Beyond the classroom walls

We had a field trip today. Well, if going over to the elementary classroom counts as a field trip. At a little before 10 o'clock we called the children to the ellipse and let them know that we were going to a play put on by the elementary class. We talked about how we needed to be good visitors to their classroom, sit quietly and stay in our places. And they must have took it to heart because I only had to speak to one child about keeping their voice off. A short Q&A after the play (The Scrambled States of America) was a bit much for them to sit still for, and required an explanation of a question versus a story. Then we trooped back to our classroom and got back to work.

What play do you choose to do when
your Elementary class has 44 students?
Why one with 50 roles in it of course!

That was just about the perfect amount of 'going out' for our children. Elementary on the other hand has actual going out activities where they leave the school grounds. Normally these events don't involve the whole class, rather just a small group will go. Ideally these going outs are planned by the children themselves and stem from a desire to learn something in a more hands on way, like actually visiting a recycling plant or soup kitchen. The children figure out how they will get to their destination, recruit a parent volunteer to accompany them if  needed, and any other details. The parent chaperon is there, not to lead the children, but rather as a safety net in case a situation arises that they might not know how to deal with (such a missing the scheduled bus). 

All of this is a little above the younger ones in Children s House. For them the simple routine of coming to school and knowing exactly what to expect is comforting to them. Their community has expanded beyond the family to include their classroom. Elementary students, on the other hand, are ready to begin embracing an even larger community. All of this stems from Dr. Montessori's findings of child development and understanding that the preschool and elementary child differ as much as the adolescent does. And I have to admit that watching our children walk nervously into that big elementary room really brought this point home.

These are older children that they see regularly, and a lot of them are even their older siblings. They see these children coming in and going home at the same times as them, some even play with the older children in before and after school care. Yet walking in to a new room, even with all their classroom friends, was still the biggest challenge of the day for our kids. Meanwhile it seemed like the Elementary was ready to take their show on the road if we would only have let them!

Imitation, the sincerest form of flattery

Oh distractability and imitation, what big roles you play in the life of a preschooler! O is one of our three year olds, but because she's so articulate she seems older. She also attended a Montessori toddler program before coming to our school and so the idea of choosing work, working at it, and then putting it back was pretty well instilled in her already.

However she's still got some big obstacles to overcome in the area of self control. O is one of those children who will see someone else do something, hear an adult tell them not to, and then repeat it herself. Very frustrating as a teacher, well at least for me. I can handle it when the children copy each other, even if it's not the best behavior. But as soon as I explain to them that it's unacceptable it really pushes my buttons to have a child (who I know heard that message) commence the same behavior. I'm trying really hard not to let O know this....but I'm not sure I'm succeeding.

Unfortunately for me one of O's best friends, E, is quite prone to bouncy, loud behaviors. Unfortunately for O her friend is much better at regaining control of her behavior, so even though E will start the chasing in the classroom, it's O who ends up getting the reinforcement for how to walk because she can't get herself under control as quickly.

Perfect example. While getting ready for nap today both E and O were in the bathroom at the same time. A bad combination that I saw coming and reminded both of them to keep their voices down before they even walked over the threshold. Yeah, no such luck. Another teacher was keeping an eye on them while I helped the last slowpoke hang up her snowpants and jacket. By the time I saw the two of them again there was some pretty loud giggling and quick feet in the hallway.

At this point in the year all I had to do was give them 'the look', asking without any words if they thought they were behaving properly. E immediately clammed up, and slowed her dancing feet enough to walk to the nap room door and remove her shoes. O on the other hand kept snorting as she tried to stop giggling and I had to verbally remind her to walk. Luckily they were separated for the actual nap time, since O naps in the coat room to keep her from disturbing the others. I doubt either of them would have slept if they had gone into the darkened nap room together that keyed up. As it was, all by herself O took a good five minutes to quiet down and begin looking at the books she had chosen for nap.

Yeah, these shirts would be so appropriate for O and E!

