were  familiar.  Then, the activity was placed on the shelf:

Flags of South America with numbers for syllable counting.

The child identifies the flag, says the country's name, and claps the corresponding syllables.

Lastly, a small stone is placed on the corresponding number to match the number of syllables (claps).

Beaded Wire Sculptures

It is critical to provide children many avenues for creative self expression and allow opportunities for exploration with various mediums.  While our students have engaged in numerous art activities throughout the course of their years in the classroom, one medium not yet explored is wire - specifically creating structures or sculptures.  To that end, a new art lesson was recently introduced to the children and added to the art shelf as an option during our Montessori mornings:

Beaded Wire Sculpture:  Box with lengths of gold and silver craft wire; tray with bowl for filling with beads (beads are in the bowl behind the tray); black paper for mounting.

The children have been enthralled making various shapes, loops, and structures as they sculpt their creations.  I also wanted to document the children's thoughts on their work and had them dictate a story or what they thought about the sculpture.  These were recorded, printed, and added to the display.  Here is just a sampling:

These displays have stopped parents, visitors, and children in the hallway to admire the work with smiles on their faces.  A glimpse into a child's world = priceless!

Reading Sentence Practice

This is what hours and hours and several days worth of making classroom reading materials looks like:

Reading Sentence Practice folders ready to be transported to the classroom.

FYI:  First, I would like to warn you how much paper, ink, glue, paper cutting, laminating, and extra trips to the store for office supplies this project requires…!  Second, if you would like the make a set, you will be overwhelmed with the sense that the job will never be done…!  This took F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

The project started innocently enough - I just wanted to supplement the Montessori Language curriculum with some reading practice for my emergent readers.  Specifically, I was looking for a systematic, easy-to-follow, set of materials providing practice with reading full sentences (rather than only words) along consistent sight word repetition.  I found exactly what I needed while browsing Teachers Pay Teachers: Reading Sentence Practice file folder lessons.  The material consists of three separate groups - Set One, Set Two, and Set Three.  The illustrations are adorable and I really feel they will be a significant point of interest for my students.  I went ahead and purchased all three sets as they are very reasonably priced.

The Montessori teacher in me decided to code the sets by color.  Actually, the red, yellow, and blue coding follows perfectly with the way our Sound Boxes and Sandpaper Letters are coded in the classroom.  After many hours (days) of preparation, the sets were completed.  Here is a breakdown of what is included in one folder (there is a total of 32 folders):

The first folder:  Each folder has a cover with the following items tucked behind: 

One laminated envelope (I used an exacto knife to open the top after laminating) with the corresponding answer cards - each folder includes 12 picture answer cards.

Behind the cover is also the storage place for the folder's Answer Sheet.  This is an essential component to my decision  to make these materials for my classroom because this allows the lesson to be self-correcting - children can easily check their own work through the use of these types of  answer sheets.

Here is the inside of the first folder.  As you will notice, the phonetic sentences in this first folder are simple and short.  While I do not have photos of other folders, the sentences become progressively more challenging as fluency increases.  

The folder completed with the answer cards.

The child can check his/her work with the corresponding Answer Sheet.

As I was making these materials, the following thought occurred to me, "How am I going to keep track of each child's progress for each of the 32 folders?! (gasp!)"  So, the fun didn't end with the completion of making all three sets of folders - I also decided to make a tracking chart so children can self-monitor their progress.  Again, I used the same color-coding system for each folder while providing three headings to track progress:  Read with a teacher; Read to myself; and Read to a teacher.

Front

Back

The idea here is repetition, repetition, repetition - it is my hope that they will spend a the most time in the 'Read to Myself' column.  I am planning to use stamps or stickers to mark each box as each section is completed.  Once the whole row is filled in with stamps/stickers, they child is ready for the next folder.  By using this type of chart, the child knows exactly where he/she is in the series.  Likewise, any  adult in the classroom can look at the chart and know where the child is in the sequence.  You can find a free copy of this chart at my Teachers Pay Teacher store.

This photo shows how I ended up placing them on the shelf - I did have rearrange a bit, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.