Inaugural Summer Camp!

The school year went ahead and ended on me!  Where did the year go?  Now, it's time to post about our first-ever summer camp, spearheaded by our energetic, creative, and dedicated classroom assistant.  She has single handedly put together this enriching, Montessori inspired outdoor experience for our campers.  What a refreshing sight to see these lessons in the beautiful light of the summer sun, among the grass so green, and the breeze through our hair:

Transferring water beads with a large spoon.

Fine motor development using outlines from the Metal Inset shapes and small wood pieces.

Outdoor shelves!

An invitation to create and design.

Outdoor water source for Practical Life activities.

Water-dropper transferring.  

Making bubbles.

Thanks to the talents of one of our parents who built this with wood pallets, the children now have this adorable place to make music.

Another side of  the 'Music Wall' which  is actually three-sided.  The last side includes a chalkboard.

Outdoor mats for workspaces.  Don't you just love the burlap with grass…?!  

Birdwatcher's materials.

Visual discrimination of size with tree cookies!

Cornmeal/sand tray for writing practice.

I wanted to stay - it was hard to leave this little piece of Montessori summer camp fun! :-)

I will be back to share more pictures - I couldn't get to everything this time around, so I hope you will check back again! 

Gearing Up

While I am thankful for the opportunities my family had during the six months we were in Russia for my husband's Fulbright teaching scholarship, I am also thrilled to be back home and back in the classroom that I missed so much.  Finally, I get to act on countless ideas I have had brewing in my mind during so many months away!

Glad to be back!  My daughter took this picture when she came with me to school for the first time since our return at the end of June.   

During my time away, I had the opportunity to check in on classroom happenings via Montessori Compass, which my school uses for record keeping and sharing information with parents.  Not only was I able to keep apprised of my students' progress throughout the year, but I also kept connected through viewing the daily photographs posted for each student.  With an 'outside eye,' I was able to see the classroom from a different perspective, an experience I value very much.  Nonetheless, through viewing the photos from this perspective, I also noticed the main rug in our classroom was wearing out and looking a bit tired.  So, the first order of business upon my return:

Our new rug (along with some new shelving for the bells).  Of course one thing leads to another - the new rug and shelves led to updating the calendar and morning message areas used during circle time.  Next, tape will be added for the Walking the Line activity.

Our previous rug was bright and beautiful with many colors.  While I loved its lively colors, I wanted to go with a neutral tone this time around.  It was my intention to bring out the beauty of the Montessori materials and let them 'stand on their own.'  The rug has given the room a new feel and I think I have succeeded in bringing the eye to directly to the materials.  Naturally, a new rug in the central part of the classroom called for a new rug in the math area:

When I ordered this rug, a picture and description indicated it to be the 'Nines' rug.   I thought, "How perfect is that for the math area?!"  Well, not so much - somehow the image was reversed and they are not the 'nines' as shown in the picture online, but a reversed image.  I am still loving the look and feel of the rug - my instinct is to make a lesson looking at the rug with a mirror and finding the nines…  

Over the summer, I also ordered a beautiful poster portrait of Maria Montessori.  Last year, the children in my class learned a special song about her and I always wanted a proper portrait on display.  Now, we have one:

The Peace area in our classroom - the perfect place of honor for Maria Montessori!
"Within the child lies the fate of the future."   

Since the classroom is now adorned with the new rugs and portrait, I thought this might be an ideal time to update the bulletin boards in the hallway as well.  I have always admired the natural tones of classroom spaces inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach and decided our bulletin boards would be a fun place to experiment with this.

One of two boards in the hallway leading to our cubby space.  I used burlap and twine along with the black and white Moroccan-themed border (which I LOVE!).  The small, wooden clothespins are an effective and easy way to display the children's artwork and projects.  I can hardly wait to see boards these filled up! :-)

Next up, planning and organizing the shelves by curriculum area - an endeavor which will undoubtedly take up the rest of my classroom time between now and the beginning of school.  Stay tuned for updates as they come along and thanks for stopping by - it's great to be back!

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!

Lupines, Lupines, Lupines!

June is a lovely month in our area with the blossoming of a coastal Maine symbol - the beautiful lupine plant.  We always take the time to read a favorite story which enchants the children each year,  Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney:

To go along with the same theme, the children were introduced to an art activity to make their own thumbprint lupines.

