Extensions and games

Lately in the classroom I've really been focusing on showing extensions of sensorial materials to the children, to encourage them to go back and practice the things they've already been shown so they can truly understand and master them. I have at least one child who feels that after she has done something once, she's done with it, no need to practice (even if it wasn't all that easy the first time!). By introducing some little 'games' she can do with friends though, I've gotten her to practice a lot more with the materials and get to know them a bit better.

While there are about two dozen or so different sensorial materials, the extensions are pretty similar. The children can do different types of matching.. They can match the materials themselves, find things in the classroom environment that are the same color/shape/size/etc., or even just bring one set to a table on the other side of the classroom and try to remember what they're looking for while navigating across the room. All this little games help build up their memory and really help solidify the aspect of the material that they're working with.

C doing an extension of the color tablets where he collects items
from around the classroom that match the color of the tablets.
Several children observed this and couldn't wait to try it themselves!

Another main extension that I've tried to make a point of introducing is the language that goes with each material. Things like the color tablets and geometric shapes have obvious language to be given, but all the sensorial materials have a certain bit of language associated with them. For example the pink tower is large/small, the brown stair is thick/thin, and the red rods are long/short.

The specific words are used to introduce the children to the idea of comparing two different qualities through language. In a certain context one red rod may be the longer one, but next to another rod it may be shorter. While a child  may be able to put the rods in order, they may have no idea how to explain verbally to another person what they did. The point of these language extensions is to formalize and give the language for something the children  already understand.

I do want to point out that as a teacher I'm not actually trying to teach children the 'idea' of large and small, I trust that they've already noticed that objects are all different sizes. What I'm trying to supply them with is the language associated with these different properties so they can communicate about them with other people.

Montessori Sunday: Polishing Activities

Welcome back to another Montessori Sunday! (actually on Sunday this time even). Today I wanted to introduce the polishing activities commonly used in a Montessori classroom. Polishing is in the area of practical life and is often introduced to the children very early on. My training covered activities for wood, glass and metal. Objects made of these materials are scattered throughout the classroom environment for the children to polish. The reasoning behind scattering the objects is so that they may also serve as beautiful decorations and hence the polishing has a purpose behind it as the child helps make the classroom a lovely space.

The picture below is the wood polishing activity from my Montessori training. An oilcloth is laid on the table to make it easier to clean any spilled polish and the child wears an apron to protect their clothing (shown folded on the left). The items are laid out in order of their use (and ideally stored on the tray that way as well). This helps the child remember which action to carry out first and introduces them to the idea of sequencing steps. Many practical life activities focus on the sequencing of steps so the child is better able to follow the more abstract sequences of math operations or written words later on.

To present wood polishing the Directress will first invite the child who is ready to learn the activity, and show them how to put on the apron and lay out the oilcloth. Next she introduces the tray that holds the polishing materials and demonstrates how to carry it. At the table each object is taken out in order and named. Next, the teacher and student go together to choose an object to polish. The teacher demonstrates how to put just a few drops of polish into the bowl and then soak it up with a cotton ball.  She explains how the polish is toxic and that we do not eat it and will wash our hands afterwards. The Directress applies the polish to the object using circular motions and then polishes it with a finger mitt using the same motion. Finally she folds the small buffing cloth into a mitt and shines up the objects using circular motions once more. The child is invited to repeat the activity and shown where the new cotton balls are kept to replenish the tray.

You might notice that there is a lot of repetitive movements in this activity (did you notice everything was done in a circular motion?) and not a lot of talking. Children at this age are still building up their coordination and many practical life activities focus on giving child some type of movement or motion that they can repeat over and over until they master it. In fact, all the polishing activities use the same basic motions to encourage the child to repeat and refine their movements.

The other point is the lack of speaking that occurs during the presentation, this is intentional. Children in the Casa dei Bambini are in a sensitive period of language according to Dr. Montessori. This means that they are still basically enthralled with language and desperate to absorb it and use it for themselves. Children of this age have trouble listening and watching at the same time. It is best to first show them without the distraction of speaking. This doesn't mean the Directress sits there, cold and silent; quite to the contrary she will warmly welcome any comment or question the child might have. Yet she was will not attempt to break their concentration by speaking herself unless necessary. This facet of a presentation occurs in most activities in the classroom, especially for those activities directed at younger children.

An interesting fact that Dr. Montessori observed with many exercises in practical life is that the children were not interested in the finished product (here a nicely polished object) but rather the act itself. I know that I have seen children apply polish to an object over and over and over again, even though it is already covered in it. The point for them is not polishing, but rather the refining of their movements through doing the activity.

Montessori Monday

So I did want this blog to be not just about my doings in Hong Kong, but also to add some Montessori philosophy into it. I'm also hoping it will help me learn how to explain the Method in a concise way that people who know nothing about it can understand. So I'm going to try to every Monday have a post about a different Montessori material and how it plays an important part in the curriculum.

Maria Montessori with children

But since today is the first post let's do a quick overview of the Montessori curriculum. Maria Montessori began the first Montessori class in 1907 in the slums of Italy. The owners of a building for low income families initially hired her to keep the children who were not old enough for school occupied while their parents were at work so they did not damage the building. Dr. Montessori began this school with only a few materials originally designed for children with special needs, and some practical activities such as hand washing and sweeping. The children in this setting flourished and their behavior so impressed visitors that new schools following the same method were opened and the scenario repeated with children from different backgrounds. Over the years Maria Montessori developed materials for teaching reading, writing and math due to the prompting of parents. She found that not only could children do these higher level academics when given the right materials, but that they enjoyed mastering them as well. As the years progresses Dr. Montessori expanded her teachings to children of school age, and then for children from birth to three.

100 years later the Montessori method is still in use and succeeding with children around the globe. Some schools follow the philosophy as laid out while others have adopted new ideas as the years have progressed. The Association Montessori Internationale is the body which helps monitor schools for their adherence to the original Montessori method. Unfortunately the term 'Montessori' is in the public domain and many schools which claim to follow the philosophy do not. Today many research studies about child development are finding that the ideas developed by Dr. Montessori in the 1900's have a scientific base.

In the children's house, which covers children from 3 to 6 years of age, there are four main areas of the classroom: practical life, sensorial, language and math. Practical life encompasses those simple, everyday activities that we do to maintain and beautify our environment and selves. Activities like buttoning, dusting, caring for plants or preparing food may all be part of the practical life curriculum. The sensorial materials are specifically designed to isolate one quality of the world such as color, smell or weight, and give it a physical form. These materials are not designed to teach the children that objects have different properties (such as roughness or smoothness) but to help them classify and name these qualities. The area of language in Montessori covers both oral and written language (which is both writing and reading). Much of the language material is given after the child has had experience in practical life and sensorial as these activities indirectly prepare the child for writing and reading. The math materials are designed to give children physical objects that they can manipulate when working with numbers. Montessori found that even very young children could do arithmetic with numbers into the thousands if given the right material.

Beyond the materials the Montessori classroom emphasizes the building of community. Children are given a chance to practices the lessons of grace and courtesy, which include things such as blowing your nose, and greeting visitors. The children are encouraged to collaborate and help one another, a system that is greatly enhanced by the mix of ages in the classroom. The youngest students are shown the culture of the classroom by the older ones, and in turn help them practice leadership skills. Montessori focuses on the whole of the child's development, not simply the academic skills.