Working in Harmony

This week marked the beginning of Formal Observations in the classroom. This is an opportunity for parents of enrolled students to come in and see our classroom in action.  One of the components of their visit is to complete an Observation Worksheet and answer a few questions, such as:  As you settle into your observation, what are your first impressions?   Most, if not all of this week's visitors all mentioned how happily the children work together.  And it is true - there is a definite harmony in the classroom!  One parent summed it up precisely - "There is an underlying harmony in the Dirigo Montessori School classroom which sustains a momentum of activity.  Children seem to take satisfaction in both starting as well as completing their different work."  I am proud of my students and am so thankful that "outsiders" have been able to observe what all Montessori teachers strive for!  Here is a collection of pictures of our week together:

I have placed modeling clay on the art shelf on a tray  purposely have not included any tools, other than a cutter, to see how the children would use it.  At first, many of the kids did not know how to manipulate the clay, so we mentioned how it takes a while for ones hands to warm it up.  Once they figured this part out, their exploration has been creatively playing itself out - here, the child has crafted a pair of cobras, complete with scales made of fingernail imprints!

Flower Arranging with orange carnations - the orange and green remind us of the Irish flag which is fitting with the rest of the classroom this month.

Working with the bells using our new, soft mallet (and making a much improved sound!).

 Reading practice with Puzzle Words (sight words).



St. Patrick's Day math game.



Months of the Year lesson which you can read about in THIS POST.
I've added the small flower eraser so the child can place it on the current month or their birthday month. 

Static Addition with the Stamp Game.  The children use the pencil as a separator between the numbers in each category before pushing them together for 'addition.'



Geography/Cultural study:  Pictures of North America.



 Language/Vocabulary Enrichment Cards.



Stereognostic Exercise:  The child matches items by touch only.



Reading practice Phonetic Object Box lesson.



Addition Snake Game
(Click on caption to read more about this material.)

Grammar work with the Logical Adjective Game.

Tens Board lesson.



A fun fine motor activity - balancing marbles on golf tees.



Practical Life:  Polishing Glass



Uppercase Cursive Sandpaper Letters

My assistant brought this festive plant which we placed on the snack table, much to the delight of the children!

So, you want to sew?

Some of you may recall THIS post last summer about learning to thread a needle.  The lesson has been on the shelf all year and has been enjoyed by a handful of my students.  One reason I created the lesson was because I've always wanted to incorporate more sewing activities in the classroom, but threading a needle was always a challenge for the kids.  Thanks to the practice the lesson provided, many of my students have been enjoying the following new sewing work:

Using an embroidery hoop to sew on burlap.

I have set up all the necessary materials on one of the shelves dedicated to threading and sewing activities:

Basket with burlap squares, tray with yarn and scissors, basket with embroidery hoop and...

...this intriguing little box (which hopefully someone will polish...!).  Inside is the best part of all...

...these tiny sewing scissors which apparently are very appealing to the children!  It's really all about the scissors! :)

Once the child takes a piece of burlap and cuts themselves a piece of yarn, they take everything with them in the basket to a table.  Using the embroidery hoop has been a great point of interest for the children and after demonstrating how to use it, most can do so for themselves.  Preparing the needle and thread has been a natural extension from the Threading a Needle lesson.  I also showed how to tie a knot at the end of the string to bring more success to the sewing process.

Sewing creations.

Montessori Monday Link-Up

Folding Paper

And it's not just any paper - it's fadeless duet paper (which is different colors on either side)!  Oh, the kids were so excited about this, "fancy paper."  As with most art projects in the classroom, I showed this to the children at circle time and set up the materials on a shelf for them to choose as an activity, if desired.  I appreciate how this lesson is a natural extension of the Practical Life Folding Cloths activity, which I plan to re-introduce to several students (as it has been sitting, very lonely, on the shelf!). 

Here, you can see the duet paper cut into three different sized squares (3,4, and 5 in.) along with our gluing materials and brown construction paper in the back.  The child chooses one or two squares of each size and places it in the basket along with a cup of glue and a piece of brown construction paper.  Then, they bring the materials, along with the glue mat, to a table.



The child takes one square and places it so a corner is facing him.  Next, he folds the bottom corner to the top and creases the edge, forming a triangle (just as in the Folding Cloths lesson). Then, glue is applied on one side of the triangle and arranged on the brown construction paper.



The designs and colors created by this technique with the duet paper are crisp and cheerful:



What delightful color in our hallway!

Montessori Monday Link-Up

Feeling Green?

Well, no - we're just seeing it everywhere these days in the classroom which is helping to ring in this new month!  The children have simply been ecstatic over the new activities on the shelves this week.  I think it must be a combination of the different materials and the fact that they had just returned from a week long vacation.  Seriously, I was so inspired by their joy and excitement, making all my efforts completely worthwhile!  Here are some snapshots of our week back at school:

Water transferring with a dropper.



A Cards and Counters variation with 'Shamrocks and Lucky Pennies'. 



Metal Inset work on pastel paper - green, of course!



Beading on pipe cleaners...



...to make a rainbow.  As you might imagine, this activity has been in perpetual use!



Using this wooden heart shape...



...to trace and paint at the easel for making shamrocks.



 This child was introduced to the three letter phonetic word cards. 

 

Practical Life:  Tweezing gold pom-poms.



Major interest in the bells!  One child, after excitedly trying each bell one at a time, declared, "Oh, they all sound different from each other!"  (I am still waiting for a real mallet - this one is just temporary.)



One of my students went to Florida during last week's vacation and brought these shells back!  I set them up in a basket along with a piece of black felt and a magnifying glass for the children to examine.



Practicing folding with a new art lesson (which I'll post about soon).



Reading practice with the Labeling the Environment activity.



Working with the Small Hexagonal Box of Constructive Triangles.



Renewed interest with the Color Tablets - here, the child is grading the Third Box from darkest to lightest.



Static Subtraction with the Stamp Game.



A new sewing lesson using burlap and an embroidery hoop.

Numbers 11-19 clover line.

Memory Game of Numbers with items from around the classroom.



Golden Beads:  Static Addition
2,463 + 2,332 = 4,795

 


Sorting coins.



Pink Tower and Brown Stair extension work.

 

On the Shelves: March

I can hardly believe I'm posting about March activities - can it really be March already?  This month, we have plenty of St. Patrick's Day-inspired fun on the shelves.  I am looking forward to working with the children with these lessons and showcasing our classroom during our Formal Observations.  Throughout this month, I have invited parents to observe our classroom - they will attend in half-hour increments to see firsthand all that happens in our classroom.  Without a doubt, they will see these activities in use:

Practical Life: Dry Transferring Shelves

Practical Life:  Wet Transferring Shelves
(Amazing how the color can change everything!)

Bead Tray
We'll be making Irish 'good luck' bracelets on sparkly, gold pipe cleaners.



Threading materials to make...



...a beaded rainbow!  (Thanks, Montessori Journey!)



A fun Opening/Closing variation...



...with seven lucky pennies!



Paper cutting strips to make Irish flag collages.



These 4x6 pieces of oak tag will be used  for making the flags.  After the child cuts the strips, they can glue the pieces onto the oak tag.  It might be fun to tape a small dowel or Popsicle stick for a flagpole...



Math:  Numbers 11-19
I wrote the numbers on decorative shamrocks and thought the little clips would be perfect for...



...hanging them on the line.

I have also set out the "Lucky Penny" lesson seen in THIS POST.  The only thing I plan to change during the presentation of this material, is to show the children how to line up the pennies as we do in the Cards and Counters lesson.  Additionally, there are a host of art lessons on the shelves which I am planning to share with you in future posts.