Visitors!

Our little classroom has had some extra visitors lately. A group of college students came to observe for one of their education classes. It was a fairly large group that had to do some rotating to give everyone a chance to be in the classrooms since the presence of too many adults really disrupts the children. Then today we had a prospective parent come in. By the time the parents came in my students weren't even phased, visitors were old news to them!

Though they don't know about the visitor we have every day after they leave!

Meet Rudy. Technically he's the elementary class pet, but he comes over to 'help' me with classroom clean up at the end of the day and get a little hopping exercise in. He has his favorite places and activities in the classroom, just like the children do. The flower arranging is his favorite work, though he eats the flowers instead of arranging them properly. And his favorite spot in the classroom is hiding behind the sanitizing bins (the cream ones to the right in the photo). He likes to wiggle behind and then push them around or crawl inside the actual bins. I'm waiting for the children to notice the half-chewed flowers before letting them know about this little visitor!

And tomorrow we're going to have another 'visitor' that the children are very excited about. But I'll wait for some pictures to share.

The 'Perfect' Presentation

Please note that the word 'perfect' is in quotation marks in the title ;)

So C is my student I have had the most problems presenting new activities too. It's not that he's not interested, it's that he is so interested he has a really difficult time keeping his hands off the materials until it's his turn to try. This results in a lot of overfilled water glasses, triangles that don't fit together because he missed the part about the black lines matching, and sound cylinders that are simply shaken instead of matched. Not atypical for a three year old, but slightly frustrating as a teacher.

Today though I showed him the orange squeezing activity and everything fell in to place. He's done enough other food activities that I could verbally direct him to get on the apron, place the oilcloth and bring the tray to the table. All hands on, no waiting required on his part. C was a bit impatient about letting me unload the tray so I could tell him the names of things. Luckily there are only four things on the tray: a juicer, cup, tongs and cloth. He also knew from experience that he had to carry the tray over to the fridge to get his oranges out. I only had to let him know that he was allowed to use the tongs to get two oranges and that was it.

Again, no waiting necessary.

At the table he immediately jumped on the sliced orange and squished it down on the juicer....then looked in surprise that all the juice hadn't magically come out. He looked at the orange, pushed is down again and looked at it in puzzlement. "Let me show you." He insisted on hanging on to the orange as I demonstrated how to twist it to squeeze out the juice. Finally he got it and after showing how to pour it gently in the cup I let him juice to his heart's content.

Despite having other children come and ask questions I was able to direct him to putting the finished juice in the fridge and cleaning up to go wash dishes. Knowing these were all tasks he could handle I drifted off to the other neglected children (ok, so they were doing a pretty good job keeping busy but I know they felt neglected!). Luckily I noticed right away as he went to put the clean dishes back on the shelf and was able to remind him about getting a new cup and cloth for the next person. He happily complied, then went to fold his apron at a table.

Next thing I know I hear this little voice "I all done!" C had come all the way across the room from where he'd been sitting at the snack table to show me his empty cup. "Was it good?" He nodded, grinning and I sent him off to wash his cup and be off to new adventures.

If only my timing could work out so nicely for every presentation! It always seems as though the biggest spills and disaster happen when I'm int he middle of presenting something new. Oh well.

Montessori Sunday: Having Snack

In our classroom having a snack is no different from any other work. There's a specific set of steps that need to be followed, the children can choose to have it whenever they like (though only once!) and when they finish things need to be cleaned up. This week, the snack routine got a bit more complicated.

Since the start of the year the snack in our classroom has been set out in individual Dixie cups, one for each child. I demonstrated to all the children how to wash their hands, choose one snack, enjoy it and then clean up the table when they finished. Now to an adult that seems like a simple process; however to the child it requires a huge effort of self control. Not only do they need to wait their turn to have snack (we had only one chair at the snack table), they also need to resist the desire to take more than one cup (or muffin as the case was one day).

Since my class right now is so small it was very easy to monitor the snack area and make sure the children were following the rules, especially the hand washing beforehand. After a few incidents of extra snacks eaten, some dumping of water back into the communal pitcher and lots of practice with washing hands, I decided they were ready to begin dishing their own snack.

Now our snack area boasts a 'Menu' each day. The children need to 'read' it and take the correct amount of snack to put on their plate. They use tongs or a spoon instead of their hands to dish out the food. When done, they are responsible for washing any dishes and putting them in the sanitation bin.

Now, having the food out like this does make it more likely to have germs spread than handing out individual cups. But the learning process and development of self control far outweighs this slight problem. After all, that's why we spent the first two months of school building up to this point. The children had already proven themselves worthy of the trust to keep this area clean and healthy for everyone. If we welcome any new children to the class I may have to reconsider whether this current set-up will work or if we'll need to go through a period of limited snack freedom until they can settle in.

Currently though, my students love being able to use the 'menu' and dish their own snack. They are also very proud of having real dishes to be responsible for. They can choose to use a bowl or plate for the day, and I also have spoons and forks available. They don't usually need silverware, but sometimes enjoy using it anyays.

Then, to make snack even more of a challenge- I turned the table and added another chair. Snack with a friend. Done partly to satisfy the logistics of having some slow/thorough eaters and to encourage some social interactions. After all, it's fun to eat with a friend!

What's better than cheese and pretzels? Cheese and pretzels with a friend!

Trying new things

Well the children in my class may like to hear the same book over and over (I can't wait until it's time to bring the "Three Little Peas" back to the library!), but they're more than happy to try out new works. Don't ask me why there is this discrepancy, I just know it exists.

