And the Learning Continues...

Welcome back to school!  I feel very fortunate that the majority of our class has returned for either a second or third year in our Montessori classroom.  Through the viewing of the following photos, one can see the effect of last year's learning.  I remain very proud of my returning students and how they have worked this week in our classroom as if they had never left for the summer!  How lucky our new friends are to have so many peers to learn from as they navigate their new setting.

Spooning colored rice - A preliminary Practical Life exercise promoting CCIO (concentration, coordination, independence, and order).

Basic cutting with scissors.

An introduction to the Red Rods providing visual discrimination of length.

Working with the Knobbed Cylinders - visual discrimination of size and development of the pincer grasp.

Writing practice with the Metal Insets.

Math practice with the Short Bead Stair.

This is what last year's students came up with!

"Bears in a Line"

Creative exploration with clay.

Counting, cardinality, and odd/even numbers with Cards and Counters.

Laying out the Decimal System Cards for work with the Golden Beads.

Building fine motor control with a dropper activity.

Naming and counting the decimal system categories - Introduction to the Decimal System.

Number writing practice.

Metal Polishing - a Practical Life exercise in Care of Environment.

Working with the Teen Bead Hanger.

"Sticks and Stones" math game.

Writing practice and letter/sound recognition with the Sandpaper Letters.

Preparing apple slices...

...and offering them to friends.

A group of students even requested to practice addition with the Golden Beads - I've never had that happen during the first week of school (or even the first month or two)!  We have certainly begun our school year with finesse!