montessori classroom Archives - Page 3 of 6

Montessori Record Keeping

We have just finished up our fall conferences at my school. One important tool that we always use, revisit, and expand,as we write up our conference notes, is the master record that we keep for each child.

This year my co-teacher and I revisited the form we had been using, which was an inherited form that neither of us had developed, and while it was great, it wasn’t working for us. We wanted to make something that was meaningful for us, and that didn’t seem overwhelming to update, the previous record was 8 pages.Continue reading “Montessori Record Keeping”

parts of a stink bug

If you read the title of this post and your reaction is “What’s a stink bug?” be thankful. The brown marmorated stink bug is an insect that was introduced to the United States by accident in 1998. It has now become an invasive pest in many states, Virginia is one of those. The stink bugs are now looking for a warm spot to pass the winter, our school must seem very cozy to them.Continue reading “parts of a stink bug”

cheese cutting – food preparation

I love food prep in the class and at home. It is a wonderful collection of activities that entice and call to almost all children, because really, who doesn’t love to eat?

Food prep activities truly get children excited about working. The works encourage independent choice, which is the foundation of all later Montessori work, general independence and development of confidence, coordination of large and small motor skills, concentration, and the works reinforce a sense of order.

For me they are the perfect practical life work. We have dedicated our top shelf to food prep and we rotate through a different activity about every 2 to 3 weeks.

Continue reading “cheese cutting – food preparation”

this moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by SouleMama.

back to school–classroom tour

Well it seems that starting back to school and keeping up with my posting was just a little too much for me. I thought a lot about what I wanted to post, but obviously was lacking in time management skills. I am starting to feel slightly more on top on things, so hope I will be posting more.

We have actually been back to school for 3 full weeks, 4 weeks if you include the children’s orientation week. This is what our classroom looked like during orientation week and for the first full week of school. I did make some brief notes about what we have changed and added since I took these pictures. If you have any questions about materials on the shelves or why we did something a certain way just ask.

Peace corner and early reader book shelf

The peace corner works are done at the small kneeling table next to the cube shelf.Continue reading “back to school–classroom tour”

baric chests — what I made this week

I have had these DIY Montessori baric chests half put together for a little too long, it was about time to finish them up! These are completely inspired by this post from the wonderful blog Smiling like Sunshine.

These baric chests, like the baric tablets, require the child to focus on sorting the material based on one sensorial aspect, in this case weight. Each Montessori sensorial material targets one sense, this allows the child to work on refining that particular sense in a specific and isolated manner. By working with all the different sensorial materials the child has the opportunity to develop the ability to not only focus on certain types of sensory input, but also to notice and be aware of subtle differences in the world around them.Continue reading “baric chests — what I made this week”