White paper cut lengthwise; green paper folded with cutting lines for leaves; tray with green crayon, jar containing pencil, scissors, gluestick; small tin which contains dampened sponged with purple paint.

The child gathers materials and brings them to a table.  Next, a green line is drawn on the white paper and the leaves are cut out.  

The leaves are then glued to the bottom...

and thumbprints are added.

Of course we have to have lupines for flower arranging too!

Signing In

Over the years, I have had a version of a Sign-In chart, similar to the one seen in THIS post, for the children to 'check-in' upon arriving to school in the mornings.  While I have found this method to work for the most part, I have been wanting to change our sign-in procedure for quite some time.  Again, thanks to the extra time a summer schedule affords, I have put together a new sign-in area for my students.

Our new Sign-In Table upon entering the classroom.

Here, the children are not only provided an opportunity to recognize their name, but also practice writing skills as they place a mark next to their name and/or write their name.  Ideally, a larger space could be provided for name writing practice, but I was limited by the size of the clipboard (which was limited by the size of the table, and the table size limited due to the available space...).  I selected this Mondrian print to display because we will be exploring primary colors in our art lessons during the first weeks of school.  Hopefully, the rotating of various artworks on our Sign-In Table will strengthen our Art curriculum and art appreciation.

Our new Birthday sign hangs directly over the Sign-In Table - I think this will help build and maintain a sense of community within the classroom.  

Beyond the Walls

Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods:  Saving Children from Nature Deficit Disorder has been the inspiration for a new program I am developing for my school.

Maria Montessori understood the importance of the natural world's influence on child development and its impact on learning.  Current research suggests that "the [growing] disconnection from nature...has enormous implications for human health and child development" (Louv, 2005, p. 43).   Studies also show however, that early experiences in nature can enhance development of imagination, build concentration, attentiveness, critical thinking, and decision-making skills. 

During my Montessori training several years ago, I was fortunate to learn about an exciting outdoor education program called Beyond the Walls.  Headed by an inspiring individual who is passionate about  providing children varied opportunities to explore nature, this type of program is one that I have always thought about starting since that time during my training.  Having finished Louv's book, I am determined now more than ever to begin our own version of Beyond the Walls at Dirigo Montessori School.  I plan to do a bit more research as to how to best implement the program and am looking forward to spending more time learning outdoors, 'beyond the walls' of our classroom!

Louv, R. (2005).  Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder.  Chapel Hill,  NC: Algonquin Books.

Montessori Madness!

These summer days have afforded me the opportunity to read Trevor Eissler's book, Montessori Madness!  What is most refreshing is that this resource is not written by a Montessorian or even by an educator.  Instead Eissler, a parent of Montessori students and himself an airline pilot/flight instructor,  advocates the philosophy of the Montessori method of education as a catalyst for school reform.  In doing so, he succinctly explains major components of Montessori theory and practice in ways which non-Montessorians can easily identify.

One of my favorite passages is his description of the first time he observed a Montessori (Early Childhood) classroom.  "I gasped.  To my right a child of no more than four sat brandishing a needle!  Actually, it became apparent she wasn't brandishing it at all.  She was sewing.  And she was entranced by her solitary work.  Across the room I spied two children with a knife!  I soon realized these two little children, surely no older than three, were taking turns using a rounded butter-knife.  They were slicing carrots and celery, which they would later serve to the class as a snack.  Everything here was real.  The flower vases were not plastic, they were glass.  Even the glasses were glass!" (Eissler, 2009, p. 47).  Reading this, I had to remind myself that it is impossible for everyone who visits our classroom to understand the  fundamentals of the approach.  Additionally, it highlighted the fact that what is routine and normal for the Montessori classroom, vastly differs from the ideas of those unfamiliar with the method.  Later, Eissler (2009) writes of his classroom observation, "when the thirty minutes were up, I inconspicuously rose and slipped out of the room, feeling relaxed and refreshed.  I met my wife back at the school office and asked, flabbergasted, 'What just happened?'" (p. 49).  Eissler had just found the answers he had been searching for in the quest for excellence in education.

I recommend this book not only to Montessorians, but also to those interested in learning more about the positive impact a Montessori education can have for children and their parents.  As mentioned earlier, it is also a valuable tool to better understand Montessori terminology and nuances that anyone can understand (not just Montessorians).  In the meantime, you might also find interest in the video below:

For parents of my students, the book is available to you through our classroom Parent Resource Library - I hope you will take the opportunity to borrow it!

