Montessori Monday

(on Tuesday) :)

I'm so glad Nicole thought to host a Montessori carnival! We've been doing Practical Life work for quite some time now, but with our new classroom in check we've recently begun using our Montessori materials, too. This will be a fun way to share what we're both learning.

I feel compelled to point out that while I've done lots of research and reading on the Montessori method, I have just begun Montessori teacher training. That said, you will undoubtedly find flaws and errors in my lessons. Thankfully, my darling son is a gracious guinea pig while I find my Montessori footing. :) I have many, many resources I refer to - see my sidebar for a list of books I recommend.

At James' age (2.9), Practical Life is the area of focus. It just so happens this is my *favorite* of the Montessori subjects and I really enjoy putting this work together.

Pouring "Ice" (clear plastic crystals):
James does really well with pouring. Unfortunately by the end of the week I found these crystals scattered around his playroom on two occasions. That's what happens when mommy takes a shower. Silly mommy.

Matching Nuts & Bolts:
James worked on this several times this week. He can match the sizes perfectly, but is still working on the concept of twisting on and off.

Marble Transfer:
This was a big hit. James was really focused whenever he did this work, which was often. Another great way to improve those fine motor skills.

Nut Sorting/Matching:
I think this is considered Practical Life. In some books sorting is listed under PL and in others it's listed under math. Ah well. Until I know for sure, I'm just going to throw it in with our PL lessons. Anyway, see how cute and inviting this tray is? The squirrel, the nice wooden bowls displaying the magic that is my new laminator? Think James was impressed with all this? Nope. He did sort the nuts once, spent some time looking at the pictures, but that was it. Boo.

Scooping Letter Pasta:
James worked on this a few times, but it was left untouched later in the week. Normally he likes spooning, but in this case he was more interested in the letters. :)

I've also introduced a few Sensorial materials recently...
James LOVES the cylinders (both knobbed and knobless). But I made a rookie mistake and put out on our shelves all 3 of our knobbed cylinder blocks (don't have the 4th one yet) for him to use... without giving a proper presentation of all of them first. I presented the first block and just assumed he'd be able to manipulate the others as well. Nope. Silly me to forget Dr. Montessori was a genius when she designed these materials and that each and every one has a separate purpose. So, before he got too attached to all of them, I removed all but the first block. He's quite content learning this set for now. Phew! Montessori crisis averted!

We spend a lot of time working with the knobless cylinders - they're so colorful and interesting. (note: this won't be the first time you get a sense of me longing to have been exposed to such lovely things when I was little - re-living my childhood vicariously through my son? Just a tad.) ;) I really enjoy watching James go to town on these cylinders. I have extension cards, but I'll hold off on them for now. He's doing quite well with them on his own.

You can click here to read about my attempt at presenting the Pink Tower to James. I'm SO bummed he has zero interest in it. Well, that's not altogether true... today he knocked it over on accident and was forced to take notice of it.

With regard to these posts, I just want to point out that while our Practical Life work will vary week to week, it won't be long before you see some repeats with the actual Montessori materials. The main reason for this is that these materials are meant to be presented over a period of time and in stages so that the child can really master the work (lesson learned after the aforementioned cylinder faux-pas) Also, the materials are crazy expensive, and as a result I don't really have a ton of variety here. Sigh... if only my Hubs were good at woodworking - he could make so many of the materials for us. :)

I found James "reading" Dr. Montessori's The Absorbent Mind. He finds my books around house and loves to pretend to read them. And I love that he chose this book to read. :)