Sensorial Education

"It is through our senses that we take in information and build our knowledge of the world and how it works.  It is how we make sense of the world.  [In Creative Development in the Child,] Montessori writes, 'What we call education of the senses is in reality an aid to the construction of the intelligence… The structure of activity in sensorial supports cognition and general development.  Through matching, children observe exact sameness, and through grading, children explore the relationships between and among various objects as they build an understanding that nothing is absolute and everything depends on the context: This tile may feel rough, but it is smoother than this one.  Through the sensorial activity of grading, the children explore the details through their relationship with one another.  As perceptions become more refined, the quality of information she is able to take in also becomes more refined, and she is increasingly able to make more reasoned judgements and comparisons" (Andrews, 2015, p.44-45).

Andrews, Sarah Werner. (2015).  The social relevance of Montessori in the first plane.  The NAMTA journal, 40(2), 31-61.

"Practice Makes Progress"

Thanks to our classroom assistant who has been been helping us remember this important aphorism:  Practice makes progress.  What wise words to encourage our students (and ourselves)!  I think the children must be hearing this message based on the images captured over the last two weeks:

Learning about prepositions.

Introduction to the function of the verb.

Just showing some love…! :-)

Carefully and attentively coloring a Map of the World.

Transferring water beads with a ladle.

Lining up the Brown Stair prisms.

Reading and reviewing our Peacemaker Cards.

Multiplication with Bead Bars.

Setting up the Red Rods to walk through the maze without touching the edges.

Counting out the Decimal System with golden beads.

Reading practice with three-part cards.

Taking care of classroom plants.

Enjoying the sounds of the Melody Harp.

"One ten and six units, sixteen," with the Teen Bead Hanger.

Learning shapes and preparing the hand for writing - Geometric Demonstration Tray.

Laying out the Numerals and Counters and learning about odd and even numbers.

Cutting and arranging flowers for the classroom.

Each place is so carefully filled with colored water using the dropper.

A sure sign of spring - enjoying an art activity with pussy willows.

Careful work with the Pink Tower.

Spindle Box:  Counting out and placing the spindles in to their corresponding compartments.

Putting together Logical Adjective pairs.

Understanding place value.

Memorization of addition math facts.

Practicing subtraction facts with the Negative Strip Board.

Putting together Logical Adverb pairs.

More subtraction practice.

Design work with the Metal Insets.

Signs of Spring

We are always sure to look for signs of spring...

The children listened attentively to this story of how Pussy Willows got their name.  How delicately they explored the branches I had brought in and were sure to "be so gentle!"

An invitation to create...

…was all that was needed to create a delightful springtime sight.

Pussy Willow

Close your eyes and do not peek,

And I'll rub spring across your cheek.

Smooth as satin, soft and sleek.

Close your eyes are do not peek,

And I'll rub spring across your cheek!

Smooth as satin, soft and sleek,

Close your eyes and do not peek!

-Aileen Fisher

Sharing Knowledge

Over the past couple of weeks, we have really noticed a new level of sharing of knowledge among the children.  I very much appreciate how this is occurs naturally within the mixed age setting of a Montessori classroom.  The children are so fortunate to have each other to observe and learn from.  Here are a few pictures of our classroom from the last two weeks:

Finding a quiet moment with the Individual Silence Game.

This painting activity has been very popular lately!

Counting quantities with the Short Bead Stair.

It's always a joy to see such exploration and collaboration with the Pink Tower and Brown Stair.

Static Addition with the Golden Bead material.

Setting out and counting the 45 Layout...

…and checking one's work.

A beautiful flower arrangement - its so wonderful to be surrounded by such beauty!

Making new shapes with triangle using the Constructive Triangles.

Learning about the Function of Words: the conjunction.

 Number writing practice.

Careful exploration with Pink Tower and Brown Stair.

Creating a collage with paper cuttings.

Transferring small beads with a tweezer.

Making a crossword using the the Small Moveable Alphabet and phonogram list words.

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

Comparisons between the Pink Tower and Brown Stair.

Quantity and counting with the Short Bead Hanger.

Walking the maze without touching the sides - such a challenge!

Reading and recording silent 'e' words.

Analyzing sentences.

A festive St. Patrick's Day pin pushing collage.

Making a flag of Ireland.

This chid spent most of the morning creating this gem!

Listening to the sound of a bell - "I listen until I can't hear the sound anymore!"

A small group of children descried to make a cultural table using all of the items from our Russia shelf.