MOVING!!

I decided I had better formally announce that we are moving the school to North Ogden. The location has been very tenative up until this point, so I didn't want to say anything until it was more solid. There are a lot of exciting changes going in and I can't wait to introduce the new teachers and show off the new space!!

March activities

We have been learning about birds, so we have had this nest out on the shelf with a magnifying glass for exploring.

Rainbow number to dot matching. I think I got these from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

This frog is a piggy bank. Putting the coins in over and over again is great small motor skill and hand eye coordination practice. We also had the chance to talk about the differences in the coins and their value when the kids showed interest.

Spooning and pouring rice

Tweezing beads

Square

I can now accept credit and debit cards on location!
(Squareup.com)

Rainbows in March

We have been learning about colors, color mixing and the spectrum of light this month.

One morning we experimented with mixing colored water. We had large glasses filled with water dyed in the primary colors. We first mixed yellow and blue. I wish I caught a picture of their faces when it turned green. They were shocked and amazed!

Another day we practiced our cutting skills by making our own rainbow mosaic. They also got to practice matching and categorizing, which are excellent pre-reading skills. The rainbow is now hanging in our school, so they can continue to work on it as the inspiration hits.

Valentines Party

I know its a little late, but I still wanted to post some action shots of the Valentines Party.

First we made some butter by putting cream and a marble and shaking it until all the little arms were exhausted.

Then we made heart shaped biscuits from scratch. I would have gotten more shots of us actually making them, but I had my hands full (and sticky!)

We made some handy valentine-holders........

for our awesome homemade valentines.

They loved being sneaky delivering them.

When we were all finished we sat down to a fancy snack, and sampled our delicious biscuits and butter.

Who was/What is Montessori?

Who was Maria Montessori?
Maria Montessori was the first female to carry PhD in Italy, over 100 years ago. She was later put in charge of the project of creating a school for children in a low income housing district. Using her scientific background in anthropology, she simply observed the children. She began developing materials for the children based on the idea of giving the children tactile experiences with real life concepts. She observed that "play" was the work of the child. This was at a time when it was thought that children couldn't "learn" anything academic. It was felt at the time that children had to be sitting still and quietly listening to learn. Her work was radical as far as thinking in that time period. She developed a set of materials and a standard for their use that is still in use today.
The Materials and the Method.
These are what make a school a Montessori school. The materials she carefully thought out, tested and refined were inspired by the children and their abilities. The way she described their use, in her writings, are simply a method of presenting them to a child in a way that helps them gain the most use and knowledge.

Some people think all Montessori schools are only catholic.
Maria Montessori was catholic, but that does not limit those who employ her methods and materials to any religious preference.
Some people have heard that only "advanced" or "exceptional" kids go to Montessori.
(I think that might be a chicken before the egg thing ;) ) The beauty of Montessori is that a child can learn whatever they are ready to learn at their own pace. Children of different abilities and ages work well together and help and teach one another in the prepared Montessori environment.
Some people think Montessori is not academic enough.
I have heard some parents say "I want my child reading by______." The problem with this is: 1-It is not the parents goal to set
2-It does not consider the child's ability or interests.
Children learn skills much faster and more solidly if it is on their own terms. Montessori allows children to grow and learn on their own time and at their own pace. The secret is that kids WANT to learn! They want to progress! I have seen over and over a child who is allowed enough space to grow, flourish faster than anyone else could expect from them. (that, by the way, is why it is called Children's Garden Montessori ;) )
Some people think Montessori is too academic, rigid or structured.
This probably stems from the fact that there isn't a lot of fantasy play in Montessori. Maria Montessori wasn't against children role-playing and using imagination. She observed that children between the ages of 3 to 6 have a hunger for real life and learning the skills that come with it. Montessori materials are very fact based. I believe it is important to distinguish between fantasy and reality at this age, but I think it is wrong to restrict fantasy and pretend play.
The structured accusation might be because the Montessori prepared environment looks a little "O.C.D." to the untrained adult, but children thrive in that order and learn sequence and placing naturally. Along with grace, courtesy and personal responsibility.
Some people think Montessori classrooms have no "discipline" and the children have no rules or structure.
The Montessori Classroom is "child led" this does not mean it is Lord of the Flies in there :) What it does mean is that the child is allowed to progress at their own pace. They are moving through a series of materials prepared to help them grow to their fullest potential. Again, this "non-forced" approach helps children develop.

Classic Montessori Materials - The Pink Tower

This is the first in a series of posts about the "Classic" Montessori materials that make our class a "Montessori" Preschool. These standards are always on our shelves. It is worth knowing what these basics are and what they teach.

(on the Bottom Left)

I chose the Pink Tower first because it is the most recognized and iconic of the Montessori materials. Also......O.K. I'll admit....It's Pink and I'm still feeling all Valentine-y :)


The Pink Tower has 10 cubes ranging in size from 1000 cubic Centimeters (each side has a length of 10 centimeters) to 1 cubic Centimeter.

When Maria Montessori developed this material she had dimension, sequence, order and relationship in sizes in mind. She first used in on a green mat because of the way the pink and green looked together. Although, neither the pink or green color are what matters in this work; what matters is the size of and the amount of the blocks. This is considered a 'Sensorial' material, But like most sensorial materials it leads easily into later math skills. (think: relationship in amounts, order and much later cubing numbers.) It also gives us an opportunity to add vocabulary like "biggest" "smallest" "bigger" "smaller." While the child practices building this in the right order, they are "inputting" the information into their brain on many levels, by touch as well as sight. They hold onto the information learned from direct experience with a very real concept until this information is needed to expand upon. The control of error is that if it is out of order, you can see it, and sometimes it falls over.

After the child has mastered building a basic tower and has done so several times, they are ready for extensions of this work. These include tracing the cubes, building all kinds of other creations, looking at a control card on a mat and going to the shelf to choose the correct sized cube and bring it back to verify (pictured below), building along with the brown stair, and many others. The extensions help to refine and solidify the sense of size and dimension, and the new vocabulary.