Practical life-water, beans, and pitchers, oh my!

When I first entered a Montessori classroom I was entranced by the math materials. So concrete, it made such sense.  Then, I saw the practical life area.  Pitchers, water, sponges, beans, trays, what was all of this stuff and why are children using it? Well, practical life is just that, it teaches practical life skills in a fun way for children. Give a child an attractive set up of a tray, two pitchers with colored water and a sponge and watch the magic.  The child can sit there for as long as they want. It is mesmerizing. These skills, pouring, spooning, funneling and the like can then be translated to the home. It can be daunting to let your child pour their own milk for example. Find a small pitcher and put some milk in it on a low shelf in the fridge. You are still setting them up for success while keeping your sanity. If a spill should happen, let your child clean it up. This is also a part of practical life skills. These skills will lead to giving your child more responsibility in the home. There is no reason why a young child can not help around the house. A young child can dust, sweep and put their own toys away too. How does your young child help around the house?

What I love.............Montessori style

1. I love the materials.
2. I love that most materials can be handmade.
3. I love that the materials can be changed as needed.
4. I love that the materials can be changed to fit the needs of the individual child.
5. I love the peaceful nature of the classroom.
6. I love that the children are exposed to the arts.
7. I love that the children are able to work at their own pace.
8. I love that the children have responsibilities in the classroom.
9. I love that everything has its place in the room.
10. I love that the classroom is set up for the children, everything is at their level.
What do you love about Montessori?

art, floor, and table mats.....hmmmmmm what are those?

In a Montessori classroom you will find art, floor and table mats. Sounds strange, I know, but trust me-they are fabulous. For art mats, think about a plastic place mat. Cut it in half. Now you have two art mats. When a child is doing art work at a table in the classroom, they need an art mat. This mat defines their space. This is their space to do their art work. A table mat works the same way. If a child is bringing, for example, a manipulative to the table, they first need to get a table mat. A cloth place mat works really well here. It again, defines the work area of the child. Lastly, floor mats. If a child is doing work on the carpet, he or she needs to get a floor mat first. A very small throw rug that can be rolled up works well. This floor mat defines the workspace of the child. It is a notice to everyone else that this child is working, do not disturb. The other children and adults in the room need to respect this, and walk around the mat. Imagine a classroom of 18 children. Lets say 8 are working at tables and 10 are working on the carpet. Now, imagine those 10 children and their 10 different activities all over the carpet. Kids, puzzles pieces, blocks, and manipulatives all over the place. Now imagine those 10 children, all sitting at their own designated place. They are each working with their own activity, at their own mat.........ahhhhhhh so wonderful, peaceful, and calm. If you haven't seen it before, trust me, it works.......and it's wonderful. If you have multiple children at home these type of mats can be purchased and used in the home as well.

Prepare the environment

Maria Montessori called the classroom the prepared environment. Think about that for a moment, the prepared environment. That makes a lot of sense. The classroom is the prepared environment, the environment (the classroom)needs to be prepared. Well, of course! We don't want our children in a class that is not prepared, do we? No, of course not. We want an environment that is appealing, well thought out, and stocked with materials.  Everything in the classroom should be well thought out, everything should be there for a reason. The furniture in the room should be well placed so that there are no hiding places, all children should be visible at all times for safety reasons. All work on the shelves should be whole, if a piece is missing or something is broken it should not be out for the child to work with. Imagine the disappointment of the child if they went to work with a puzzle only to find out that pieces are missing.
A critical aspect of the prepared environment is the order of the work on the shelves. Here is a phrase that you will hear often in the world of Montessori, top to bottom and left to right. This is how the work should be placed on the shelves.  The easiest material is first, on the top shelf all the way to the left. The most difficult material should be on the bottom shelf all the way to the right. This goes for every shelf in every area of the room. It is set up this way to keep order and structure. The child will learn where the material is kept making it easier at clean up time.  The room is  also structured this way to train the eye for reading, since we read left to right.
I could go on and on about the prepared environment, it is so important. More on another day....

