It must be December!

The shelves are looking so festive and fun, and the children have been enjoying the December shelves.  Our assistant, who is currently completing her Montessori training and internship, was instrumental in creating the lessons currently on the shelves.  It is always so refreshing to have new ideas and variations of lessons available to the children.

Wet transfer fine motor activities for the Practical Life shelves.

Dry transfer fine motor lessons.

Threading and bead work - making necklaces and bracelets.

This art activity invites the children to make paper poinsettias.  They always turn out so beautifully, we usually have this activity out each year.  THIS post goes into more detail about how the children complete the lesson.  

We have also begun learning our 'Christmas Wreaths' poem, which is always a pleasure as the children begin to memorize and recite poetry.  It has been quite a cheerful room with all of these activities, and the children have been both intrigued and delighted with these festive additions.  We are certainly looking forward to watching their continued growth and enthusiasm as we approach the end of the calendar year and greet a new one!

Sewing Together on the Tapestry Table

Some readers may recall our group sewing project several years ago which was highlighted in THIS post.  Since so many of our children have enjoyed the series of sewing lessons over the past couple of years, one of our assistants decided to put together the following culminating sewing activity using our beloved tapestry table to coincide with the Short Bead Stair:

Working back from the golden ten bar, these circles were placed in a row... 

…and embellished with golden beads, buttons, etc.

The same for number nine...

…all the way...

…to number one!  

We will certainly will find a special place to display the piece in our classroom - I am thinking on the wall above the Bead Cabinet.  Stay tuned!

Good As Gold

I can hardly believe that this journey started almost two years ago with the number one and the color red!  Here we are, all the way at number ten - gold!!!  What a time we have had with various Practical Life activities which correspond to each color/number of the Short Bead Stair.  The children have gained a deeper understanding of the Short Bead Stair and its connection to other math materials and lessons.  We have so enjoyed our collaboration in a series of art pieces that adorn a long hallway leading out to our outdoor space.  How we all have been looking forward with great anticipation for the number ten - gold evokes such a celebratory mood!  Here a few pictures of these festive shelves:

Wet Transfer Practical Life 

Dry Transfer Practical Life

Making bracelets.

Finger Knitting and Crochet trays - How much fun is that yarn?!

Weaving with various gold ribbons.

One of the tweezing activities - I think the gold foam gives the tray a whole new look!  

As you might imagine, the children have been quite excited about the gold.  Actually, the teachers have been too! :-)  There is certainly much to celebrate as this color reminds everyone where we started, and how far we have come over the past two years.  

More 'golden updates' to come! :-)

Making Clay Beads

We have been enjoying a new version of bead stringing in the classroom - making our own beads!  I have always known the importance of working with clay for children especially as a means of motor development and artistic expression.  Here, the children have been shown various steps for making and collecting small clay beads to be strung to make necklaces once dried.  As we have been proceeding with the theme of the Short Bead Stair in our Practical Life activities, I thought this might be a clever way to tie in the number eight, which is brown.

The materials set up on the shelf.
Container with clay; small dish with toothpicks for making the holes in the beads; wooden board for a workspace; paper plates to collect the beads once made; basket of dried beads; basket with string and scissors, small dish to count out eight dried beads.

Once a child brings the materials to a table and makes their beads, they bring the plate to our drying rack so the beads may dry overnight.  The next day, the beads are transferred to the basket so that children may count out their beads to make a necklace, using the rest of the materials on the shelf.

"Number Eight Necklace" corresponding with the Short Bead Stair.

Most of all, I love how much pride the children take in making their necklaces, wearing them, and sharing them with others.

Some New Lessons for the New Year

To add some variety and maintain interest in the classroom, most Montessori educators periodically rotate, add, or change some lessons in the environment.  Over the years, I have concluded that too much change too soon can be detrimental to the overall goals of our program.  Changing lessons too often might not leave ample opportunities for children to practice and refine skills.  Too many changes at once can also be overwhelming for children and teachers alike!  It is a fine balance that requires careful observation and noting when children are ready for change or for something new.   Practically speaking, changing the shelves during vacations allows time for thinking about and developing new activities, while giving the children something new to look forward to upon their return.

On this note, we have been enjoying some new lessons on our shelves having returned from our winter break.  Most of the lessons coincide with our ongoing theme of the Montessori Bead Stair, which we began a year and half ago.  We have now reached the number eight which is represented by the color brown.  Here is a sampling of some new Practical Life lessons:

Dry Transfer activities.

Wet Transfer lessons.

Close up of a spooning lesson.  The tray seems to be a big point of interest!

Sorting and tonging.

Using tweezers to place brown pom-poms into each section.   It is encouraging to see the development and practice of  concentration and control while completing this type of lesson. 

