Montesecrets

Do you want to learn a fun way to teach your child about different colors? Read on!

This activity is quite the hit in our class. It’s very simple to make and children love it!

Direct Aim: Teaching children about the primary and secondary colors

Indirect Aim: Concentration, Fine Motor Movement, Coordination

Materials:

A small tray

3 small containers w/ eye droppers each containing the colors red, blue, and yellow

A small sponge

A small mixing tray

Invite the child to do a presentation on color mixing.

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Here is a sample  dialogue:

Directress: Hello Billy. Would you like to do a work on color mixing?

Child: Sure.

D:  (Directress puts a red drop on the mixing tray). What color is that?

Child: It’s red.

D: Yes, it’s red. What do you think will happen if we mix yellow with it?

Child: I don’t know.

D: Let’s find out. (Directress puts a yellow drop on the red drop) Wow the colors are changing. What color do you see now?

Child: Orange

D: Yes, it’s orange. Sometimes when we mix two colors together, we make a new color. Let’s see what else we can make with red. (Directress drops another drop of red).  Can you give me the blue bottle?

Child: Sure

D: (Directress puts a blue drop on the red drop). The colors are changing again. What do you see now?

Child: I think purple.

D: Yes, this is purple.Sometimes people call this color violet as well.

and so forth…….

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For more advance learners, you can go more into depth about primary and secondary colors.

PRIMARY COLORS: RED, YELLOW, BLUE

When you mix two primary colors, you get a secondary color.

SECONDARY COLORS: ORANGE, GREEN, VIOLET

PRIMARY + SECONDARY COLORS=BASIC COLOR WHEEL

I know I wrote a post about Making Bubbles already, but I don’t think I emphasized enough the direct aims of this activity. On the outside, it may seem like the point of this work is to see how big the bubbles can get. In actuality, there really is so much more to it. A child learns order, concentration, control, and most importantly…INDEPENDENCE!

When I do this activity with my daughter, I try to teach her the concept of a work cycle. (A work cycle is everything from start to finish, including setting up and cleaning up)

First…..I tell her to get all of the materials together. Make sure that everything is in a place that is easily accessible so your child doesn’t need to ask you for help. The whole point is to encourage your child to be independent.

Have your child lay all of the materials out on the table. Starting with a towel or place mat. Only intervene when necessary. Let your child feel like they are in control. (If they throw everything the ground….this is a different story!)

Show your child where they can get the water and let them do it themselves. Once again, only intervene when necessary.

Let your child choose what colors they would like to add.

When your child is finished, don’t just clean up their mess…have them do it themselves. Show them what they have to do step by step.

1. Dump the water out ( I usually do it in the toilet since it’s easy for them to access).

2. Wipe the table dry.

3. Put all of the materials back on the shelf.

4. Fold the apron and return it back on the shelf.

Repetition and Consistency is the key! Eventually, you’ll be able to sit back, and observe your child complete the entire work cycle by themselves!

Did you know that Will Wright, creator of the best selling PC game in History, “The Sims” was a Montessori kid?I had no idea, but thanks to the beauties of twitter, you can find out anything now a days. Anyways, here’s another TEDtalks video where Wright briefly talks about Montessori and how it contributed to his success.

Enjoy!

A must see Montessori Documentary! EDISON’S DAY (2006, 29 minutes)

Today at school we had a meeting for all of the assistant teachers. My school conducts meetings once a month to discuss ways we can improve ourselves and our classrooms. I personally think meetings are a GREAT way to open up the lines of communication between faculty and staff.

Anyways, during the meeting, we were shown a video called “Edison’s Day”. Let me tell you, my jaw was open the whole entire time! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The DVD documented a day in the life of a 20 month old boy named Edison, whose parents practiced the Montessori philosophy. At his age, he was able to dress himself, feed himself, express himself verbally, go to the bathroom and a bunch of other things I would have never expected a child his age be able to do. It was truly a remarkable thing to watch. His parents were so patient with him, and encouraged him to be independent. They created an environment for him in which he could explore the world around him, and be self-dependent. The boy was extremely bright and very confident in himself. I HIGHLY recommend anyone to check out the video. It just confirms why MONTESSORI is such a great philosophy. The video is a beautiful revelation. It’s a shame that more schools don’t implement the Montessori practice! What a different world we would be living in!