The influence on others

N ended up next to me for the last 20 minutes of class. I had already redirected him four or five times that morning and was out of ideas of how to re-engage him. So instead I asked him to sit by me and observe how the other children we working. He grumbled a little bit but listened and sat quietly on the rug while I wrote down some observations. 

Funnily enough though, he inspired another child so sit by and observe with us as well. E sat down next to him without a word and silently watched the progress of the room. She didn't ask what we were doing, didn't try to interrupt, just took it into her head to join us. 

A lot of things in a our classroom work like that. Sometimes it's good, like with the puzzle maps this morning. A took out the entire map of Asia, and well....it was a little bit too much for him. So I recruited a couple of girls who were being silly nearby, trying to engage them in something more productive. While helping put the puzzle back together one began asking the names of the pieces. Next thing I knew she had her own puzzle out and we had gone over about a dozen state names in the United States map.

But sometimes that influence of the environment isn't so good. E loves nothing more than a good game of chase. She's been getting better, keeping it mostly to the playground, but there's one younger boy in our classroom that just gets sucked in to following her. They egg each other on until there's a game of tag going on if a teacher doesn't catch them in time. E wasn't quite running when I put up an arm to stop her (in fact I'd like to say she was doing a pretty legitimate speed walk!) but the high pitched voices were rising.

So back to N. He sat by me and I sent him out to get dressed 10 minutes early, along with another go-homer who has trouble concentrating when the entire group is in the coat room. When I brought the rest of the children in a few minutes later they were both dressed and eager to help me put out name tags for lunch. Sometimes it just takes a little change of environment. 

Montessori Sunday: Dressing Frames

 Snaps, zippers, buttons, velcro, buckles, laces, bows, safety pins, hooks and eyes, there's so many different ways to fasten clothing. The dressing frames in the Casa give children the opportunity to practice these different fasteners in a less awkward situation then on their own bodies. It's always easier to master a task when you can see what you're doing. This is the same reason it's pretty common to see children who are able to help their friends with a zipper, but still can't manage to do their own.

With all the dressing frames the Directress shows the child how to carry the frame with two hands to a table. Usually the snap frame is shown first, though buttons or a zipper may be introduced in the child is really interested. Using careful movements she slowly demonstrates how to undo the fastening. Carefully the two parts of the fabric are folded back, showing the table underneath. With the same careful and analyzed movements the teacher demonstrates how to fasten the pieces back together and invites the child to try. 

Sometimes with a more antsy individual the teacher may demonstrate only two or three fasteners before allowing them to have a turn, but part of what this lesson teaches is patience as well. Patiently waiting for ones turn for an activity is difficult but well worth learning.

The dressing frames are mainly used by the younger children in the class, though the lacing and bow tying frame aren't introduced until later. The bow tying frame is unique in that it may be broken down into two parts when introduced. The first part, the criss cross, can be learned pretty quickly, but the second part, tying the bows, takes a lot of perseverance. Because it's so difficult this is a presentation that we really want the child  motivated to learn before introducing it. Earlier this year we had one child who was very determined to learn how to tie a bow because he had new tie shoes. It only took about two weeks before he could do it independently. Throughout this time though he only took out the frame two or three times, all his other practice occurred using his outdoor shoes. It may have been easier to use the frame but his real intention was to be able to tie his shoes and that's what he focused on.

How to dress your child for the outdoors

J got stuck in the snow. I walked out the door to the playground, pulling on my mittens against the cold and heard her howling. Of course she was at the furthest reaches of our snowy playground. And let me remind you that we had 3 snow days last week. That translates into drifts that are just a few feet short of the eves of the building and have made our fences into short decorations rather than actual blockades. It's been so cold we haven't had recess either and the children haven't made any tracks yet.

So here was J in the middle of that mess, most of her hidden down in a hole the older children had dug in the snow. I let her know I was coming, took a step and immediately sank up to my knee. Oops. Other than a path the elementary children had pounded by coming to borrow our sleds, the yard was still fluffy powder. I waded out to J, got the snow out of her boot and helped her back to more stable ground.