Art activities:  The brown tray contains materials for practicing brush strokes.  The lesson on the right with light colored paper is for making snowflakes - perfect for this time of year! :-) 

Other new lessons to share will be coming soon, so stay tuned! :-)

Mindful of Grace

Polli Soholt (2015) elegantly describes the word grace and its significance in the classroom:

"The dictionary definition of grace is…elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.  It is clear that grace requires refinement of movement and, with repetition; the children acquire grace by eliminating all superfluous movements.  The presentation [of a lesson] offers an introduction for the children, and practice allows the children to become proficient with the particular movements required of the skill.

Grace in integrated into all of our presentations for the children.  We demonstrate in the way we carry materials, demonstrate materials, and move in the environment.  Many of the preliminary exercises assist in the development of grace.  Standing, rolling a rug, carrying a chair, all require the development of grace.  Maria Montessori observed the important role that movement plays in the children's development.  In addition, she writes about the connection between the movements of the body and the activity of the mind.  In the Absorbent Mind she states,

'To give them their right place, man's movements must be co-ordinated with the centre - with the brain.  Not only are thought and action two parts of the same occurrence, but it is through movement that the higher life expresses itself'" (p. 56).

Soholt, Polli.  (2015).  The NAMTA journal: The art of Montessori grace and courtesy.  Living grace and courtesy in primary, 40(1), 51-61.

Laundry: Polish Cloths

A new lesson in our learning environment awaits the children when school begins in September.  This is an activity that has been in the planning stages for quite some time.  Needless to say, I am thrilled it is finally on the shelf!  During my time overseas, I found and purchased the most perfect wash board while visiting a Montessori factory store in St. Petersburg.  The small size of the board is ideal for washing the small polish cloths used in our polishing lessons.  "Why laundry?"one may ask.  I invite you to read more about the importance of these types of lessons in the classroom HERE.

In a perfect world, we would have a proper washing table, but for now, we will set up the materials on the floor.  The child fills the pitcher with water, and pours it into the basin.  Another pitcher of water is poured into the bucket which will be used for rinsing.  As with other washing lessons such as Washing a Table or Washing the Easel, the child completing the task dries all materials and replaces the lesson with fresh towels.  This readies the activity for the next person. 

Once the polish cloths are clean, they can be hung to dry on the small wire rack.  A small basket of clothespins sits underneath.  

I am looking forward to introducing this lesson and observing how such an activity helps nurture in children a personal sense of accomplishment while building classroom community.

While You Were Out:

It has been quite an adjustment for me to be away from my classroom for such a long period of time.  Of course, I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences we have been afforded during my family's stay in St. Petersburg, but how I've missed the daily interactions and happenings in the classroom!  Thanks to the wonderful teachers at my school, I have been able to stay in close contact and know that progress continues being made in great strides during my absence.  Here are just a few photos of current activity in the classroom:

An engaging math extension activity - counting elephants to go along with an Asia theme.

Carefully constructing and walking the maze with the Red Rods.

The 45 Layout.  I am so, so excited to see this out!

Practice skip counting with the Square Chain of 9.

Writing practice. 

Naming the Geometric Solids.

Matching the Geometric Cabinet shapes to their cards.

Kanji writing.

Squeezing orange juice.

Lots of flag work.

Constructing the layers of the Trinomial Cube.

Animals of the World and World Map.

Pouring with a syrup server.

Dry Transfer shelves.  The color yellow corresponds not only with number four in our Short Bead Stair theme, but also with the continent of Asia.

Practical Life:  Wet Transfer activities.

Just looking at the pictures makes me miss my classroom even more!  I am forever grateful that I have such dedicated staff to give their care attention to our students during my time away.  Thank you, and I miss you all!  

Short Bead Stair: Two

This week, we have some new activities on our Practical Life shelves which correspond to the number two in the Short Bead Stair.  Since the number two is represented by the color green in this math material, our Practical Life lessons also have this color theme:

Practical Life shelves.

Our sign-in table.

I love these cards and try to incorporate them throughout the classroom environment.  While it is difficult to see in this picture, there is a small dish with two green beads underneath the number symbol card.

We are looking forward to introducing the children to these new variations and other lessons!

Math Concepts: Collaborative Art

During these first months of school, we have used the color red in our Practical Life shelves as a cross- curricular connection to the Montessori math material called the Short Bead Stair.  The number one is represented by the color red.  We thought we would invite the children to create a collaborative art project with the red, number one theme using a method inspired by a lesson found at Fairy Dust Teaching.  The project took a few days to complete and we plan to make one for each of the corresponding colors of the Short Bead Stair throughout the school year.

The first day, children used three shades of red to cover the canvas.

We encouraged them to have the colors touch each other and overlap.  

The next day, we added red gems, beads, and paper cuttings which had been saved from our Practical Life paper cutting activity.  The children filled a cup with these items, mixed glue and red paint, and poured it over the canvas.  What fun!

After the glue dried, we could see such interesting texture and color formations.

The last day, we added glitter with regular glue.  I am not a huge glitter fan, but must admit that this added a great quality to the project.

Number One:  Short Bead Stair