sensorial Archives - montessori works

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”

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”

sensorial extension cards – what I made this week

One of the most beautiful areas in the Montessori class has to be sensorial. Dr. Montessori designed each material as a means for the child to explore and refine his senses. Each material encourage the child to compare, categorize and make order. These ideas then carryover and the child can use these sensorial experiences to see patterns, compare leaves, describe tactile experiences, etc. The materials provide the child the means to help interpret his world.

The sensorial materials themselves are substantial and impressive and are constantly in use in our class.

I have always had sets of extension cards for the knobless cylinders, and the base matching cards for the pink tower and the broad stairs. My coteacher and I also both know a handful of extensions that we always show the children, especially ones that combine using the pink tower and the broad stair. We decided that we wanted to make a collection of cards showing more and various extensions to help inspire the children that are drawn to these materials but are beyond the initial lessons.Continue reading “sensorial extension cards – what I made this week”