A little independence

One of the core components in the Montessori Philosophy is independence. Independence needs to be taught just like tying shoes. The child should be able to do as much for themselves as they are capable of.  If you want a child to do something you need to teach them, you need to be consistent and you need to start at an early age.  With a very young child, this would include feeding him/herself. A young child can slowly learn to use a spoon and try and get that food from the bowl to the mouth. It will be messy. If you are not fond of messes, I do understand. Dress your child and yourself in clothes that you are not attached to. Put a bib on the child and a splat mat on the floor. You can not spoon feed your child for the rest of his/her life.......they will learn.
Year after year without fail I would have a parent show up at my classroom door and see their child clean up their work without complaining or throwing a tantrum. The jaw of the parent would be on the floor and then he/she would ask "How did you get him/her to clean up, he/she won't do it at home?" Here's my answer- The child knows my expectations from day one. As soon as the school year starts I tell each child, "When you are done with something it goes right back where you got it from." That's it, end of story. If you do not put away your work when it is completed you may not take out anything else. The rule doesn't change. If you put your work away, you may go to the playground, you may go to the easel etc. This rule can be applied at home also. If you want to go outside you need to clean up inside first. The child will then clean up and go out. If the child does not clean up, there is no outside time. Again, that's it, end of story. If you ask the child (at home or at school)to do something and they do not listen there needs to be natural, concrete, timely consequences.
This is why I love Montessori. I started talking about independence,  which led to care of self,which led to natural consequences and so on. Everything in Montessori and in life I think is interrelated............one thing leads to another which leads to another.

I'm a fan

By now you might have realized that I am a fan of Maria Montessori. Ok, I'm a huge fan. A Maria Montessori groupie if you will.......
Everyone learns differently, some in an auditory manner, some through touch, some learn by watching. This is what makes us unique.
In A Decalogue Maria Montessori states-"Respect the child who takes rest or watches others working or ponders over what she/he her/himself has done or will do. Neither call her/him or force her/him to other forms of activity. "
This is so true in the classroom, especially in the multi-age Montessori classroom. It always fascinated me when, for example, a three year old would wander through the classroom looking for work to do. I would often see a  young child stop and watch another child. They would sit quietly next to the working child and just watch, observing. Imagine it, a child observing another child. We are taught as Montessori teachers to observe and observe and observe again, and here the children are doing it also. They are learning through observation. This young child may be observing a lesson that they are not ready for but they are still learning. They may then come to the teacher and ask to do this same work. They are however, not ready for it. This is not the end though. Now the teacher, who is always prepared,  may say "you are not ready for this work yet but, lets work on something else first" For example, this child may have just observed another child working with the moveable alphabet. The child is not ready for this work yet because he/she doesn't know all of the sounds yet. What a perfect opportunity to bring out the sandpaper sounds and get to work. Children observing each other is a wonderful way for children to learn. Do not disturb this beautiful scene...........

Finding your passion

How many times do we hear "find your passion"? I have always loved children. They fascinate me and they are cute too. Many years ago I found something called Montessori. I observed at a Montessori school because I was trying to land a job as a substitute teacher. I sat there in awe. While my jaw was on the floor I watched a class full of kids serve their own snacks. I saw them polish silver and work on their letter sounds. I also saw them using very strange materials to learn how to add and I was hooked!
After I taught for 15 years I made the decision to stay home full time with my own children. I love being home to take care of them, to volunteer at school, and to see them get off the bus in the afternoon.
Teaching has its ups and downs as does parenting. I feel that my next journey in life is this, to pass on whatever I have learned through my years as a Montessori teacher and mom. Lets enjoy these Montessori and mom moments together. The good ones and that ones that turn our hair gray(at least that is what I blame the gray on!) Thanks for reading!