And she was just the first. I fished child after child out of the snow, stuck on countless boots and knocked snow out of at least five pairs of mittens. Luckily they were all so happy to be out playing in the snow that any tears were pretty short lived and no one seemed bothered by the cold. At least while we were outside, when we went in and took stuff off it was a different story.

So if you ever have a need to buy winter clothes for a child (especially a montessori one!) keep these things in mind-

1. That elastic band at the bottom of snowpants? Make sure they have it and that you child knows it goes OVER the boot, not inside it. I had quite a few children who were completely amazed when I explained that it had a purpose.

2. Mittens that go OVER their jacket. Hand wear that goes inside makes it impossible to finish the dressing process. I have trouble doing a zipper with mittens of gloves on my hand, and I've had over two decades of experience. Sorry but a three or four year old has no chance.

3. A hat that really goes OVER the ears, and those with ear flaps are even better. Your child's hat will fall off. They will need to put it on again. They will have gloves on. It will be difficult. Giving them that little extra bit to grab at will make it easier.

Hm....maybe I should make this into a note to send it home to parents. It would certainly help keep my own hands warmer at recess by not having to fix those mittens and snowpants over and over again...

Trust me kid, it's worth it!

Buckling down

There was work galore happening this morning, and really focused, challenging work.

I was so amazed this morning when I brought in the tray for food work and after setting everything out found that I could sit down and observe the children work for a little while. I thought I'd get maybe a minute or two, but I got closer to 10 minutes of uninterrupted observation. This is what we're striving for in our classroom; children who can make choices and work on those activities independently. A couple of girls were playing a game with the pink tower, an older boy was setting up the farm while a younger child observed him, two children were walking carefully on the line. Every where I looked children were engaged in activities or walking to the shelves with purpose.

It's great to be able to watch these children mature and settle down in to the routine, especially the older ones. Some have never stayed for the afternoon, or have napped during that work cycle so having an extra two hours every day has really exploded their abilities. M is one of those who has always gone home after the morning work cycle, this is her first year staying all afternoon. She just turned 5 in November and over the past month has discovered she can read. It started with the little slips we have for clean up jobs at the end of the day and went from there. This morning I watched M use the moveable alphabet with a friend to write little commands (like "sit on a mat"), read them and act them out. Now that's awesome progress, not only being able to read the words but really interpret them as well. 

Below is the work of another Kindergartener. T traced each country from the puzzle map of Europe, colored them in, labeled them and then wrote the name of the country on a separate piece of paper. Not a bad way to practice and learn capital letters!

Another example was with another M girl. We've always known she was very artistic and musical, she takes piano and her older sister plays the violin so there's a lot of formal music education as well. The other day though I heard her playing Christmas songs on our melody harp--from memory! We have little cards that slide in under the strings of the instrument so the children learn which string to pluck, but I'm not ever sure that we have the songs she was playing. Anyways I asked M if she'd like to learn how to play little songs on the bells, she was a little hesitant, telling me that she didn't know how to read regular music. But after talking to me, walking away, coming back again she finally decided that in the afternoon she wanted to learn some more work with the bells. Together we labeled the bells, learned the parts of the staff and the placement of the notes. M was really in to it and was even more proud when she realized that she had had the most presentations on the bells of any of the other kindergartners.  Ok, so we're not supposed promote competition like that but it really was an accomplishment she could be proud of since she puts so much work in to her music.

The week we played inside

Ok, so it hasn't been a week yet, but it's not looking promising. We have a policy of not letting the children out for recess when it's 0 degrees out, including wind chill. Well this week it's been close to zero, actual temperature. Brrr!! So we've been inside and have yet to make tracks in our wonderfully snowed in yard.

The kids haven't been complaining, though they have been looking longingly out the window. Instead we've played with the parachute, done a lot of Simon says and just played with some toys in general. The kids are really in to building with these cardboard bricks we have. They're about a foot long and there's enough that they can actually build a pretty decent fort. It's funny though because there's almost as much squabbling over who gets to put the bricks away as to who gets to play with them in the first place. Don't ask me why, maybe they're fun to carry or something?