Reference

Eissler, T. (2009).  Montessori madness: A parent to parent argument for Montessori education.      Georgetown, TX: Sevenoff, LLC.

Mission Accomplished

My family and I have just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. where we enjoyed the sights as well as catching up with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  This is what awaited me in the mail upon our return:

It has been quite a journey and I am very thankful for my supportive family and friends who have helped me along the way.  I realize that a goal fulfilled does not signify an end -  rather, it paves the way toward fresh beginnings and allows for new dreams to unfold.

This Is It!

The last week before summer vacation...and I do not have many picture to show for it.  Our classroom was abuzz with many Birthday Walk celebrations and two mornings of hosting the children's fathers for 'Donuts for Dad' (in honor of Father's Day this weekend).  Even amidst all of these extra activities, and during the last days of school, several children requested new lessons.  It inspires me to know how eager the children are in their quest for knowledge.

Cards and Counters - extension activity.

Teen numbers with the the Teen Bead Hanger.

Number writing practice.

Handwriting practice with Metal Insets.

Combination of the Decimal System Cards and Golden Beads.

A variation with the Solid Cylinders using all four at a time.

Number writing practice in the Sand Tray.

"Fifteen," counting with the Teen Beads.

It has been quite a year!  I am looking forward to spending time with my family and enjoying the slower pace of summer vacation.  As always, it will be a time of renewal and provide opportunities for me to cultivate new ideas for the new school year ahead! 

Letter Writing Practice

These summer days have afforded me the opportunity to reflect on years past in my Montessori classroom.  Lately, I have been analyzing trends in the the progression of Language lessons as they pertain to individual students as well as the class as a whole.  For example, my students typically LOVE working with the Sandpaper Letters, but sometimes begin to loose interest beyond the Moveable Alphabet.  On one hand, this makes it challenging to identify when to present writing practice on the chalkboard and other subsequent lessons.  On the other hand, the children are excited to begin writing practice on chalkboards, but I feel that they need more opportunities for practice before moving to writing on paper.  Usually, their interest wanes with the chalkboards before they are ready for paper.  As a result, the paper for writing practice loses its intended purpose as it becomes "doodle paper."  Let it be known that I believe there is nothing inherently wrong with doodling - in fact is a necessary pre-writing skill.  In the context of the progression of writing lessons with the Montessori materials, however, I believe the writing paper should be reserved for writing - the child who is doodling can be guided to an art activity or other lessons which foster that intuitive movement.  In the classroom, I have found that writing practice can easily fall to the wayside.

As a response to these observed trends, I decided to make a few materials to "fill in the gaps."  One of the first materials I've made to allow more opportunities for self-directed letter writing practice are these letter strips:

In the making (again, at my dining room table!):  Letter writing practice strips before lamination.  

These will be introduced to a student who has already practiced writing on the chalkboards and some  paper work.  I simply feel this type of activity provides a meaningful point of interest (it's something different and new), while allowing more independent practice for forming letters.

Along the same lines, another place where I see a need for more practice is the transition from writing letters to writing words and connecting letters.  The following set of strips allows the student to practice writing words. 

A small selection of three letter phonetic word writing strips, one for each vowel, to begin practicing writing words and connecting letters.

This set of strips will be introduced a child who has not only worked with the Moveable Alphabet, but also has had plenty of writing practice on the chalkboards, papers, and the letters strips (above).  This idea came to me as I was making the letter strips, so I am approaching this aspect of writing practice as somewhat of an experiment and will assess the impact on learning once I'm able to make observations of the materials in use.

And while I was at it, I went ahead and made some strips for name writing and number writing practice, too!

Strips for name writing practice.  These are longer than the letter strips to accommodate longer names and repetition next to the names.

 Number writing strips.

The number writing strips will be for the student who has been introduced to the Sandpaper Numbers and has had practice writing numbers on the chalkboards and paper.  

Hopefully, these materials will allow ample opportunities for independent writing practice while maintaining interest.  I also have plans for some additional writing activities which I'll be sharing in the future.

