montessori classroom Archives - Page 2 of 6

montessori bread work {part 2}

My very first blog post, almost a year ago, was about making bread in the classroom. I was so nervous hitting the publish button, I thought “who’s going to care about making bread in a Montessori classroom?” You know what, there were plenty of people who cared, and I discovered that I enjoyed sharing my ideas and love of Montessori, and hitting that publish button!

In the late fall our school always uses the For Small Hands (from Montessori Services) as a fundraiser for materials. It is always a great resource for parents to pick up a few stocking stuffers and support the school at the same time.

I pined for this grain mill for years. It is a beautiful, sturdy, real piece of machinery. It is practical and purposeful. It is deeply satisfying work. I knew it would be the perfect addition to our already established bread making and butter spreading works. It was the one item that I requested we purchased with the money we earned from the fundraiser, and I am so glad that we did.Continue reading “montessori bread work {part 2}”

why i don’t do examples

I don’t make examples. Not for artwork, not for crafts. The only time I must produce something like a drawing is when I give a metal inset lesson, and then I carefully fold my work into fourths and put it in my pocket. The same extends to home, I try not to draw for Imogen.

Why am I anti-example? Because to me, the work, whether it is a metal inset, a watercolor, or a Mother’s Day Craft, is process oriented, not product. And that’s where I want the child’s focus. Did they enjoy making it? Do they think it’s beautiful? Did they choose the colors they wanted? It they are constantly following my example how are they going to learn to be happy with their own work?

This is much easier at school than at home. Our art shelf is only open-ended materials. Scissors, glue, tape, paper for cutting, pencils, clay, and a collage tray. We rotate through watercolor paints and other materials during the year. When we do have a new work, like watercolors, and I need to give a lesson, I use the same piece of watercolor paper and simply make lines. Focusing the child on the process of getting the water, cleaning the brush, etc., and not on what I am painting. When I have finished my lesson I say, “I made lines, you can make whatever you wish.”

Continue reading “why i don’t do examples”

montessori presidents day & money sorting work

Presidents Day is coming up this Monday, traditionally, it is a day to celebrate Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays, however, this year I decided to celebrate it in a more inclusive way by focusing on all the Presidents that appear on common coins and bills.

I prefer my works to start at a very concrete (real) place. Children are familiar with money, it is common and known to them. We build on this concrete foundation by providing a range of images, concrete to abstract – pictures of money, real photographs of the Presidents, paintings of the Presidents, statues, and monuments. Since many of these paintings and statues are not familiar to the children in our class, I have color-coded the cards so it is a self-correcting and independent work.Continue reading “montessori presidents day & money sorting work”

meaningful sensory experiences in the montessori classroom & connections to home

Sensory play is a big deal in the educational arena. If you are on Pinterest, you will constantly see new Pins featuring themed sensory bins or new recipes for goopy substances for your child to experiment and play with. I do love sensory bins, at home we have a rice table, a bin of cloud sand, and Kinetic Sand, also known as the coolest sand ever. My stepdaughter can’t walk past the Kinetic Sand without scooping it up into a ball, then letting it ooze and melt over her hand. Obviously, sensory materials meet a need in all of us, and can be highly addicting, the question is, how can they fit into a Montessori classroom.

The Montessori Sensorial curriculum allows the child to explore and categorize their world based on their senses. Lessons are presented using specific materials, each which focuses on one particular dimension. So this is not a new concept to the Montessori classroom, actually it is the foundation and the basis of the pedagogy, and it extends beyond the Sensorial area of the class, it is part of all the curriculum areas.Continue reading “meaningful sensory experiences in the montessori classroom & connections to home”

knitting in the classroom

I long to be able to knit — sweaters for my children, shawls, hats, and mittens — but I knit squares and rectangles. I can’t count stitches, I need to look up directions any time I have to do anything beyond a regular knit stitch. But recently, I dug up two matching needles (which was quite a feat in my house) and a variegated skein of yarn, I cast on, grabbed a basket and I started knitting.

I am not knitting curled up on my couch with a cup of coffee, I am knitting in my classroom. I am doing my work.

As my work can attest, I am not staring at the needles when I knit, I look down for a second when I start the stitch, and then I am scanning the classroom. It is amazing that there is always space to sit near the child or children that are a little unsettled.

I am modeling work, respect, concentration, commitment to a project. How’s it going? Some days better than others. There are days where I don’t have a second to take my work off the shelf and do a row, other days where I can sit and knit for what seems like ages (but is really about 5 minutes).

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2013 — half a year in review

Hoping that everyone had a holiday filled with peace and love. Ours was delightful, filled with just enough of everything.

My favorite part of 2013, is this, montessori works. I love the community of fellow Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio, eclectic teachers and parents that I have interacted with both here, and through other blogs, websites and facebook. One of my goals for this year is to be here more, and I do want this to happen, because, like everyone else, I am trying to find just enough balance in home, work, screen time etc.

Now to transition from just enoughs to superlatives, here are the most pinned, most viewed and then my most favorite posts from last year.

Continue reading “2013 — half a year in review”