For more information on “Edison’s Day” check out the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association website. Under the “DVD’s/Videos Parents Education” you should find the DVD there.

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UPDATE: Thanks to Miri over at My Child’s Diary who told me about Meg at Sew Liberated, I was able to find the video online! Yipee! Enjoy!

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Check this video out explaining the differences between true Montessori schools and Monte-fakes.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to sub in the Toddler class. The children ranged from ages 2 yrs to 3 yrs. It was amazing to see how much these little guys were capable of doing. I was highly impressed. I jotted down a  lot of cool ideas to try with my munchkin!

One of the works that I saw on the shelf that caught my eye was a basket filled with cards and a small red ball. Each of the cards had pictures of the ball in different positions on the basket.  ( above the basket, behind the basket, inside the basket, ect.)

The object was for the child to use the basket and red ball to replicate the positions that were being shown on the picture cards. Here take a look….

For example:

The child chooses a card similiar to the one above out of the basket.

The child then gets the object (in this case it’s an apple) and places it in the appropriate location next to the basket. In this specific example, the child is learning the word “besides”.

Now,  the child choose another card. This time they have a picture representing “on”.

The child uses the basket and apple to represent the preposition “on”. And so forth…

I think this is such a cute and creative way to teach your child new vocabulary. My child is only 21 months, and I’ve already started to practice this with her. If you have a child that’s younger, you might want to start with 2 or 3 cards and work your way up.

FREEBIE! FREEBIE! FREEBIE! FREEBIE!

I spent all day creating a PDF file for this activity. (No wonder my Montessori albums are not done! Yikes!) You can download the Montessori Preposition Cards for free!

All you need to do is cut the cards out and laminate them. Find an empty basket lying around and an apple. If you don’t have an apple, you can use another object like a small action figure, or rock…be creative.

I’d LOOOOOOVE to hear your thoughts and experiences with this activity! Enjoy!

Montessori Your Home!

Tip:

Montessori Schools can be super expensive and most Parents who would like to send their children to a Montessori school simply can’t afford the high price tuition. My suggestion to you, is if you can’t bring your child to Montessori, then bring Montessori to your child. There are a plethora of books out there that teach you how to make your home more “Montessori friendly”.

The above picture is a snack table in our class. Everyday, we cut up pieces of fruit and set up snacks that the children are allowed to have any time during class. The snack table is very low so the children do not have a hard time serving themselves. If you have space in your kitchen, create a little area where your child can pick and choose snacks by themselves. Be sure to include a small plate, a small jug with water, napkins, and serving bowl. On the last shelf, in our class, we have a small garbage and recyling can. We also have a table brush that the children can use to clean up after themselves. Designate an entire cabinet to your child if space permits. This encourages your child to make their own choices, and promotes independence.

4 albums down…1 more to go…..

My final institute is in 3 weeks. I haven’t touched my language album. In fact, I think there is dust piling up on it as we speak! ( I know, shame on me). On top of that, I have my second consultation visit this week! The last time my consultant came to observe me, I almost peed in my pants because I was so nervous.  I’m freaking out! I am sooooooooooo far behind! It’s so easy to let things pile up at the last minute. Procrastinator is my middle name. It is just me, or does it seem like there’s never enough time during the day?

Montessori training requires A LOT of time and dedication. If you are seriously considering becoming a Montessori teacher, prepare yourself …cause your in for a hell of a ride! But in the end, everything is ALL worth it! (that’s what I keep telling myself!)

Anyways, it’s getting kind of late. I’m done complaining.

Good night blogland!

Maria Montessori devoted her entire life to creating materials that specifically coordinated with the natural development of the child. She got a lot of her ideas from her studies of Seguin and Itard, who were known for working with mentally handicap children. I recently read an article talking about Montessori materials, or the lack of, in Montessori schools. The article, which was written by Angeline Liliard (author of The Science Behind the Genius) brought up some very interesting points. I can’t say that I agreed with her 100%, but I did feel like she did bring up a very good argument. Basically, she stated that many students are neglecting Montessori materials because the shelves in the classrooms are filled with a lot of non-Montessori materials. I do agree, this is true. In my classroom, the children tend to stay away from the Montessori works, and it’s like pulling teeth trying to get them to work on the bead stairs or pink tower. But, a lot of the non-Montessori works found in classrooms around the world, in my opinion have great value, even if they weren’t designed exclusively by Montessori herself. After reading the article, I got a feel that the author felt that the non-Montessori materials were useless and pointless, and did not belong in the classroom. It sounded to me like she was a die-hard.