Anyways, today though the apparent big hit was limbo. I turned on some music, held a pole for them to walk under and the hilarity ensued. Children crawled under the pole, they belly slid, they crab walked, they wriggled and giggled and had just a great time. Oh, and nobody got stepped on either, yes! The best part though was right after when I lined up the older children to go back to the classroom and as they walked out they were all still dancing a little bit and saying 'thank you'! A pretty awesome end to what might have been a stuffy, boring indoor recess.

Except now I have to top that tomorrow...hmm....

The play yard the children are just itching to get out and play in.
Now it it would only warm up enough to go outside! 

Back to business

No, I did not forget about yesterdays Montessori Sunday. But after our extended break with snow days and the weekend I figured it was too soon for another technical post. After all, you want to hear more about the kids right?

Today was a day of glitter.
And glue.
And glitter-glue.
Oh, and regular glue and clip art pictures, and stickers and stamps and swirly colored paper.

Yeah, kind of kid-art paradise. I guess one child went back in to the classroom and was actually hopping up and down she was so excited to have been a part of the art project. Not that I let them use the glitter personally. Most 3 and 4 (also some 5) year olds just do not have the coordination for meaningful application of glitter products. But they did get to choose their design and color so I'm going to count that as their own work.

Anyways, we were busy making stationary this morning. While we know that not all of our families celebrate Christmas, most do and so it's a good season to make a little extra gift to send home. Each child got to decorate the headers of 4 little pieces of stationary with all manner of art things. Before we started I explained how we were making stationary and needed to leave the bottom part blank for them or their parents to write little notes on. Overall I was pretty impressed with how well they respected this rule, most kept their stickers and pictures and stamps above the line and it actually looks like stationary.

They independently chose their stickers, peeled them and put them on, and also glued on their own clip art pictures. I helped with the glitter application (as previously discussed) and added the final touch of a line of glitter glue from the hot glue gun. The children then made sure their finished stationary stayed with the correct envelope, cleaned up the paper backs from stickers, and helped me store the extra supplies back into their bags. They pushed in their chairs and went back into the classroom and back to work.

Ah it was great. I love how even though this project was adult led they could do it mostly by themselves--including the clean up!

SNOW DAY!!

So I'm sure the children are having lots of adventures out in the snow today. I'll have to wait to hear about them until tomorrow though...unless it keeps snowing like this...two snow days in a row perhaps?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Montessori Sunday: Puzzle Maps

Children love puzzles. So why do we insist on giving them puzzles of cartoon shaped animals and people? In a Montessori environment there are still puzzles, but they are more realistic than what you find in most toy stores. Many classrooms have puzzles of plants or animals where each distinct part of the animal (ex. the hind legs of a horse) is a separate piece. The geography puzzle maps follow the same concept, each different continent or country is its own piece of the puzzle.

The puzzle maps are introduced after the child has been shown the globe of the world, and introduced to the idea that the world is round and made up of land and water. The globe and world map are both brought to a working mat and together the teacher and child explore how they are similar and different. The teacher then demonstrates with clay how a round sphere can be flattened into the two circles that make up the puzzle. After demonstrating how to lift the pieces carefully using the knobs the child is encouraged to practice the puzzle on their own.

After mastering the world puzzle the child is introduced to the continent puzzles, which are more complicated due to the larger number of pieces. Additionally the child will be introduced to a puzzle map of their own country, which is divided into either states or regions. There are large, laminated control maps for the children to fit the pieces onto if they accidentally take out too many. These maps may be labeled with the names of the country/state or left blank.

Puzzle maps help children with their fine motor skills, spatial reasoning and introduce them in a concrete way to the world around them. In Montessori we work from the whole concept (the world) to the parts (the child's own country/state). This is to help them learn things within a context. It's hard to really understand what a continent is if you don't know that the world is made up of land and water. The children are introduced to the idea of geography though a material that they can see and manipulate. Other activities also branch off from the puzzles. Montessori classrooms have flags of different countries for children to learn about. Cultural folders share with them pictures from different parts of the globe.

Cool fact about the puzzle maps: the knob for each country is strategically placed where the capital of that country is located. How neat is that!