Now, I need to go stock up on laminating sheets - I think I'll be needing quite a few...! ;)

An Unexpected Gift

Speaking to my husband at the breakfast table over coffee: "Hmm, I really need to start collecting souvenirs and items from different countries.  I'm planning to do more cultural studies for next school year and want to highlight different countries of the world.  Do you think you could ask some of your colleagues if they might be willing to donate some items?"

My husband:  "Sure, I know many people who travel often.  I'll ask around."

No less than half an hour later, a message appeared in my inbox from a local school principal who happens have an extensive Montessori background :  Dear Sasha,  I'm cleaning out my garage and have      
about 15 Montessori Unit Boxes ranging in themes from Africa to Insects.  I'd love to give them to you if you are interested...

I was on the phone immediately - two van loads and an hour later, I was the new owner of years worth of a priceless bounty of materials, including one-of-a-kind collections from countries around the world!  Fifteen was hugely underestimated - it was more like 38!

Here they are, all lined up in my driveway before placing them in my storage area - years worth of Montessori Unit Study boxes, ready to be explored!

Can you even imagine the timing of the conversation with my husband the message I received about the materials?  I remain shocked and speechless at the enormity and significance of this most unexpected gift.  I have been given such a treasure and am so grateful!

Inspecting the contents of each box is going to be better than Christmas! ;)  Here is a glimpse of just a couple:

 Practical Life "goodies."  

Just the top of a 'North America' box...

I have a feeling I'll be having loads of fun sorting through all of these boxes and can hardly wait to begin planning new lessons and activities with my newly acquired inventory!  

Booklets and More Booklets...

Summer vacation.  Time to relax, rest, rejuvenate...  Well, perhaps in a perfect world that would be the case!  Between getting the floors refinished in the classroom, familiarizing myself with a new computer, and keeping up with three kids at home, however, I can't say we've been relaxing around here... ;)  Nevertheless, one of my favorite things to do (and believe it or not, it is relaxing for me) is to make materials for my classroom.

Can you guess what is happening here at my dining room table at home?

One of the items on my to-do list is to make new record keeping booklets for Sandpaper Letters.  Please read more about them in THIS POST if you are interested in understanding more about how these are utilized.  I know this little project is something that has to be done at some point before school starts, so I went ahead and finished it - one less thing to do in those busy days right before school  begins...

While making a new set for this Fall's students, I thought about how successful these record keeping booklets had been last year.  They not only helped me in keeping track of each child's progress, but also became a meaningful source of motivation for my students and me.  An exclamation could always be heard when a new letter was placed in a booklet - "Oh yay!  I got a letter in my booklet!" or "I have so many letters in my booklet - I only have two more left to do!  Let's do more Sandpaper Letters!"  One can imagine the motivation these exclamations from my students provided me.  As a result of the success with the Sandpaper Letter booklets, I have decided to make a set dedicated to math lessons with the Number Rods and Sandpaper Numbers.

Math Booklet for tracking lessons with Number Rods and Sandpaper Numbers .

Here, I will use the same principle as with the letter booklets - the first line of a triangle around a number will indicate introduction of a Number Rod for a particular number, the second line of the triangle will indicate that the child is working on the Number Rod,  while the third line of the triangle will indicate mastery of the Number Rod.  One aspect which slightly differs with the math booklets is that the record keeping is for  tracking two different  materials - the Number Rods and Sandpaper Numbers.  Therefore, once a child has a full triangle around a number, I will know they are ready for a corresponding Sandpaper Number introduction.  The introduction of the Sandpaper Number will be marked with a small dot inside the triangle.  When a child has mastered the Sandpaper Number, the triangle in their booklet will be lightly shaded and the number recorded in their booklet.  Also, if the child chooses, enough space can remain on each page to draw pictures which correspond with the number, i.e. eight stars to go with the number eight.

This shows that the child has mastered the Number Rod (triangle around the number),   has been introduced to the Sandpaper Number (dot inside the triangle), and mastered the Sandpaper Number (shaded triangle).

While it might seem a bit complicated, it works for me in the midst of lessons.  I can easily see which numbers have been introduced, and which one the child is working on or mastered.  Also, these booklets are a quick reference while inputting information in student Montessori Compass reports.

I have a feeling these math booklets might generate just as much motivation for lessons with the Number Rods and Sandpaper Numbers as the letter booklets made for language Sound Games and Sandpaper Letters!

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