'Guesstimation Jar'

Our classroom assistant assembled this activity as part of her ongoing Montessori training.  Added to the Math area of the classroom is this 'Guesstimation Jar.'

The children have a look to see how many spiders they think are in the jar and write down their 'guesstimate' on a slip of paper.  These papers are collected in the orange bowl on the right side of the tray.  Very soon, we will gather the children, read the guesstimates, and then count how many spiders are actually in the jar.  Our plan is to vary the contents according to seasons or holidays.  What a fun way to get the children making estimates and writing numbers!  

It Must Be October

Our class is enjoying many October themed activities, and there is notable progress in each child's Montessori lessons.  I love how each week's collection of photos are able to indicate the time of year both through the seasonal activities, as well as the varied Montessori lessons with extension work.

The child has explored the Pink Tower and Brown Stair individually, and is now observing how they relate by working with them together.

Building hand strength through pin pushing.  We vary the shapes available for use - this month is a pumpkin shape.

This Pumpkin Craft has been enjoyed by all!

Counting by tens with the Tens Boards and beads.

Finding the missing beginning sounds with the Large Moveable Alphabet.

Constructing quantities with golden beads while understanding place value thought the use of the color-coded decimal system mat.  The children in the pictures are constructing the number 385.

Design work with the Constructive Triangles.

Practicing writing numbers with the 'Wet, Dry, Try' method.

Understanding teen numbers with the Teen Beads and Boards...

...and using that knowledge to work with the Teen Bead Hanger for variation.

More extension work with the Pink Tower and Brown Stair.

"Five Little Pumpkins" flannel board fun!

Three-part cards for the Life Cycle of a Pumpkin.

Matching the Geometric Solids to their card and reading the name of each shape.

Precision work with the Pink Tower.  Notice the all of the Sensorial work happening in the background as well!

'Jack-o-lantern' pouring - who can resist?!

Sorting images into the categories of Land, Air, and Water.

"Spooky" collage work, and practicing using gluestick.

Writing practice with Rainbow Letters.

Using the Constructive Triangles (Triangular Box) to see how various triangles form equilateral triangles.

The children have also enjoyed learning the following poem, and several volunteers have offered to recite it from memory during circle time.  What is it about children's voices and poetry?  Such a beautiful sound!

October

October's the month

When the smallest breeze

Gives us a shower of autumn leaves.

Bonfires and pumpkins-

Leaves sailing down,

October is red, and golden, and brown.

-Anonymous

Pumpkin Craft

The children have been working on making these adorable pumpkin crafts.  It ended up being a several step process because the doilies needed to be painted prior to gluing.  For the first several days, we set up the white doilies to be painted orange.  Once they were dry, we collected them and set up the second part to the craft, which the children have been completing this week.

First step: Paining the doilies.

Second step:  Gluing the painted doilies onto white paper and adding a stem ,vine, and grass.

A work in progress.

So cheerful...

Our very own pumpkin patch in the hallway!

Steadily Moving Forward

Our class seems to be moving right along, enjoying new activities while practicing lessons already received.  It has been wonderful to observe how the children are responding to our Grace and Courtesy lessons, being sure to push in their chairs, neatly roll up their work mats, and taking care to observe others' work, and not touching other people's materials.  As with any Montessori classroom, this requires plenty of practice with much support and guidance from the adults.  We have definitely  had a successful first month of school, steadily moving forward!

Practicing writing numbers with our 'Number Windows.'

Writing practice with Metal Insets.

Working with the Parts of a Bird puzzle and learning the names of each part.

Experiencing how various triangles combine to make new shapes with the Constructive Triangles.

Sensorially learning the names of polygons while tracing their edges.

Letter writing practice with Sandpaper Letters.

Understanding quantity and number symbol (numbers 11-19) with the Teen Beads and Boards.

Writing preparation with the Touch Boards.

Using the smallest Red Rod to confirm placement of rods in order.

Pouring dry ingredients.

Washing (and hanging to dry) the classroom's polish cloths.

Reading practice with phonetic words/objects.

Cutting on the lines.

Painting with one color - we changed the color which was a new variation and point of interest for the children.

Many children are still enjoying the apple sequencing activity.

Using the Spindle Box lesson to understand the concept of zero.

A wonderful activity put together by one of our classroom assistants:  This child is carefully walking the line, holding a tray with a magnetic level  whose bubble has to remain in the middle while walking.  What a challenge!  

Using a dropper to fill up the pumpkins in the ice cube tray.

Using a the pincer grasp to place each pumpkin seed in its spot.

Some inspiring exploration of the Sensorial materials by one of our returning students.

Starburst!