There are two types of Montessorians. We have the die-hards, and the liberals. Die hard Montessorians follow Montessori to a T, without taking consideration the changes that have been made since the time Montessori was created. Liberals (which I consider myself) respect the Montessori philosophy, but believe that times have changed and are more likely to adjust their curriculum without straying far away from the original pedagogy. For example, there are some schools that gasp at the site of computers in the classroom. They believe that computers have no business being there. I take a different stance. While I do agree that computer usuage among children is becoming quite ridiculous, I still think that children should be trained and taught how to use a computer. There is no denying it. Computers are everywhere, and more and more companies are doing EVERYTHING on the computer. I believe that if Montessori was still living today, she would embrace technology. She was a scientist! Die hard Montessorians are the one’s that tell you if you place the spoon on the right side, as opposed to the left side, it will be detrimental to a child. OH come on! Give me a flippin break! I believe that as long as you are consistent, it doesn’t matter what freaking side you put the damn spoon. So to some it up in a nutshell, underneath the Montessori Umbrella are two very different types of Montessorians. Although they may differ in many aspects, the one important thing that unites them is their love for children and their passion towards helping them unleash their potential.

In conclusion, I believe that even though schools are adding more non-Montessori materials in the classroom, children can still learn and benefit from these works. Teachers have to use their discretion. When choosing a work for you students, analyze it. Ask yourself what is the purpose, and what are the goals. If you can give yourself some sound solid reasons, then go ahead and use it. That’s just my opinion. I would love to hear yours!

I had written this post on my old blog and a couple readers added their two cents. I wanted to share with you all what they wrote.

Anna said: Oooh - I love this debate! I am on the “liberal” side but with a sneaking envy of those on the “pure” side. It must be lovely to feel that sure about anything! In our classroom (in England) we have to step between 2 philosophies if we are to be allowed to open. We are a Montessori nursery and primary school - so ages 3 months-11 years. We have to be approved by OFSTED (a govornment agency) to be allowed to stay open. So we do have non-montessori materials (toys) out but they are presented on the shelves and worked with in the same way as the Montessori materials. The children use them at different times in their development but there is no distinction between them on the shelf. This means that if a child wants to work with lego - fine, if they want to work with the knobless cylinders - fine. For both they need a work mat, and choose a work area and tidy it away for the next child once they have finished. We also have alot of maths and language activities that are teacher made that do the same job as a montessori material but bring a bit of variety. For instance the Cards and Counters have only a limited time of being interesting before they become boring, but do the same activity using planets when we’re studying the Solar System, or butterflies when we’re studying the life cycle of the butterfly and you’ve got their attention again. Some children take longer than others to “get” things.

We also have….. wait for it… a role play area and a sand and water tray in the classroom. Both are very anti-montessori in the pure sense but are essential to getting a good OFSTED report. So, we work with them. If the role play area doesn’t work as we envisiaged we modify it, change it or remove it. Some amazing writing has come out of it so it isn’t all bad although it is my least favourite area of the classroom.

Also, although Montessori was a ground breaker who changed the world of education, the world didn’t stand still with her death and there is some incredible research that has been done since, that carries on what she started, or that independently has come to the similar conclusions and it needs to be taken account of. The great thing about the method is that the most important thing is to follow the child. The more we know about the child, the better we can do that. Also the classroom is set up to allow anything to be valuable if presented well.

Laura (My Montessori Journey) said: I am intrigued by this debate too. Anyone who reads my blog would know that I’m on the “liberal” side too. In my opinion, Maria Montessori herself would be on the liberal side if she were alive today. I believe she would embrace any classroom that clearly reflects preparedness and child-centeredness, even if the classroom contained materials she herself had not designed. Thanks for writing this insightful post.