How to get them to do what you want

So I've been wanting the children to pay attention to a few more of the materials in the classroom. In a larger class there is more pressure to branch out because items will naturally be in use more and so the child needs to wait their turn. This also means that children are reminded about something they may not have used in a while when they see someone else using it. In our little class this just doesn't happen as often.

So instead I gave them some subliminal prompts!

Ok, ok, that's not how I'm supposed to say it. Quoting my Montessori trainer I gave them an "indirect lesson"

I've been waiting for them to experiment a bit more with the pink tower, exploring how all the blocks are related to one another now that they have no trouble building them in order. So I took it out myself. As soon as I did S asked to join me and together we scattered the blocks around the classroom and then rebuilt the tower. By then we had a larger audience so I purposely started experimenting with the cubes, stacking them in different configurations.

M didn't even want to wait until I was done to try that out for herself, she set out immediately to get the brown stairs out to try experimenting. C joined her and the two of them set about building everyone's 'house' out of the blocks (though C also insisted they build a clubhouse....a tall clubhouse!). I noticed M taking stock of the prisms, seeming to notice their relationships in size for the first time as she attempted to build a solid structure.

I'm gonna call that one a success.

My next task was to remind them about the metal insets. Other than W the other children rarely take this work out, despite my attempts to introduce a few variations to C and S. So instead of suggesting it and being turned down I simply took it out and began tracing and coloring the shapes myself. Same as before the children would eventually drift over to watch what I was doing. W immediately joined me, dragging a second chowki over to work right by me.

Unfortunately he did his usual quick trace, trace and barely color in before deciding he was done. I'm hoping to get him to take his time to color in a shape more fully as well as doing a different shape on each side of the paper. But since he's still having such trouble choosing work at all I don't want to make this in to a longer, harder work that he steers away from in an effort to take life easy. Some work is better than none right now!

C, on the other hand, got out an inset and spent quite a bit of time hanging out by me and coloring it in more fully; enjoying the process and hopefully strengthening her hand for writing later.

See how tricky we teachers are? :)

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!