Tuesday one of the lovely parents from school returned our metal inset stand. He had sanded and re varnished it to a glossy sheen. With the children watching excitedly I spent the morning putting it together; delicately placing the metal shapes on the shelf and carefully counting out three of each color pencil. They were pretty awed by all the colors and shapes, and keeping their fingers off was quite the challenge! All through the morning work cycle they'd come up in turn and ask if they could use the new work.

What they don't know is that anticipation is often key to having a successful presentation. *Insert evil grin here*

At the end of class though I did partially calm their excitement. To the whole group I demonstrated carrying the tray over, showing them each item on it; the metal inset with its two parts, the three pencils nestled in their holder, and the special paper just the right size to match the inset. They watched quite intently as I first traced the frame with one color, than the inset itself with another. The final step was coloring it in with precise curves.

"Can I try?" M asked breathlessly before I could say another word.

I told all the children that it would be available for them all morning the next day, and since everyone had seen my presentation they could all try then if they would like to.

So here's an example of a successful presentation-

S came in the next morning and makes a beeline for the shelf, so quickly that there wasn't even an open table for her to work out because all the chairs were still up. C spotted her with the work and immediately got out the second tray. While the two of them made multiple inset drawings M hovered around, waiting for the instant one of the trays was available for her. O kept asking "Can I do that when you're done?" over and over so much that S finally just quit asking him. Meanwhile the other C just watched quietly, went about his morning and took out his choice of shapes when all the hubbub had died down later.

5 out of 5 children agree- The metal insets were worth doing!

Our little community

Our classroom is no longer a collection of 6 individual children; it's a community.

This morning several of the children asked if C was coming back. We just had a three day weekend but they all easily remembered that one of their classmates had been sick the days before. I asked "Did you miss him?" They all answered in the affirmative and when C was spotted outside the door less than a minute later they all flocked over, chanting "C's back! Look it's C!"

Throughout the day I observed their usual little interactions. They helped each other with snaps and oil cloth rings. They offer to help wipe up spills and deliver forgotten dishes. They ask others to work with them and work together to clean up. They're becoming aware of the others beyond themselves.

S and W really demonstrated this especially today. They sat together with the reading mat for almost an hour, with S 'reading' to W from just about every book in the library. When they finished I suggested S take care of one of our plants that was looking pretty bad. W just kept wandering and I finally directed him to a shelf since it was too early for him to just be hanging out by me for the rest of the morning, an activity he enjoys doing a bit too often. He refused to participate though, so I chose an activity for him and set it at a table, wanting to keep him from wandering and distracting any of the others.

I feel bad but it was the other children who noticed he was crying first. They looked and asked me why and told them to go ask W. They flocked over and asked straight out why he was sad. "I want to go home! I want my daddy!" He blubbered out. They hovered around for a bit, telling him that he was ok and that it wasn't time to go home yet, but after the bead was on he could! I was so proud of their gentle words, some that I know I had said to them myself.

He quieted down and they drifted back to their work. But S wasn't done with him yet. She dutifully finished her work, cleaned it up, then went back to join W at his table. Together they played with the tanagrams (not exactly in a manner I liked, but....). Soon she had him giggling and chatting with her. Now that's something you can't force to happen- empathy with action!

Working together

We have arrived!

So my substitute for the other day wasn't at school yesterday so I hadn't had a chance to thank her yet, or see how the children had done in my absence. When I talked to her today I was completely surprised. She said that not only was my room absolutely lovely (she actually wants to have any future observers come in to my class!) but that the children had all gone right along with their work all morning as though nothing was different. She's was a Montessori teacher herself before becoming a mom so to hear her say that means quite a bit. Just a little over one month from our original point of departure towards this little community and my classroom is already normalized to the Montessori way of doing things.

Maria, we have arrived. :)

Sick Day

I'm sick....definitely sick. Mandatory day off for Strep Throat and no clue what went on with my students today. Or even who was in the classroom with them! Not that I doubted that they were in good hands, but since I don't have anyone else in the classroom with me on a daily basis there's no one  reliable to keep things going forward. The children are helpful and have good intentions but....not exactly reliable.

I spent all morning wondering what they were doing.

Did C keep trying to use the Land and Water forms, even though I've told him countless times that he's not ready yet?

What about O, how many things did he errantly tell the sub "Yes, I"ve been shown that." He really has no idea what he can practice or not.

And poor W, he was gone and Monday and now his first day back and there'll be someone different in a room that re-arranged on him.

I thought about M, if she was trying to hide away from the stranger in the room. Circling around their peripheral vision like she did with the photographer.

S and C I'm not worried about too much, I bet the two of them actually had a good time telling the substitute how things usually worked. Maybe even being a little bit bossy to them about doing it like Teacher Alex said. Hey, I can hope can't I?

One thing I wasn't concerned about them forgetting though was putting a bead on the string. Each day we add a new one to our bead calendar. It's become their end of the day tradition. They clap, they cheer, they grin with excitement when that bead goes on. Last week I even caught C pretending to be putting on the bead of the day using the large wooden beads we have for an early fine motor activity. She was sitting on the chair and each bead she put on she'd say "this bead's for Monday," or tuesday or Funday or Mesterday, whatever came to mind. A few of the others even drifted over to watch her too, giggling once they realized what she was doing.

So, I'm pretty sure there's no way they let the sub forget to put on the bead at least. One thing taken care of for sure!

More exuberance

We like using clothespins in our class....a lot.

After all, you can never be too sure that your painting isn't going to fall off the drying rack!

A little too exuberant

M had forgotten for a while about watering the plants. She loved the work when I first showed it too her, but as our plants got a little too much watering love I had to have her stop for a few days. She suddenly re-discovered it today and this was the result-

You can't tell in the photo but this entire vase is full of water. She ran out of plants and proceeded to use the watering can to fill up all the vases with flowers in them. The only problem...this one's a fake. Ooops!